Aside: Handling Jealousy

J.A. Konrath on A Newbies Guide to Publishing makes a point about dealing with jealousy over other authors' success.

The gist: Get Over It. More specifically:

And quit comparing yourself to other writers. It's like comparing yourself to lottery winners, or people who have been run over by cars. No one deserves it.

I disagree. I've met a few people who deserved to win a lottery, and more than a few who deserved to be hit by a car. Fate usually gets it backward.

Besides, you if know author J.A. Konrath (and I don't), you would know that he'd take out Janet Evanovich in a New York minute, as long as he could handsell some signed books at the trial.

My advice for taming the green-eyed monster is this:

Pick one target for all your jealousy and ire. Someone massive, whose success completely overwhelms their talent. Dedicate every breath of your life to becoming more successful than them. Do not waver until they are driven before you in irons.

You won't succeed, of course. They have a head start, and an army of minions intent on keeping the money train rolling. The pursuit will make you miserable.

But along the way, your writing may get a little better.