define success
I know what these things mean to me, but I've got this sense that my definition is probably somewhat different than most people's. For example, in my view of things, a novel can't be a critical success if the critics ignore it -- and it's a simple fact that the major critical venues ignore most novels. There are just too many of them to review them all. Homestead, for example, first came out with a small independent press and was not reviewed by the New York Times or any other big name publication. Then it won the PEN/Hemingway award and suddenly, about a year late, the NYT did review it -- and reviewed it very favorably. But only because of the reward, of course.
As far as commercial success is concerned, that means to me (1) sales and (2) positive public awareness. How about you?