For all the world to see, my writing goals for this year:
- Write 180,000 new words (I’m only counting words that contribute to novels, short stories, and non-fiction books. Blogs don’t count and neither does copywriting at the day job.)
- Keep track of how many words I write each day.
- Self publish 3 new ebooks.
- Publish or submit 6 new short stories.
What’s different about this year’s goals, compared to the ones I set in 2014?
For starters, they’re based on realistic expectations. When I’m drafting, I average about 1,000 new words a day. To keep myself happy and productive, I like to spend at least half my time writing, so that’s where the 180k number came from.
More importantly, these goals are all 100% within my control. Goals should set you up for success, not failure. They should push you to improve—without dragging you down.
I didn’t account for any of the other legwork involved in self publishing, which I’ll be focusing on — the formatting, designing, marketing, and management. That’s because all that other stuff distracts me from my purpose. I can tool around with statistics and detail work for days if I let myself, when the only thing that really matters is whether or not I’m writing. So while I could go into detail about my marketing plans or sales goals or the number of reviews I want to get, for now I’m going to let those chips fall where they may and focus on writing new stuff and improving my craft.
What are your goals for 2015? Share with me in the comments with a list or a link to your own blog!
After this week, I’m happy to report things are going well and I still feel confident about the goals. One thing I noticed, however, is that words written != words published. I write thousands of words outlining plots, sketching characters, describing settings, all before I even sit down to write the draft. I’m counting those words of course, because they’re work, but they don’t contribute to the finished product. I wonder how many words written vs. words published I’ll net at the end of the year.