It’s about that time. About time to start thinking about what we’ll each try to do in 2023. I always have a list each year of New Year’s resolutions that I try to knock out. And I usually try to make them fairly concrete and achievable. Write X number of words. Write Y book. Publish Z book.
Setting goals like, “earn $50K per year from writing” are not helpful in my opinion. But write X words, publish Y books, put Z dollars per month into advertising, etc. those are the things that can get you to that goal.
Still, though. My goal planning is probably not where it should be.
In a private group I’m in one of the more successful authors posted their plan for 2023. It was incredibly concrete. Publish Book A in January, Book B in February, etc. all the way through the year. Following that plan this author was going to be able to get out 8 novels that support three series and two different pen names on a consistent reliable schedule.
That’s why that author has published over 80 novels at this point and has been a six-figure author for years.
Me? My planning post was like, “well, I should wrap up these three books I’m working on and get those published in January and then…maybe this, maybe that, maybe this other thing?”
Each year I know I’d be better off just setting up a series of projects on a schedule and knocking them off one-by one. But each year I do my vague, I’ll get something done sort of process instead. And I do get stuff done. It’s not like I end the year with nothing written. But it’s not that steady rhythm that’s so helpful to fiction-writing success.
Don’t be me kids. Set goals you can control. Make them specific. Plan them out across the year so you can track progress. And think about delivering a product to your readers on a consistent basis that they can come to rely on.
Okay, then. Off to finish edits on this book that was seriously delayed thanks to a bad computer so I can start 2023 off with a good release or two.
M.L. Humphrey 