Mapping My Road Ahead

I often find it useful to plan ahead by considering where I have already been.  I grew a lot as a writer over the past year, both in terms of craft and business savvy.  I broadened my network and have made some good contacts I hope will push me to the next level.

Like many other writers, I am putting up my writing goals for 2015.

But first, let’s look back at what I accomplished in 2014. This year was a big year in my writing education. I read books and tutorials, listened to podcasts, joined a critique group, downloaded software, and attended writing workshops. (And if you are wondering where the money came from, most items were free or heavily discounted if you bought at the right time. Also, I might have sold the dog, the kids, and anything else not nailed down in the house.)

Books

This list should actually be longer. It doesn’t count the many PDFs I read on my tablet instead of side-loading into Amazon. I included some other nonfiction titles in this list because I believe my education is larger than just writing craft and the business of publishing. I have grown in my understanding of the world, its history, and potential trends I will face during my lifetime.  I also know more about self-publishing too.

by Rebeca Saray

2,000 to 10,000 – Rachel Aaron
At Home – Bill Bryson
Audiobooks for Indies – Simon Whistler
Fiction Unboxed – Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant
Gotta Read It! – Libbie Hawker
How to Market a Book – Joanna Penn
How We Got to Now – Steven Johnson
Let’s Get Digital – David Gaughran
Million Dollar Outlines – David Farland
Supercharge Your Kindle Sales – Nick Stephenson
The Next 100 Years – George Friedman
Write. Publish. Repeat – Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant
Write That Novel – David Farland
Writing New Adult Fiction – Deborah Halverson

Tutorials

The Creative Penn – Joanna Penn & CJ Lyons on Marketing
Five Minute Publishing – Nick Stevenson
How to Stop Stalling and Write That Book – Rachel Herron
Writing for MG and YA – David Farland

Podcasts

Writing Excuses
Rocking Self Publishing

Software

Scrivner – Writing and organization tool
Duotrope – Short story market and organization tool
KD Spy – Snooping on Amazon and geeking out on marketing tool

Writing Workshops

by Rebeca Saray

David Farland – Greenlight Your Novel
Mary Robinette Kowal – Intensive Short Story Workshop
Manda Turetsky – Self-Publishing Workshop
Joanna Hardy – Outline Your Novel in 10 Easy Steps
The Book Doctors – The Art of the Edit
Kristen Lamb – Branding for Authors
Dave Ramsey – Financial Peace University (Why this one? When I finally get published and start raking in the cash, I need to know what to do with it, right?)

Works Written

This is where I see all of my writerly education starting to fall flat. I certainly know a lot of stuff now, but it doesn’t count if I don’t get the words on the page. For the short stories, I only made this a priority the last half of the year. I’m happy with my performance, which is roughly one story per month. My honorable mention gives me warm fuzzies and is great motivation to shoot for the moon with each successive story.

Short Stories Written – 5
Writers of the Future Honorable Mention for Under the Hallowed Tree
Number of Professional Submissions – 2
Number of Professional Publications – 0

This is the biggest problem area, and it’s fairly obvious why. I like to start things. I love the shiny new idea. I want to take it out, play with it, then just when it gets interesting… Ooo, look, a shiny new idea. When I look over the outlines, they seem okay in terms of structure, characters, plot, etc. They’d probably make fun books to read after some edits and beta reads, but it’s just too bad I didn’t manage to write any of them.

Number of Outlines – 10
Number of Novels Started – 5
Novels Written – 0

And So We Come at Last to My Writing Goals for 2015

For the education side, I need to cut back this year, but it would be crazy to stop altogether. I can always improve in some form or fashion, whether it is on the writing craft, marketing, publishing, or growing as a person. Also, I really like interacting with people, so the workshops may be a form of reward if I meet some of the other goals below.

Books & Tutorials – 6
Writing Workshops – 2

Productivity is the buzzword for 2015. I’m gonna do it this year, or collapse into a disappointing heap under my writing desk. I want to write one short story per month and submit more frequently to professional markets. My goal would be to win Writers of the Future and have two other pro level publications, which would qualify my for SFWA membership. (Of course it isn’t a sure thing, but I have to make it a goal before I can achieve it.)

Short Stories Written – 12
Writers of the Future Winner – 1
Number of Professional Submissions – 24
Number of Professional Publications – 2

And that pesky novel… I’m finishing and publishing it this year. In fact, I’m going to publish two novels. If I give myself a year, I’ll look around in November and say “Holy crap, where did the time go?” Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Six months, done. So if I need to edit, beta read, edit, proofread, publish, then I’ve got 60 days to get the words on the page. 300 pages / 60 days x 250 words per page = 1,250 words per day.

Number of Outlines – 2
Number of Novels Started – 2
Novels Written – 2
Novels Published – 2

Words per day – 1250

Ready. Set. Write!!