Wishing and Hoping
It’s that time of year again and many of us are setting new goals, making new resolutions, and turning over new leaves. [Hmmm…can I think of anymore clichés to use here?] And that’s a good thing, right? But are those “goals” I’m setting truly goals, or am I just wishing and hoping?
Goals are measureable. For us writers that means goals involve something measureable like time, money, dates, repetitions or word counts. Saying that I will write more than I did last year is measureable only if I actually kept track last year, and keep track this year, on a calendar, journal, or spreadsheet. Simply using the generic “more” goal isn’t really a goal at all.
Goals are specific. Establishing specifics by which I can measure my progress toward my goals actually increases my desire to meet those goals, and the probability that I’ll succeed. Being specific with my goals also makes it easier for me to measure my progress and be inspired to keep reaching for those goals. Those same specifics will also hold me acutely accountable to my biggest critic—myself.
Goals are attainable. That doesn’t mean that they are easy—oh, no. I need to set goals that I can conceivably reach with some extra effort. Determining that I’ll see six of my magazine articles in print this year might be attainable, or it might not. To accomplish that I’ll need to set other goals such as the number of articles I’ll write, and the number of submissions I’ll send off. But many factors that are out of my control influence publication. So I need to think long and hard, and pray for wisdom to set goals that are primarily affected by my efforts, not factors beyond my control.
Goals are challenging. It might make me feel great for a while if I set goals so low that I easily reach them. But that feeling won’t last long. Real satisfaction and subsequent motivation come from stretching to reach goals, and succeeding! Goals that require me to work a little harder than I want, and to do just a tad more than I think I can, will keep me on the track to success—to accomplishing my goals.
Goals are applicable. Setting goals for word counts, the number of submissions or acceptances, hours spent at the computer, writing courses or conferences (like Write2Ignite!) attended are all countable, measureable goals. But how about other aspects of being a writer such as improving my skills? How can I apply goal-setting to word-wrangling? To creating convincing proposals or queries? To finding my voice? How can I measure progress in my skills?
To do that I need to rely on other people’s responses to the words I pen—people I respect like critique partners, editors, agents, and other writers. And to get their reactions I have to make myself vulnerable by sharing my manuscripts and asking for their input.
What about goals for changes in my attitudes, character, or habits? How can I me
By: Mayra Calvani,
on 9/20/2009
Blog: Mayra's Secret Bookcase (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: writing tips, Suzanne Lieurance, writing goals, tips for writers, how to organize a critique writing critique group, novel writing for kids, Add a tag
Most everyone wants to write a book - some day.
But that's the catch.
Instead of writing it NOW, they plan to write their book some day. Some time in the distant future - because as long as the plan is for the future, it's a nice, safe PLAN.
The trouble is, it isn't EVER more than a plan until you start writing.
So, why haven't you written your book if you've been planning to write one for years now?
Well, here are a few possible reasons. See which ones sound familiar to you.
1. You have no idea HOW to get started. You wonder if you even KNOW enough about your subject to write a complete book.
2. You've collected all sorts of information for your book - notes you've written, quotes from experts, etc. - but now you don't know what to do with it all.
3. You THINK you don't have time to write the book right now since you can't devote large chunks of time to working on it.
4. You're not sure how to structure your book. Should it have sections or chapters? How many chapters should it be? How many pages? Should it include sidebars of information? Charts? Graphs?
5. You don't think you can explain things clearly enough to readers. How do you make your message simple and easy to understand?
6. You can't seem to get motivated to write and then STAY motivated to continue writing. This is particularly true if you've started your book but just can't seem to move forward with it.
7. You have trouble with grammar, punctuation, and maybe even spelling, and you get frustrated when you make so many mistakes.
8. You're not completely sure what a book would do for you - especially if you have to shell out your own money to get it edited, formatted, and published. Why spend money on all that? Will it be worth it?
9. You can't figure out whether you need to write a book proposal and try to find a traditional publisher for your book or write the book and then self-publish it.
10. It all seems so overwhelming when you realize you will also have to market the book once it's written and published. Book signings sound like fun. But you really don't want to have to CALL bookstores yourself to set up these kinds of things.
Any - or ALL - of this sound familiar?
Don't worry. Each of these reasons for NOT writing a book is little more than an excuse for not getting the help you need to move forward with your book. Fortunately, there are ways to overcome each of these excuses.
First, look at local bookstores, or online at amazon.com, for books that outline the book writing process. A great how-to book just might be enough to help you overcome your excuses for not writing your own book.
If you need more help overcoming all the excuses for NOT writing your book, sign up for a book writing course or hire a writing coach to help you.
Finally, if you just CAN'T seem to get your book written yourself, hire a ghostwriter to write the book for you.
The point is, you just need to get your book written, no matter what it takes to overcome all the excuses that are keeping you from getting your book out there on the market.
For more tips to get your book written and published, subscribe to Build Your Business Write, a twice weekly newsletter, at http://www.fearlessfreelancewriting.com
Read more articles about the book writing process at http://www.buildyourbusinesswrite.com
Blog: Day By Day Writer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Writing, Inspiration, Motivation, writing goals, writing a novel, staying motivated, Add a tag
- Current word count: 35,826
- New words written: 539
- Words til goal: 4,174 / 188 words a day til the end of September
I’m almost at the end of this novel, and it’s exciting. In the chapter I just started, a bunch of questions from earlier will be answered; it’s an ah ha moment. Then I have the climactic battle chapter and the wrap-up chapter and it’s done.
I’m a list person. When I have a lot of things to do, I like to write lists and get the satisfaction of crossing items off when they’re done. So, for me, one of the things that I think has really motivated me the most during the writing of this novel is the word counts I’ve been putting at the top of each blog post. After each writing session, I’m itching to be able to cross off what I did that morning, so to speak.
And lately, one of the biggest motivations for me has been seeing the “words a day til the end of September” number going down. This is how many words I have to write each day to make my goal of finishing the novel by the end of September. It’s the “words til goal” number (my goal being 40K) divided by the number of days left until the end of September (a date I aimed for after being imspired by other bloggers aiming for the same date). Today is the first day that number is less than 200.
Each day that I write more than my necessary goal, the lower that “words a day til the end of September” number gets and the more of a reality it becomes that I will make — or even exceed — my goal. I’m now hoping I’ll be finished the book by the end of this week, but this week could be busy, so I’m not sure I’ll achieve that. We’ll see. I’m still way ahead for my end of September goal, and that keeps me motivated.
I think making goals like this is a great way to keep yourself accountable with your writing, but make sure the goals are doable, and keep long-term goals and short-term, even every day goals like this. Each day that you achieve your daily goal will make you feel good and hungry to achieve another one. Before you know it, you’ll have finished another novel.
What are your short- and long-term goals?
Write On!
Blog: Day By Day Writer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, Writing, conference, The Break-Up Diet, Annette Fix, writing goals, community story, Add a tag
Wow, the week passes fast.
It’s Monday again, so it’s time for the Community Story. But first a little update. At the beginning of last week, I was ahead on my writing goal of revising six chapters a week and feeling really good. The end of the week got hectic, however, and I ended Sunday a chapter short (although I had started working on my sixth chapter). This morning I got up early and, I think, figured out how to fix my boring chapter beginning, so I’m back on a roll, and plan to do six chapters this week — preferably seven as I was short last week.
Also, on Saturday, I went to the Houston chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Editor’s Day, and I can report it was fabulous. Five editors, great access, candid conversations. I’ll be posting about that later this week. But for now, I’ll say I still feel on a high from it.
Oh, also, we have another interview with a debut author on Day By Day Writer tomorrow. Annette Fix, author of The Break-Up Diet, will stop by on her blog tour and give us some insight into her experiences with self-publishing, a hot topic and a choice that is being explored more and more by authors these days. So stop by for that one.
Now on to this week’s installment of our Community Story. It’s still not too long, so I’ve posted everything we’ve got so far, plus my new addition at the bottom. Leave a post saying what you think the next sentence or paragraph should be:
Bonnie’s eyes flickered open as she laid on her back looking up at the sky. She caught a brief glimpse of a person moving away from a ledge 30 feet above her. Slightly dazed, she was not sure if she had fallen or been pushed, but what she did know was that her back was hurt and her head was throbbing from her fall. She lifted her right hand to her head. Wet. She was bleeding, and it didn’t feel like a cut that could be patched up with a Band Aid. It would have to wait, though. She could hear footsteps, and they were getting closer and more urgent.
Wincing against the pain that now radiated from her back as well as her head, Bonnie eased herself up to a sitting position and surveyed her surroundings. She had landed on a patch of soft grass nestled between two rock faces, and to her right was what looked like a drop off. She tried to stand, careful not to make any noise. But as her elbow buckled in pain, her hand knocked a small rock over the edge. She froze, waiting for the sound of the crash to alert the other people. But when no noise came, she looked over the edge and her head began to spin. The drop off was at least a hundred feet, ending in white caps of a rushing river.
Something hit the back of Bonnie’s head and she looked up. A rope had been thrown down from the ledge above her and a head was peering over the side. Panic rushed into Bonnie’s mind. “Climb up!” The head from above was shouting at her. But Bonnie didn’t know what to do. Was the head friend or foe? And really, what other choices did she have?
She grabbed the twisted rope and as she did, a FLASH popped into her mind. Wind rushed into her ears as she flew from the green Cadillac. Two quick glimpses of sky and earth and her face crunched against the rocky Tennessee soil.
That’s right. She had been in a car crash. No, not a crash, she remembered. She had jumped out of the car while it was still moving. But why would she do that? Or was she pushed? “Climb up!” the voice above her insisted again. Bonnie wished she could remember more.
The footsteps around the ledge were closer now and accompanied by shouts in a language Bonnie didn’t understand. She couldn’t see who owned the voices, but something told her they weren’t friendly. She wasn’t sure about the head above her either, but, as she looked over the hundred feet drop-off at the edge of her ridge, she knew she didn’t have much choice. She was going to have to trust someone — at least for now. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the rope and began to pull.
Every muscle in her body ached as she dragged herself up the mountainside to the ledge above. She could see the head disappearing then appearing again. As she got closer, Bonnie realized there was concern in the person’s eyes. But still, she told herself, that doesn’t mean she can trust them. As her left hand reached for the edge of the ledge, her right hand balled into a fist, ready to strike as soon as she was on steady ground.
All right! The next part is up to you! Post a message and say what you think will happen next. Who is this mystery head? You let us know. Your contributions will be included in the full story next Monday.
Write On!
By: Justine Larbalestier,
on 12/30/2008
Blog: Justine Larbalestier (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Vainglory, Sydney/Australia, Sport, young adult literature, State of the World, New York City/USA, Writing & Publishing, Next novel, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Business of publishing, Writing goals, First Kiss, Love is Hell, Last Day of the Year, Add a tag
Yup, it’s my annual what-I-did-this-year skiting post. I write these mostly for myself so I can easily keep track. Hence the last day of the year category. Thus you are absolutely free to skip it.1
This year was exceptional. I’m still pinching myself. My first Bloomsbury USA book, How To Ditch Your Fairy, was published and seems to be doing well. I was sent on my first book tour, which was fabulous. It’s insane how much fun I had and how many fabulous schools, book shops and libraries I visited in California, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Thank you to everyone who came to see me while I was on the road. It was a blast getting to meet you all! I loved hearing what fairies you all have!
Now this is going to sound like the acknowledgments page but bear with me cause I thanked my fabulous editor, Melanie Cecka in print, but not the wonderful publicity and sales and marketing folks because, well, I didn’t know them back then. Deb Shapiro is the best and funniest publicist I’ve ever worked with, Beth Eller is a genius of marketing, and all the sales reps who’ve been flogging the fairy book mercilessly across the USA are too fabulous for words. Extra special thanks to Anne Hellman, Kevin Peters, and Melissa Weisberg.
HTDYF also sold (along with the liar book) to Allen & Unwin in Australia. This is a huge deal because it’s the first time I’ve had a multi-book deal in Australia and A&U publishes many of the best writers in Australia, including Margo Lanagan, Garth Nix, Penni Russon and Lili Wilkinson. My editor and publisher, Jodie Webster, is a joy to work with. So’s Sarah Tran and Erica Wagner and Hilary Reynolds and everyone else on the Alien Onion team. Bless!
Both Bloomsbury and A&U seem even more excited about the liar book than they were about HTDYF. Which is a huge relief to me because, um, it is not the most obvious follow-up to the fairy book. Older, darker, scarier, completely different. Stuff like that. Here’s hoping that not too long into the new year I’ll be sharing the title, the cover, a sneak preview, and other such fabulous things.
The fairy book also sold in Germany to Bertelsmann, who published the Magic or Madness trilogy there and gave it the best covers ever. It was awesome getting to meet the two Suzannes: Krebs and Stark in Bologna. Thank you for believing in my book so strongly that you bought it when it was still in manuscript. I still can’t quite believe it.
Speaking of the trilogy it sold in Korea to Chungeorahm Publishing, which means it’s now published in ten different countries and eight different languages. All of it Whitney Lee’s doing. It’s astonishing to me how well the trilogy is doing more than three years after first publication. Fingers crossed that will continue.
I also had two short stories published. A rarity for me. My last short story was published back in 2004. These two were the first I’d written since then. Short stories are not my thing. They’re so much harder to write than a novel. ““Pashin’ or The Worst Kiss Ever” appeared in First Kiss (Then Tell): A Collection of True Lip-Locked Moments edited by Cylin Busby and was universally declared to be the grossest story ever. “Thinner Than Water” is in Love is Hell edited by Farrin Jacobs. I’m proud of them both for very different reasons. But don’t expect any more. Writing short stories hurt my brain.
Last year I was wise and only aimed to write one novel in 2008. Just as well because that’s all I did this year no stories, no articles, nothing else. I wrote the liar book and began the 1930s book. It’s very clear that I’m a one-book-a-year girl.
I also mentioned in that one-year-ago post that I had three sekrit projects. The first is no longer a secret: the Zombie Versus Unicorn anthology that I’m editing with Holly Black, which marks the first time I’ve edited original fiction. Am I excited? Why, yes, I am. It will be out from Simon & Schuster in 2010 and we’ll be announcing our insanely excellent line up of authors in the new year. Truly, you will die at how great our writers are.
One of the other sekrit projects morphed into a solo project (the 1930s book) and I’m still hoping that the last of the sekrit projects will go ahead some time next year. Here’s looking at you co-conspirator of my last remaining sekrit project! You know who you are.
Next year will be taken up with writing the 1930s book and editing the Zombie v Unicorn antho. The 1930s book is the biggest most ambitious book I’ve tried to write since my very first novel set in ancient Cambodia. I’m loving the researching and writing. Immersing myself in another era is the most fun ever! I think my next ten books will all be set in the 1930s.
My 2009 publications. This is a WAY shorter list than last year:
-
September: the liar novel for Bloomsbury USA.
October: the liar novel for Allen & Unwin.
Yup, just the one novel from me. Sorry! You should also get hold of Cassandra Clare’s City of Glass when it comes out. It’s the final book of the City of Bones trilogy and the best of the three. I read it in one sitting on my computer.2 Then later in the year there’s Robin Wasserman’s sequel to Skinned. You know you want it! Yet another book I read in one go. Also on my computer. Think how much better it will be between actual covers.
Then there’s the three YA debuts I’ve been talking about by Peterfreund, Rees Brennan and Ryan. If you read no other books in 2009 make sure you read those three. I’m also dying to read the sequel to Kathleen Duey’s Skin Hunger, which was my favourite book of 2007.
Last, but not least, the old man has his first novel in two years, Leviathan. Fully illustrated by the fabulous artist Keith Thompson and better than anything else Scott’s ever written. I’m so proud of him and of this book. You’ll all love it. Seriously, it’s worth the price just for the endpapers!
I travelled way too much this year. Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the UK, France, Canada, all over the USA, and home to Australia. Again. Looks like the same for next year. I have no idea what to do about that. I guess when you try to live in two different countries at the same time that’s the price. Oh, and lots and lots of offsets. We try to be good.
This is where I usually say that I think the coming year’s going to be fabulous. But this year I’m not sure. The economic news back in the United States has been dire. Friends have lost their jobs, their editor, their imprint. It’s scary in publishing right now and it’s even scarier in many other industries. I really hope good governance in the USA will make a difference world wide. But I just don’t know. I had great hopes for the Rudd government and here he is botching the fight against climate change and trying to put up a filter for the internet in Australia. Ridiculous. Surely Obama’s government will not be so stupid.
Here’s hoping 2009 will see a return to sanity all around the world, but especially here in Australia.
Happy new year!
- I would if I were you.
- Actually I was lying in bed. Whatever.
By: Alice Pope,
on 1/16/2008
Blog: Alice's CWIM blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: the F-word, Lifebouy, Newbery, Susan Patron, The Higher Power of Lucky, scrotum, Lifebouy, the F-word, Add a tag
The Power of (Certain) Words...
Sunday morning my son, who is 3-and-a-half, dropped the F-bomb. Yep. Out the F-word came from his innocent little mouth. Twice. Do they still make Lifebouy soap? thought I. Crap--I hope he never says that in front of my mother. Or at preschool.
My husband was witness to this. After a What did you say? to confirm, he asked Murray where he heard That Word. "From you," he said to his dad (AHA! I KNEW IT!), "And my mommy."
Um--I don't think so! It couldn't have been me! I don't say it much. (And if I do, it's more likely I'll say it at the office, and even then, under by breath.) But if not us, then who? He's only got basic cable in his room. All his DVDs are rated G. He hasn't seen our potty-mouthed friend Jerry since summertime. We must be the guilty party. What a proud moment in parenting!
And how do you explain to a kid his age just why that's not a nice word to say? Why can one little word can have so much power? The F-word. Scrotum.
The fact that's it's ALA awards time, along with the fact that my son suddenly curses like a sailor, reminded me of the whole The Higher Power of Lucky/Newbery/scrotum controversy happening around this time last year. Based on my quick BookScan check, Susan Patron's Newbery winner seems to be selling just fine, controversy or not. At home, I haven't gotten Murray to use the s-word when discussing his anatomy, but these days I'm not sure if it would be preferable to the daddy-taught terms he currently uses. I suppose I should go Google Lifebouy. Just in case.
[...] today is our fearless leader, Jean Matthew Hall! Scoot on over to Fire It Up and check out her post. (She’s also the lady you’ll be sending your scholarship essays to! [...]
Here’s to goal setting and keeping the goals we set! Cheers! Jean, I liked the emphasis on stretching. That made me think of warm-up exercises. Reading blogs and commenting is a good warm-up exercise. It helps keep us motivated and connected to fellow writers.
Linda A.
Oh, Jean! What a fabulous post! Inspiring, uplifting, instructional—PERFECT. You’re on fire!
In His Love,
Sheryl