Crossroads
It’s coming on to the end of the year, which is when I usually sit down and consider my goal list: what have I accomplished? What do I want to accomplish next year?
Before I was published, “getting published” was the big, shining goal. I didn’t really think about after that. So imagine my shock when I sold my first short story and I realized I had to do it all over again. I came closer to quitting after I got published than I ever did before. Why? I made the mistake of thinking the business was going to get easier. But even after selling that story, I still had to write every day, I still faced rejection, I still hadn’t published a novel, and so on.
I had to find new goals, new benchmarks, new coping strategies, and even a whole new attitude. I find myself reassessing where I’ve been and where I’m going on a fairly regular basis.
So, you’d think seven books into a series, with a young adult novel on the way and a stand-alone novel on deck, the whole system would start taking care of itself and I could start to relax. Nope. I’m always learning. I’ve had to learn to say no, which is a big deal, because I remember so vividly where every short story sale was a big deal and the thought of someone actually asking for a story was too fantastical to consider. But after completely overbooking myself on short stories for various anthologies this year, I put my foot down. No, I can’t write it all. I have to save my yeses for the projects I’m really excited about.
Here’s another one: I realized last month that I hadn’t written anything “for fun” this year. That is, something that wasn’t already under contract, whether a novel, anthology invitation, etc. I think a big part of staying fresh and creative is letting the business side go and just writing. For fun, whatever, etc. (For example, last year I wrote a Firefly fanfic — completely for fun, and I had a blast doing it.) That gives us a chance to be crazy, to be uncommercial, to experiment, and so on. I decided I needed that. I also decided I needed to answer a question: What would I work on if all my deadlines went away right now? If all of my current projects magically finished themselves, what would I pick up next? That’s a great exercise. It made me list all of my nebulous ideas and think about which ones I was most excited about. It got me out of the rut of thinking of all the things I have to do. The bonus? The next time I have to write up some proposals, or someone needs a story from me right now, I have lots of ideas brewing.
My early goals were things like: Send a story out every week, write a new story every month, and so on. That was all about getting my work out there, getting published, building momentum. But I’m in a different place now. So, some of my current goals: Plan ahead so I can meet my deadlines, write something fun once in a while, don’t be afraid to say no, and don’t compare myself and my career to others. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in this business is that it never gets easier. You trade one set of challenges for another, and situations are always changing. That’s why it’s important to always be thinking about your goals and what you need to do to accomplish them.
What are some of your writing goals for the new year? How have your goals changed over time? How often do you reassess?
Great post! Thanks for being our guest today.
I reassessed last night — power outages do that to you. lol My reassessment actually made me feel better about what I’m writing, that I’m on the right track.
As for doing something “just for fun,” I was putting stuff in a closet to make room for holiday cards, and found a child’s story I’d forgotten about. It’s a Christmas story! I’m pretty sure I didn’t send it to anyone. I don’t even know the market.
I’m going to send it to a friend who is targeting middle grade. I think my story is for younger children, but she could tell me if it’s publishable.
Great post and that is a fabulous book cover!!! Thank you so much for bringing up writing for “fun”–I need to do that, and now that’s a goal for me.
So glad you joined us at Magical, Carrie! I love reassessing and doing the internal musings that keep writers on an even keel. One thing that’s been a constant in my life is that I write for me first. I figure if a story goes out without the Love, a reader is going to sense that too.
My goals for the New Year are to finish my WIP. Also to spend time targeting my next story, and daydreaming about the possibilities. As long as I’m moving forward, I figure the compass is working.
Thank you all for inviting me! I love visiting blogs and chatting.
I’ve been a dedicated goal-setter for a very long time. Since I was a teenager. (Then, the goals were pretty easy — get out of high school with my sanity intact!) What’s been interesting lately is not having the well-defined milestones determine my goals. I have to really think about what I want to accomplish now.
And you’re right, you need those milestones to keep moving forward!
Been thinkin’ on goals, Carrie. Normally I don’t set goals … can’t stand the thought of disappointing myself.
But this year I think I will set a few for myself.
- Acquire an agent.
- Acquire an editor.
- Finish the UF I just started writing
- Finish a third book for Samhain.
- Peddle my two finished (and polished) books.
Nothing too lofty.
Oh yeah … and achieve world peace while I’m at it.
Thanx for joining us here at MM, Carrie. Love the post.
One of the tricks with setting goals is to make sure they’re things you actually have control over. Like, “Sell my novel” isn’t a good goal because you don’t really have control over it — there are too many other factors at play.
But, “Submit my novel to at least 10 publishers/agents/etc. by the end of the year” is a very realistic goal.
That way, you don’t disappoint yourself by not accomplishing the goals you don’t really have control over.
So my goal of world peace is unrealistic and beyond my control? Drat.
I know what you mean about goals that are acheivable (is that a word?). I’ll re-work my list. To me setting goals are sorta like New Year resolutions. I generally don’t make them because I never know what the year is going to bring. Constant change is the only guaranty. Writing-wise, 2009 was pretty much a wash for me. Circumstances made it difficult for me to be creative. As a result, I concentrated on revising the two books I had done. Gotta roll with the punches.
Interesting you should blog about this. I’ve spent the last few weeks reassessing my goals for the coming year. One of them is to get started on a sequel to my latest UF release, force my workaholic butt to take a day off without any regrets, and get both a new UF and my paranormal YA into the hands of a couple of editors.
For a fun goal, I really want to master the art of writing a short story. I suck at it, but at the same time I can see the potential in them.