Making A Goal, Making It Happen
Jenna Petersen
Well, it's that time of year again. Another New Year is bearing down upon us and I, like many of you, am thinking about making resolutions for 2003. Because of that, I think this is the perfect time to talk about setting goals, and how important it is for aspiring authors (and even published ones) to make goals and create plans to meet those goals. Mapping out where we want to go and how we want to get there is an important step in taking our writing seriously, and also a great way to stay on task as life continues to interrupt our best-laid plans. So here are my tips for setting goals and following through on the plans we make:
Set Realistic Goals: Often people set goals that are too broad, or too lofty. Then, when they can't or don't meet them, they end up dejected. This defeats the entire purpose of resolutions or career planning. But if we set goals that are realistic, they can be a road map to where we want to go. So as you sit down to write out your "writing resolutions" try to look at your long term plans with realism. How much time and brain power can you dedicate to writing each day? Take into account your situation at work, emergencies with your children, or that week-long vacation you plan to take in March. If you aren't sure of how much you can realistically write, make a test run for a couple of weeks. Chart how many pages or words you are writing each day. Take an average. Then ask yourself if you can keep that pace up regularly. There's no harm in pushing yourself, but don't overextend or you'll just be setting yourself up for a disappointment.
Set Specific Goals: Saying you want to work on a book is fine, but by breaking your goals down into specifics, you will chart a course to follow day-by-day and week-by-week. How many books do you want to write in a year and how will you get to that goal? Will you write a specific number of words a day or week? If you say a goal is to study your craft, how will you do it? Will you read some research books? Go to a conference and attend workshops on a specific area you feel you need work on? Attend RWA chapter meetings? Join RWA? The more specific and quantifiable you make your goals, the easier they will be to achieve.
Set Goals that are Meet-able: There are certain things that are completely out of our control, especially in the business of writing and publishing. Yes, it's easy enough to make a resolution to "get published", but at the end of the year you may find yourself looking at your list and feeling like you've failed if things don't go your way. So what about phrasing that goal in a different way? One that you can control. You could make your goal to continue pursuing publication by submitting query letters on a certain project to editors X, Y & Z. That's a goal you can work toward, and one you can quantify at the end of the day.
Do a Health Check on Your Goals: The beginning of the year isn't the only time you want to think about Resolutions. Checking up on your goals every three or six months is a good way to chart your progress and adjust to changing conditions. If you have set a goal to write two books in January and in June you've only written 100 pages on the first book, this might be a good time to join a BIAW challenge, up the number of pages you want to write each day, or even re-evaluate if your initial goal is realistic. No one says you can't change your goals if they aren't working. And sometimes good things have happened to change the kind of goals you need. If you started out the year talking about pursuing publication and then you get a contract, obviously you'll need to adjust to a different kind of career planning. So set a date on your calendar and re-evaluate your goals.
Buddy Up: A great way to keep on task with your goals is to set them with a friend. Emailing once a week about what you've done and what you plan to do over the next week can keep a fire lit beneath you. Plus, a friend will be a sounding board when things are bad and a cheering section when you've met a deadline.
Happy New Year! And may you meet your goals and beyond in the coming weeks and months!