Writing Goals for 2007

Captain’s Log, Supplemental



I considered cheating on my goals for this year, but decided I was being a wimp. So here they are:

Here are the goals required by my contract:

Book 3 in the series marketing info sheet due March 15th
Book 3 manuscript due June 1st
Book 1 substantive/line edits due sometime in Jan/Feb
Book 1 galleys due sometime after that
Book 2 macro edits due sometime in Spring?
Book 2 substantive/line edits due, I’m guessing in Summer.
Book 3 macro edits due sometime in October, I’m guessing

Dang, laid out like that, looks like I’ll be busy.

Here are my personal writing goals:

Long-term goals:
--Complete two manuscripts and a novella by December 31st, 2007 (I have to write the two manuscripts, but I’m trying to push myself and write a third project. I chose a novella since it’s easier than a full novel.)

Short-term goals:
--Write a short story this year (I keep putting it off because I’m such a perfectionist about it! I think I’ve got to get just the right plot, etc. before I start it. I’m such a geek. I need to just do it.)

--Keep up with my Story Sensei blog, posting short writing tips 3 times a week (I’m enjoying this a lot. Plus the posts are short—nice for me, but also nice for my readers who tend to like shorter reads on a blog)

--Update my website each month with something new (shouldn’t be a problem since I tend to have a monthly contest)

--Write in my blog at least once a week, but preferably everyday. Keep up with my weekly book giveaways. (I’m really enjoying promoting Christian fiction with my giveaways and blog guests)

Daily goals:
--Spend at four hours each day writing or researching for my ms, or 2000 words a day (This is going to be hard for me, but I need to be more disciplined!)

--Spend three hours each day in marketing, website, blogging, and learning craft. No more than an hour of blogging. (This is also going to be hard for me—blogging is so much fun. More fun than writing, sometimes.)

Project goals:
--Finish first manuscript by May 31st.
--Finish second manuscript by October 31st.
--Finish third manuscript by December 30th.

Learning goals:
--Read one book on writing each month.
--Read at least one article on writing each week.
(It helps to have a writing book and a writing magazine next to each toilet in the house. Otherwise, I don’t think I’d make time to keep learning more writing craft.)

Personal goals:
--Lose a jeans size (You knew this was coming, right?)
--Exercise 30 minutes at least 5 days a week (I really need the self-discipline to keep up with this. I mean, as a writer, I’m pretty sedentary.)
--Eat more vegetables, more fish, less fat (There has to be some more creative ways to do this without food tasting yucky, right? At least I figured out how to cook chicken breasts without overcooking them and having them turn out like cardboard.)

How about you guys? What are your goals for this year? Are you pushing yourself a little bit personally or professionally?

Blog book giveaway:
To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there.
My Monday book giveaway is Hell in a Briefcase by Phil Little with Brad Whittington
My Thursday book giveaway is A Girl’s Best Friend by Kristin Billerbeck.
You can still enter both giveaways. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for the Hell in a Briefcase and post the title for another book I'm giving away.

Win an iPod Nano! Exclusively for my newsletter YahooGroup subscribers, I have a huge contest running until January 31st! Get more info on my contest page!