Measurable Goals

There’s one thing I never realized about this whole writing thing until- embarrassingly enough- this year. Whether you’re doing the “get started writing” thing or the “begin to get published” thing or the “alternate/indy/new media publishing” thing or even the “established writer veteran,” there is one thing you absolutely must have:

Measurable goals.

Having a clear goal in mind when you start any project is vital to its success. And it’s something I have lacked.

Sure, when I start a project, I vaguely want to finish it. I want it to “sell” or “be a success” or “be popular.” But except for the goal of “finish what I started”- none of these are measurable goals. When will I know that my project has reached “success”?

So earlier this year I got a notebook and gave each project I’m working on its own page. I left most of the pages blank to make room for various ideas/to-dos to be completed later, but at the bottom of each page I listed a measurable goal. $X a month, Y listeners by Z date, etc. I find this helps me focus so much better on what I’m working on. Yes, I’m doing the same thing as before- writing, producing, etc. But now I know why.

Know when you want to finish that novel. Know when you want to send it out. Know when your agent hunt is going to start, and, possibly, stop. Know when you’re going to podcast or self-publish and how you’re going to market. I’m not saying you need this all laid out before you start, but you need something to work toward, something you can measure.

If you’re just starting out you need measurable goals as well. Think about how many words to write a week. Think about finishing a story by the end of the month. Think about submitting a story by the end of next month. Having a goal instead of “I think I’ll write a story” is a good way to push yourself to finish. Because one of the biggest problems with writing when you just start out is that no one else cares; I don’t mean you don’t have a support system, I mean that it’s not like your job in that you don’t have a manager giving you project specifications, milestones, etc. You will not suffer a consequence if you don’t finish that story. With goals, you will know what you need to do, and while still you don’t have another person waiting on you, you will at least have a more structured plan to work on as if someone had given you specifics.

I got some good outline info from my post on Monday, so I’ll be compiling them soon.

Writing prompt for June 17: It’s the crazy cat lady down the street’s birthday. What does one buy her?