I Have Big Plans for 2011

Big plans. Plans that scare me more than a little bit.
 
I set somewhat ambitious goals for myself for 2010. Set them in December. Got started in January. And pretty much imploded immediately.
 
I suffered a crisis of confidence. Or faith. Or whatever.
 
Throughout the late winter and early spring I (very slowly) pulled together a list of publishers to send The Girl Who Ran With Horses. Then I (very slowly) started sending out queries. I found the process so emotionally draining that it interfered with my writing. A big part of the sluggishness and emotional drain was that I thought/feared I was wasting my time. I had (and still have) complete faith in the book. It's a good book (a couple people I don't even know say so too). But I had no faith in my ability to convince an editor that they should buy it. The whole process seemed like a waste of time, paper and postage. And I guess that's how it turned out. I made a list of 19 publishers to query, but I only actually submitted to 9 of those. And from those 9, I have 7 rejections, mostly form rejections. On the other hand, I'm glad I gave it a shot. Submitting to publishers was a goal for 2010, and I went for it.
 
I got my act back together in the early summer, though, and wrote throughout the summer and fall and into early December. It helped me, mentally and emotionally, when I decided that I was going to go indie with my writing. Once I made that decision, I knew why I was writing (which has plagued me off and on since 2005). I had a new goal, and I liked it. That said, indie publishing has created a whole new distraction from writing. One that I need to get more fully under control.
 
All told, I wrote an estimated 110,000 words in 2010, divided up between 13 short stories and 2 incomplete novels. That's not dreadful for a part-time writer, but it's far short of my goal for the year.
 
On the indie publishing side, I released 2 novels, 2 collections of flash fiction, and 2 short stories.
 
I didn't foresee 2010 going the way it has gone. But except for my low word count, I'm OK with the year as a whole. I've continued to experiment with my writing and storytelling. I've learned a lot about indie publishing and marketing. And I've even sold a few copies of my books.
 
So, yeah, I didn't hit my writing goals for 2010. But I had fun (mostly) and learned a lot.
 
For 2011, I've decided to double down. I have the opportunity to make writing and indie publishing my full time focus for 2011. It only makes sense to seize that opportunity and go for it.
 
I have 2 main writing goals for 2011:

Write 20,000 words per week.
Complete 6 novels by the end of the year.

 
If I hit the first goal, the second is easy.
 
Further, I plan to alternate writing young adult/tween novels with *not* YA/Tween novels. I liked it when my daughter read The Girl Who Ran With Horses. I want more of that.
 
I've decided not to set a word per day goal this year. Instead, I'm focusing on weekly production. One reason I'm doing this is that I expect to put off my publishing and marketing tasks for the week until after I've hit my 20K words. Otherwise, I tend to let marketing (and checking my sales) become an impediment. I need new novels completed more than I need another review or two lined up, and definitely more than I need to know if sold a copy or three today.
 
For 2011, I have separated my publishing goals from my writing goals. My writing goals are purely concerned with putting words down on paper one after the other until I reach "The End" of novel after novel. My publishing goals are secondary, concerned with putting all those words to proper use.
 
My publishing goals for 2011 are :

Publish my current outstanding "backlist" projects (1 novella, 2 collections, and [maybe] a novel).
Publish new novel manuscripts within 6 months of completing the first draft.
Publish new short stories within 3 months of completing the first draft.

 
I've come up with some "target sales numbers", as well. Those aren't goals, though, because I have no real control over sales. If/when I hit the first target, I'll set my sights on the next target, and so on. I'm going to check my sales more often than I should. That's a given. So it makes sense to have some kind of context for the numbers I see. My first target sales number is $250 in royalties per month. At that point, my "business" of writing and publishing becomes largely self-sustaining (and stops costs me out-of-pocket money). I came up with $250/month because it seems to cost about $500 to get a POD+ebook novel ready to go (cover, proofs, etc), and I want to release a new novel or collection every 2 months.
 
Are my goals for 2011 aggressive? Yes, they are. Agressive enough to scare me and excite me. This time I'm not trying to fit my writing into my normal schedule. No, this time I'm upending my schedule, rearranging it to make my writing the Most Important Thing. I haven't so completely rearranged my day-to-day routine since I quit-and-went-home to self-employed status nearly 12 years ago.
 
Monday morning, 3 January 2011, I start. It almost feels like I'm starting a new job. I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm scared. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can accomplish. Overall, It's a good feeling.
 
Happy writing!
 
-David