Commit, commit!
My normal emails are, as you know, long and baggy. They tell jokes. They digress. Sometimes (goat folding – pah!) they have no practical purpose whatsoever. This email, born as it is, in the clarity and cold of a New Year’s Day, is short and to the point.
Friends, it is time to commit.
What do you want to achieve, as a writer, in the next six months?
That’s not a rhetorical question. I actually want you to answer me. I want you to tell me – tell the world – what your intentions are.
I don’t want answers that may be unachievable. So, yes, lots of you will want to say something like:
“By 1 July 2021, I want to get a six-figure deal from a Big Five house.”, or
“By 1 July 2021, I want three books self-published on Amazon and a monthly income of at least $2,500.”
And sure, lots of you will have aspirations like those. But I want commitments that definitely lie within your capability. If you don’t achieve the goal, I want that to be because you haven’t done what you said you would do.
Put another way, we’re not, today, in the business of lifting a prayer to the universe. We’re in the business of building a To Do list that we will systematically execute.
So the kind of things I want to hear from you might be things like:
“I will completely my current manuscript. I will self-edit it hard. I will get a third-party manuscript assessment (from Jericho Writers, obviously 😊). Then I will submit the work to at least 12 properly selected agents. I will have the book out on submission to those agents no later than 30 June 2021.”
A newer author might make a commitment more like this:
“I will read at least three books on writing. I will watch and absorb all of the Jericho Writers’ video course on How To Write. I will spend at least 7 hours a week on writing, every single week. I will write at least 50,000 words of my current project. I will get beta-readers to look at 2x chunks of the book. I will commit to offering feedback to at least 12 other writers, so I contribute my share to the community. I will do all this by 30 June 2021.”
Someone who’s heading for the sunlit Land of Self-Pub might say something like this:
“I will complete my manuscript. I will get editorial feedback on it, complete my edits, and get the whole thing copy-edited. I will select a cover designer, deliver a brief, and get a quality cover that I’m happy with. I’ll research my metadata and make the choices I need. I will write and produce a lead magnet that will act as the basis for my mailing list. I will do all this by 29 June 2021.” [Why the 29th? Because self-pubbers always work harder and faster than trad authors.]
OK. You get the picture. I’m after specific commitments by you, that lie within your power to execute in the next six months.
Yes, you can simply write those on a sheet of paper and glue it above your computer, but public commitments work better. I want you to enter the public square and make your commitments visible to all.
I’ll do the same. So please make your commitments right here on Townhouse. (If you’re not a member, then become one. It’s fast and free to do so.)
That’s it from me. I promised short. Here’s short:
Make your commitment.
Make it here on Townhouse.
Do it now.
On Friday 2 July, we’re all going to check back on your promises. See how we’ve done.
Onwards!
I’m so awe of all these comments. I’ll just put a little squeak up here. I will finish my first draft by end March 2021
I forced myself to write 1,000 words a day for 40 days to add to the 10,000 words it had taken me three years to write. Some days were really tough but it was so, so worth it.
Good luck!
I commit to finishing my first draft by June 😱🙏
I commit to finish editing my first draft by March and send it to a beta reader for comment. I will propel my work forward by writing at least 500 words a day.
I commit to finish the edit of my final draft and to submit it to 12 agents on 28th February.
I commit to finishing the first draft of my book by June 30, 2021
I commit to finishing my first draft by the end of 2021. This means I commit to finishing the first half by June 30, 2021.
I’ll commit to completing the first draft of my fantasy / fairy / ghost story by the end of March 2021. I’ve now mapped out the storyline for the second part, so that should be achievable. Then I’ll aim to get a good second draft completed and get it in a good enough shape to send for third-party manuscript assessment by end of June 2021.
Plus, I’ll watch and dip into the Jericho Writer’s video course on How to Write (making sure there is an adequate supply of chocolate biscuits available to me).
Finally, a commitment to having fun when writing. (If something isn’t fun, don’t do it.)
I commit to the following for myself:
– Writing for at least seven hours per week, even if just in my notebook.
– Thinking through plot issues and storyline bumps, without writing, for at least half an hour each day
– Completing first draft on my current WIP (Vol 1 of 2) by April, with the outline for Vol 2 fleshed out so foreshadowing can be drafted into Vol 1 in preparation
– Circulate Vol 1 to agents in May 2021
– To finally give the very patient William Belvoir his story entire, instead of it just sitting in my head.
For others in the writing community:
– To read and critique exerpts (up to 3,000 words) from at least four authors by July. Requests accepted, please PM me on Jericho (one slot already taken). My feedback is very direct, so please bear that in mind before requesting.
Thanks for the prompt Harry – probably just what I need! I commit to completing my first draft by July 1st and to start a self-edit with a view to sending for a Jericho appraisal. I will also volunteer to read and feedback on fellow J Writer’s manuscripts (at least 3-4 max 3k words).
I commit to the following:
– To share my work with peers (finding critique partners)
– To be an active member of writing community (read and comment other writers’ work)
– To finalise the first draft of a noir fiction novel
– To submit animated short film screenplay and podcast script to contests (the list is ready)
– To start querying (ok, this is the most challenging!)