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 commit to:
– sit down and work on my novel for at least 30 minutes, five days a week
– complete a tutorial on how to use Scrivener
– seek feedback on my work, and provide feedback to at least five other writers
– watch the JW ’How to Write’ video course
– write at least 25k words of my novel
I will do this by 30 June 2021.
I will follow up on the self-publishing of my first novel by completing the first draft of my second MS by 30 April. I will have the second draft completed by 30 June whereby the MS will be ready to be sent for an assessment by Jericho Writers.
I will write the second reader magnet for my email Readers Club and distribute it.
I will learn about Kindle Countdown deals and enrol my currently published novel by 30 Jan.
I will offer to critique the MS opening chapters (up to 15,000 words) of four Jericho Writer’s authors, in the broad genre of ‘small L contemporary literary’, with the intent of offering constructive criticism to help towards the creation of a novel the authors will be proud to put their name on (as this is my own goal).
Thanks everyone.
Right, first and foremost, I’m going to really try and stick to getting 500 words down on the page every single day until I’ve finished my first draft. I started planning this first novel of mine in the spring when we went into lockdown and then actually started expanding my outline into fuller sentences in September and I’m now at 33K words. So, if I manage to finish the first draft by the Spring I’ll be super pleased! Can’t really think any further than that for now, I’m afraid! I really want to try to be a bit more ‘present’ here, give feedback, do more research, training, watching videos, etc. We’ll see – only time will tell! (Sorry about the clichè, folks!)
My goals for 30 June 2021:
Afternoon Harry,
My goals for this year.
1. Positively accept the comments from Morwenna on c. 21st Jan, when she reviews my manuscript.
2. Put the whole thing to one side for a week.
3. Break my dry January
4. Assuming she hasn’t told me to quit (which was one of my questions).
either 4a) Re-write the manuscript by 31 March and send to 10 agents by 10 April.
or 4b) Tweak manuscript and self publish as per the David Gaughan method; target 1st April.
5. Change my name and move to Mongolia. Lockdown permitting.
This is slightly tricky as my MS is out on submission to agents at the moment, so the ideal scenario would be that by 30th June 2021 I’ll have taken up an offer of representation and be working with them on readying it for submission to publishers!
However, assuming that they all pass on it I’ll seek yet more feedback, from Townhouse and others, on the submission package, with a view to submitting to another batch of agents by 30th June. At the same time, I’ll continue to work on the sequel with the aim of completing draft 3 and seeking beta feedback on this from my critique partner and hopefully others.
I’ll also work my way through Jericho’s self-publishing material – and I know there’s a programme planned for this in April which I’ll be following – so that if the trad publishing route fails I’m not going to be left staring into the abyss come July. (Before anyone says anything, I know that self-pub shouldn’t be seen as a back-up plan if the trad route fails. I don’t see it that way, but my MS is a children’s middle-grade novel, and all the received wisdom says ‘don’t do self-pub for children’s books’. Hence I’ve followed the trad route. However, a recent Townhouse conversation has alerted me to the fact that people can and do self-pub children’s books, and have had a measure of success in doing so – particularly when they have a series rather than a standalone. So, if the choice is between my MS and the series it begins never seeing the light of day, or being published for a small but appreciative audience and me getting little more than a few pence for it, then I will gladly take the latter. Although obviously, more than a few pence would be nice! Right, rant over.)
The other thing I’m going to try to do more of this year generally (not just the first 6 months) is give constructive feedback to fellow writers, just because it’s a good thing to do.
I shall attempt to keep this short and sweet. If I manage it, that will be a first!
I have finished the first draft of my novel. Therefore my goals are:
1 – Get feedback from several people to make sure the novel reads well, is enjoyable, and that there are no glaring plotholes.
2 – Edit based on feedback above
3 – Polish my query letter and synopsis until they are shinier than the Tiffany Diamond
4 – Submit aforementioned shiny things, along with my first 3 chapters (also shiny) to agents
5 – Keep everything crossed and DON’T PANIC! (I know where my towel is)
6 – Start/continue writing Book 2
7 – continue drinking copious amounts of coffee during the day, switching to wine/gin/single malt in the evening
8 – Try to befriend other writers, and offer feedback on their work, as others have so generously been doing on here
9 – Find time to sleep
10 – Get a deal!
I am fairly confident on points 1, 2, 3 and 7. Beyond that, we shall see.
Hi all,
harrybingham thank you for this initiative.
1. Write a proposal for a non-fiction book (on democracy) following the guidelines outlined in Jericho Writers’ / Harry Bingham’s book (about 10,000 words).
2. Send the proposal to at least 6 relevant literary agents.
3. Read and implement the recommendations in the book on publishing by Jericho Writers.
4. Complete and implement lessons learned from the courses on traditional and self-publishing by Jericho Writers.
5. Continue writing in my blog (Lifestyle Democracy) on a weekly basis, averaging about 7 hours a week of writing.
6. Create about 60,000 words of relevant content for the book from the various relevant blog posts.
7. Secure a book deal based on the proposal :)!
Having had my MS assessed by a Jericho assessor, a few weeks ago, I am working my way through the work to be done – which is major! The assessment was well worth the money and most of the criticism and comments I agreed with (some of them somewhat grudgingly).
I felt my assessor was very encouraging and praised where it was due and, although there is a lot of work to be done, not least of which is ‘losing 35,000 words, my aim is that by July 1st it will be finished and good enough for publication by a publishing house!
Hi. I’ve recently joined Jericho Writers and this is my first post on Townhouse.
Putting an intention into writing makes it more real, so here goes:
1. I am at the stage of seeking representation for a 96,000 word debut novel for adults (magical realism with a crossover into fantasy), and before Christmas sent a batch of query letters to agents. By 30th June 2021 my objectives are one of the following (or a combination):
a. Obtain representation from a literary agent.
b. If I am having a limited response to (a), I will consider getting a MS assessment and will implement proposed changes.
c. If I have paid for a MS Assessment and made changes, I will make the decision by 30th June 2021 either to have continued pursuing representation from a literary agent or I will take the first steps towards going down a self publishing route.
2. My other live project is a fantasy book for children (middle grade). By 30th June 2021 I plan to finish the first draft and a first edit (I expect it to be under 40,000 words).