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!
Major goal: finish my WIP and have it edited by June 30, 2021
Actionable steps:
– spend 1 hr/day on my book
– participate in an editing course (editing seems more daunting than writing the actual book!)
– agent call for feedback and direction
– I will get beta readers to look at at least 2 chunks of the book (and will also provide feedback to other writers)
– BONUS: if I have the funds, I will look into third party manuscript feedback.
I do contemporary lit fiction. I was well into a tragicomic novel about choral music (yeah, niche) and separation, when pandemic hit and made us singers feel like criminals. I’ve finally accepted I MUST write the pandemic into it – in fact it underscores everything I wanted to investigate. I just hated it so much I didn’t want to go there.
I’m going to be a big strong grownup and by the summer solstice I’ll have finished the first draft. HAAAAA llelujah!!!!!!!!!!!
By the 30th of June, I will have completed the manuscript for my fourth novel and organised a cover appropriate for its content and niche. I will have assembled and conducted my first marketing campaign to generate interest in my first three novels. My first book trailer will be created and shared. I will finish my follow-up reader magnet and send it to my mailing list.
My commitments for the following 6 months :
1. Write 500 words a day.
2. Stop the self-doubting and believe in myself and the story I want to tell.
3. Use the tools and support that being a member of JW gives me.
4. Have my story finished by 11th May 2021 (The day I turn 60)
That’s it. My commitments are out there!
Finishing my third (and hopefully final author edit) on my novel–13 months in the making. By the end of January I hope to have it doing the rounds of agents–which, being Australian, is a bit different than, say, in the US where you can send it out to multiple agents at one time. Here, they’re a bit more picky… Any other Aus writers on the forum?
Another Australian here, Robyn, though I’ve given up on the traditional publishing route. There seems to be a lot to recommend self-publishing, so that’s been my life over the last eight months – after eighteen months constructing my first novel. Nice to meet you!
Thank you, Harry, for the challenge. I commit to conquering my fear of failure with planned, sustained effort—writing five hours a week, reversing my pantser tendency with serious outlining, and engaging in this community I’ve joined by asking for help and offering feedback. I need to finish this novel by June…I will finish this novel by June.
I hear you Mary! I’m also a pantser and have come to realise that I can’t mess with that too much otherwise it kills my writing vibe. Getting actionable steps down with deadline dates may help- that’s the approach I’m trying this year. I worked in project management for years but never applied it to my writing….how hard can it be?! Ha! Good luck, you WILL succeed and finish your novel 🙂
Ah, I’m not alone—thanks, Teresa! I like your approach—and the phrase “actionable steps”!!
My realistic commitment as a writer isn’t grand. It might not be much, but I am going to finish editing my current manuscript. And, it will be with the help of the professional advice I got from Jericho Writers. (Thank you) I will find some beta readers for it as well (my goodness, I hope so) and it will be completed before the first half of this year. Now. To do all the above!
I will complete my current manuscript by March 31, 20201. I will self-edit and get feedback from local writer friends. Then get a third-party manuscript assessment hopefully from Jericho Writers. Then I will submit the work to at least 10 properly selected agents. I will have the book out on submission to those agents no later than 30 June 2021. (Gasp, I just got scared.)
1) By 28 Feb 2021: Recruit ten advanced copy readers for my space opera novel and complete self-edit of current draft employing recent structural editor advice.
2) By 31 Mar 2021: Test lead generation magnets on social media to build my newsletter reader list and potential cadre of advance copy readers up to fifty people. Carefully select five agents to pitch manuscript to.
Repeat Item 2 monthly until I secure literary agent representation by 30 June 2021. Build mailing list continuously to newsletter. If no agent secured by June, will submit to boutique publisher not requiring an agent for submission, and if that fails switch to self-publishing with a view to release of first novel by end of 2021.
3) Weekly online continuing education with videos from Jericho Writers and other venues.
Happy New Year, everyone. Here are my goals:
By 01.07.21 definitely
Vaguer goals: