If you’ve read my blog for any period of time, you know I’m all about setting goals, lots of writerly goals. Goals help me to know I’m making progress and they help me to push myself. I find that my short-term goals are particularly important, as the big end goal of publishing a novel can seem far off and elusive.
My Writerly Goals for 2017
My writerly goals for 2017, in brief, are as follows:
- 100 Rejections
This is a new one. In the past I’ve always aimed at “journal publication” as a good writerly goal, but I have zero control over the publication of any literary journal and therefore, it’s a shitty goal. So this year, I’m aiming for 100 rejections. I can submit my short stories 100 times, and if I fall short of my goal it will only be because one of the rejections I hoped to get turned out to be an acceptance. That would be a lovely fail. - Finish My Novel
Yes, this has been on the list for about nine years. But this is the year. To make sure I get there, I’ve broken it down into three remaining smaller goals: edit (to incorporate notes from my beta readers), hire an editor (to get the stuff I missed), and do one more pass to obsess over all the details and make sure it’s perfect. - Find an Agent
Like journal submissions, this is kind of out of my control. All I can do is query and hope, but I can work on having a really great elevator pitch, and an even better query letter. - Finish a First Draft of My Second Novel
I made some good progress on this one in November with NaNoWriMo and I’ve since written another 20,000 words. I’m shooting for about 100,000 words for my first draft, so I’ve got about 30,000 to go. I plan to work on it while I’m waiting to hear from the agents I’m querying. It will be a good distraction. - Read 60 Books
As writers, we must read. It is a critical part of our job description. I’m planning to do a little more than a book a week. Honestly, I wish I could read more, but between work, and writing, and kids, and time with my love, sixty is about all I can squeeze in.
What They’re Going to Cost Me
Because, sadly, I’m a grownup, I have to think about things like how I’m going to pay for all the things I want to do. And since I’m actually one of four people in this family, I have to consider that any money I spend on my writing is money that isn’t going to be spent on other things.
The Cost Breakdown:
- 100 Rejections
I’ve decided to simply not submit to any journal charging more than $12 for submission. I am also trying to focus on ones that charge far less (say $3 or $4). Hoping for an average of $8, I’m budgeting $800 for rejections in 2017. (That’s a sentence I never thought I’d write.) - Finish My Novel
This one’s all me, but I do want to hire an editor, which, from what I gather, can cost anywhere from $500 to $3,000 and up. I’m hopeful that I really just need a copy editor to do a pass for typos and such, so I’m budgeting $1,000. - Find an Agent
No monetary cost here, just the emotional expense of the inevitable rejections. - Finish a Draft of my Second Novel
Also free. Just lots of work. I can take it. - Read 60 Books
I’m budgeting $20 a month for books. The rest will have to come from the library. That’s $240. Make it $300, because I know I have no willpower when it comes to books.
TOTAL COSTS: $2,100
So there it is. About $175 a month to be a writer this year. And I’m not even planning on any retreats (though I may hit up my aunt for a weekend at her place in Carmel).
What do you spend your money on as writer? Do you budget out for the year or do you just wing it?
That’s a lot of money. You shouldn’t have to pay to be published, and you should avoid any market that requires it. I’ve been publishing for over 35 years and have never paid a cent to any market to submit to it. Two novels and over 50 short stories (published) later, and I haven’t paid for anything other than postage, office supplies, and extra contributor’s copies.
As for an editor — learn to do it yourself. Most published authors have. If you work at it, you can do as good a job as anyone you pay.
That only leaves the cost of books as an expense.
Hi, Chuck,
Congrats on the novels and short stories. I’m so impressed.
Books are just an unavoidable expense for us as writers (though thanks to the library, I do okay on that front).
On the submission end, I have stopped submitting to any venue that asks more than a few dollars for a reading fee (and to be clear, this is only for journals, I haven’t submitted my novel to any agents yet, but would never pay for the privilege). The thing I can’t get around are contests. I avoid them, because they’re expensive, but every once in a while I see one I think I have a shot at, so I fork over the cash. Ug.
As for the copy editor, I’m afraid that’s just another cost I have to accept. I am a great line editor, but I can skim right over typos in my own writing (like, twenty times, easy). I try and try, but with my own work, it would seem this is just a hole in my abilities.
This is great, concrete goals create results. Good luck!
Thanks, J,
I’m finding that writing them down helped me focus, and then sharing them with the world was a big leap toward committing. What are you shooting for this year?