I am on a mission to finish my novel and get it out to agents in March of 2017. The kick in the pants that got me back to working on this novel came from my friend and fellow writer Alexandra D’Italia. The tool that is keeping me honest about my progress is called the Magic Spreadsheet.
The Terms the Deal
On March 15, 2017, Alexandra and I will each have a completed, agent-ready manuscript to send out. We will also each have a list of 50 agents that we feel would be a good fit for our story. These must be researched and reasoned. Lastly, we will have five query letters ready to go to the first five agents on the list. On that day, we will send our query letters to the first five agents.
What’s At Stake
I wrote Alexandra a check for $1,000. She wrote one to me. If she doesn’t meet her goals I will cash her check on March 15th, and spend a little of my new-found cash taking her to dinner to reformulate her goals and make a new plan to reach them. She has agreed to do the same for me.
The Game Plan
Working backwards from the March 15 deadline, I figure I need at least two months for a final polish. If I can hand my manuscript to a few trusted readers in early December, I should be able to get feedback, and make my edits in time. To do that, I need to finish the damn thing by the end of November.
After a recent review of what I have, I am aiming to add about 21,000 words. Writing six days a week, it comes to about 300 words a day. It’s not all so much, but I am counting net, which makes it a little more challenging. On days when I need to edit sections as well as rewrite them, it can be difficult to hit that 300 mark.
The Magic Spreadsheet
I first discovered the Magic Spreadsheet thanks to Mur Lafferty and her I Should be Writing podcast. She’s a big supporter of writing EVERY DAY, without exception. One of my favorite podcasts was the time she broke the chain, as she calls it, and didn’t write after something like 500+ days of consistent writing.
Anyway, the Magic Spreadsheet was started by Tony Pisculli. The idea is pretty simple. You enter your word count every day. You get points for consistency and number of words. The points are good for bragging, but not much else. For me it’s about keeping myself honest.
I use it whenever I’m working toward a goal. As you can see in the photo, I listed my goal as 21,000 words. That’s clearly not a whole novel. It’s just the number of words I’m aiming at as I try to wrap up this draft.
There have been times, late at night, when I can see that big goose egg that I’m going to have to enter if I don’t get my ass to the computer and write 300 measly words. You’d be surprised how motivating it can be, even though nobody is watching and you’re the only one who cares.
What tips and tricks do you use to hit your writing goals?
I tend to just use a very simplistic version. I have three columns set up, the first is the date, second is word count total (as indicated by Word), the last column is the difference from the previous day. At the bottom I have a cell formatted to give me a daily average.
That makes sense. Simple is always good. I think I like the communal spreadsheet because it hits my competitive nerve. I see all those other writers there hitting their daily goals, and I don’t want to leave a blank space. Whatever works, right?