Okay, so I'm one of those people who comes up with general New Year's resolutions each year. Do I actually follow through with them? Heck, no. But right now I'm doing what many writers love to do (procrastinate) so I'm going to make my goals public. And you guys are responsible for helping me stay on track, and I'll do the same for you if you like. Several months ago I was telling my therapist (yes, I see one, and no, there's nothing wrong with it!) that I had a specific monthly income I wanted to start making. It was modest, but doable I thought, and now, I'm just a few hundred bucks shy of that goal. And I'm about to go insane. Probably because I can't afford full-time childcare yet, so I have to work around my children's schedules, which isn't always easy. And I'll be honest, my time management skills suck. Really bad. So that leads me to my number one writing goal:
1. Get more organized. As I write this, I am staring at my 2007 Day Planner. I have not yet purchased one for 2008. Do I have assignments lined up for 2008 yet? Yes. But I do not have them written down. I must work on this. It is a necessity because I need to find better ways to balance my work and family life.
2. I want to triple last year's income. This may seem grandiose, but I only really got serious about freelancing a few months ago. Before then, I had a few clients that I wrote for on a small scale every month. Now I've started applying for more assignments, and sometimes, get them. Ideally, I'd like to get three or four regular clients, or gigs, and focus all my time and energy on them instead of hunting for new leads every day. It would be nice if I got a magazine assignment every now and then to pad my expenses. Which leads me to number three on my list.
3. I hope to finally break into a national magazine this year. I feel I've come so close, and have even gotten positive feedback from editors via e-mail. I just need to put my head down and keep charging. It will happen.
4. I will start my novel. I've written about this before, but the time has come for me to get serious on a work in progress. My mind won't rest until the story is laid out on paper.
So what are your writing goals? I've put mine out here for all the world to see, so maybe that will light a fire under me. Please share! We all need to work together to become more productive (and happier) writers.
6 comments:
I only became serious about freelance writing a few weeks ago so we have that in common. I would like to pick up a few more clients and next year I would like to have one of my articles featured in a national magazine. Having one of my articles featured in Alive, Muscle & Fitness, Yoga, Ferrets Magazine, or Naturally You would be a dream come true. There are others out there, but those are my favorites.
Addicted To Writing
My goals include building up my blogs and developing some regular gigs. I've only been in the online writing game for a few months as well and work is sporadic, so I'd like to be at it full-time and, like you, spending less time on daily job searches.
Best of luck, Renee!
Hey guys,
Thanks for sharing! I apologize if yesterday's post was a little whiny. I have a tendency to get really cranky when I have deadlines looming and feel like I'll never pull everything together (just ask anyone in my family). I just think it's important to put your goals down on paper (or on a blog) so they become part of your reality. I'll do periodic "goal" checks to see how everyone is coming along! My first task is to get organized for the new year! I'm off to buy a calendar today (or this weekend:)
Tamara and I are meeting on Wednesday to come up with our goals for 2008. We already created some goals when we started our business, but we're going to take the New Year holiday as an opportunity to reset some of those goals now that we've been doing this freelancing thing for a few months and have more of an idea of what can realistically happen with it.
Renee, your post and goals are so well thought out and well written that I cannot imagine someone more likely to succeed! I wish you success in 2008! Thanks for linking to About Freelance Writing, too. ~Allena
I've already taken the first and heaviest step in completing my writing resolutions: I've committed to my writing--in my mind, to my husband, and to my (gulp) boss. I'm leaving my full-time teaching gig in favor of the mental cake-walk of subbing, so that I may focus on my first true love: WRITING. Now, for my remaining resolutions:
A) Start a blog.
B) Secure some freelance gigs.
C) Finish the (future Oprah's Choice) book I'm working on.
Go big or go home, right?
Thanks again, Renee, for all the help you've given in helping me get there!
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