Novel Writing Made Less Impossible Goals: Everyone Oughta Have 'Em!

If good intentions meant anything, that Highway to Hell would have been paved long before AC/DC began singing about it.

As you read these blog entries, you'll eventually notice that I have held a number of jobs. I've been a TV cameraman, a newspaper reporter, small press comics publisher, donut baker, inventory specialist, adult book/magazine sales human, on-air talent for a local PBS station, comic book shop manager/owner, manager trainee, construction go-fer, water company customer service fella, and mortician's assistant. I probably forgot a gig or two in there somewhere, but that's the biz. When I attempted to secure financing for my comic book shop, the first thing I was counseled to do was prepare a business plan. In this case, that consisted of writing down my company's strengths, its weaknesses, and tangible assets that could be used to secure that loan. Naturally, I didn't get that loan. (I'm still waiting for one banker to call me back and that was over 20 years ago)

At this point, you're probably saying to yourself, "But Brian, I'm a sensitive artistic individual and I can't sully my gossamer flesh with the strain of mundane business."

Guess what, sunshine? You're now a PRODUCT, just like your work. Welcome to the marketplace. Now to be less cynical: your work is a commodity that you can't market until you complete it. To do that, you need to know what goals to shoot for and when you realistically believe they can be achieved. I like to work on a five-year scale. Where do I want to be in six months? One year? Two years? Three years. Five years.

Yeah, I deliberately skipped the Fourth year. I really don't have a good reason. I need to find one.

As of six months, you might want to have your novel underway and your social media outlet set up with completion of your book within a year. After two years, you may wish to have an active appearance schedule with production of the next book in the pipeline. Three years may see you wishing to be more of a guest at shows than a vendor, depending on the effectiveness of your promotional efforts. And after five years, you could have a couple of books out, a regular promotion schedule, and perhaps an agent.

You'll want to set benchmarks for yourself. That means goals and deadlines. You might want to have your book plotted in, say, a month after starting (when we move into the next phase of this blog, where we tackle your conquering the story aspect of the book, you'll understand the lengthy timeframe). Then you might give yourself another deadline to complete the first draft, given how much you intend to write per day/week. Then set a deadline to find an editor, a cover artist, a publisher, and anyone else you'll need to make the book a reality, ending with a deadline to release the tome. Don't make a deadline? Don't kick yourself. Just reset the deadline and work harder. Life can happen to anyone and sometimes your time goals may be, frankly, unrealistic.

Another part of the benchmark business is REWARDS. Take a day off from writing. Buy something that makes you smile. Spend the day with someone you love. You worked HARD to make it. Now treat yourself, but no sense in going overboard ... at least until that first royalty check arrives. Your business plan is a "living" document. What you write today may not be quite so relevant a few months or a year from now. If you make your deadlines in plenty of time, you just gonna sit on your hands until you can start up again according to your timeline? I don't think so! Every November, when the signings and shows wind down in my part of the country, I take some time and re-assess my business. What did I learn? What did I do right? What do I need to correct? Are my strengths and liabilities still the same? How do I strengthen my business? I take a good, hard look at what I'm doing and how I do it to hit the ground stronger and more confidently in the new year. For instance, last fall, I reassessed my progress with shows and I was a little ahead of where I needed to be in terms of being a guest. I also reassessed that I had to do to put together a book -- and I'm pretty much a one-man show, production-wise -- and what I could farm out. Also, what the chief asset to my company happened to be (which turned out to be ME as the Chief Set of Hands which led to farming out more of the production work to those who did it better and faster instead of having to retrain myself because I didn't do it frequently enough). So make that business plan. You'll find it VERY helpful for your publishing and writing. If you don't know where you're going, how can you tell when you arrive?

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