Wednesday, January 22, 2014

My strategic plan for my writing career...


Well, I don't really have one.

My friend Regina does. She's good like that.

So I got to thinking...should I have one too? Probably.

My strategic plan, at this point, is to publish a few more Romance Writer's Guide Books this year. The second one went live last week.


As far as fiction goes, the plan is to stop flitting from project to project and finish one of them. I had some inspiration on a particular one last week, so that's the one I'm working on now. It's going to be short...10,000ish words, give or take.

I think I do better with deadlines. Have it done and submitted or else you don't get included or accepted or whatever the consequence is. Right now, there's no deadline. But even if I gave myself one, there's no consequence.

I thought maybe if I had a reward, that would work, though. If I complete the manuscript by XYZ date I get... WHAT? I don't know. I have pretty much everything I want. I can buy the things I need.

But no matter. I'm determined to make myself finish. Once I finish one, I think it'll be easier to finish the next one and the next, too. Someone once suggested I don't finish because I'm afraid to. Afraid of what's next. Of success. Afraid of...whatever. I think there's something to that, though I'm not exactly sure what it is I'm afraid of. I haven't stopped to contemplate, though it might help me get over it if I know what IT is.

Anyway, my deadline for completing the first draft of this particular book is February 9th. In order to reach it, I have to write at least 250 words a day. That's a doable goal.

Once the book's done, I'll put it aside for a week. Well, it may end up being more than that as an event I'm in charge of will be coming to a head at that point in time.

After that week or two or three, I'll re-read, fix any errors that now present themselves, and do some revising.

And then...off to the critique partners. More waiting. Then more fixing and revising as called for.

In the meantime, I'll be thinking about and having a cover created. Oh--and I'll need a title somewhere along the line--definitely need it before the cover art. Right now this book being referred to by the heroine and hero's names.

But I've gone off topic.

The strategic plan. Finish a dang book and publish it.

Then do it again and again.

Learn about how to utilize social media platforms to my benefit.

Lather, rinse and repeat.

That's the basic version. Thanks for letting me come up with it on the fly.

Is there anything I'm missing?


4 comments:

Regina Richards said...

Once you have a strategic plan, speak it aloud to yourself (with passion in your voice) everyday.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the second writer's guide book, Jen! So smart to get the experience with self-pub in case that's the way you want to go with your romance books.

Nancy C

Unknown said...

Sounds like you've got it figured out! Congrats on your second guide! :)

Jen FitzGerald said...

Thanks for the support, ladies. It means a lot to me.