It’s almost 2022, somehow, so I wanted to share some of my big, huge, audacious goals for this year. If I don’t share them with anyone, I think I’m less likely to accomplish them. So let’s start with the goals related to writing–the core part of this website–and go from there.
Writing goals
This year, I will write and publish the following books:
- The Poison Kiss: Snow White Retold
- Daughter of Light and Shadow
- Shadowfire Academy, Year One
- One (short) series under another pen name
- One standalone (so far) book under another pen name
- One nonfiction book, under this pen name or another one. I’m not sure which.
This brings the total to eight books. That’s a lot for twelve months, even when you consider that three of these books are already in some state of completion. But I want to push myself to do this. How else am I going to learn?
I will also post at least 100 times on this blog. This sounds like a lot, but it comes to about two posts per week. I already have a few posts scheduled in advance, so if I can batch-create posts, and then slowly post them over a few months, I think that will make things easier.
To reach this goal, I’ll probably use AI writing software like Jarvis and Closer’s Copy. I find writing blog posts, newsletter, etc. challenging, and using software like this often makes it easier, especially when it’s a topic I don’t have strong feelings about, e.g. the Best Writing Apps for iPad.
Business goals
This year, I will make $5k/month from selling books. This is the most intimidating goal to me. I know that other people can and have done this, but I keep running up against self-doubt. It’s hard for me to write and release books rapidly, and I struggle with deciding between writing the kind of books I want to write and writing to market. Even when I read a lot of books in a subgenre, I’m not always sure what the market wants. Part of the reason I want to publish eight books in the next year is to make this number possible.
Kate Hall has a couple of really good books on rapid release and writing to market, which I plan to reread this January, if not sooner. I also want to reread the Chris Fox series on self-publishing. I would like to branch out a bit into indie and traditional publishing, ideally after I get more of a backlist.
I will make $20k/month from everything at least one month. That “everything” can include many things: books, ads on videos, consulting fees, speaking fees, freelance work, part-time or full-time work, courses, affiliate programs, physical products, digital products, NFTs, interest on stocks/funds/etc., and much more that I might not have even dreamed of yet. There are plenty of other people out there who make this kind of money in a month, so I’m trusting the universe to lead me to them and help me replicate what they do in my own life.
I will create a course this year. Yes, I know everyone and their grandmother is making a course. Now that everyone includes me.
I will also join at least three more affiliate programs. Ideally for companies whose products I use on a regular basis.
I will make an NFT, because I’ve been curious about the technology for awhile. I’m honestly somewhat skeptical of everything crypto, and I don’t understand how a picture of a cartoon duck can be worth $80,000. It sounds like a scam. However, it’s very easy to set up an account on OpenSea, so I’d like to try it.
Learning Goals
These goals are more flexible for me. I have limited free time, so I need to focus on writing, especially writing as a business. However I think learning is a lifelong activity, so I want to keep investing in learning, especially with time.
I will take 25 courses this year. That’s about one every two weeks. I already have way more than 25 courses on Udemy, plus a number of courses on everything from Procreate to editing to Microsoft Excel. Some of these courses are brief, especially when you listen to them at 1.5 or 2x speed. The trick is not in finding the time to take the course, but finding time to do the assignments.
I’d like to focus on learning a few skills this year:
- how to edit my own work quickly–and especially how to edit while the book is still at the outline stage.
- how to draw. My artistic ability has waxed and waned with practice over the course of my life. Now I want to relearn the basics. Even if I just spend 2 minutes a night on drawing, I hope I’ll see some improvement.
- how to use Photoshop for basic photomanipulation and book cover design. I’ve barely used it since high school and I’d love to design my own book covers.
- how to write and sell a song. I love music, so I’d like to learn a little more about songwriting. I don’t want to perform but I’d love to hear other people performing my music. It also takes a lot less time to write a song than a novel, and (good) songs are much more memorable. However, I have so much planned for this year, realistically this might have to wait or at least take a backseat to other subjects.
This year I had a very scattershot focus, and I think everything suffered because of it. So I will probably go back to these goals in a few days and really focus on what is most important to me and what I want the most.
However, I feel compelled to post this to have some accountability. If no one knows what my goals are, then no one knows when I fail or succeed. And I’d rather celebrate with a group, even if it’s a group of (mostly) strangers in cyberspace.
What are your goals for 2022? Let me know. Here’s to a happy New Year!
