Jeremy C Kester

Last year, by September, I had completed six separate drafts. That’s six stories. Two novels; three novellas; one middle-grade book. Six. That’s a lot. And while I have those six stories waiting to be reviewed, revised, edited, and/or rewritten, I am trying to press forward once again to write more fiction outside of that revision process.

Right now, today, movement on my writing every day is a slow climb back to where I was last year. (I’ll get there; I know I will.) That review, revise, etc action that I spoke of on those six aforementioned drafts need to also become a part of my daily routine. In other words, I need to work on taking them from draft to publishing.

But wait, there’s more!

In addition, I need to figure out how to do this weird thing call selling and marketing. And a new idea of how to approach my writing/business for that matter. All this while I am nearing completion of a seventh draft…

Basically, I have a lot to do.

I need a plan. And a timeline.

Something about six months sounds right to me. And I am not looking at six months with an eye at seeing myself crossing some imaginary finish line. My plan is somewhat of a goal of getting to the next stage to operate from. My goal in six months is to be ready as a business. Progress in all my stories, taking them from draft to product, will be secondary. With that, I would like to have two of them completed and out, though. Completing three projects is a stretch goal, but I also don’t want to release in a sudden burst considering I will not be able to keep up after and I showed no evidence of it before. I think at most I release one every three months. Hence the idea of getting two out in six months.

Core behaviors are what I want to focus on in this six-month timeline. Writing, marketing, sales, planning, learning, building a network, etc. These are all areas where my focus will go. Unlike last year where I only focused on writing, this time around it is a more rounded approach to it all.

Having goals is important, but goals without a plan for execution is nothing more than a daydream. I am tired of daydreaming about my writing. I have the ability to make it more. It’s time that I do so.