A goal is a target, not an action
The superhuman effort required to be an adult in this world is profound. I’m serious. The struggle to get out the door every morning in some semblance of a public-ready mindset (not to mention clean socks) cannot be overstated.
Still, some of us try to run an author business on top of whatever other icebergs we navigate on a daily basis. Proof of insanity? Case closed.
That said, I’ve come across some good practices that make the journey easier. No, this isn’t another productivity post, because heroic writing sprints aren’t that much fun when you’re actually doing them, and after a certain point at least I stop making sense. As far as how fast you put words on the screen, you do you. This isn’t about how much you do, but how to work smarter.
Am I on track? Do I know where the track is?
Organize whatever tools and ambitions work for you into something actionable. In January I plan where I want to be in December and how I’m going to get there. Yes, I consider productivity, but realistically. Do I want to release three more books in my series this year? Then I need to work out how many words a day I can write, and how many days a week, and mark on the calendar when that adds up to a book. So, if a writer writes a thousand words a day every day, it will take (roughly) three months to finish a manuscript. Add a few weeks for unforeseen interruptions, then a few more for an initial review before it goes off to an editor. Repeat that three times, and there are my three books in a calendar year. I don’t plan to accomplish more than I can actually do.
However, I can monitor my progress through the year. Some don’t like to feel pressure on their creativity, and that’s fair. I’ve had periods like that, too, when it’s not the right time for deadlines. Yet sometimes it is, and I can always change a due date. I never feel the least bit guilty about protecting my well-being—but I’d rather know if I’m off course, because then other timelines need to be adjusted.
Scheduling a release without hurting your brain
Once a book is written, it should come out when it makes the most strategic sense. Uncoupling writing and releasing makes a big difference. Sometimes it makes sense to stockpile stories for a rapid release, coordinate with a particular holiday (hello Christmas books), or build excitement in a slow part of the year. Don’t rush. Ideally, one should give reviewers at least three months to read and review an advanced copy of the book. A longer pre-order also allows for more promotion and (hopefully) a more successful launch. Plan accordingly and schedule launch and pre-order activities on the same calendar as your writing progress because one may impact the other in terms of available time.
Don’t forget marketing and promotion, even if you want to
The third calendar layer is marketing beyond just book launches. This includes content marketing (the cool stuff we put out into the world beyond “buy my book”), newsletters, social media, and paid promotions such as sales on backlist books. Put all those dates on the calendar, too, along with the lead time you need to start working on the material.
How micro one gets is a personal choice. Just the highlights? Or every Instagram reel? Either way, planning a few weeks ahead helps coordinate content topics with release events, newsletter dates, and social media content. Whether this happens on a spreadsheet or in the margins of a date book doesn’t matter, as long as it happens.
There’s always more… and more
My calendar covers writing, releasing, and promotion, but that’s me. It could list podcasting, personal appearances, research dates, or anything else. Any planning calendar should include whatever make sense to the individual.
Goals are good, but without some step-by-step directions, they can sit there like a china shepherdess on the mantelpiece—just another pretty thing collecting dust because they have no real function. When goals have action items on paper and accounted for, then magic happens. It’s dead easy to figure out what needs to be done in a week, budget the necessary time, and address all those authory “shoulds” that never get attention.
Or that’s the idea, anyway. Yes, plans unravel, and my work calendar is no exception. I run out of hours, slack off, or plain forget stuff, but I do get closer to where I want to be. I’ve done the steps that need to happen before crunch time, whether that’s getting the ISBN before last-minute uploading or discovering all the promo sites are booked up long past launch date. Yup, I’ve done both. I needed a method to save myself from myself.
Put another way, I’ve done the dumpster fires so you don’t have to. I’ve learned the hard way. My takeaway was to focus long enough to make a plan, even if it was only once a year.