Everyone I talk to thinks it is cool to write, but it never fails when I say they can do it too, they respond, "I don't have the time." Well my friend, if it is important to you, time will be made.
Dreams are just that, dreams, until you dedicate time to an actionable plan to achieve them. One could easily say, I work a full-time job, I have a newborn, I have a husband, I have church activities, I have pilates, I have to pump and breastfeed every 3 hours, I have to clean the house, I have to do laundry, I have to blah blah blah. I have to do all of those things too, but the difference of wanting something and committing to something is making time for it instead of wishing for it.
I want to be an author who makes a full-time income, therefore I am committed to doing what it takes to be an author.
SO what does that mean?
It means learning how to self-publish (see my post on self-publishing), build a following and a platform (I recommend My First 10K Readers training). It means learning how to write well and tell a story that engages. It means getting back on your feet when someone leaves you a rude or downright malicious review because the computer screen allows bullies to flourish (don't get me wrong, if it deserves a low rating tell me why but in a constructive way). It means writing every day.
I wake up at 430am every morning to pump for my baby girl and then write until I go to work at 7am or get ready for church on Sundays at 730am. To keep myself accountable, I have a daily word count goal of 850 words (that's three pages) which is a total of over 300,000 words a year. Considering each book of mine is around 75,000 words, that is several books a year I could write. My hourly word count depending on how well I've outlined the scenes can range anywhere from 250 words to 1,500 words. I want you to help me keep to my goals, and so I have the link here to my google spreadsheet that documents my progress for 2019.
If you would like to start or continue a writing career, then here is a blank word count tracker for you to copy to your Google Drive and use. I hope it serves you well in your ambitions as a writer.
Happy New Year! Here's to effective goal setting!
Happy Writing,
