There are only 16 days left before you’ll be making another New Year’s resolution. I don’t mean the kind where you say you’ll give up cigarettes (again) and only last until the Easter break, or give up chocolate and then notice there’s still chocolate left over from Christmas and you can’t waste it. I mean a serious resolution as a writer.
Here are a few examples:
- Finish my book-length manuscript.
- Complete at least four articles a month.
- Start an ideas book and use those ideas.
- Research a non-fiction book and set a deadline for completion.
- Establish a filing system that really works.
- Buy a new computer.
- Join a writers’ network.
- Edit and re-write your manuscript and flesh out the characters.
- Blog at least once a fortnight.
- Redesign my website and market my writing better.
- Find a new slant on an old idea more regularly.
- Write something every day.
While your defining your resolution there are other things you need to consider as you take on another year as a writer:
- Give yourself limitations by setting realistic goals that will work in with the rest of your life.
- Don’t be hard on yourself if you came to writing late. If you’re over 50 there’s still plenty of time to establish yourself. Don’t rush your writing.
- Give yourself time to read. Writers need to be avid readers.
- Don’t give up on publication. Just because you can’t get an agent or you’ve submitted to enough publishers to wallpaper your hall with rejection slips, doesn’t mean you should give up. Other alternatives are smaller publishers who can provide subsidy publishing and print on demand, or go it alone and self publish. Otherwise just keep sending the manuscript out until an acceptance slip arrives instead of a rejection slip.
- Remember that not everyone will support you. Some may be more into Rugby League and Cricket, others may be jealous that you are doing something as creative as writing. Most will just not GET IT! If your family and friends support your quest – lucky you! If they don’t just become your own greatest fan and believe in yourself. You can also join a writers’ network and have like-minded people support you, such as Linked In.
- Study writing, creativity, journalism, blogging, networking, marketing and anything else ha will help you succeed as a writer.
Good luck and may your New Year’s resolution actually be resolved.
My resolution is to revise my manuscript until I laugh, cry, empathise with and applaud my characters.
This posting has been re-posted from Donna's other blogs.
