With 2024 quickly coming to an end, many of us are looking ahead at what’s to come. I don’t know about you, but I am very goal-oriented.
I used to make the mistake—at least, it was a mistake for me—of setting way too many goals, falling short, and then feeling like a failure.
I wasn’t being reasonable. But these days, I’m so laser-focused on my writing, and other areas of my life are so stable, that the only real goals I’m setting for 2025 are writing-based.
These are goals that I feel are a good fit for me, but if you happen to pick up any new ideas or inspiration from this blog, hooray!
Let’s get into it.
Psst! Do you prefer video? I’ve got you covered.
Goal #1: I want to go back to maintaining a content calendar.
Back when I was still running my own business full-time—I had a content agency and still do, technically—I had a content calendar that I created and stuck to, outlining when I would post on LinkedIn and Facebook to promote my business.
It was part of my daily work.
I grew my business to six figures. Many things contributed to that, but one big factor was I was the queen of consistency.
I’m not doing that when it comes to promoting myself as an author. It’s very sporadic. I have a full-time job, like many of you, I’m sure. And I always say, “I’ll post at lunch. I’ll post after work.”
I rarely do.
I need structure and routine. So, I created a free Trello account and started assigning myself tasks for creating YouTube videos, blogs, and social media posts.
These goals, in terms of the number of posts I’m trying to share each day, in addition to more YouTube and more blogging, might be too ambitious. So I’m giving myself the space and grace to reduce the numbers, if needed to maintain the consistency.
But…consistency. That’s the key.
Goal #2: I want to spend more time with other authors and bookworms—virtual is good, but also in-person.
There’s this website. Apparently, it’s the new Meet-up. It’s called Luma. I created an event for local authors that I’m hoping someone will show up to.
(By the way, if you’re in the Denver area, give me a shout. I’d love for you to be there.)
I’ve also found some other local groups that I’m planning to attend. And I’ve started reaching out to local bookstores about in-person events for authors so that I can both attend and host my own to promote my book and my writing.
Also, writing conferences. Those can be a real blast. I talk about them more in this video:
I would love to do one in-person event a month, and then maybe one virtual event, if I can swing it.
I know how important social media is for us. But I do think that between feeling like I need to rely on social, and also just being a homebody and being incredibly introverted, I need to get out there more and see people. Face to face.
Also, I’m new to town and need friends. I should have friends here.
Social media obviously has a much further reach, or potential reach, anyway. But I think there’s something very powerful and very magical about spending time with like-minded people. I want more of that.
Goal #3: I want to treat querying like I treated my business.
What I mean is that I treated my business like a science experiment. Nobody really taught me how to grow it. It was a lot of trial and error and I just figured it out along the way. And in the process, I tracked and measured everything. I used the information that I gathered to look for patterns. What was working? What flopped? I doubled down on what worked and shelved the rest.
That was another reason I was able to grow my business to six figures. I was very strategic.
My current work in progress is hopefully nearing completion. Then it’s time to start querying. I’ve typically been good about tracking my query letters, but I do feel like I could be more refined and intentional about it.
One tip that another writer gave me was, using QueryManager, start by querying agents who have the fastest response times. And use that to kind of test the waters. If you immediately get a bunch of no’s, maybe reconsider your query.
Now, of course, he was not saying to disregard everything else. I’m still committed to querying agents who I feel are a good fit for me, who I feel would be interested in my manuscript, and I suspect we’d make a good team. I’ve never struggled with this, even though I feel really desperate sometimes to get an agent. I still have never queried an agent just because.
I always ensure I have a reason because I like to imagine that agent responding and saying, “Why do you want to work with me?” And I want to be able to give them a really great answer.
But I did think that this was a very creative and unique approach, and it’s something I haven’t tried yet. So, maybe I’ll give that a shot.
Goal #4: I want to take outlining more seriously.
In this video…
…I share how I outline my novels.
I am a plotter. This is the only way I can write and not end up with a mess.
I spent a great deal of time outlining my current manuscript…and looking back, I still feel like it wasn’t enough. I still ended up with a mess that I had a really hard time getting out of and, in fact, I don’t know if I successfully got out of it.
My latest rewrite is with my mom and a few friends who have never read it. So I’m getting fresh eyes on it. And honestly, if this version is screwed up, I don’t know what I’ll do. I don’t want to abandon it, but I feel so stuck at this point. I’ve stared at it and read it and changed it so many times. I’m sure you can relate. After a certain point, you have to just call it, say, “This is it,” and let it be what it is.
I’m still good to make smaller revisions. But I’m talking about another massive rewrite. I don’t think I have it in me.
This was another hard, hard lesson I had to learn.
I’ve been exploring not the three-act structure, not the four-act structure, but the seven-act structure. I also bought Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. It’s got amazing reviews. I’ve heard good things. So I’m going to give it a shot.
Also, I was talking about this on Twitter and I want to show you this exchange, which helped me tremendously.
Big shout-out to Nicholas, if you happen to read this blog. This is the first time I’ve heard of the 50 points thing. I can see that really helping me. (Thank you!)
I used to be impatient with plotting because I just wanted to write. Now, I look at plotting like a game or a puzzle. I enjoy it. I just need to be better and more thorough.
Goal #5: Don’t judge me. I want to be a little more cocky.
I’m very confident in my writing, and I’m comfortable speaking that way with my husband, in private. But when it comes to sharing my writing and my successes with writing outwardly, I clam up.
I’m always worried about sounding full of myself. But oddly, when I see other authors, especially women, who are confident, I’m like, “Hell yeah! You go girl!”
And then I think, “Ugh, I wish I was like that.”
I can be like that. It’s a choice. Plain and simple. I have to decide that I know I’m that good and furthermore, that it’s 10000% acceptable to share that attitude and mindset with others.
Because it is. I am that good and it is acceptable.
In general, I want to carry myself with more confidence. I set the tone. If I love myself really hard, and I love my writing and proudly share it…energy is contagious. And it also defines what you attract back to you. I need to be more mindful of that.
Also, I’m really good at being other people’s cheerleaders. I’m a great cheerleader. Why can’t I do that for myself?
I’ll work on it.
That’s it for my 2025 writing goals. I’m pretty happy with these. I’m excited for next year. I have a plan. I have targets to aim for. And I’m feeling hopeful.
I can remember several manuscripts ago, I was like, “If this doesn’t get me an agent, that’s it. Throwin’ in the towel.”
However many years later, here we are. I just love writing too much to quit.
Until next time. xo