Why Are Writing Goals Important For Authors

It’s officially 2019! If you’ve been wanting to self-publish a book, then this is the year to set writing goals and make it happen. Writing goals are a great way to keep track of your progress and hold yourself accountable. However, like all New Year’s resolutions, you may find yourself a bit too optimistic at first. You may set writing goals that are either unrealistic or unattainable. Don’t set yourself up for failure. Instead, set realistic writing goals for 2019: goals that you can meet and exceed, goals that will both challenge and champion you, and goals that will make your writing even stronger and prepare your work to be self-published.

Writing isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. It’s easy to forget this.

It’s unrealistic to think you’ll write a book in a few week’s time, self-publish it, and be done. Every aspect of the self-publishing process requires dedication, precision, and hard work. From idea conception to writing to editing to designing to converting into print-ready files, self-publishing your book is definitely a marathon, but one so worth it in the end.

Picture it now: there, among all the books on your shelves, the books that made you love reading and writing in the first place, is a book with your name on it. Seems pretty incredible, right? Wouldn’t you work as hard as possible for that dream? Of course you would!

One way to ensure you’re working hard to achieve this dream of self-publishing a book is to set specific and attainable goals for yourself. Think of these writing goals as accountability checkpoints or progress reports. If small goals line the path to one big goal (self-publishing a book), then it’ll feel more achievable and not so intimidating.

Every writer, no matter how well-known or established, should set writing goals for themself, otherwise they may find themselves getting lost along the way, procrastinating, or not accomplishing anything. These goals will look different writer to writer. Some authors set daily word counts. Others are happy so long as they’re writing every time. Some may set themselves a specific amount of time each day during which they need to write or edit their writing.

Our suggestion? Find what works best for you and your schedule. Each writer is going to be different. Some have day jobs and so must write at night or early morning. Some have families to take care of, which can cut into creative time considerably. Others may be in school or may travel a lot for work. Each writer’s life will impose some kind of limit to their creativity and goals. Curate your writing goals to match your lifestyle.

Don’t tire yourself right away. Setting small, achievable goals along your path to self-publishing will make the overall goal easier to accomplish. Start with writing goals that you feel you’ll cross off your to-do list easily. Maybe this means starting by writing for just ten, twenty, or thirty minutes a day. Maybe this means you write three out of seven days of the week, slowly increasing until you’re writing every day without even thinking about it.

Sometimes, all that matters is getting words on the page. Initiatives like National Novel Writing Month ascribe to this mentality: the important thing is writing every day. Your first draft isn’t going to be a bestseller; the second likely won’t either. Start by getting words on the page, regardless of how “good” those words are. Writing, like anything else, is a discipline, and you must keep your creativity active in order for it to grow. Think of your creativity as a muscle: you need to exercise it.

You may be surprised: if you set a goal of getting just one hundred, two hundred, or five hundred words on the page each day, pretty soon you’ll have a book-length piece of writing, a monumental achievement comprised of small, day-to-day victories.

A part of setting smaller goals in order to achieve a bigger one is to ensure that you won’t get burnt out by the writing process.

Writing is an incredibly rewardable professional – both creatively and emotionally – but it can also be incredibly draining. This is why we recommend small writing goals to build up your tolerance. What starts as a few hundred words a day may grow into a few thousand. Or, it may not. Some days you’ll be more productive than others; some days you may not get any words on the page at all. It’s important to not let your writing be defined by these days. In any profession, there are going to be bad days. Writing is not exempt from this.

Don’t let the slow days get you down. Don’t let writer’s block discourage you from continuing your book. Bad days are going to happen, but it’s important to not let these moments decide the future of your work. Be sure to take breaks if you need them: if the process is getting to be too much for your, allow yourself some space from your work. Go for a walk, take a nap, spend time with loved ones, watch a movie. Come back to your manuscript with fresh eyes and a renewed sense of passion for your project. Forcing yourself to continue when you’re worn down won’t help anything.

Whatever your writing goals, we’re here to help you every step of the way. From our blog, to our self-publishing guides and tools, to our customer service representatives, DiggyPOD’s goal is to help self-publishers with their writing goals. Whatever stage of the process you’re in, we’re here to help.

Make 2019 the year you self-publish a book. Start with these small, achievable writing goals and before you know it, you’ll have a complete, polished manuscript. Then we’ll print it.