SMART Goals for Writing

In order to be a successful writer, one must exercise SMART decisions. No, I'm not talking about being wise or having a high IQ. That certainly won't hurt your chances, but I'm talking about an acronym for the word SMART.

Specific - Measurable - Achievable - Relevant - Time based

SMART.

Now there are many ways to apply this technique to attaining goals. When you are looking at an advertising plan, making sure your plan is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based would be a... well... smart thing to do. But for this blog, I am going to focus on writing 3 complete novels, each being 90,000 words in length, in a year. Three of them in a year?!?! Yep. It is extraordinarily simple to do - with certain caveats, of course.

let me explain...

Setting a goal of 1,000 words a day is certainly a SMART goal. It is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based. And, for the low, low price of 1,000 words a day, in 90 days, or three months, you can have a 90,000-word book written.

Think about it, a 1,000 words is about a page and a half of typed text. That is certainly achievable. You can get that done in an hour.

And, since most agents prefer your manuscript to be around 80 to 90k in length, that is how -I- define a book. So, that means you can write 3 books a year by just setting an easily achievable goal.

Now, I did say "with caveats," right? What would those caveats be?

For one, that does not consider the time it takes to edit the book. But guess what? If you employ the editing method I outlined in this blog post, you can do both with no issue. You can be editing the last book at the same time you are writing the new book.

It also does not count for the planning of your book. I'm a pantser, so it is not an issue. I write by the seat of my pants with little clue on where I am going. If you are a plotter, then you have to have time to plan it out.

Also, it does not account for world-building. If you are a fantasy writer, you have to build and explain the world to your readers. This can take a fair amount of planning as well. If, like me, your books are set in the world we live in, then there is no world-building involved.

Still, if both of those apply to you, you can still do two a year just by setting a goal of 1,000 words a day.

Not bragging, but I once write a book of 97k in 40 days. I also don't have a job. So take that with a grain of salt.

The bottom line is, however, that by applying SMART goals for writing, you can drastically decrease the time it takes to put out a book. The more books you have, the more money you make.

But what about Writer's Block, you say? I don't believe in it. Just sit down and start putting words on the page. Once you get past that first paragraph, you will be on a roll and the block is gone.

Writer's Block is for whiners. Don't be a whiner. Be a writer. Set a SMART goal and stick with it.