Long-Term Writing Goals (and plans for 2019)

Watch this post in video form.

Looking Back

Most creative people like to set goals at the start of a new year. Full of enthusiasm, we plan out what we hope to achieve in the next twelve months. But those are short-term goals. Our writing career will hopefully last much longer than the coming year. How many of us make long term goals?

I turned 40 last year. As you can imagine, it was a time of reflection. I looked back, and realised it had been 20 years since I had turned 20. What would my writing career look like, I wondered, if I had taken it more seriously in my twenties. It’s not that I didn’t write during that time, but I could have taken it more seriously. Improved my craft more, and more actively pursued publication. Life was simpler back then. I didn’t have a wife and kids to support. I didn’t have a mortgage to worry about. I had all the time in the world and no responsibilities.

True, the self-publishing revolution hadn’t happened back when I was in my twenties, so I wouldn’t have had the tools that are available to me today, but I would have been ready to take advantage of them on day one. Heck, I could have even become one of those early Kindle millionaires.

Don’t get me wrong. 40 is hardly the twilight years, but I began to feel like I’d wasted my opportunity. That I was too far over the hill to really make it like so many others had.

Looking Forward

A little looking back is healthy, but I was getting into regret territory. I had to pull myself out of that. Instead, I started to think about the next 20 years. That would make me 60. My eyes lit up. In another 20 years I’d only be 60. I wouldn’t exactly be ready for my deathbed at that point. What if I were to retire early, at 60, and transition to full-time writing at that point. It’d be more of a career change, than a retirement.

If that was the plan, it meant I had 20 years to work toward a self-sustaining writing career. Two decades. Suddenly that seemed achievable. It’s not like I was putting off becoming a successful author until I was 60. To write full time by that point, I would already have needed to become quite successful.

So that’s now my long-term goal. I want to be able to quit the day job and write full time by the time I reach 60 years of age. I have two decades to achieve it.

Short-Term Goals

A long-term goal is made up of many short-term goals, so how am I going to start making my way toward this lofty ideal? Well, it starts with my plans for 2019. And those can be summarised simply. Get your bum in the chair and write! I let myself get too distracted during 2018. There were some legitimate reasons. I moved to a new house, and that transition isn’t fully complete yet. It was also a challenging year at work, both for me, and for my wife. I also invested my time heavily in vlogging. I put out weekly videos on my vlogging channel for almost the entire year. It was an experiment to see if I could grow a successful following.

I’m certainly not giving up the vlogging, but it’s time for writing to take the front seat again. It will be my first priority. Other creative pursuits will be the second priority, existing to serve the first.

I plan to build a habit. Doing some significant work on my fiction 6 days a week. I will put aside money when I can for expenses, such as editing and cover design, so that hopefully, I won’t be delayed by lack of money.

In practical terms, I’m going to release Jewel of The Stars Episode 2, and make substantial progress toward releasing episode 3. I’m also going to do something with my superhero novella.

My short-term goals will be refined as I get into the year, and start to understand more fully, what I am capable of achieving.So, here’s to the next year, and here’s to the next twenty years.

Happy New Year.
God bless.
Live long and prosper.

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