I stopped by Tim Pratt's website, and he mentioned both his birthday and the goals he'd set for himself back in his college years. He also mentioned he'd sold his hundredth story recently. It got me thinking about where I am now and where I want to be as a writer.
So, here it is, starting with my birthday (coming up next month) because that's a nice, easy, memorable date.
Year One (January 2012):
Have 30 short stories in circulation (I list "in circulation" because that's the aspect I control of. Ideally some of these will be published as well).
Have 1 novel in circulation.
Attend at least two professional conventions.
Be eligible for and purchase SFWA membership.
Year Two (January 2013, assuming inaccurate Mayan doomsday prophecies):
Have at least 70 stories in circulation.
Have 2 novels in circulation.
Attend a nice writing workshop (I wish you didn't have to quit a job, basically, to go to Clarion, but I've heard good things about Viable Paradise.)
See if I can get on a panel at a convention.
Year Three (2014):
Have enough short stories previously published to be able to pitch an anthology.
Have at least one novel written that I think is awesome and clever.
Have met Neil Gaiman.
Have had previously published work solicited.
Year Four (2015):
Have acquired an agent and sold at least one novel. Have earned an advance.
Write a novel on contract
See if I can get someone to pay for me to be at a convention (room and entry).
Year Five (2016):
Have had a book published.
Have achieved enlightenment/happiness.
I don't know, I actually start to get a bit nebulous more than a few years out. I mean, I don't know what else will be going on in my life. I can't anticipate windfalls or serious setbacks. I'm probably missing some steps or approaching things naively, and examining it, five years seems like an awfully long way away.
Still, I guess if you're going driving it always helps to have a map.
Five-year plan to enlightenment is pretty good :)
ReplyDeleteI gave myself a pretty structured 5-year plan last January and am planning to update it next month. I broke it down into all different categories and then into monthly and weekly tasks to get me to those points. That seemed to work well for me this year.
I'd definitely recommend Jeff VanderMeer's BookLife, by the way. I've had it for a year and haven't made my way through or really absorbed everything in there, but the very first section is on setting goals and tasks.
Always good to have a loose idea of where you're going, at least. Good luck with your goals here--they're some good ones!