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I’m the type of person who makes New Year’s resolutions. When you hear “New Year’s resolutions”, you probably think of fitness goals, but that’s not the focus here. I’m talking about literary goals; I’ve got some reading and publishing goals for 2024 and writing them down here is my way of holding myself accountable.
It’s already the end of January (where did the last month go?!) and I’ve maintained working towards these goals, so I think I can achieve them. I’ve got 11 months left.
This is how my literary goals for the rest of 2024 are going to go.
Reading goal
I always set a reading goal of 50 books for the Goodreads challenge, and I’ve done the same this year as one of my literary goals.
I’ve often had to find some short books towards the end of the year, not gonna lie, but so far I’ve managed to achieve reading 50 books. Reading goals don’t work for everyone, but I’ve found that it keeps me reading and remembering to read when life gets busy. The number isn’t that important – I just make sure it’s high enough that I won’t achieve it quickly – as long as I’ve got a reading goal acting as a reminder. Not that it matters, but as of the end of January, Goodreads is telling me, “You’re on track!” Let’s see if it says the same in 10 months…
Last year I reached 50 books, but it was only due to Audiobooks I could listen to while playing Hogwarts Legacy, short books, and children’s books. Is that cheating? Technically… it’s not. There were also a few books I read that weren’t listed on Goodreads, so I actually read more than 50.
Publishing goal
I want to publish a book this year. I’m talking self-publishing. I haven’t fully dived into trying to go down the traditional publishing route in Australia yet, but I’ve learnt a lot about self-publishing and I think I can do it. I think it will be fun, and a great learning experience, so this is another of my literary goals.
The book I want to self-publish is my middle-grade fantasy. I love this story but I don’t have the same emotional connection to it that I do with my young adult WIP. If I self-publish successfully (what does ‘successfully’ mean? I don’t know yet) then maybe I’d consider the same for my young adult.
I’ve already sent my middle-grade manuscript off to five friends for beta reading. The next step will be compiling their notes and figuring out where improvements can be made. I already have some ideas from their feedback. I appreciate the energy my beta readers have put into reading my book and taking such helpful notes. They’ve studied alongside me in my writing course, and they’ve picked up things that maybe I’d be able to see in someone else’s writing but not my own. It’s beyond valuable.
Writing goal
I don’t have a writing goal as one of my literary goals, but maybe I should. I love writing, so it should be part of my daily or weekly routine. Even if I write the worst thing I’ve ever written in my life (which, let’s be honest, isn’t possible – I’ve read my stories from primary school). I enjoy going back and reading old writing. Sometimes I even surprise myself with better plot/lines/writing than I expected. I can’t surprise my future self if I don’t write.
I struggle to work on more than one story at a time, but if I’m editing one (my middle grade) I think I can try writing bits and pieces here and there while doing so. I also get tired after work and don’t always have the energy to write, but I think that’s only more reason to make this one of my literary goals. I’ve got too many stories I need to finish, and even more I need to start, to not have it as a goal.
Marketing goal
A huge part of self-publishing that I know I’ll struggle with is promotion. Self-promotion. Getting more used to self-promotion is one of my literary goals for 2024 because I have to get past the awkwardness I feel. Whether self-publishing or traditionally publishing, you need to market and promote yourself and your book. So either way, I’ll have to do it. I need to get used to it.
I’m starting with socials, specifically Bookstagram. I told myself I was going to post at least once a week. I thought twice a week would be achievable too, on a good week. And yet! So far, I have posted every day this year! They haven’t been amazing, informative, viral posts, but they’ve been posts. Once I get back into the habit and learn what works and what doesn’t, I can try new types of content.
One way I can do this is by converting my blog posts into content for socials. This means making reels (even though they are daunting) and joining Tiktok (even though I’ve tried so hard to avoid it). This post probably won’t end up on my Instagram – nor will any other life-update-type posts – but the educational ones should be on there.
Speaking of, I need to post more content on this blog and keep it growing. I’ve got a few posts stored up that I need to edit. I’m aiming for at least one blog post a month. I also want to work on my email list – growing my blog means more blog posts and hopefully more readers. The first thing I have planned for attracting people to my email list is creating a freebie incentive for sign-up. Watch this space! I’m going to make these literary goals happen!
A summary of my literary goals
There’s now an option for getting an AI Assistant to check your posts before publishing. I gave it a try and its feedback for me is below. I haven’t done a post on AI yet, but there are plenty of opinions on the internet already. For now, I’ll just analyse how AI summarised my post – because it seems to have given me a useful to-do list for my literary goals.
The content shows a strong commitment to literary goals for 2024, including reading, publishing, writing, and marketing. Here are some actions for improvement:
AI Assistant
– Consider specifying what ‘successful’ self-publishing means for you and setting measurable milestones.
– Establish a specific writing goal to incorporate writing as a regular part of the routine.
– Experiment with different types of content for social media, such as educational and promotional posts, to engage the audience.
– Formulate a concrete plan for growing the blog and creating a freebie incentive for email list sign-ups.
Good luck with achieving your literary goals!