What do I want from my writing career? I linked to Aprilynne Pike’s October article Firsts in my last entry.
I feel differently about setting my writing goals than she does. Now, I’ll admit that I entered my pursuit of writing fairly naive. I didn’t know about differentiation. I figured that agents were created equal, and now I know better. I figured that any exposure was good exposure, and now I know better. I also hear the echoes of many writers telling me to control the only thing I can control–to write the best story that I can, which I think is sound advice.
But what do I want from my writing career in the long run? What are my goals?
My goals are very simple, when I get down to it.
1. I want to write the stories I have inside of me to the best of my ability. I will try to publish them wisely. (Yes, I know I’ll have to unpack that.)
2. I want to supplement my retirement income with advances and royalties.
That’s it. Let’s take a deeper look at those two things.
The monetary concern is pretty straightforward. It’s my hope to retire in 10 years at an early 55. In 10 more years, I hope that there are published books that I have received advances for, and there are royalties coming in. I want writing to be my job after teaching, and my teaching retirement income will make that possible. To increase my revenue in that way, I need to be working on my career now. Which I am doing. From that stable income base, I will be able to write.
The other concern is a little more complicated. Writing a book I’m happy with? I will write books, send them to sage readers for feedback, revise again to the best of my ability, and send them out. If they don’t publish, I’ll keep pulling a Patrick Rothfuss, and rearchitect them until they’re good enough.
After extensive research and rejection, I have a pretty good idea of who my most desired agents are. I’ll keep trying to move into a good position by getting one of them. Similarly, with publishers, I’ll trust my future agent to guide me wisely. A good agent will be key.
I’ll also continue to remind myself how I gained the ideal teaching position. I kept moving laterally. I kept improving my craft. I kept my ears open. Writing is a different culture, but I believe some things must be transferable. I know that even after the agent, there’s lots to do on the road to publishing. I’ll do the best I can, just what I did with my professorship.
Like all writers, I have secret dreams. These can not be my measurable goals currently with so many unknowns. I’d like to have a book that isn’t necessarily a best seller, but is something that people speak about with a kind of excitement. I’d love to have children and teens enthused about my work, but I’d also like it to speak to adults. I want to create a character that people know, even if they don’t know who I am. I’d like to be able to make an amount of money so that both my husband and I could manage to live on my writing.
I see these as more wishes than goals. I plan to make the best career moves I can, use my brain, use my ability to research, and get wise counsel. I don’t plan to take whatever comes along. Yet I know what a goal is, and what I can control. That means write the best I can, get the publishing rolling as soon as I can, and keep working to position myself to get the best writing advice and assistance I can.
I see my writing career as a series of negotiable steps, depending on what comes my way. No guarantees, but I will do the very best I can with what I have and what I’m given.
Guess I’m not a road map kind of person. Guess I’m more of a negotiator.
Catherine
