Build an Author Platform
SFF Writing Resolutions for the Future:
3-Year and 5-Year
This blog is not about New Year resolutions, but since 2024 has come swooping into view, let’s talk about long-term writing goals and how they relate to New Year resolutions. These goals would still follow the resolution rules. Check out my blog Charting the Unknown: SFF Writing Adventures and 2024 Ambitions on how to select your writing goals for the new year. For these longer-term goals, we still want to accomplish positive change. And each target should do these two things:
- a) guide your creative efforts
- b) make progress in your writing journey.
Let’s look at 3-year possibilities:
- Write, edit, and publish a full-length novel within the next three years. Questions you should ask yourself. How many novels do you think you can prepare for publishing in a 3-year timeframe? What is your normal manuscript process? Do you redraft multiple times? Do you have multiple line editors? Do you need more than 3/5/10 beta readers?
- Secure Literary Representation. Questions. Maybe you have a book written and ready to publish. Traditional publishing requires you to secure literary representation from an agent. Do you know who you want to publish with? Have you done your research on who you think are likely candidates? Will they meet your publishing expectations? Do that research too. What do traditional publishers offer these days? Are you familiar with Query letters? Blurbs? Write a single-page summary of your novel. These tasks can involve querying agents, attending pitch events, and refining your book proposal.
- Start a Writing Group. Questions. Do you want to establish or join a writing group? What kind (e.g. critique, brainstorming, author discussion, traditional or Indie publishing authorship)? If this is to create your own group and you’ve tossed the different kinds of groups around, as listed above, how many folks do you want to join? Is it online or in person or both? When would you meet? How long would the meetings last? How do you make sure this is inclusive, diverse, and a safe place?
- Build an Author Platform. Questions. What is the focus of this Author platform? A website to post a profile and possible reading material? Will this be a blog site? Will there be a storefront? Which genre will be offered? What social media links will be available to follow? Will this be LLC or Incorporated? If you make enough earnings, will you file taxes from your home state or have a service to file interties in alternate locations? Will you offer printed novels or just e-books? Can you have other authors provide feedback on your work? Is the purpose to gain a mailing list will you use Mailchimp or Convertkit or another tool to regulate email collections?
Those four ideas are excellent 3-year goals to strive to accomplish. Additional ideas might be:
Attend Author Events and Book Signings or Attend Writing Conferences and Workshops to meet readers, authors, and industry professionals. Build your writing credentials and gain exposure by submitting short stories to literary magazines, anthologies, and contests.
The true alchemists do not change lead into gold, they change the world into words.
~ William H. Gass
Let’s look at 5-year possibilities.
Some of these ideas make sense to the nth degree, but still need to adapt and customize based on your personal writing aspirations. The 5-year goals are designed to inspire significant growth and achievement in your writing career.
- Complete a Series or Trilogy. We all have this on the burner just simmering away. Let’s knock it out.
- Establish a Steady Income from Writing. What types of multiple streams of income (e.g., passive, freelance writing, mentoring, coaching, e-courses) relate to your writing and can help you achieve financial stability?
- Become a Full-Time Writer. Assess your current financial situation and determine how much income you actually need to sustain yourself, as a full-time writer. Try a few of those 3-year paths to diversify your streams of income and develop an impressive writing portfolio. Publish regularly and have that author platform on lockdown. Network in the writing community of the genre you chose and even in the sub-genres you love to discuss. Invest your income in marketing and branding. This strategic planning, dedication, and adaptability are the keys to becoming a full-time writer within 5-years.
- Write and Publish a Non-Fiction Book to support your fiction work. Select a topic you are so familiar with you have multiple ways to explain it to other writers. Perhaps you did the short story challenge for 3 years and were published in over 50 places? Or you failed miserably at something things and you wanted to warn others about the consequences of those failures. Be passionate about a field of interest because you will be researching and writing about it for this novel and it’s different than creative writing. You will revisit the idea over and over and have to break it down into small parts to develop a non-fiction book. Whether it’s related to your genre or a separate topic you need to be committed.
Finally, embarking on a journey of setting and achieving writing goals over the next three to five years offers a roadmap for both personal and professional growth. From completing novels and securing publishing deals to establishing an influential online presence and potentially transitioning to a full-time writing career, these goals represent the aspirations of a writer committed to honing their craft and making a lasting impact in the literary world. As the ink meets the page and the keyboard hums with inspiration, remember that the pursuit of these objectives is not just about the destination but also the transformative journey of self-discovery, resilience, and the continual evolution of one’s writing identity. These goals should serve as beacons guiding writers through the exciting chapters that lie ahead, each word penned a step closer to realizing their literary dreams.
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JL Nich, Science Fiction Fantasy Author
