Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
As the year continues to march along, how am I doing with my goal of writing one million words? Well, if things continue to move along smoothly, I should surpass that number by quite a bit. With all of the things I do in a day, how is it possible that I can crank out so much content?
First of all, it’s not easy. Especially as I’ve been having some severe down days as of late. Still, I’m able to maintain the average for the year. I just need to turn it up a bit if I want some time to relax on the weekends.
Perhaps the most difficult part is the fact that most of my client work nowadays entails more research and editing than actual writing. This makes it exceedingly difficult to rack up a word count every day.
Still, I’ve been able to manage it thus far…albeit as a car with a blown tire using a donut traveling 50 mph in a 75 with a completely shattered windshield and bad ball joints.
Yes, I’ve done all of these in the past.
How I’m Hitting One Million Words This Year
It’s no secret that I have an awful lot on my plate, and 99% of it falls on my shoulders alone. To say my time is limited is a gross underestimation.
So, considering all that I do in a day, how am I able to keep up the word count?
Writing for the Blogs
The vast majority of the words I’ve written this year center around the blogs. This includes all five of my active websites, Vocal.media, and Hubpages.com. Pretty much anything I write for any blog or website that is purely for me is counted in this category.
As I’ve been working on getting all of the sites on a routine publishing schedule, this means I need to crank out at least nine articles per week just for the three primary blogs.
That, alone, makes up more than half of what I need to reach one million words this year.
Working on My Next Book
When I have a few moments, I am also working on my next book. I wanted it published by now, but had some severe family issues back in January that all but sucked the wind out of my sails.
Still, I am setting a goal to have the book published by my birthday. I’m even setting up some writing goals in Reedsy to get this done sooner.
Afterward, I plan on rewriting VII and working on several other novels before the end of the year. My tentative goal was to write more than 300,000 words this year for the books alone. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if that’s viable given the nature of what I do every day.
Nonetheless, I’m writing more on the novels this year than I did last. And that right there is a victory.
YouTube Scripts and Descriptions
Although I don’t follow a precise script for the YouTube videos, I do a lot of bullet points of things I want to talk about. Since they are part of the content itself, I figured I could count those toward the one-million goal.
However, each script and video description is only like 300 to 400 words. So, I’m not getting a ton of content written when doing videos.
I admit that I need to make more video content this year. If all goes according to plan, I should be able to finish up 2022 strong with some video content. But we’ll have to see how everything progresses.
Content for Buy Me a Coffee Supporters
I try to maintain a constant flow of content each week for Buy Me a Coffee supporters and followers. In fact, I’ve written a few things that I thought were simply amazing for the monthly supporters.
The hard part is coming up with content that isn’t available on any of my other blogs. I want these posts to be unique and informative. And sometimes, it’s overly difficult to come up with a good topic.
But if I’m asking for $5 per month, I need to provide something that is worth the investment.
Client Work Helps Reach One Million Words…Kinda
Although the vast majority of my client work today is void of actually writing content, I do manage to get a few blog posts in here and there. Especially since I picked up a new client.
So far, I’ve written just over 11,000 words for clients this year, which is about par with what I did in 2021. However, I’m sure this will pick up as the rest of the year continues.
Even though I don’t get to write as much, I still love my job.
Improving Time Management
Perhaps the biggest contributor to writing one million words this year is how I’ve been working on time management. Now, I still have quite a few things to work out, but I’m on track to be more efficient this year than I was last.
Out of everything I try to teach writers, this is perhaps the most vital…self-improvement.
Even if you wrote one more word today than you did yesterday, you can still call it a win. That is as long as you continue to keep that trend moving upward.
This is one of the biggest reasons why I became a successful freelance writer with content mills. I would keep track of the words I wrote throughout the week and then try to beat that record.
I also keep track of every minute I spend working on everything I do. One of my goals is to put more time into these projects than I did last year.
No matter how I break it down, though, it all boils down to working on time management and being more efficient. You don’t necessarily have to stress yourself out as long as you prioritize and refrain from wasting too much time.
4 Ways I Stay Motivated to Write One Million Words
Maintaining all of the projects I have often exhausts my aging brain by the end of the day. However, I am still motivated to do what I can to reach my goals.
Monday through Friday, there are four primary things that keep me typing at my keyboard to create something meaningful for someone.
1. Gamify Writing with a Spreadsheet
I talk about my spreadsheet quite a bit. It’s been instrumental in my success over the years, and something I’ve maintained since the beginning of 2012.
For me, keeping track of word count and time is a game. In this case, the number of words is like a score, and I strive to beat my all-time personal bests.
This isn’t to mention how I just find it highly interesting to monitor where my time goes and where I need to improve. I love data, and the spreadsheet provides everything I need to focus on what I want to accomplish.
2. Focusing on Helping My Audience
Over the years, I’ve amassed quite a following. Whether it’s on YouTube or the blogs, I strive to provide the most information I can to help others accomplish their dreams.
When I don’t publish something, it makes me feel like I’m letting those people down. You can imagine how I feel about the YouTube channels at the moment.
In any case, the thoughts of my audience are among the main driving factors behind why I push myself to reach some incredible goals. I want to demonstrate it can be done if you hunker down and put in the effort.
I want to help you in your journey, not hinder it.
3. Focusing on Daily Goals Instead of One Million
Now, one million words may sound like a lot. But when you break it down for the year, it’s more manageable. This prevents you from feeling overwhelmed by the larger number.
For example, in a Monday through Friday schedule in 2022, you would only need 3,847 words per day. when you consider this post itself is 1,924 words long, you can see that it shouldn’t take me long to meet that goal.
Even if you take my average of 1,202 words per article, that just means I need three posts per day in addition to the other things I write. And lately, I’ve been publishing far longer articles.
Before I picked up so many other projects, such as videos and editing, I was averaging around 6,000 to 8,000 words per day. Especially when I was working with Textbroker so much.
4. Remembering I Want an External Office
Lastly, I miss having a real office. I gave my home office to my friend so she had a place to sleep when working here in Denver. Now, everything is crammed into my bedroom.
I also miss the prospect of leaving the house and having a real place of business. Instead of viewing my home as a sanctuary, it’s taken on a more stressful persona. That’s because I work from home and can’t separate work and personal life.
Don’t get me wrong, I love being my own boss and such. But there is something to be said about being able to completely separate yourself from your work.
Does Writing One Million Words Really Matter?
In the grand scheme of things, writing one million words per year isn’t necessary for success. If you can line up some high-paying and high-quality clients, you could easily make some good money by writing less.
For me, it’s more of a way to see if I can still write as much as I did back in my prime when working with content mills. Yes, I’ve outgrown those platforms and make a fair amount of money with what I do now. But I want to know that I still have what it takes to do it again should something fall through.
Always have a backup plan.
Plus, it helps when you diversify your income through several means. That way, if something does happen, there is still money coming in from somewhere.
It’s my hope to get the personal projects I’m working on to that point where I won’t have to stress should all of my clients decide to go another route.
Not to mention that it’s nice to have the bragging rights to say that I did write that much this year.
Does this mean you have to strive to keep up with me? Absolutely not! In fact, you should focus more on your own productivity goals. Once you start hammering out those words and beating your personal bests, you get a swell of pride and motivation.
Since I know I am capable of so much more, one million words is something I can achieve.
Like I always say, set goals based on what you can accomplish with your own lifestyle. Not everyone has the same amount of time to write. Work on goals that are more conducive to what you have going on right this minute.
Did you know I have a book on Amazon about freelance writing? It’s the story of how I got started using content mills like Textbroker and became the success that I am today.
Get Your Copy of A Freelancer’s Tale Today!
In the End, It’s All About Self-Improvement
Whether you’re trying to write a million words in a year or just want to get your book started, success centers around constant self-improvement. You’ll eventually hit a plateau in your capabilities, but I doubt any of you are even close to your potential.
Keep working on improving yourself. Because the more you can handle, the more valuable you become to various clients, fans, readers, or employers.
Remember, when it comes to writing, blogging, or authoring, you’re truly the only one who is holding you back.
- How to Write, Edit, and Publish a Decent Book for Free - December 2, 2024
- Breaking My Record of 95,393 Words in a Single Month - November 29, 2024
- How Long Does It Realy Take to Write a Good Book? - November 27, 2024