It’s halfway through October, and it’s time to start focusing on how to end the year as a writer. We have just north of a couple of months left, and I don’t know about you, but I’d love to end it on a high note. So, what are some realistic goals we can set to end the year?
I suppose that depends on how seriously we take these goals and implement them. Goals mean nothing without action to make them happen.
In fact, I’m going to create a “To Do” list in Google. Not only will it be something to help inspire me to put in the effort, but I will embed it into this post to show that I’m not just blowing smoke about making good things happen.
7 Realistic Goals to End 2025
When creating goals of any kind, it’s important that you make them according to what you can control.
For instance, saying you want to have X number of visitors to your blog every day is something you should avoid. That’s because you can’t force people to read your content. Instead, a goal would be to write X number of posts centering around high-value keyphrases and topics.
These goals are things I have absolute control over and have the greatest potential for some amazing success. That is as long as I’m creating content and stories people want to consume.
I’m also including plans on how to accomplish these goals in case you would like to create your own.
1. Get the Blog Back on a Regular Schedule
The blog was doing great in terms of regular content. However, things kind of petered out over the summer. I don’t want to get into too much detail, so let’s just say it was exceptionally chaotic this year.
This first goal is all about getting back to a regular publishing schedule. In this case, I want three posts per week scheduled in advance. That way, if a particular blog post takes a bit longer to write, I’ll have plenty of time to get it published.
Based on past experiences, I know that this is an easier goal to accomplish. That is as long as I am putting in the effort to ensure I have time throughout the week.
The Plan:
By researching and scheduling blog posts ahead of time, I’ll know what’s coming up and what needs to be written. This centers on how often I want to publish blog posts and my capabilities.
2. Get the YouTube Channel on Schedule
Currently, the YouTube channel is sitting at 4,090.5 hours of watch time in a 12-month period. If it drops below 4,000 hours, I lose monetization from ads. I also lose some of the neat tools of being in the YouTube Partner Program, such as a merch shelf below the videos.
Part of this lapse in viewership is the fact that I’m not very consistent with video uploads. That’s because I prioritize doing the things that make the most money, such as working for clients.
But if I want to retire from freelancing and focus on being a creator, I need to generate at least $160 per day. That’s simply not going to happen without some quality video content.
The Plan:
Like the blog posts, I want the videos scheduled a week in advance for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That means prioritizing the channel a bit more when I have time available.
3. Publish Shadows, Finish Writing Fury and VII
Although I lumped my three most current books together in this writing goal, they are technically separate. Still, I would like to publish Shadows of Atlantic City while finishing the first drafts of Fury and VII.
The nice thing about publishing Shadows is that it’s all but done. I only have a few tweaks and am testing the print of the cover art. I’m pushing for a Halloween release date, but we’ll see how things go.
As for Fury and VII, both of them are mostly written. I just need a bit more time to wrap them up. Fury is the sequel to Kingmaker, so it’s going to need more scrutiny. VII is published on Wattpad, and I’m not pushing as hard for it to come out perfect.
The Plan:
Prioritize and schedule blocks of time to finish writing and publishing the books. This means less doomscrolling on social media and using any hours throughout the week to get them done. This is an important goal for me to accomplish on a personal level.
4. Review Five New Products
Part of creating the best content for a blog or YouTube channel is coming up with topics people actually want to consume. In this case, reviews always outperform everything else. That’s because most people look up a product online before buying it.
I have an ever-growing list of products for authors and bloggers. There is no reason why I shouldn’t have five of them reviewed before the end of the year.
In reality, I’d like to cover double that number. However, I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to try them all. Keep in mind that I don’t write about products or services unless I’ve used them in some fashion.
The Plan:
Set aside some of the “blogging” time to test out new apps that I wish to share with my audience. I would like to review a new product every week, but that will depend on how much time I have left on any given day.
5. Find Three More Affiliates for Content
A lot of bloggers make most of their money from affiliate marketing. I haven’t been the most consistent with product testing and setting up these kinds of links. And there is a lot of money to be made with the right audience.
Who knows? It may be the very thing that helps me quit freelancing and write full-time for myself.
Of course, it takes more than just sharing a link to really maximize the use of affiliate marketing. Thanks to how deeply I dive into Reedsy’s masterclass, it’s one of the most clicked-on affiliate links I have on the site.
The Plan:
Using affiliate platforms such as Share-A-Sale and Impact, I need at least three affiliates that fit my blog’s niche, which mostly centers on writing and blogging. Then, I have a content strategy in place to maximize the affiliates, such as using reviews and tutorials.
6. Start Planning Screenplays from Stories and Books
One of the things I would love to do in 2026 is create live-action videos of scenes from my books and stories to promote them. I’m also on the fence about creating entire movies on YouTube based on my books.
However, I’m not 100% sure about how to create those screenplays. It’s a class I intend to take in college later, but why not start today and get some of them planned?
That’s why this goal is more about planning and researching ways to write the screenplays for the books.
The Plan:
Spend at least ten hours throughout the rest of the year exploring the potential of writing screenplays for YouTube. That includes what apps to use and a basic how-to for potential content on the blog.
7. Write 125,000 Words in Total
Word count goals work exceptionally well for me because they demonstrate productivity while highlighting time usage. I would love to write more this year than I did in 2024, which isn’t a very high bar to hurdle.
I had a lot going on in 2024, and it slowed me down to one of the worst years of writing I’ve ever had.
This particular goal is simply based on writing 2200 words per day, Monday through Friday, for the rest of the year. And to be perfectly honest, if I keep to the rest of the above goals, I should write nearly double that amount.
The Plan:
Just one, two-hour block of time for writing per day will hit this goal. That is roughly how long it takes me to write, whether it’s a blog post or a story. As long as I stick to my schedule the rest of the year, I should blow this one out of the water.
What Should the End Results Be from These Goals?
So, what do I hope to accomplish with these seven writing goals to wrap up the year? It’ll be easier to break this down into a bullet list.
- Increasing traffic to the blog while increasing revenue.
- Increasing viewership to the channel while also increasing revenue.
- Having more books to market, both free and paid.
- Improving my reputation as an author according to Google.
- Making money from affiliate sales.
- Preparation to make live-action scenes from my books and stories.
- Proving to myself that I can accomplish all this through proper time management.
Now, a lot of these things are reliant on creating content people want to consume. As I stated earlier, you can’t force someone to visit your site, read your content, or watch your videos.
However, I am confident enough to highlight how high-quality content can influence all of the above. It all comes down to creating the very best content you can regarding topics, niches, products, and services people want most.
It’s a competition for eyeballs on your content. You gotta create something that stands out among the rest.
Perhaps the most important element to keep in mind is that you’re not in competition with anyone except yourself. Goals are meant to help you advance, not surpass what someone else can accomplish.
It’s all about self-improvement and what you can do to move yourself where you want to be in life. Create your goals with that in mind. Ask yourself, “Where do I want to be in five years?”
How Will 2025 End for You as a Writer?
I’m keeping the checklist open as an extra tab to remind me of the things I want to accomplish. Then, I’ll schedule blocks of time in Asana as a way to keep myself on task.
I know a lot of folks tend to slow down as the year comes to a close. I’m more in the mindset of why wait, and let’s build something memorable before the end of the year.
Set writing goals according to your capabilities. Not everyone will have enough time available to accomplish everything on my list, and that’s OK. It’s my list of goals, not yours. As long as you’re working toward something you’re passionate about, that’s all that matters in the end.
End the year strong and boost your confidence before 2026 starts. It may greatly influence how you start the year while working toward something greater for yourself and your family.
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