Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
If I would have paid more attention to the date, I would have come up with a “Summer of Writing” challenge. Eh, it happens. So, we’re just going to keep it simple and set some writing goals for July.
In reality, it didn’t feel like summer until a few days ago. It’s been raining and hailing for nearly two months straight.
Still, let’s set up some goals for July and go over how to accomplish them.
Goals to Accomplish in July of 2023
Although I have a lot of smaller goals that I usually work on throughout the day anyway, I’ve decided to work on five important aspects of my writing.
Well, at least by putting more of an emphasis on them.
I usually track everything I do per day, week, and month anyway. So, these are more of the overall goals I’d like to accomplish for writing in July.
Publishing My Next Book
I am currently working on polishing up the (hopefully) final draft. The plan is to have my next book published in the next few weeks.
Of course, I don’t plan on just publishing anything simply to meet a self-imposed deadline. Don’t get me wrong, deadlines can help you stay focused. But I don’t want to put out something that isn’t a complete story.
Since everyone has been so busy as of late, I’m not sure if I’ll get Kingmaker on the shelves before my birthday. I’ll keep doing what I can to make it happen, though.
At the moment, that’ll include a few smaller blocks of time throughout the week to polish up the text.
30,000 Words into Fury
I am currently working on the next book in the series while waiting on cover art and feedback for Kingmaker. I would love to have Fury done before Halloween. And so far, I’m on track.
For July, I would love to be 30,000 words into the book.
Keep in mind that I have a lot of other things I have to do throughout the day. I can only spare so many hours per week to work on the next book.
To do this, I use Asana to schedule my day, which includes blocks of time specifically for working on the book. That way, I can always guarantee myself that I put some quality time into Fury.
Then, I’ll set goals in Reedsy according to the two-hour blocks of time I set aside on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. That means I currently need to write more than 1,400 words per those writing days.
Though, I usually write well beyond that number anyway. In truth, I should be done with the first draft of Fury sometime in September.
Coincidentally, Buy Me a Coffee monthly members get a chance to beta-read my books before anyone else. Just thought I’d put that out there.
Breaking My Monthly Word-Count Record
I’m always working on trying to break personal writing records. As of this post, I’ll need 95,393 words to break my record for the month, which was set in December of 2022.
That means I’ll need at least 3,078 words per day. For me, that’s really not a big issue. If I had time, I could easily write between 6,000 and 10,000 depending on the topic or story.
The reason my record is so low is because of the many things I do in the day. My primary job is more of researching topics, editing, and managing a team of writers. That means I don’t get to write as much as I used to.
Yet, I continuously try to break this record, which usually falls back on time management and keeping myself motivated throughout the day.
In any case, by writing at least one blog post and keeping with working on the books, I should be able to surpass what I need on any given day.
Work On My Personal Blog a Bit
This month, I plan on polishing up my personal blog quite a bit. The site, MichaelBrockbank.com, needs quite a bit of TLC. Especially since I plan on selling my books from the site.
It doesn’t look too terrible at the moment, but I really need to start getting things fixed up and a bit more content on the site.
So, how am I going to spruce up the site for more visitors? Well, I’m going to dedicate a two-hour block of time once per week to work specifically on the blog.
This will include everything from adjustments in the back end to writing and fixing up some blog posts.
After all, I want to do a video on creating a professional blog. And right now, I don’t think my personal site is professional enough for the audience I’m trying to help.
This is what happens when you spend all of your time working with clients and not enough for yourself. But, I go where the money is, and I’m paid quite well for what I provide.
I just wish I would have put more time into my blogs, in the beginning. Can you imagine where I’d be today if I had?
Time Management Challenge
This one isn’t necessarily a goal, but more of a challenge to get more done. I’m challenging myself to actually focus on what needs to be done every day without getting sucked into YouTube Shorts.
The trick is to not feel overwhelmed. With everything I have going on, this happens a lot more than I would like to admit.
Not only do I use Asana to plan my day, but I also keep track of every minute I spend working with clients, blogging, creating videos, and writing books.
Think of it like a timesheet of sorts.
The challenge this month is to break my previous record of how much time I actually work each day. This was set in May of 2023 at 77.26% of my allotted time.
Confused yet? So, this is how it works…
- I calculate how much time in the day I need to work, which is usually an 8-hour period.
- My “time sheet” keeps track of every minute I spend working on projects.
- Then, the spreadsheet calculates how much of my day is actually spent working.
This means that in an 8-hour day, 77.26% is roughly 6.18 hours per day. I know that might not sound like a lot. But in reality, it’s still more than what a lot of people will do while at a traditional job.
Keep in mind that I don’t count things like going to the bathroom, taking breaks, playing around on social media, or anything else one does at a job that isn’t working.
If I’m not actively working on a book, blog post, or video, it’s not counted.
Why Worry About Writing Goals, Anyway?
I find that setting goals and creating challenges for myself ultimately plays a role in my success. It’s how I turned a $25-per-week job writing on Textbroker into being able to buy a house and have the career I love.
With each accomplishment, confidence grows, especially when you do a good job and clients sing your praises.
From the perspective of blogging, you grow an audience and possibly start hitting the top search results of Google. Of course, that depends on the topics you decide to cover.
For example, I highly doubt this post will get indexed by Google. I call these “one-offs.” They are great to engage those who follow the blog and enjoy my writing, but not so much when it comes to ranking on Google.
Not every blog post needs to focus on hitting the search results pages.
Sometimes, giving a bit of lip service to your audience can work wonders for motivation as well as keeping them around longer.
No one wants to follow a blog that appears dead or abandoned.
Goals can help you keep those tops spinning and people reading. Not to mention how they help develop your skills as a writer in general. As the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.”
It’s All About Self-Improvement
At the end of the day, goals help improve yourself regardless of the reason. Whether it’s writing 95,000 words this month or losing 10 pounds, they work to help you become more than what you are today.
If it wasn’t for setting goals and pushing myself to become a writer, I don’t know where I would be nowadays. Sure, it took more than 10 years to get here, but it’s been one hell of a ride.
Considering how I was in a dark place before, I am pretty sure I know where I would be today. I go over all of that in A Freelancer’s Tale.
Nonetheless, for me, it’s a constant need for evolution. I’m always looking to see what’s next over the horizon. This year, it’s writing a dark fantasy series of books that I am truly excited to write.
Perhaps next year, it’ll center more around being creative with screenwriting and YouTube skits for fun. I’m still leaning toward creating live-action music videos for my books.
My point is that I am always reaching to climb that next peak. Some trails are more difficult to master than others, but I’ll keep climbing until I reach the top.
What Are Your Writing Goals for July?
There we have it. I think I’m going to write a follow-up to the month and see just where things stand for August. That’s if I remember to do so.
Off to Asana I go to plan out the article for August…
What kinds of things would you like to accomplish in July for writing?
- Should You Use AdSense Vignette Ads on Your Blog? - September 20, 2023
- How to Embed Your Wattpad Story Widget Into WordPress - August 9, 2023
- 15 Pros and Cons of Using the Free Reedsy Writing App - August 4, 2023
