New Year, New Goals

It’s a brand new year. That means a new start to achieving new goals and a fresh clean slate to do it with.

Serious Writer posted a question to its community board last month asking writers to list their 2020 goals. Most of the responses involved completing works-in-progress, building marketing plans, and blogging consistently.

I wanted to add three goals for your consideration as we enter a new year:

1) Read at least one middle grade book each month. 

Stephen King said it best: “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”  When you read something that resonates with you – or doesn’t – analyze it. Figure out how the author constructed their chapter (or sentence, or paragraph) to create the response you felt. 

Reading comes in handy when it’s time to market your own work. You’ll better understand what types of books are on shelf, what’s selling, and how your work might fit within the genre.

2) Attend a writing workshop or conference.

The benefits of attending a conference are well worth the investment. There are opportunities to hold face-to-face meetings with editors, agents, and publishers. You can connect with other writers to build critique groups. If your conference offers critiques, you are able to receive valuable feedback on your work. The industry education alone is well worth the time and effort it takes to attend.

3) Write a review of a middle grade book each month. 

Reviews are important for authors. When you read a middle grade book, take a moment to write a (spoiler-free) review of what you’ve read. This does two things: First, it helps the author sell their book. Second, if you post a mini-review on your blog or social media account, it helps build your platform. Book reviews are crucial for new and self-published authors, so why not help other authors the way (someday soon) you wish to be helped?

Here’s wishing you a healthy, productive new writing year! If you have a new goal for 2020, tell me in the comments below or on Instagram at @klmckinneywrites.

Happy New Year!

Kell McKinney earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Oklahoma and an M.S. in documentary studies from the University of North Texas. She’s a part-time copywriter, double-time mom and wife, and spends every free minute writing and/or hunting for her car keys. Connect with her on Twitter @Kell_McK or kellmckinney.com.