Thursday – A Little Personal

~ John W. Howell

a writer-meme

 

I just returned from an excellent writer’s conference and have the need to change/set some short-term goals if I am to accomplish what I envisioned as a successful conclusion when I started this writer’s journey.

To begin the process, I think a restatement of my original goal (mission statement) is in order. Here it is: To Write What People Want to Read.

I know my mission statement doesn’t sound all that profound but has been my guiding principle since I began writing in 2012. You will notice it has nothing to do with money, fame, glory, or Amazon rankings. The idea of writing for readers answers the question of why my so-called platform here on WordPress is more about entertainment than selling books. Yes there is a click-through on the sidebar and yes I have put an arrow (see below) on the blog now and then pointing to all the hard sell on the sidebar but for the most part subjects covered here are to be read. I keep the word counts manageable in recognition of the time it takes to visit some blogs. In short I don’t do a superb job conforming to the basic rules of attracting a mass following. I do know those who do follow do not need to waste their time on overly long posts.

Where am I going with all of this?

1. I need to rewrite the opening to the sequel to My GRL. I have never been entirely happy with it and a group of very bright folks gave me some clues on how to make it better.

2. I need to hold on any more work on editing book three of the My GRL trilogy until the sequel to book one is published.

3. I need to finish the edits and rework for what I am calling a stand alone (my fourth book) and begin the query process. The current name is Circumstances of Childhood.

4. I have asked for and received from my publisher a waiver on the first right of refusal for books two and three of the trilogy. I have made the decision to self-publish these.

5. I will continue to write material I hope people want to read and will do those things necessary to try to reach readers with the message that my stuff is good to read.

So there you have it. A clear path and the basic plan for the next twelve months. I think the conference was worth it.

a arrow

29 thoughts on “Thursday – A Little Personal”

  1. I think your mission statement is spot on, John, and I wish you well with it. Everything else stems from that. People will only buy what they want to read. Publishers will only publish what (they think) people want to read.

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  5. I’m glad to hear that you are self publishing. I think you will have a lot more control over your destiny. I read your long posts too. Also, when I’m reading this on my phone the arrow doesn’t point at anything so it becomes one of those how to keep an idiot busy tests. I fell for it.

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  7. John, I’m soooo proud of you! First, it takes a great deal of courage to attend a writers’ conference AND to admit that we have some changes to make (either in our work-in-progress or in our marketing of it). Second, you can be my “guinea pig” and let me know about this self-publishing thing. I, too, have book one of my planned trilogy completed (but not repped or published), and am midway into book two — and need all the advice anybody can part with!

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  9. A noble mission indeed.
    For myself, I long ago gave up hoping that I’d get more than a couple of dozen hits a day because I just like writing.
    I’ve never really expected anyone to be bowled over by my writing, but I love it so if I get a bit of positive feedback now and then, it’s a bonus.

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  11. This is sooo exciting,John! Many apologies to you, I feel so bad. I’m working with an editor out of Ireland now and he has me on deadlines. Argh!

    I wish you all the best with self-publishing.

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  13. Your mission statement makes sense to me. Good luck on your writing goals! You are inspiring. Perhaps I will finish my own meager novel. I started my blog to get back to writing but mostly got caught up in blogging.

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  14. That’s awesome that you came away with a new charge and inspiration to tackle your goals. I agree with everyone else in that your mission statement is pretty spot on – I probably tweak my goals/how-to(s) on my site too often, but it still always comes back to wanting to write stories that people love to read. Best to you.

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  15. Your mission statement is the perfect kind: short and to the point. I don’t see you having any problems accomplishing your goals. Sounds like the writer’s conference was a good kick in the rear that we can all use from time to time.

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