By Lisa Phillips, @LisaPhillipsbks
This time of year there’s a lot that floats around about goal setting, New Year’s resolutions and going into January with intention.
2022 will be my fourth year using My Brilliant Writing Planner, and some of my favorite parts are the values boards and the quarterly goals pages. I can see which projects I should prioritize, and why some things mean more to me than others.
I also have a wall calendar that’s new this year, a wet erase calendar I’ve filled with work tasks for my writing business.
So who am I?
A USA Today bestseller, a Publishers Weekly bestseller, I’ve written 14 Love Inspired Suspense books and finished six indie Christian romantic suspense series, one of which is ten books long. That’s 57 books total.
So I write.
A lot.
When I think about the next year, something I start doing in the fall semester, the first thing I do is figure out what I learned from the previous year.
- In 2021 I dipped my toe into mentoring, and that’s going to continue through 2022. I need cushion room in my schedule to meet with authors and give time to them as well as get my own work done.
- I tried monthly releases in the second half of 2021. It worked, but I don’t love a pace that fast. So I’m going to spread my releases to every 6 or 8 weeks instead, and one series will be about 5 months between releases this year.
- I’ve got one traditional contract right now, and others my agent is pursuing. Who knows what will come of those? So my schedule has to handle suddenly needing to write a different book than I’d planned.
- I set income goals for myself in 2021 and smashed right through those. But do I keep pushing for higher, higher, more, more, or do I choose to define success as something else? What am I aiming for in 2022?
- This coming year I’ve got two different series to start. One will be completed this year, and the other will be ongoing. I’ve got two completely different marketing plans for them and an idea of what worked, plus some new things to try.
When I’m planning for the coming year, I go through the end of the summer typically, but don’t pencil in much after that. We all learned the last couple of years that we don’t know what might happen. Within a few months, everything can change. So I try for the most part to keep things loose.
What I do know:
Each book needs about a week between when I start thinking about it, and when I’m ready to begin chapter 1. I know how long it will take me to write the book. I know my first editing pass takes about three days. My editor takes a week, my beta reader more like two—and both have to be accounted for. I read over the book again, and I have a proofreader who averages about four hours for a full length novel.
So for each planned “publish” date, I can count back and figure out when I need to start the book, adding in cushion room for when life goes sideways. (It will.) I don’t put books up for pre-order until I have a first draft at least. Amazon will allow an indie author to push the release out a week, but if you cancel it you lose the privilege of preorders for a year. So while technically I could put up all my books for this year now, I’ll hold off for the cover and wait until it’s a few weeks out from when I want to release so I can minimize upset as much as possible.
Also added to this process is cover design. I like to have the cover before I start writing, because often the image will give me ideas for the book. My cover guy likes to design the entire series in one go—it makes for great series branding. So that has to come ahead of me starting to write the book, usually a couple of months before.
Often on my wall calendar, a block of a few weeks to write will say “Book A” or “Book B” from a different series or it’s a slot for a traditionally contracted book I might need to write. I have to account for what’s do-able in the time I have, and not overextend myself by promising too much when I can’t deliver. Sleep is not a luxury, it’s life or death.
I have a friend who wants to indie publish, has a full-time job and a daughter who graduates this summer. Yay! The drive to be a career author is an amazing thing. We all want to be successful and doing it as a writer only sometimes feels like actual work.
My advice? Spend 2022 writing books—maybe even the whole series—and then publish in 2023.
It might seem strange to tell her to wait a whole year, unless you’re used to the snail pace of traditional publishing. But so often indies write one book and immediately publish it. And they have no idea for book two, or when readers will be able to get it.
Having a backlog of books ready to release means she can take time off from writing when life is busy, market the series as a whole, and when it comes time to publish? Make those releases as rapid as she wants.
My friend has the goal of being able to quit her day job. That means an emergency fund that can cushion for the lean times, and having the funds to indie publish (paying for covers and editing) along the way as she builds her readership. It can be tempting to jump ship too early, but building a career over the long run means a more solid foundation—which can lead to greater success.
Indie publishing can be daunting.
There’s so much to learn, and you’ve got to write all the books. You’re an author, a publisher, a marketing company. People try and fail every day—like anyone who’s ever opened a restaurant knows. But breaking it down into tasks to be done in blocks of time frees up your mind for the job at hand because the overarching issues in the publishing process are settled or being taken care of. You’ve got short tasks, weekly goals. Monthly goals. Yearly goals.
What do I need to do tomorrow morning, or Friday afternoon? I’m too tired to write, can I brainstorm or read an ebook on advertising for authors—or go get a massage?
So how about you?
What does success as an author in 2022 mean to you?
How can you build on what you’ve already accomplished?
The fight is almost over.
Reporter Soraya Adams tried to tell the world about Travers Industries and wound up losing everything. Disgraced by a tech company reshaping law enforcement communications, she is forced to flee or be killed.
Judah Havig found a family in Chevalier Protection Specialists, but like everything else in his life it will eventually go bad. When British Intelligence calls in a long overdue favor Judah has to choose between loyalty and a future.
Enemies become friends. Tragedy strikes when it’s least expected. And the entire team is put to the test as Chevalier takes on Travers Industries.
Everything is on the line in the final installment of this high-stakes series.
Book 5 in the Last Chance County spin-off series featuring Zander and his team of protection specialists.
USA Today and top ten Publishers Weekly bestselling author Lisa Phillips is a British ex-pat who grew up an hour outside of London. Lisa attended Calvary Chapel Bible College, where she met her husband. It wasn’t until her Bible College graduation that she figured out she was a writer (someone told her). Since then she’s discovered a penchant for high-stakes stories of mayhem and disaster where you can find made-for-each-other love that always ends in happily ever after.
Lisa can be found in Idaho wearing either flip-flops or cowgirl boots, depending on the season. She and her husband have two kids and two dogs.
Find out more at www.authorlisaphillips.com