Writing Goals, Reading Goals

My pal Justine Larbalestier has a very different list of writing goals than most folks I know. Where most writers I know want to “make the New York Times bestseller list” or “sell a multi book contract,” or “land a six-figure deal” or “be lead title” (Mine, by the way, is “be professional writer for 40 years”), Justine’s writing goals are much more, well, writing focused. She wants to write a book in each of a list of genres. She wants to write a book in every POV. She wants to write a trilogy, a standalone, and a series (we’ll have to get her over here so she can tell me exactly what the difference is between a series and a trilogy, unless she means a series with anything other than three books). And now, with only four books on the shelf, she’s already crossed a great many of these items off her to do list. Having read her fifth (as of yet unpublished) book, I’ll tell you she’s accomplished a few more.

This is probably a far more reasonable way to set goals for one’s career. After all, what kinds of books you writer are completely under your control; all that other stuff is not. My smaller writing goals are usually predicated on production. A few years ago, I said “I want to write more than one book a year” and “I want to sell into a different genre. I’ve now done both.

As for things like genre and POV and such, I don’t know if I can set that kind of goal. Those are, I think more based on what kind of ideas I have. For instance, I had an idea for a book about killer unicorns and unicorn hunters. As the story developed in my head, I realized that it could only be done justice in a YA manner. So it’s YA. (The fact that I’d been dying to write YA for years probably helped me in my decision to write that book.) I know I’d like to write an SF novel one day, but a big part of that is that I’ve always had SF ideas. Which ever one “lands” in my brain, however — that’s another story.

I’ve been doing a lot of goal setting recently. By 2010, I’ll have 6 books (at least) on the shelves, but there will only be two stories: Amy’s and Astrid’s. Is it any wonder that almost every one of my new ideas are for standalone books? Clearly my creative mind wants to try something new.

The thing I find so amazing about Justine’s goal lists are that she can say, “today I’m writing a historical, today a crime novel. today a fantasy.” In some genres. that would be impossible. In romance, for instance, the branding has gotten completely out of hand. Not only are you a historical writer, but you’re a Victorian paranormal historical writer. You’re a sexy regency-set historical writer. You’re XYZ, and you’d better not try to do anything different. When my first book came out, I remember attending an RWA conference and being told that I’d already killed my career, because I’d branded myself so specifically to “Ivy League chick lit.” Um, excuse me? That’s a brand? No, that’s the topic of my four-book series. Lauren Baratz-Logsted just did an excellent post about this.

My industry goals are ones I have no control over. My writing goals are more story based. I don’t usually approach it as “I want to write a story in X genre.” But if the X genre story appears, I am dying to write THAT story. (With YA, I’d already been thwarted, as SSG didn’t end up being YA.)

As far as reading goals go, I’ve got heaps at the moment! I haven’t read anything at all in the past few months, so I’m going through withdrawal. This is what I’ve read since August: Living Dead Girl (Scott, not Goldberg), Ella Minnow Pea, and Cycler.

I’ve got on my bedstand table: The Thief (Attolia), Graceling, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, Impossible, The Hunger Games, Skinned, A Winter’s Tale, Stolen, Razor Girl, The Magic Thief, The Goose Girl, The Invention of Hugo Cabret….and on my computer, the new book by Carrie Ryan.  Yes, a LOT of YA. I shall probably be sick to death of YA before I’m finished. I’m probably not helping the situation any by going to the YA party at Politics and Prose tonight.