Goals are dreams with deadlines.
- Napoleon Hill
Deadlines are simply essential for writers. They help you prioritise and remain focused and avoid procrastination. Tim Urban has some good lessons on procrastination. See his TED Talk video
One of the major ways to keep yourself on track and moving toward your goal of completing your book is to set a deadline. A deadline plays the crucial role of helping you stick to your schedule so you can complete your manuscript on time. Some things to consider as you set your deadlines include:
How long should the book be?
Are you asking how you can set a deadline when you don’t know how long you actually need to write the book? Good question. The general rule of thumb is one month for a book of 30,000 words. This roughly translates to 1000 words per day. So, if you write 500 words each day, your deadline would be two months.
Let me point out here that the ideal word count varies depending on your genre and your target audience. This means that you should first determine your word count then divide it by your daily target to get to your deadline date. It is, therefore, important to research on the ideal word count for the sort of book you want to write.
Your writing calendar
A simple printed monthly calendar should suffice when setting your schedule. Start by marking off the days when you know you won’t be able to write at all. Then, based on the number of days you’ve already determined you need to complete your first draft, you can set a date that actually works.
Once you’ve set your deadline, be sure to share it with your identified accountabilitypartner. Working with an editor also helps, and is in fact highly recommended. Your deadline can be the date when you commit to deliver your first draft to your editor.
In addition to having a deadline for when you’ll complete your book, also set deadlines for smaller milestones. Create a schedule for when the first draft of chapter 1 will be done, chapter 2, and so forth. Ensure your deadlines are reasonable and based on how much you can do each day. Setting unrealistic goals will only eat away at your morale as you keep missing each milestone.
Something else that will push you to stay accountable is to announce to your friends and family that you are writing a book. You’ll likely get a lot of positive feedback, which is great for morale when starting out. It will also help you keep pushing yourself whenever you are tempted to slack off.
Other important activities
We’ve focused on the deadlines for the actual writing because it is the activity you have the most control over. However, you will also need to set deadlines for other activities that count towards the final book, not just the actual writing. These include preparing your outline, doing your research, editing, and publishing.
Setting deadlines for these additional activities helps you have a goal with which to work. Of course, it is important to be flexible with these deadlines, because the activities could take more or less time than you expect as you learn what your personal writing process looks like.
It’s time to reflect!
- What’s your rough estimate for how much time it will take you to complete your book?
- What do you think would be your greatest challenge in terms of beating your deadlines?
- What will guide you when establishing a time estimate for activities like research, editing, and publishing?
It’s time to act!
Share your reflections with a partner or a writer’s group.
Writing Checklist
Did I…
- Read Day 9 Insights
- Write my reflection from today’s reading
- Write my action plan
- Share my action plan for accountability with a partner or a writer’s group