Many of you have likely heard my publication story, how the first time I pitched my book, I bombed big time? The speaker had just taught how to write a logline, and I ignored everything he said. If that wasn’t bad enough, I was pitching him a book that wasn’t complete. In my head, it was amazing and worth a million dollar advance. In reality, it was worth nothing.

Because it wasn’t even finished!

I was living in a dream world, and when that agent rejected me, reality came crashing down hard. I was crushed. But when I got over the initial shock, I realized that I hadn’t respected my dream of publication. I hadn’t finished my novel. I hadn’t edited the novel or proofread it. I hadn’t learned anything about how the industry worked or even which agent or publisher might be a good fit for me.

I decided I could quit, or I could respect my dream and get to work.

I got to work.

And I eventually got published.

I now have written 25+ books. Happy ending, right? Lesson over?

Nope.

There is always more to learn, and just this past month, I had to learn this lesson again! And it was painful. I was listening to a speaker talking about how few writers operate from a business mindset. I’m an entrepreneur, so at first I knew he wasn’t talking about me.

Until I realized I was EXACTLY the kind of writer he was talking about! The kind who works really hard but keeps wondering why she stays in mostly the same place. The writer who has written dozens of books and had to get a day job because she wasn’t making enough money to earn a living.

That sounds really critical, and when I realized this speaker was talking about me, I felt criticized! I was defensive and frustrated and angry. I have worked really hard in my career, and the choice to become a teacher was not wrong. That journey has taught me so much and has been a valuable part of my life. As a writer, I didn’t have to do the things this speaker was talking about. I could keep going on as I am, working full-time as a teacher and writing on the side. Dreaming of the day I can retire from teaching and write full-time again…

Ahem.

It hit me then that I have not been respecting my dream in regards to the business side of writing.

Because I didn’t want to do it. Because it’s hard work. Because I want to do the fun part of writing only. (Not that writing is always fun, but I think you know what I mean.)

Bottom line: he was right.

Now, I am welcome to continue working as I have been. Most writers just want to write. We follow a “formula” of sorts where we set up a website with a free download for subscribers. We build our email newsletter list hoping these subscribers will someday buy our books. We’re not basing this on data. We’re just hoping. We’re just doing what everyone else does.

But that’s not necessarily good business. Business owners make plans. They invest money in their business with the goal of offering a product or service that people want. They try to sell that product in order to make a profit. They analyze data. Then they make adjustments and/or new plans based on that data. Not based on what everyone else is doing. Not based on what they want to do. Good business owners practice good business.

So, I started learning more about this. Learning is usually where respecting your dream begins. I’m honestly not exactly sure how to move forward. I know I need to build my own bookstore on my website. Those of you who have bought books on my website are probably asking, “Jill, don’t you already have a store?” Yes, but it’s never worked very well. Ideally, the store would run itself. I didn’t even know that was possible! But since I’m a hybrid author, this also means I need to either make some hard choices about which books not to sell or to make a complicated bookstore. I haven’t decided what to do yet, but it’s not to late for me to respect my dream as a small business owner and give this a go.

I’ve always stressed how important it is to respect your dream of being a writer by learning the craft and putting in the time to hone that craft well. But there is a business side to being a writer that is equally important if you want to be a career writer. You can write and publish as a hobby and not care whether or not you make a profit or break even or even go in the hole each year. You can. That’s acceptable if your goal is only to write or publish books. But if your goal is to make a living at this job, you can also learn how to keep track of your income and expenses and make smart decisions based on that data. You can learn to sell your own products, gather your own customers, and take control of your own sales. You can build a newsletter list of people who are there to buy books, not just there to wait for you to offer them for free.

This was my 2022 hard lesson learned and has become my goal for 2023. By the end of this year I will have moved forward with this plan in some way. I will keep you posted.

How I Respected My Dream in 2022

Now, I also want to talk about the goals I set for last year, because that was one way I did respect my dream as a writer.

In 2022, I embraced the “In Development” method of writing, inspired by how Hollywood production houses are continually juggling multiple projects. I did this to work with my Shiny Squirrel Syndrome/ADD and to give myself permission to follow my muse. I found the “In Development” method a great success and will continue to work under that model in 2023. It works very well for the Jill Williamson brain. I love it!

Last year, I also set up Dragon Speaking Naturally in hopes that it would help me write faster. I got the writing dictation program working well, but I did not succeed in integrating Dragon into my weekly writing routine. The main problem was that I have nowhere private to use Dragon, and the only time I was free to use it was during the hour the rest of my family was getting ready to leave for the day. It was far too noisy in my house to use dictation software at that time, and I never managed to get into the habit of recording dictations elsewhere to upload at a later time. All in all, it wasn’t Dragon that was the problem so much as my home environment and family routines. I would still like to find ways to use dictation, but I’m not sure how in my present home.

1. Books I was planning to write in 2022:
-I succeeded in indie publishing Magic Hunters, book 1.
-I completed writing the first draft of Magic Hunters 2.
-I did not indie publish Magic Hunters, book 2 as I had hoped. It will release it in the summer of 2023.
-I completed writing the first draft of Onyx Eyes. It’s available to read on my Patreon and Kindle Vella.
-I wrote a second write-for-hire book for Focus on the Family titled Running on Empty.

2. Ways to promote my backlist.
I had hoped to prepare my Safe Lands trilogy for indie publishing, but I am still waiting to hear back on the rights-reversion. Therefore, I did not prepare my manuscripts for indie publishing. I will follow up on this in 2023.

3. Marketing goals.
I did learn to use Facebook Ads, but I would not say that I mastered them. I actually really don’t like them. Not saying I’ll never use them again, but I need to have a plan and set a budget before I do. They’re very time consuming to monitor, and I don’t have a lot of time to spare.

Honestly, I accomplished quite a bit, and I’m proud of my hard work. I’ve greatly enjoyed the “In Development” way of creating. It takes off a lot of stress for me, which is lovely. Next year I want to continue creating that way, but I also want to find ways to gather data, analyze it, and use it to make smart business choices. Like I said before, if I learn something groundbreaking, I’ll report back.

Sift Your 2022 for Data

Take a look back at your 2022 and see what you can discover. What goals did you set at the start of last year? What kind of progress did you make on those goals? If you didn’t set goals, take a look at what you accomplished in your pursuit of writing. Be sure to give yourself a lot of grace. Sometimes we set too many goals, goals that limit us, or goals we really have no control over. As you turn around and set goals for 2023, make sure that they are reasonable and things that you can do without taking on too much. “I will write three days a week” might be a better goal than “I will write 5000 words a week.” The former gives you more freedom, while the latter gives you a number that might actually limit you if you’re on a roll one day. Stephanie wrote a fabulous post about how to set goals when facing the unknown. Give it a re-read.

What ways did you respect your dream in 2022? Maybe you worked on your craft or focused on a weaker area of your writing. Maybe you learned some business things like setting up a website or learning how to file your taxes as sole proprietor. Maybe you pitched to an editor or agent for the first time last year. Share in the comments an example of how you respected your dream in 2022. I want to congratulate you!

Also, I’m planning a cover reveal for the second Magic Hunters book and would LOVE your help! Emilie Hendryx and Hannah Prewett have created a wonderful cover for Magic Hunters: The Rising Rebellion, book 2 in the Magic Hunters trilogy. I’m gathering volunteers to help me share the cover all over social media on Thursday, January 26. If you are able to join in and help, please click here to sign up! Thank you!

Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms, and the author of several young adult fantasy novels including the Blood of Kings trilogy. She loves teaching about writing. She blogs at goteenwriters.com and also posts writing videos on her YouTube channel and on Instagram. Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant. She grew up in Alaska without running water or electricity and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kids. Find Jill online at jillwilliamson.com or on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.