If you have set a goal to write your book this year, do not delay. Here is a game plan to get your book written.

Every year, people set goals. But many of those goals go unfinished. It is hard to look at a book and think of writing your first book in one year, but I want to tell you that it is very possible. Get started with a game plan to get your book finished. It is not as large of a goal as you think.

Steps to Consider

First is to think about the writing goal. A good length first novel is between 50,000-75,000 words. When you do the math, that is less than 2000 words per week! Between 1000-1500 to be exact. A good solid hour with some coffee, a plan, and preparation go a long way to that end. Here are some steps.

• Plan about an hour to work on your book 3-4 times per week. This time is not just spent writing. This time is for preparation, planning your world and characters, and also working on the other things that an author needs to be concerned with (more details below).
• Separate your 3-4 hours per week into planning, writing, and authoring business.
• Your planning time needs to include rough ideas about where your book is going, and who your characters are.
• Your writing time is dedicated to putting your thoughts on paper and working it smooth. You should also make sure to spend some time on basic editing, but other people will help with this step later.
• Your author business things need to including finding a list of people to help read the draft before you send it to the market. Get their ideas, corrections, and recommendations for a better book. You also need to work on deciding your publishing route and establishing a presence on the web either through a website or through social media.

Publishing Route

When we talked about publishing routes, this means figuring out how your book will be publishing. Here are the basics. I have other videos and articles discussing these in detail:

• Self Publishing: You bring the book to the market with a company like Amazon, Lulu, or IngramSpark. You can prepare everything or hire out the details you can't do for yourself.
• Hybrid Publishing: This model (which could mean a variety of things) is a mix between doing it yourself and hiring out aspects of publishing.
• Vanity Company: These are often billed as self-publishing companies, but actually they are generally very expensive and don't offer a lot without paying them extreme amounts of money. They are best to avoid.
• Indie Publishing: These companies are similar to traditional companies, but they don't offer advances on royalties.
• Traditional Publishing: These are the big companies who pay for everything and often give an advance. They usually take a long time to get into and require an agent to get in the door. It is not likely you will get a traditional deal in one year, but give it a try if it is for you!