What are good goals for a first novel?

First, good on you for making goals and writing them down. Helps keep focus.

This is going to be tricky, though, because once you hit publishing a lot of stuff is beyond your immediate control. There's luck involved in the book industry. You can write an amazing book and if it's not right for the market, or it doesn't find the right agent, or just doesn't click with readers you can end up with nothing.

Which sounds depressing, and is, so the best thing to do, at least IMO, is just keep writing. If you love the process of it, you're ahead of an awful lot of writers--one of the major pitfalls new writers hit, in my experience, is they love to tell stories but kind of hate the writing. That's tough, because if that first book doesn't quite click for whatever reason your best bet is to write another one, which might click for an equally fortuitous reason. That second book then becomes a gateway to the first, either because the best way to promote a first book is to publish a second or because it never hurts to have another MS in your trunk and ready.

So I'd say it's good to set a goal for a book, like get it published or make back an advance, but recognize that the goal has to be fluid. Always have another goal ready to go to keep focused and motivated.

Also, don't go into this to make a lot of money. It can happen, but it usually doesn't and a lot of those factors are also out of your control.

I think you've had a major success already with a first novel--you wrote one! Congratulations! That's a big deal.

Now, are you happy with it? Have you made it the best book you can? Are there parts of it that you think, in the back of your mind, need work? If so, what are you going to do about that?

If you're happy with it and feel you've taken it as far as you can, then it sounds like you might be thinking about querying agents. If so, you can set some "success" goals for that. For example, say you query five agents and two of them ask for the full book. That would be a successful querying process. Even if they don't offer representation, you should feel good that 40% of the agents you queried liked your concept enough to ask to read the whole thing. If you query 20 agents and one of them asks for the full MS, then your percentage has slid to 5%, but that's still better than zero. And maybe they'll want to rep you!

If you query and you end up with no offers of rep (which happens a lot), then you have to decide whether or not to self-publish, and if so, what will success look like there? A certain number of sales? A certain number of great reviews? People clamoring for your next book?

Success is really subjective, which I guess was my point. You can measure it in so many ways. But I'll go back to what I said at the beginning: You wrote a book. That is success.

The biggest goal is finishing. I've seen so many comments on this forum and others where people just didn't or couldn't finish a novel, for whatever reason.

As the Beard says, you don't go into this with the intention of making lots of bucks. On an hourly basis, you'd be better off getting a part-time job. On the other hand, a lot of people are able to make a modest living at writing. But it's a long game. You need not only a book that catches the public's attention, but you need a backlist of books for them to buy once they decide they like you.

I think the biggest thing you've got going for you is that you've discovered you like writing. That makes it less of a chore, and more of a hobby--or perhaps vocation.

Angry Guy said:

The biggest goal is finishing.

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+1

Angry Guy said:

The biggest goal is finishing. I've seen so many comments on this forum and others where people just didn't or couldn't finish a novel, for whatever reason.

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This x1000. I just read somewhere that less than 3% of people who start writing a book ever finish it. Granted, stats can be made to support anything, and I honestly think this is probably a little optimistic.

Which leads me to:

msd said:

what would you view as a successful endeavor?

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I don't have one answer for this, because to me, writing is made up of a million things, and each one is a hallmark of a successful journey.

1. I finished a book! Success!
2. I finished editing it. Success!
3. I wrote another book and finished it. Success!
4. I stepped WAY out of my comfort zone and mustered the courage to begin querying it. Success!
5. I've received interest from professionals. Like REAL ones. Success!
6. I went to a conference and nailed a great pitch. Several times. Success!

My point is that I'm not looking at the end game as success/failure. Every step I take is either successful or not. Sometimes I have to retrace my steps and find a different way, but none of this - not one part of it - is a failure unless I throw my hands up and walk away. So until then, it's a successful endeavor.

Seconding everything said above me and adding:
My goal is to have a complete stranger read and enjoy something I write.

Finish it! I had a writer/runner friend tell me once that writing a novel is like running a marathon. When you finish your first, just be proud you did it. After you do three or four, then you start worrying about the next steps (getting your time down for marathons or getting published for novels).

My goal as a writer is to publish a book that makes decent money. The kind of money I could live on. I don't have a need or expectation to do this with the first book, but I'm not interested in spending a lot of time getting a few people to read my book. I'm going to take a go big or go home approach. I might keep writing books even if no one is reading them, but I won't bother to publish them if I can't get significant results.

I just finished my first novel, and my goals are incremental. I made a list of things that need to happen and check them off as I accomplished them. First I had writing goals: Finish chapter 4, finish the first half, write so many words a month, etc. All minor goals set to achieve the larger goal of finishing the first draft. Once I accomplished that. The process sort of repeated itself except with editing and rewrites.

During the querying process (which is now) my goals are two fold:
1 Researching, building a list of agents I want to query, writing them each a personalized query letter, and sending them out.
2. I started a new book, so the incremental goals I set for the first book started again.

Those are the day to day goals, the ones easiest to achieve and the ones I have complete control over. If I fail at any of them, it's my personal failure.

The large goals:
1. Finding an agent
2. Getting a publisher (incremental goals here are preparing the book for #3)
3. Getting my novel onto bookstore shelves.

These are things far less in my control.

I've written the book I've written and if an agent doesn't want to rep it, if a publisher doesn't want to publish it, there's not much I can do to change that. If this is the case, I'll reevaluate my goals. Maybe self-publishing. Maybe I'll look into approaching small publishers directly. Whatever it takes to turn the novel I wrote into an actual book.

Even longer term:

I want to be able to write professionally and have enough success that it sustains my lifestyle. While I won't be J.K. Rowling... I still shoot for the stars here... I think maybe I could be Chuck Palahniuk or Irvine Welsh. And maybe I won't. It might not even be likely. But I feel like if I don't make it my goal to reach that level of success as a writer, it will never happen because I didn't dream big enough. So my goals are astronomical but my attitude towards them is realistic. There's nothing wrong with falling short of your goals, if you've respected yourself enough to try your hardest to reach them. While I don't believe anything is completely out of reach, there are a lot of variables that just can't be accounted for.

There are goals and realities and setting new goals based off those realities. Like what if I don't write a book a lot of people want to read? Am I going to write my next one to pander to a larger audience? Is that going to make me happy? No. It won't make me happy and it will make me feel rotten inside. It's logical to evaluate your writing to see why it didn't work out but it's another thing altogether to change to meet the ever evolving tastes of an audience. Integrity, truth, and self-respect aren't earned with success, they're earned and shown through the ways in which we face our shortcomings. I think it's better to fail on your terms than to succeed by being something your not. That in itself is a different kind of failure.

I want to be a career author, so my desire is for the first novel I publish to get a sizeable advance (I would be satisfied clearing $30,000) and for the publisher then to put some marketing power behind it so we earn out the advance. Currently, my finished novel is a good concept and I have a lot of good parts, but there are also quite a few weak chapters and lots of ideas I want to explore further in my MC's psyche--things that are hinted at that I want to bring out more. Anyway, I plan to query it eventually, but if I can't find an agent who believes it's worth $30k or so (or that it should be a "lead" title in a publisher's catalog) I think I will set the novel aside and work on another idea I've been developing. I acknowledge that my skills might not be on par with my ambition just yet, but I want my debut novel to make a splash. I don't want to be relegated to the mid-list section of the catalog out of the gate.

Some people may think this arrogant, or over-reaching. I think, why not aim high? If I don't make it, at least I'll know I tried.

msd said:

As far as publishing your novel, what would you view as a successful endeavor? Are you satisfied in knowing you succeeded in publishing your story or are you looking to make a large profit?

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It took me six years to take my first novel from hot-mess first draft to something an agent was eager to represent. But it's been two years since then and it still hasn't sold.

In the meantime I've written three other novels, a handful of short stories, self-pubbed a collection of short stories, and gotten a contract from a micro-press for a novella trilogy. (First one is out now. Second will be out later this fall.)

My goal with each novel is to find a home for it with an advance paying publisher, but I also recognize that doesn't always happen with a first, second or eleventh book. That's why I have an agent. He works on selling what I write. If he can't find a publisher willing to take it on, then I'll do a round of querying with small presses while he sends out the next book. And so on. And in the meantime I keep writing and honing my craft.

The big goal is to make a living with writing fiction, but that's still several years off, at least. So, in the meantime, I'm focused on finding the best publisher I can for each work (even if some of them are going to be small press) and building a fan-base by continuing to put stuff out while I work for that "big break".

My goal is just to get the first novel finished, and like others have already said, it's no easy task. I think most authors would agree that writing is hard work on its own, but sometimes life gets in the way, slowing you down.

As a new writer myself, at least new to taking writing seriously with the hopes of publication, the road to publishing that first novel feels like it's going to be long, tedious, and very possibly with little to no reward, outside of reader praise (which is nice, but doesn't help to pay bills).

So I've scaled back my expectations and set smaller goals that do not include topping the NYT Bestseller list. Such as - writing quality work, finishing stories and polishing them as much as possible. Garnering critiques and fixing what isn't working.

Then I'd like to attempt to publish a short story or two, build some confidence. Then maybe take a serious look at getting a full-length novel into the world. These are the most realistic goals I can put together. In the end, if I can just make enough financially to be able to write full time, I will be more than happy.

It's a very rare first novel which is worthy of publication even after extensive rewriting. Mine I'd guess was typical: islands of graceful and graceless writing in a sea of competence. Using that first novel as a practice piece, I then wrote six I thought worthy of sending out into the world, which I did by self-publishing on Amazon. My seventh is now going the rounds of agents.

I have always thought of books as taking part of a larger conversation. My goal for my first novel was simply to say something that I thought was important, that I didn't think was being said by anyone else, even if we were talking about some of the same ideas. It's being published soon, and I'm very thankful for that, and I would love for it to do well, and to get into the hands of people that also want to have that conversation, but I have no real larger goals than that. Now, I'm writing my next book, and etc.

To me, a "goal" is something you have under your control. Finishing a novel is a realistic goal.

Getting it published (excluding self-publishing) is an aspiration, not a goal. You can't control that. All you can do is make it the best you can with the resources and time you have at your disposal. Then you throw it in the water and see if it floats.

caw

Success can only be defined by the individual. For some, it's seeing their work in print. For others, it's seeing it on a shelf in a traditional bookstore. For me, it's private jets, black credit cards and a couple of private islands around the world. So far, I've achieved a black mark on my credit score...

Seriously though, the only real advice I can offer is to start higher then you're willing to accept. It's easy to go down, much harder to go up. If you want to see your book available for sale, start with the agent and traditional publishing route. If that doesn't work out, self publishing is still an option.

Jeff

Laer Carroll said:

It's a very rare first novel which is worthy of publication even after extensive rewriting. Mine I'd guess was typical: islands of graceful and graceless writing in a sea of competence. Using that first novel as a practice piece, I then wrote six I thought worthy of sending out into the world, which I did by self-publishing on Amazon. My seventh is now going the rounds of agents.

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This made me realize that what I was calling my first novel isn't really my first novel.

I've been calling my current completed novel my first novel because it's the first one I'm sending out into the world. However, I did write one when I was 17 and another at 20, but my most recent novel will be my first novel that I am trying to find an agent and publisher for. And it will certainly be seen as my first novel by everyone else and I suppose I see it that way as well.

Long-term success for me would be a full-time career as a novelist.

For this particular book, while I might not consider it a success if it doesn't get published, I will consider the time I spent on it "not wasted" as long as I learned something along the way.

It's funny, when I first started writing my book 4 years ago I had all these grand plans for rocking out the book in a short time, and then finding an agent who couldn't wait to get my work out there, a publisher who threw money at me for marketing, and, of course, readers who flocked to me like I was Willy Wonka. In the intervening 3 years of writing and 1 year of publishing, I've realized I'm in control of one thing only - the writing. Everything else is up in the air and granted to the lucky, the courageous, the obstinate, the geniuses, etc.

So my goals are to continue to learn as much as possible, shorten my writing times, and make my marketing more efficient. I love writing and I'm becoming happy with the knowledge that that can be enough for me. Don't get me wrong, I won't say no to a huge check. But I'm not gonna hold my breath, either. I'm happy to have my book out there and entertained some folks. I'm not content so I'll continue to write and push and seek more of an audience. But I'm happy with what I've created, what I plan to create, and how that all comes together inside and outside of a very active life. 'Cause life isn't all about writing.

blacbird said:

To me, a "goal" is something you have under your control. Finishing a novel is a realistic goal.

Getting it published (excluding self-publishing) is an aspiration, not a goal. You can't control that. /.../

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Sure you can. Even discounting the pay-to-play outfits* and the scammers, there's a constant churn of enthusiastic indie midgets, dwarfs, gnomes, and hobbits, flickering into existence, making bold statements about changing the industry, and then fading into obscurity.

An evening of solid web surfing** can lead to a least 50 minuscule publishers that are a good fit for one's project, and half of which will have appeared yesterday, and are desperate to build a list and, after the initial delusional period that they will be a leading boutique only promoting amazing misunderstood geniuses, will take almost anything that's not falling apart. And if your book is actually way above the average level of this publishing strata slice--then you'll validate their initial hopes and become their house star...

Once a minimum functional competency has been achieved, getting published is an "aspiration" if you're going after classy agents and big and respected publishers. If you're a nobody willing to bet on other nobodies who are in turn willing to bet on you--then it's a "goal" which simply takes patience, hard work, and self-confidence.

We have many writers here on the board who decided to bet on small indies and start their careers this way--first opening the door of legitimacy by publishing with who will take them, and then gradually moving to more respectable indies. Some of them succeeded. The wonderful Mr. W. M. comes to mind, who, I remember reading, is a pro making a living from his writing after following a similar trajectory, and unlike some one-hit wonders is held in the highest esteem by an international community of fans, and indeed an acknowledged master of certain subgenres.

The Absolute Write Bewares & Recommendations threads are a testament to the pitfalls of dealing with tiny enthusiasts, but success stories do exist. So yes, if one is willing to swallow one's poodle pride and place faith into people below the big name radar, getting published is a "goal" which can be achieved through a specific approach. What follows after that is in Mithra's hands. But if one really wants big name agents and/or big name publishers (or even their unagented submission accepting epub arms), then yes, it's an "aspiration".
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*Although I've seen not an inconsiderable number of Amazon bestsellers published by pay-to-play outfits so if that's your thing--go for it! Just find the right one.
** One trick, aside from the usual suspects like the Submission Grinder and Ralan is to research the publishers of Amazon bestsellers in your genre. Sometimes over half will be published by people no one has ever heard of. Half of those will be the author herself in her bedroom, but the other half will be someone else in their bedroom, honestly looking for new authors to possibly also chaperon to Amazon success.

blacbird said:

To me, a "goal" is something you have under your control. Finishing a novel is a realistic goal.

Getting it published (excluding self-publishing) is an aspiration, not a goal. You can't control that.

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I love this advice. I think it's very dispiriting to set goals that you have limited control over, and publishing is one of them. There is so much in the publishing world that is based on chance in addition to writing a great novel. I'd rather focus on what I can control - getting better, writing more, writing a story I truly care about - than forcing myself to achieve something dictated by other people.

I didn't set a goal with my WIP, except to finish the thing. That to me is the most important goal of all. So many writers, including me, have a bunch of unfinished stories on our rap sheet. And this time I more than finished, I'm on the third draft.

JCornelius said:

Once a minimum functional competency has been achieved, getting published is an "aspiration" if you're going after classy agents and big and respected publishers. If you're a nobody willing to bet on other nobodies who are in turn willing to bet on you--then it's a "goal" which simply takes patience, hard work, and self-confidence..

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Those latter qualities apply to any attempt to attract a publisher, small or large. You, dear writer, still can't control what happens after you submit to any publisher. All you can control is the quality of your work. It's like fly-fishing: you can control your fishing gear and perfect your casting technique, but you still can't control what the damn fish is actually going to do, as you aspire to hook it.

caw