Defining Your Writing Goals: The Key to Success as an Author

By Ream Academy

Setting clear writing goals is one of the most effective ways to build momentum in your author career. Whether you're an aspiring writer or a seasoned author, goals help you stay focused, measure progress, and achieve results faster. Here’s why defining your writing goals is critical and how to get started:

Why Writing Goals Matter

1. Provide Direction: Writing without clear goals can feel overwhelming. A defined goal—such as publishing a new novel, completing a series, or earning a certain income—gives you a roadmap to follow and makes decision-making easier.

2. Boost Motivation: Having a tangible outcome to work toward can make the writing process more rewarding. Goals keep you engaged and inspired, even when writer’s block or external challenges arise.

3. Track Progress: Goals allow you to measure success. Whether it’s writing 1,000 words a day or launching your first subscription platform, tracking achievements builds confidence and helps you refine your approach.

4. Help Prioritize Tasks: With so many distractions in an author’s life, defined goals clarify what truly matters. They keep you focused on tasks that contribute to your bigger vision instead of wasting time on less impactful activities.

How to Set Effective Writing Goals

1. Be Specific: Instead of “I want to write more,” set a clear goal like “I want to finish a 70,000-word novel in six months.”

2. Make Them Measurable: Break big goals into smaller milestones. For example, aim to write 500 words daily or complete a chapter each week.

3. Set Realistic Deadlines: Ambition is great, but goals need to fit into your lifestyle. Unrealistic deadlines can lead to burnout, while achievable ones keep you motivated.

4. Align Goals with Your Career Vision: Do you want to write for fun, build a full-time career, or connect with readers through serialized storytelling? Your goals should reflect what success looks like for you.

Examples of Writing Goals

• Finish writing the first draft of a novel in 90 days.

• Build a subscription platform with 100 paying readers by the end of the year.

• Write 20 episodes of a serial for your Ream audience within six months.

By defining and committing to your writing goals, you’re taking an essential step toward achieving your creative and professional aspirations. Take a moment to write down one goal today—it could be the start of something transformative!

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About Ream

Ream is a serial fiction publishing platform built by authors, for authors. The platform is led by Emilia Rose, a full-time fiction author with over six years of professional publishing experience across serial fiction, ebooks, audiobooks, and reader-supported subscriptions.

Emilia has built a successful author business firsthand and has taught thousands of authors through speaking engagements and education at conferences including Author Nation, 20Books Vegas, and Creator Economy Expo (CEX). Today, Ream is trusted by more than 15,000 authors and 140,000 readers as a platform for publishing and discovering serialized stories and creator-led fiction.