#GOALS By Kristin Owens

By Kristin Owens

My debut novel launched last month. I admit, I’ve had conflicting emotions about it: happiness, acute anxiety, along with a fair amount of nostalgia for the good ol’ days when I was blissfully uninformed. But my ultimate goal is in sight; I can almost see it materialize … soon very soon (rubs hands together, chuckles softly to herself.)

Sorry. Goals are important to have with any endeavor, even creative. When I teach classes on writing and publishing, I always ask students about their objectives. This sounds like a time-filler but it’s terribly important to chart a course appropriately. Who wants to waste their efforts? Still, many wanna-be authors aren’t specific enough or realistic. In my experience, here are the top three most problematic goals: 

1. “I want to be a published author.” 

I believe what writers really mean is, “I want to write a book and have my name on it.” This is an amazing accomplishment, but it’s not publishing. Unfortunately, hundreds of vanity presses will gladly take your money in exchange for an ISBN. Except publishing is a business and defined as: to create a written work for sale, not pay-a-company-to-create-something-for-you-to-sell. Also, the book (product) must be sellable to others besides family and the bestest of friends (consumers). My advice: Staples can print and bind your work in 24 hours for a fraction of the money—you still wrote a book.

2. “I’ll just self-publish.” 

It’s the ‘just’ that’s the most unrealistic. Writers treat self-publishing as if it’s a consolation prize for not going traditional. Yet, it’s the hardest avenue in publishing to do well. If you are not skilled in marketing, design, editing, budgets, social media, technology, accounting, and lack a terrific therapist, this path is not for you. Unless you have lots of financial wherewithal to hire talented freelancers. But beware, many self-published writers spend dollars to chase pennies. 

3. “I want a movie deal.”

Oh honey, keep dreaming. 

When I wrote my own novel, I recognized all the above and the possible pitfalls. My publishing goal had to be specific, measurable, and obtainable. I had to determine the right goal for me—not what the Big 5 publishing industry or writers expected. I asked myself: What do I want? After three glasses of wine, I mumbled to my husband, “I want to see an old lady reading my book at the pool on a cruise ship.” Yeah …

It could happen. But several things had to align to achieve this. I strategized and worked backwards. 

• The book needs to be accessible on the ship or in a bookstore
• The book needs to be ordered by the ship or bookstore
• I need a distributor
• I need a traditional publisher
• I need a literary agent
• I need to write a phenomenal book
• I need to take a lot of classes and get some writing experience

I decided to go for it. Yet, just listing these action-items necessitated a timeline which grew from months to years. And along the way, I had to insert a few more milestones. Here are the two biggest:

Add: Double-down on inspiration 

I based my novel on an experience moving from Europe back to the USA on the Queen Mary 2. All in all, the voyage was phenomenal. Except the luxurious accommodations, exquisite food, and angelic harp-playing at dinner made my middle-class sensibilities twang like a Kentucky banjo. I felt awkward like I didn’t quite fit it. I wondered what would happen if a passenger was forced to cruise? Someone who was painfully introverted? So, because I fell in love with ships, my novel takes place on a ship. My protagonist, Beth, sails on the Queen Elizabeth and I put her in a whole heap of trouble. Plus, ships can get characters from port to port which is great for moving the plot along at a nice clip. And there’s wine.

Add: Find your audience

Every time I cruised; I saw passengers reading books. It turns out they also like travel and adventure. When it would be time to market the book, I knew this demographic would be a natural fit. This led me to audition with two talent agencies and become a cruise ship enrichment lecturer (this sounds like it happened very quickly, but it took forever). Now, I’ve got my sea legs. Which happen to be a little chunkier because I’ve taken a fair number of cruises and haven’t missed a single meal. I entertain and educate passengers on writing, literature, and wine. No—I don’t feel too guilty because hey, I’m working, people. I spend about six months on ships and get my best writing done onboard. And it’s very likely passengers will enjoy my book (for a mere $17.99 at your favorite bookseller!).

Yes, my plan is working. There were a few deviations and circuitous paths, but it’s humming along. It took eight years, but I’m only a few weeks out from achieving my goal: witnessing a woman reading Elizabeth Sails on a Lido deck lounge chair. At this point, I’m so tired I really don’t care if she enjoys it. Still, when it happens, you will most definitely hear me yodel from whatever ship I’m on. 

But lately … I’ve been a bit concerned. What happens next? What’s the next goal? And that’s the frustrating thing about goal setting: once you achieve one, you always want to set another and achieve that too. Essentially, writers are greedy people with big egos. 

And a movie deal sounds about right.

—

Kristin Owens, Ph.D., is an award-winning faculty member with over 25 years university experience. Now a full-time writer in sticky southwest Florida, Kristin has over 100 bylines with celebrated magazines such as Writer’s Digest, Wine Enthusiast, and 5280. Her personal essays have won New Millennium Writing Awards honorable mention, awarded finalist for the New Letters’ award in nonfiction, and included in RISE! a Colorado Book of the Year. She holds certifications with the Court of Master Sommeliers and Cicerone and travels the world writing about wonderful wines, beautiful beers, and surprising spirits. You can usually find her working and playing on a cruise ship. ELIZABETH SAILS is her debut novel.

ELIZABETH SAILS

For fans of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill and The Jetsetters, Elizabeth Sails is a shipboard cozy mystery that features an unintended quest for self-discovery, forgiveness, and an awesome buffet.

Beth Schiff ghostwrites autobiographies for politicians, despite her own life not warranting a footnote. Excitement for her is re-watching classic movies with a Whitman’s Sampler. But when her adventurous Aunt Ethel dies, Beth must scramble out of her comfy sweatpants and into some Spanx to find the missing will aboard a luxury cruise ship.

Figuring out which fork to use at dinner becomes the least of Beth’s worries. The will isn’t lost … it’s hidden. Aunt Ethel has devised an elaborate scavenger hunt, and each port stop forces Beth to confront her list of insecurities to get the next clue. If she fails, Ethel’s millions will revert to a much-hated relative, Max, who is responsible for her dismantled family.

When someone starts trying to sabotage her search, the game becomes personal and her energetic septuagenarian tablemates rally to help. But Beth must make the puzzle pieces fit before the cruise ends or Max will get his greedy hands on the money destined for charities.

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing