Goals

Alone in the office with nothing but pictures of Algernon’s amazing body to inspire me I’ve uncovered a shocking combination of naked ambition and grim necessity.

Let me explain. I already know my next goal (earn a living wage via writing thus preventing the need for a day job). By the way, I loved my former day job--but for a whole slew of reasons--earning money without leaving the house is very appealing.

Cat and dog food is not free, to say nothing of flea treatments, supplements, vet bills, and in the dog’s case--tuition and camp fees. Yeah, I know, they are spoiled, still they’re my responsibility.

Royalty income spans the whole spectrum from really discouraging to oh-my-God I need a much better tax plan. But one thing is clear, one title is not going to meet my income need. Next year I plan on three releases. The following year I want to double that number while adding a second publisher for at least one or two of those titles.

Now this may sound like long range planning, but the time line between submission and contract runs up to a year or more. Then there is there are many steps between contract and actual release of the title--easily another year. Finally, there’s another period of time between release and actual payment of royalties, I figure six months. During these two and half years, the animals continue to eat . . . the pressure to produce increases.