Quarterly Planning for Authors: Knowing When to Pivot Your Writing Goals

All month I’ve been talking about taking March as a time to review, reassess, and revamp your plans for your writing year. This week is why doing this quarterly is so important.

If you’re an author working through your yearly writing goals, a quarterly planning check-in can be the difference between staying on track and falling behind without realizing it.

We’ve all been there. As an indie author we have a plan to put out X number of new releases in the coming year, but one day in a panic, you realize that isn’t going to happen, but it is too late to fix the problem.

Now, not every issue is because of poor planning. Life happens, editors miss deadlines, or any number of things. The problems arise when you put off doing a project assessment until it is too late to pivot.

Why Quarterly Goal Planning Matters for Writers

woman at computer desk

Let me give you an example. You decided you were going to publish the first book in a new series this year. You plan for a big launch, and plan on a large part of your budget going to marketing this book.

You have scheduled a developmental editor, a copy editor, and a proofreader to make sure your book goes out sparkly and great.

But you come down with the flu in April and are out of the office for a good two weeks. Which means, you get your finished WIP to the developmental editor a week late. They promise they will do a rush job, but since it was late to begin with you get it back later than you planned.

Can you see where I am going with this?

By having a pause every quarter, you can assess how it’s going? What’s not going well? What needs to take priority, and what may need to be pushed out from the original finish date.

You can then make a small pivot, which may avoid you going 48 hours with no sleep, high on caffeine, and smelling like a racoon who went on a bender just to hit a deadline.

This is the core of a writing goal reset: making small, strategic adjustments before missed deadlines turn into missed opportunities.

How to Assess Your Writing Goals Mid-Year

You should have a list of things that are working and things that are not working from last week’s discussion about what to consider when reassessing.

Looking at your year end goals, or publishing calendar where are you with each project? What have you gotten done? What do you still have to get done to meet that goal and is that humanly possible?

A mid-year or quarterly author check-in helps you realistically evaluate your writing schedule, deadlines, and overall publishing strategy.

Chances are you will be doing well with some things, and not so much with others. You will need to answer some questions to decide if this is a pivot or something more:

1. How far am I from where I thought I would be by now?

2. How many outside professionals or freelancers are going to be affected if I am late with this project?

3. How many other goals will be impacted if this year-end goal isn’t accomplished?

4. Is this project or year end goal my top priority?

When to Pivot vs. Push Through Your Writing Plan

Being honest is huge here. This is a safe place, and there is no judgement. (Tell your inner critic to take a hike, because Clair said there was no judgement. Even internal!)

These questions can help you figure out what you will need to be working on this quarter to either catch up and get back on track or to set aside one goal for the time being to focus on those with a bigger potential outcome for your career.

 Knowing when to pivot your writing goals—and when to stay the course—is a critical skill for long-term author success.

Identifying Why You Fell Behind on Your Writing Goals

The next thing to ask after you have a clearer picture of this is all playing out, is WHY?

Why did you get behind?

Was it the flu, valid excuse, but, at the same time your why for that could be, I created too tight of a timeline and did not leave any buffer time for sick days.

Maybe you decided you would write new words early in the morning when your brain is fresh, then found out your word count dropped off from the change and maybe afternoon writing really is your jam.

Perhaps, the why is that you just overestimated what you would be able to get done a quarter.

Understanding why your writing plan isn’t working is essential for creating a more sustainable and productive author schedule moving forward.

Knowing the why of how you got off track, or that something isn’t working, you can look forward to the quarters that remain, primarily the next one, and change how you are doing things to get back on track.

Adjusting Your Publishing Timeline and Deadlines

Another benefit to doing a quarterly check-in is that if you see you are not going to meet a deadline, whether self-imposed or for someone else, you have the opportunity to be upfront and reach out to those people this will be affecting.

This way, they can look at their schedules and see what options you have to keep this moving forward.

If you have a very popular editor that you work with, it is likely, they may have to bump your project because they are booked and can’t fit you in around their current work calendar.

If that is the case, you know and have a choice to make.

You add to list of things to do to find a new editor on short notice to take your work when it is ready, or do you reschedule with that editor and move your release on your own calendar, which can free up space for your other WIPs and lighten your load?

 Flexible planning is a key part of successful quarterly planning for authors, especially when working with editors, designers, and other publishing professionals.

 Quarterly Planning for Indie vs. Traditionally Published Authors

Do this with every one of your goals. It doesn’t matter if it was a quarterly goal or a set of tasks leading up to a yearly goal. Allowing yourself to be flexible, but aware of where you stand gives

woman with computer on lap with a coffee

you permission to change as you need to.

Now, if you are traditionally published, this may look very different.

If you have a deadline for a book, which is on the publisher’s calendar with a publishing date, it will be more difficult to push your deadline back.

Some publishers are a bit more flexible than others, but at the end of the day there are thousands of people that would happily slip into the slot saved for your book.

So, your pivot may look more like, that girls’ vacation may need to be put on hold, until you catch up your word count so you can make that deadline.

And again, by assessing quarterly, you have the opportunity to weigh the pros and cons and make a decision moving forward.

Creating Your Next Quarter Writing Plan

Once you have looked over your goals and decided which ones need to be focused on, this is where you sit down and make your list of tasks or goals for the upcoming quarter.

Taking into consideration what worked last quarter and be sure to include those things moving forward.

Plus, taking the things that did not move the needle and taking those off of your list or changing your approach for the next quarter.

This step turns your writing goal reset into a clear, actionable quarterly writing plan you can actually follow.

Final Thoughts on Resetting Your Writing Goals

Nothing I have explained is new or world shattering, but it gives you a clear path to help you see in real time where you need to put your focus, and when you may want to pivot and move priorities.

The old adage that the definition of insanity is doing something repeatedly and expecting a different result goes out the window when you are able to see in real time what needs to change.

Regular quarterly planning sessions help authors stay productive, reduce burnout, and build a sustainable writing career over time.

I encourage you to check out the rest of the March Goal Reset series if this is your first visit to the blog.

The March Goal Slump: How Authors Can Revaluate Their Writing Goals Before Giving Up

How to Stay Motivated as a Writer After the New Year Energy Fades

March Reset Week 3: How to Use a 90 Day Writing Plan to Reach Your Quarterly Writing Goals

You are doing great, and because you are here, you will not be stuck for long!

-Clair