Sometimes a Spreadsheet Helps

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I’m thrilled with the goal setting I did at the end of December. Know why? I’m writing again!!!

I had a bizarre year in 2008. Looking back, it feels like I spent the whole year querying agents, responding to requests for partials and fulls, drumming my fingers while I waited, and generally doing everything I could think of to advance my career…except the most important thing: WRITING!

*sigh*

That’s not a totally fair representation. I completed a novella and submitted it to market (still waiting…), wrote a couple of short stories and submitted them (one sold, one I’m still–you guessed it–waiting), and plotted a couple of novels. But aside from two anthologies, nothing new came out with my name on it. (I know…whinewhinewhine)

So…to ensure that 2009 did NOT follow suit, I spent quite a bit of time designing goals and plugging them into my planning calendar. I’m pleased to report that so far, it’s working!!

What, you ask, has all of this got to do with spreadsheets? Actually, quite a bit!

I discovered this week that the other element that has helped me stay on task has been a spreadsheet designed to track my writing time and word count…and to do it simply and easily!

I don’t know about you, but finding a spreadsheet where all I have to do is drop in the date, my start and stop times, and my total word count and let it tell me how many words I wrote, how much time I spent producing those words, and my current words per hour rate…well, can you say, “thrilled”?

Between my own planning and my discovery of a fabulous spreadsheet, I’m determined to make 2009 a year to shine!

Onward and upward!

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