So now that I’ve been in the “literary world” for about a year, I’ve been trying to research on what the well-established authors are recommending.

The bottom line? Most say that a lot of it is luck. Not what I wanted to hear, but it’s probably reality.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have goals to help you get noticed… the advice that most give is to write more. Basically, the more books you have out there, the more the chances are of you getting noticed. Some indie authors have over forty books out there.

Forty books? I’ve got two books out right now. It’s taking me about nine months to get a book published (writing the story, going over it a thousand times, sending it to the editor, going over it again another thousand times after getting it back, and sending it to publish). So that means it would probably take another thirty-five years or so to write thirty-eight books. Yeah, not going to happen.

I work full time and there’s just not enough time. I literally come home every evening and work on marketing and writing. I have to put in at least couple of hours of writing every night. I go to sleep at 1:00AM and wake up at 6:30AM to get ready for my day job. But, if I don’t stay focused on my goal, I’ll never get any books done.

I just read another author say that you should put in at least 10,000 hours into your writing before you can even assess how successful you are. Wow! That’s a lot of hours.

So, are these goals completely unrealistic for me? Absolutely. But guess what? I’m focusing on the little accomplishments. I enjoy it when I can give some readers a bit of escape from the craziness of the world. I like getting recognized by receiving various recognitions/awards (ie Readers’ Favorite Book Contest- both books are finalists in several categories; both have been Amazon best sellers in several categories; both have received numerous five star reviews). I especially love it when I see an expected review posted on Amazon. So, I’ll keep working hard because I love to write and create stories from this crazy head of mine. It’s called self-fulfillment.

Each of you authors out there should really look within yourselves and figure out what your individual goals are. Make sure they are realistic goals. If not, you’ll get discouraged. And help one another out. If you have a blog, host another author or post the review for their book on your site after you’ve read it.

My goals are simple right now:

1. Complete this last book of the trilogy and make it the best that I can possibly make it.
2. Get more exposures through google search when my name is googled.
3. Get more reviews for my books.
4. Keep up with all my social media and hope that helps to get more exposure. (I’ve got Facebook, twitter, google+, Pinterest)
5. Try to blog at least once a week.
6. Continue to learn more opportunities on what works and what doesn’t.
7. After I’m done with the trilogy, if another idea of a story pops into my mind, well, I guess I’ll just have to grab my lap top again. 😉

I’m okay with baby steps.

If anybody feels like helping me reach any of the above goals, please read the books and leave me a review. Trust me, the reviews are priceless! Both Chaysing Dreams and Chaysing Memories are available on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Jalpa-Williby/e/B00EN2ZDCQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Happy writing!