Top 10 Writing Goals of 2022

(originally published February 1 2022)

Hello, salut! Welcome to this week’s blog post! If you’re new here, don’t worry, most people are. My name is Renée Elson and I am a writer and aspiring self-published author who wants to help empower other writers to do the same. Come join me, it’s going to be a journey! This post is going to be just that; my journey. I’m going to be talking about my top 2022 writing goals, and how I’m going to get there. If you want to learn along with me and get excited for the new year, read on!

I hope to take all the lessons I have learned in 2021 and carry them into 2022. Here are my ten biggest goals. Most of them are writing-related, some of them are personal but I’ve included them here because they’re very likely going to impact my writing.

2022 Writing Goal 1: Graduate university

My biggest goal of the year, although not directly writing related, is to graduate university! I am currently in my fourth year and only have one semester left (which starts today, the day I’m writing this, actually!). The sooner I have this out of the way, the sooner I’ll have a lot more time to dedicate to my writing and writing career.

2022 Writing Goal 2: FINISH Project Space 1

My second 2022 writing goal is perhaps the biggest of all — even bigger than graduation. I want to finish everything: drafting, editing, layout and formatting, and cover design so I can publish Project Space (formerly Project Ambrosia or Project A – same YA fantasy space opera project) in January 2023. If all goes according to plan, that will make me a published author in less than a year. Ahhhh!!!

As daunting as this goal will be, luckily I learned some lessons in 2021 that can help me out. You can read all about the 2021 lessons that will help me succeed here

Writing Lessons from 2021

There’s a cute Pudding picture in it for you if you check out this blog post !

Publishing my novel has been a huge dream of mine since I was a little girl. I definitely have a lot of work to do to get there. This goal is a little (okay, VERY) intimidating because I know I want a sneak peak into Project Space 2 included in the back of the book, but for that to work I actually need to finish and edit (and start) Project Space 2. Which brings me to my next goal…

2022 Writing Goal 3: FINISH Project Space 2

an I outline, draft, write, and edit a book in less than a year? I’ll have to if I want to achieve my third 2022 writing goal. I don’t have any experience writing sequels, and I’m hoping it’s not as daunting to draft as the debut book has been. If Project Space 2 takes as much planning and rewriting as its predecessor does, I don’t think I’ll reasonably be able to hit my goal of finishing it this year and publishing mid- to late- 2023. Fingers crossed!

But what’s more useful than crossing your fingers? Applying learned lessons. Good thing I already know the best secrets for outlining a novel… And you can too!

My Nine Secrets for Outlining a Novel

2022 Writing Goal 4: Read 30 books

Since we all know reading is crucial to good writing, I am setting a reading goal as one of my 2022 writing goals. Because I am studying a literature-heavy degree with an English minor, I haven’t even been able to keep up with my mandatory readings, nevermind taking the time to read for pleasure. Books I have started, I haven’t finished. But I know that reading makes me a better writer, and I definitely miss the pure joy of picking up a book to read and not being able to put it down. It’s been way too long. This is a goal I really hope to kick into high gear after I graduate. I currently have three free-time books on the go, ranging from fantasy to classic to non-fiction, and I’m very much enjoying them. Leave allll the book recommendations in the comments!

2022 Writing Goal 5: 2000 Instagram followers

y fifth 2022 writing goal is to have 2000 Instagram followers by the end of the year. As of writing this, I am at 70 (and at the point of posting, I’m at 115! 115 people have agreed they want to hear what I have to say in their feed on a regular basis. I’m so grateful!). I’m not sure if this is too conservative of an estimate, but I also know that getting followers on Instagram (and most social media) takes hard work, consistent posting, and time to ramp up, and I am trying really hard to keep these goals realistic. My plan is to release consistent content that is inspiring and informative and build a community of writers and readers. If you’d like to help me along this goal, you can make a HUGE impact by following me over at @writewithren on Instagram (eyes emoji). I appreciate every single follower. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

(Still having issues with embeds ) Help me reach one of my 2022 writing goals by checking out my Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/writewithren/

2022 Writing Goal 6: 500 YouTube subscribers

By December 31 2022, I would like to have 500 YouTube subscribers. The longer-term goal is 1000, but just like with Instagram, I know it can take longer than expected to build up a base so I want to give myself realistic goals. My channel doesn’t exist yet, so this is a pretty big monster of a goal to achieve.

2022 Writing Goal 7: 50 Newsletter subscribers

I definitely knew I wanted a 2022 writing goal related to website growth here on writewithren.com, but I’ve had a really hard time trying to measure what my metric of success would be. I honestly have no idea what attainable website hit goals would be, so I have decided to measure by newsletter subs (which is more important to me than website hits, anyways). 50 feels like a LOT. Right now I have three; two are me, and the other is my best friend. If you found value in this article, would like monthly writing inspiration, reading recommendations, and updates on my books, you can support me by subscribing to my newsletter here. It would make a massive difference to me and this goal. Thank you in advance, you have no idea how much each and every subscriber means to me.

2022 Writing Goal 8: Start making ad revenue through affiliate marketing

This next 2022 writing goal kind of ties into my subscriber counts goal. I can only get accepted to certain ad agencies if I get a certain size audience, so this would be a true benchmark to demonstrate how my website and social media channels, and thus my brand, are growing. Plus, this would be one step towards the big shiny end goal of financially sustain myself through my writing career alone (meaning books and Write with Ren endeavours). An affiliate marketing strategy would be the first way I would be able to make an income from Write with Ren, and one step towards making this my full-time job. And that’s the dream.

2022 Writing Goal 9: Carry through my improved health habits from 2021 (regular sleep and exercise)

Like I said in my “Writing Lessons from 2021” blog post, I am very proud of the progress I have made regarding healthy habits this year, especially regarding regular sleep and exercise. I want to keep up the good habits. Some of my smaller fitness goals within these include:

1. Run three times per week

2. Use Apple Fitness (another way I have invested in myself this year) three times per week

3. Squat every day (I started with 25 squats a day, and hope to see this number increase)

4. Get enough consistent sleep

It’s barely February and this is already proving to be the most difficult habit to keep, mostly because of the bone-chilling cold and massive snowfalls we’ve been dealing with here in southern Ontario.

2022 Writing Goal 10: Travel!

Another lifetime goal of mine I hope to manifest in 2022, Covid-permitting. I am extremely lucky and privileged to live somewhere where I have been able to get vaccinated and cleared for travel. When I can,!I’ll go anywhere and everywhere. I specifically work a remote job so this will be possible for me. Unfortunately, this goal is at the mercy of Covid. Some dream destinations that I’m fantasizing about are Cuba, Greece, Croatia, France, and Switzerland. If any of this comes true, this could be the biggest travel year of my life. How exciting is that ! Travelling will expand my world view, teach me lessons I could never learn in a classroom or static life, and make me a better writer. And that’s why, for me, travel is a writing goal.

Vision board

Here is my 2022 vision board! I included quotes that keep me moving, images that remind me what I’m going for, and projects I want to achieve. I got all of these pictures from Pinterest.

Closing remarks

Thank you so much for reading! I hope that this inspired you and help you shape your own 2022 writing goals. Let me know in the comments what your number one writing goal is. If you want to be the the first to know everything I do this year as I knock out these goals one by one, you can sign up for my newsletter here:

You can also find me on Instagram at @writewithren and stay in touch my joining my newsletter here. Goodbye, friends!