M.J. Fifield

March Goals

Posted on by M.J. Fifield

It’s the beginning of the month, which means it’s time for another action-packed installment of….my monthly goals.

First up, however, is a quick look back at February’s goals and any progress I may have made on those…

I think I may have done this. I mean, I think it’s at least okay enough for the first draft. I suspect the second draft will bring with it some changes, but what else would a second draft do, right?

  • Figure out and complete my February marketing attempt

Yeah, so…I had thought about putting the Terrible Romance Novel (Fine. Love & Other Lies. Whatever.) on sale during Valentine’s Day weekend because it was pointed out to me that I had, in fact, written a romance novel (a fact that, in fact, had not occurred to me earlier) and that Valentine’s Day may be a good tie-in or whatever, but then I…didn’t. Because of course I didn’t.

I did, technically, do something in the way of marketing, but it was quite sad and pathetic and I don’t want to say anything more about it.

I cannot stress enough how NOT GOOD at this I am.

  • Read a damn book

I actually did this. It took me until the end of February, but I finally read a book this year. I am so very sad that this is an achievement.

  • Walk at least three miles every day

I fell short a few days, but the overall average was good. As of the writing of this post, I averaged 3.8 miles per day.

MARCH GOALS

  • Add words to Part III of Full Circle

Last month, I had to kill some darlings, an act which thrilled me to no end. I mean, fine, whatever, maybe the story is at least slightly better for it, and cutting that dead weight allowed me to finish Parts I and II of the story, but whatever. I’m totally not bitter about it or anything.

Anyway, the goal this month is to make some headway on Part III. There’s really nothing standing in my way of real progress here except for, you know, me, so…yeah. We’ll see how it goes.

  • Figure out March’s monthly marketing attempt and then, you know, do it

I was thinking about dropping this goal entirely because it’s making me feel…things. None of them particularly good. But I’m going to try to stick with it a little longer. We’ll see how it goes.

  • Read a damn book

Let’s see if I can keep the streak alive.

  • Walk at least three miles a day

Or, you know, at least on average. The dogs like to walk, so this really shouldn’t be a problem.

I don’t know what the hell this is, but it made me laugh. My dogs don’t actually walk like this, and I think our neighborhood is the poorer for it.

And on that note…I’m outta here. What are your goals for the month?

Thanks for stopping by. Stay safe and well, all.

15 thoughts on “March Goals”

  2. Maybe it would help if you redefine what “marketing” means to you? Maybe just reaching out somehow, some way. Could it include something like contacting the library to see if they do/could stock your books? See if you could leave some bookmarks at the library or at a coffee shop bulletin board?

    I reached my reading goal last year, but it was a struggle. This year, I’m doing better. Not sure why, maybe just because I’m keeping my head down more.

    1. I count anything that requires me to admit in any way, shape, or form that I wrote a book & that book is, in fact, available for purchase. Everything’s quite minor, especially compared to what other authors do, but that’s about all I’m currently capable of doing. Baby steps. Teeny, tiny baby steps.

  3. Sounds like you actually fulfilled all your February goals in spite of yourself. Here’s to doing the same in March!

    1. It’s really amazing how much I get accomplished in spite of myself. 🙂

  4. It sounds like you have some pretty ambitious goals. On the writing front, I’m trying to finish up a sourcebook for my homebrew D&D game. It’s pretty extensive, but I’ve been enjoying working on it. On the life front the goals are to get my second covid vaccine shot, to file my taxes, get new glasses from the eye doctor, and visit dad (whom I haven’t been able to see in person since August of last year).

    1. I haven’t seen my family since August 2019, outside of video chats. I’m hoping to maybe change that by the end of the year, but we’ll have to wait and see. So, so glad you were able to get that first shot!

    1. It really does feel like March just never ended. It’s one of those ‘infinite time loop’ deals.

  6. Yes, you do need to push yourself to do some “marketing”. It’ll get easier as you do it. Congrats on what you did finish.

    So, you’re on Twitter, or at least you were. Have you thought about connecting with Romancelandia on Twitter? There has been some drama about (mostly from the outside), but some of the bigger authors tend to be pretty active, and befriending some of them might put you in the “in group” which might help with marketing? Maybe?

    1. I hope it does get easier. Hasn’t happened so far, but I could always surprise myself. 🙂

  7. When it comes to marketing, perhaps you need to set aside time to plan the whole year so things like Valentine’s Day don’t come as a surprise! (Lol, I can say this because life and time continually surprise me, so you’re not alone.)

    Could you combine reading with walking and buy some audio books? I bet you’d fly through lots of books that way!

    1. Plan…ahead? I dunno…that may be too advanced/responsible a concept for me. 🙂

      I’ve never had much luck with audiobooks. My brain tends to wander. The only time it didn’t was back when I was teaching and I used them in my classroom and I had the book being read right in front of me.

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