Skip to main content

Setting Quotas

Does anyone else set quotas for how much work they send out every week, month etc or is that just me? I decided a while back that I was probably never going to send anything out if I didn't set a quota and for various reasons I decided that six items a month was right for me.

Like lots of ideas, it is probably good in theory and so far I have managed to keep to my quota. Unfortunately, the theory seems to fall down when I find myself (usually on the last day of the month!) desperately scratching around trying to find somewhere to send something in an effort to meet my quota.

A few weeks ago, while in this predicament, I came across Healthy magazine in a well-known health food store. I noticed that they offered fifty pounds worth of vouchers to spend in store for the writer of the star letter. Desperate to fulfill my quota and hopeful of winning the top prize, I duly sent off a letter. The email was returned by the "postmaster" for some reason, so more effort was required to locate a stamp and send a copy of the email by post with a covering note.

Relieved to have reached my quota for the month, I promptly forgot all about my letter until last week when my neighbour staggered round with a huge parcel which the postman had tried to deliver. It contained a vast array of health and beauty products, none of which I can use, due to the various allergies that I suffer from.

The moral of the story is that yes, I fulfilled my quota and had a "filler" accepted in a magazine (big deal?) but now I have to find a good home for all the products I won. I am seriously beginning to think that sending out work just for the sake of it is not necessarily the way forward and I would be interested to know what other people think about this.

Comments

  1. I think setting 'quotas' is a good idea; it is a productive way to set yourself some writing goals. With me I have weeks when I could write a couple of short stories and say an article, but then there will be those weeks when I'm struggling. I do have to write something every day though, even if it is just an entry in my journal. If I'm not particularly creative on a certain day, I read and that inspires me. I enjoyed your post Melissa - thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Diane. That's a great comment. I think you are right. It's the writing every day that matters. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I also set quotas, although I don't always fulfil them. I try to send out at least 4 article pitches a month, write a couple of short stories and post on my France blog a couple of times a week. It keeps your writing muscles in trim and is something to aim at, even if you don't always achieve them. This week has been so hot that I'm having trouble stringing two words together, but hopefully I'll make it up later.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, Vanessa. That's quite an impressive quota. I was going to change my system but you've inspired me to keep going with it!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shortlisted in the Writer's Toolkit Flash Fiction Competition

Hi everyone. A good writing week this week, despite the distractions of the cricket and the tennis, possibly because my portfolio career has been suspended, pending further enquiries (don't tell my patrons!) and I've been at my desk every night. Long may it continue! I said in my last post that I was recently shortlisted (top ten) in the Writer's Toolkit flash fiction competition. The competition brief was to write a short story of 150 words or less on the theme of 'Secrets'. My story actually came out at exactly 150 words because at the last minute, after I'd sealed the envelope, I suddenly panicked and decided that the wording of the rules could mean that the story had to be exactly 150 words. Mine was 149 if I remember correctly and it was surprisingly difficult to add that extra word! Apparently the competition attracted 182 entries (which I must admit was quite a surprise) and entries came from several European countries as well as the UK. I was particu

The Mail on Sunday Feature

Hi everyone. Well, it's not every day that The Mail on Sunday runs a double-page spread about the book you are writing. This is what happened to me last Sunday, and I'm still recovering from the shock. It was about three weeks ago that I received an email, completely out of the blue, from the paper's chief reporter. Apparently, he had been researching the issue of copyright on unpublished letters for something he was working on and had come across a blog post that I had  written about this very subject. https://melissalawrencewriter.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/publish-and-be-damned.html The post in question was about my own copyright issues concerning the large collection of letters and postcards I have inherited from my grandmother. These are not just any old letters and postcards. They were written to my grandmother by her close friend, Ethel North, who was lady's maid and companion to Lady Winifred Burghclere, elder sister of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, between

What Makes A Good Beginning?

Hi everyone. Happy New Year! I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas, if you celebrate it of course, and as it’s now the beginning of another new year, I thought I’d pose the question “What makes a good beginning?” So if you’ve not already had enough quizzes over the festive period, you might like to have a go at seeing how many of these famous novels you can identify from their opening lines. Answers are at the end of the post if you want to put yourself out of your misery. 1. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. 2. I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. 3. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. 4. Call me Ishmael. 5. The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. 6. It was a pleasure to burn. 7. Like most people I lived for a long time with my mother and father . 8. Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . 9. Far out in the uncharted b