The end of the year is a good time to review progress and objectives. There are three ways of assessing your achievements as a writer; financial, output, and productivity. The first is self-explanatory but better done at the end of the financial year to link with a tax return. Output is the number of publications or completed works and productivity looks at the time invested against the output.

My productivity is the total time spent on writing in hours against the number of completed works then the number of acceptances. Publication, and payment can be years after completion and each completed work may require revisions in later years.

In 2020 I had two pieces published, completed four articles, one non-fiction book and three short stories. To date one of these pieces has been published and five accepted. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I also republished my Jack the Ripper Suspect book.

My writing objectives for 2021 are to maintain this high acceptance ratio, average a minimum one hour per day on writing, and to update this blog weekly.

Wishing you all a very happy new year.

Paul Williams is a writer of fiction and non-fiction best known for his Jack the Ripper Suspects: The Definitive Guide and Encyclopedia.