Numerical Motivation: Spreadsheet Awesomeness Tutorial

Today on Operation Awesome (and in this future post on my blog) I'm sharing the spreadsheet I use to keep track of my writing progress. It calculates based on my daily writing goals and the days of the week I write. I've created four versions: Weekends Only (2 days per week), Mon thru Fri (5 days per week), Mon thru Sat (6 days per week), and Sun thru Sat (7 days per week). I figured these would be the most common writing schedules, but in case your schedule is different, I've created a tutorial below so you can change the formulas to match the days you write, which will give you more accurate calculations.

Changing a spreadsheet might seem overwhelming (especially if you've never worked in Excel before), but it's actually a pretty simple process if you know the formulas to use. And I'll walk you through it step-by-step. :)

First, you'll need to download the spreadsheet that is closest to your schedule (but, really, any of them will work). Links to the spreadsheets and download instructions are in today's post on the Operation Awesome blog or on my blog here.

Once you have the file open and you've enabled editing, you'll need to unprotect all the month pages.

Unprotecting the Sheets:

First, select a sheet by clicking on the tab at the bottom (January, February, etc.), then click the Review menu at the top and click Unprotect Sheet.

You'll need to repeat this step for each of the month sheets. You might want to save the file after you're done unprotecting everything so you don't have to repeat all these steps if something goes amiss later on. :)

Next, you'll need to group the sheets together so you only have to enter the formula once. If you want to do a different schedule every month, skip this step.

Grouping the Sheets:

First, select the January sheet...

And while holding the Shift Key down, select the December sheet.

It might be a little hard to see, but all the month tabs should now be lighter than the other tabs.

Customizing the Writing Days Per Month:

Now that the sheets are grouped, go to cell J1 (next to Writing Days:) in any of the month sheets.



You can see the formula in the box above the cell. Making changes in this box will be easier than making them in the actual cell.

The basic formula is (you can copy and paste into the cell or the box shown above):

=COUNTIF($A$3:$A$33,"M")

It's set to count the days of the week as they're listed in the far left column of the sheet. The above formula will count all the Mondays. To add additional days, you need to add to the formula. Note: you will need to change the = to + for any additions.

=COUNTIF($A$3:$A$33,"M")+COUNTIF($A$3:$A$33,"T")

That will count all the Mondays and Tuesdays. You can continue to add to or subtract from the formula until it fits your schedule. The part you'll need to change with each addition is the letter in quotes at the end (in red).

Monday = "M"

Tuesday = "T"

Wednesday = "W"

Thursday = "Th"

Friday = "F"

Saturday = "Sa"

Sunday = "Su"



Once you're satisfied with the days you have it set to count, hit Enter and it should calculate your total writing days for the month and your Monthly Goal.*

Setting Your Weekly Goal:

To change the weekly formula, click on cell J3 (next to Weekly Goal:).

The formula here is pretty basic. You'll need to determine how many days you'll be writing each week. For example, if in the last step you set it to count Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, you'll be writing four days per week.

So the formula for that would be (again, you can copy and paste):

=J2*4

Adjust the last number (in red) to match your schedule. Hit Enter and it should calculate your weekly goal based on your daily goal.*

If you didn't group the sheets before entering the formula, you will need to repeat these steps for each of the month sheets.

Ungrouping the Sheets:

If you did group the sheets, you will now need to ungroup them. This step is VERY IMPORTANT. If you don't ungroup the sheets, then every bit of data you enter will be included on all the month sheets regardless of what is already entered. To ungroup them, right click one of the month tabs and click Ungroup Sheets:

Protecting the Sheets:

If you want the formulas to be protected from being accidentally erased you will need to protect the individual sheets. Do this by clicking each sheet and going back to the Review menu. Click Protect Sheet:

And click OK on the window that pops up. You can add a password if you want, but it's not required.

Repeat this step for all the month sheets. Then all you have to do is save your file and you're all set to start tracking your words. :)

Any questions? If you're confused or if something doesn't make sense, please let me know in the comments. I'll do my best to clarify.

*If you think you've entered something incorrectly, or if you accidentally click on the wrong cell and delete something, don't freak out. Ctrl+z fixes everything. :) If ctrl+z isn't undoing the problem, sometimes you have to hit Enter and then ctrl+z. If all else fails, you can always just close the workbook and start over.

Guest Post: Rebecca Knight and a Giveaway!

Welcome special guest, Rebecca Knight, author of LEGACY OF THE EMPRESS! She has a great post for us today and we're having a giveaway, so stick around. :)

Take it away, Rebecca!

Staying Motivated When The Odds Are Against You

A question that I get a lot is what keeps me motivated, or rather what keeps me pursuing my goals against such staggering odds. Writing is such an emotional pursuit, that it’s difficult not to get discouraged or even depressed when there is a bump in the road. We often worry about every little thing. Do we suck? Is it all for nothing? Every word we put on the page is personal, at least to some extent, and the idea of putting it out there where people can judge it or hate it is terrifying. Plus, even if you do put it out there, the odds aren’t good that you’ll ever be a success.

So, why do we do what we do?

For me, it’s a combination of things. First off, I’ve always had a deep belief in my ability to make things happen. If I want it, and there is a tiny chance that I can make it, I’m all in, working as hard as I can to be in that top percentile.

My family didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up, so if I ever wanted to go to camp or do any special activities for school, I had to raise the money myself. I remember one year my school was taking a trip to Ashland, Oregon to attend the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I was deeply into drama then, but the trip was over $200 and there was no fundraising set up by the school .

I decided that I was going to sell candy bars on my own to pay my way. My mom and I went to the store and loaded up on 50 cent candy bars, figuring I’d try to sell them for $1 each at school. Well, everyone is always selling candy bars for something, so pretty much everyone told me it was pointless to try to do it myself. “There’s candy in the vending machines for 75 cents!” my friend told me. “Why the hell would anyone buy from you?”

Well, I was just going to have to try harder and sell smarter than all the girlscouts and vending machines if I was going to succeed. I made two brightly colored signs and literally taped them to the front and back of my shirt each morning, advertising my $1 candy and describing the deliciousness of the bars I had. I asked everyone I talked to if they were in the mood for one, and had strangers approaching me because of the signs—people I’d seriously never spoken to before. I even wore the signs to my after school driver’s ed class and sold candy there to jocks who previously hadn’t spoken to me. I made it more convenient to talk to me than to walk down the hall to the vending machine.

I made to Ashland with money to spare and had an awesome time. If I want it, I work my butt off to make it happen. No excuses.

Secondly, it’s easier for me to stay motivated when I’m able to be agile. It’s so easy to think that there is only one way to do things or only one “right” path to meet your goal. Then, when that path hits a roadblock or you find that whatever you’re doing isn’t working out, what can you do? You’re stuck, and it can be a huge motivation drainer. What’s the point if you’re not able to do react?

When I thought that the traditional publishing route was the only way to have a writing career, I put all my time and energy into crafting the perfect query and doing things the “right” way. Then, when the recession hit and agents basically stopped taking on genre epic fantasy writers, I thought my only option was to wait for the market to change. So, I waited. I waited for an entire year, and basically took a break from the whole thing. It sucked to feel so out of control.

With the rise of indie publishing, though, I’m agile again, and it’s wonderful to have options. That’s all indie publishing is—an alternate path to meet your goals as a writer.

My sales recently slowed because of the summer season. Book sales are notoriously bad during the summer because folks are outside, going on roadtrips, etc, instead of reading. Because of this slow down, I’m trying something new and putting Legacy of the Empress up for .99 cents until Labor Day. I also released a new story so I’d have more writing out there in general. I have the ability to be flexible and experiment, and its incredibly empowering. I’ve already more than doubled my sales from last month, which just makes me want to write more and more and more J. Being able to roll with the punches is crucial.

A lot of this business is luck, but if you have the will to work as hard as necessary and are able to stay agile, you can make a lot of your own luck. And that is motivating as hell.

Good luck to all of you, and may you never lose sight of your goals J.

******

Rebecca's awesome ebook, LEGACY OF THE EMPRESS, is available for purchase from Amazon and Barnes and Noble, but she's giving away a copy to three lucky commenters!

To enter, just leave a comment on this post. Additional entries:
+1 Tweeting this post (button below) @abbyannis or @twoheadknight (one additional entry per day)
+1 Linking this post on Facebook (one additional entry per day)
Contest ends Sunday, July 10th, midnight PDT. Winners will be announced Monday, July 11th.

She's also having an awesome giveaway on her blog, including a $25 Amazon gift card. You still have a few days to enter. Don't miss it!

Blog Chain: Motivation

Or the post in which I use the word love five million times. Or just six. :)

A couple of things first. I changed the blog layout again. I know it's only been a few months, but the cutesiness of the old one was slowly killing me and this one feels more science-fictiony. Actually, the night sky in the alien world in Embrol is purple, so this one is pretty close to perfect. Now, if I could just figure out how to slip a couple of alien moons in there.... ;)

Also, my rule-breaking opening (first 117 words) is up on Blackbird in my Window if you want to check it out. I'd love to hear what you think.

Now for the blog chain. This round was started by Laura. She asked:

What keeps you going (either trying to get an agent or to get published or finish that WIP that's kicking your butt) when you know the odds are stacked way against you?

Well, I do love a challenge. Or maybe I'm subconsciously punishing myself for something I don't remember doing? ;)

Seriously, though, I think a lot of it is just the hope that maybe if I keep at it, one day I might be able to make a little money doing something I love, which I can't say for any job I've had in the past. And I would love, love, love to see my book with a pretty cover sitting on the shelf at the bookstore. Actually, I think this might be the end result I'm looking forward to the most. So the whole ebooks-taking-over-the-world thing needs to hold off a while longer. You think it'll wait for me? ;)

What about you? What keeps you going knowing the odds are stacked way against you?

Be sure to check out Christine's post from yesterday and Kat's post tomorrow.

Blog Chain—Motivation

It's blog chain time again. :) Amanda started this round. She asked:

What do you do to keep yourself motivated when you feel like you're not making any progress in your writing career?

Ummm…

What was the question?

Seriously, this has been my problem for the last month and a half. I have zero motivation. I sit here and stare at the blank page on my computer screen (like I did this morning for twenty minutes before I wrote this) and think about what I want to write, but I just can’t seem to put my thoughts into words. Not words that I’m happy with, anyway.

I still love my characters and my story, and I still intend to finish this draft—I even know how it ends now, so what’s the problem? And something is pushing me to keep trying. So I suppose the motivation is still there, buried under all my stress and distractions. It’s just a matter of digging it out. If I could just find the right kind of shovel, I’d be great. ;)

I guess, ultimately, it comes down to a love of writing and a desire to create.

Are my words motivating you? Yeah, me neither. Sorry people. I know all of you could cover this subject better than me. So why don’t you tell me? How do you stay motivated? Is it harder when you feel like you're moving backward instead of forward?

Be sure to check out the much more inspirational words of Shaun from yesterday and Cole’s post tomorrow.