If you’re wondering how to track progress while writing your first book, you’re already in the right headspace. When I first started writing, I did not stop to consider how to track my progress. I just dove into plotting my novel while drafting.
While there was nothing wrong with this, if you want a clear path on where you’ve come from and where you’re going as an author, tracking your progress is crucial.
Plus, used well, it can help you create plot structures that avoids plot holes and theme that take your nonfiction to the next level. Overall, it’s just helpful to track your progress
I’ve written several novels and nonfiction books and worked for New York Times bestselling authors with combined sales and audiences in the multi-millions.
Today, I’m here to share what I’ve learned over nearly a decade in publishing, as well as what we’ve learned teaching over 8,000 authors how to write, publish, and market their books over the last 10 years.
All this is geared to help you learn how to track your progress and write your first book. Let’s get straight into it.
How to track progress while writing your first book
- How do you track your writing progress?
- How to measure progress in writing?
- How to structure your first book?
How do you track your writing progress?
I find it most helpful to track my writing progress by tracking my daily word count. However, some people prefer to track their page count. While I’ll get into the specifics of each, this is only the foundation of tracking your progress while writing your first book. Below are several steps to help you lay a strong routine you can follow and ultimately, track.
1. Focus on micro goals
One of my favorite thought leaders is James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits and an individual who focuses on the power of micro habits.
When it comes time to track your progress, don’t forget that baby steps count, too. What does this look like in practice? Let’s say you want to write a book about your life.
This will likely involve:
- Identifying the theme of your book
- Pinpointing your target audience
- Sectioning your key moments into chapters
- Drafting
- Editing
Notice that the first part of this list is front loaded with a lot of work. Settling on a theme for your story may feel small, but it takes quite a bit of thought. Focus on your success with your micro goals by writing down everything you accomplish as it pertains to your book.
2. Track your hours
It can help to track your hours as you learn to track your progress. Create an Excel spreadsheet or open Notes on your phone. Every time you write or conduct research for your book, track your time.
This isn’t to frustrate you but to show yourself how much time you truly are spending pursuing your dream. There are many people who say they want to make money publishing books, but when it gets down to the actual work, they walk away.
Tracking your hours will not only help you track your progress while writing your book, but show you how committed you are to your dream.
3. Pay attention to your word count
I mentioned this above, but the way I’ve written literally hundreds of thousands of words is by simply shooting for a specific word count every writing day and paying attention to whether or not I meet my goal.
You don’t need to go all Stephen King and write thousands of words to do this effectively. Simply settle on a word count you think you can manage, then track it.
Every time you finish writing for the day, write down your word count (again, you can use Excel, Notes, or whatever else works for you). You’ll be surprised how quickly your progress grows.
Side note: Some people prefer to track page count. You can most certainly do this, but I prefer word count because it’s more specific. If I write a page with heavy dialogue, my page count will grow fast, but my word count may lag. If I’m shooting for a specific word count by a specific deadline, I want to ensure I meet it.
4. Create check-ins
Regular check-ins are a helpful way to track progress while writing and bring in the added support you need. Find a book coach or join a writing community that will be committed to your growth.
Initiate regular check-ins and give them permission to call you out if you miss a certain amount of writing days. This will inspire you to progress so you can track your progress and show your team how well you’re doing.
These check-ins can be as simple as an email saying, “I wrote X amount of words last week.” The key is to make it easy to track your progress so that you actually do so.
5. Look back
I grew up on the lakeshore of Michigan and one of my favorite past times was climbing large sand dunes under a summer sky. To help inspire myself to keep on climbing when the sand was hot or I was tired, I committed to not look back until I reached a certain point on the sand dune. This helped me develop mental toughness while also rewarding me with an incredible view when I did summit.
As a writer, you can do the same. One tip for this is to write each new chapter in a separate document. Once you reach your halfway point, combine them into a single document. Looking back on all you’ve written, your growth will feel astronomical (because it is!).
6. Create new versions of the same manuscript
You sit down to write. You reach the midpoint, or what my writing mentor calls the marathon of the middle, and realize you need to redo your character development.
Wait. Don’t make changes yet. Instead, copy/paste your document into a new one, save it under your working title and today’s date, then make your edits.
Creating new versions of the same manuscript, per edit, has helped me track my progress. As my progress stacks up, so do my saved documents. But here’s the thing. Only yesterday, I went back to find something I’d written in 2019 that I needed for this year.
Not only did I find what I needed, but I was also inspired by the progress I’d made in my writing career since 2019. This encouragement only happened because I tracked my progress.
How to measure progress in writing?
There are many ways to measure progress when writing, but the key methods are quantitative, qualitative, and goals. A brief word on each.
Quantitative tracking
Quantitative progress is easy to measure because you can simply add up your word or page counts to see how far you’ve come. Or, if you’re really competitive, track how many days you hit your writing goals without missing. How long can you keep the streak?
Qualitative progress
Qualitative progress is more difficult, but you can do this through reader feedback such as from beta readers, your writing coach, or editor. Does their feedback improve over time? This means you’re making progress in the quality of your work.
Goals
Perhaps most important, you can track how near you are to achieving your goals now versus when you first started. If your goals are quantitative or qualitative, see above, but if they are more subjective, pay attention.
Let’s say your goal is to build your mental endurance or grow as a creative. This can be difficult to measure, so it helps to look months or even years back into the past.
Ask yourself:
- Am I more creative than I was two years ago?
- Has my storytelling shifted for the better?
- Am I less bothered by feedback?
- Do I embrace the highs and lows better than I did last month?
While this type of progress can’t always be tracked numerically, it does contribute to the overall quality of your life as a creative. This type of growth, while less obvious, can transform your career in ways that will impact your life and the lives of your readers.
After all, the more creative you are and the more you stick to your goals, the higher your chance of success. While not as easy to track, this progress can manifest in wins you can track, such as book sales or lives impacted.
How to structure your first book?
Believe it or not, structuring your book with your title page first is one of the best ways to start tracking your progress. My writing mentor says to start off structuring your manuscript so you feel you’ve accomplished something before you even start the writing.
Set up your title page, acknowledgments, dedication, and copyright (you don’t need to fill any of it in yet) so you have four pages “done” before you ever start drafting. This will help you jump-start your journey so that you have momentum to carry you through the first bit.
How to track progress while writing your first book
Now that you know how to track your progress while writing your first book, and why it matters, it’s time to take your next step. Don’t sit back and wait for tomorrow. Use our free resource to outline your book today!
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