Like most New Year's Resolutions, which have a failure rate of 92 percent according to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, getting published may simply be too unrealistic for most writers to achieve. In fact, unless you plan to self-publish, you have already failed to achieve your goal if you have yet to land a publishing contract with a traditional publisher due to a lengthy acquisition process, taxing contract negotiations, and typical publishing practices. So what's a writer to do?

Strategize

No matter what stage you are at in the writing process, your first course of action is to strategize. In other words, you must outline your action plan. You have most likely heard that old cliché:

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Unfortunately for those of us who possess a strong aversion to even the slightest degree of planning, this saying often holds true, especially in the business sector.

Marketability

Now consider writing your book as a business venture. If you review the statistics, nine out of ten startups fail, and of the top 20 reasons for failure, the majority can be avoided by creating and implementing a proper strategy. For example, let's consider your market. If you write a book geared toward a limited market, which is the top reason for startup failure, you not only significantly limit your chances at landing a book deal but also the likelihood of your book selling at a profit. Publishers know this and regularly screen submissions for marketability. Unless you plan to self-publish your book, BookBound Media recommends that you immediately scrap any idea that failed the marketability test. Do not view this about-face as a failure; view it as a smart business decision that will help propel you toward success.

Time Management

Aside from ensuring that your topic is marketable, you must also establish proper time management. Calculate how many hours you are able to commit to writing each day. Keep in mind that if you plan to write a 320-page book (250 words per page), you may need to dedicate yourself to a minimum of two pages per day to give yourself time for edits and rewrites.

Practice Balance

In an ideal world, we would set up a writing schedule and stick to it. Unfortunately, life tends to get in the way, writers block kicks in, or we burn ourselves out. When designing your strategy for 2016, be sure to incorporate much-needed work-life balance. Without it, you will most likely fail.

Build the Right Team

If you plan to publish the traditional route, you will need to build the right team to support your efforts. This team should include a literary agent that knows your market and that has had previous success in placing similar work with appropriate publishing houses. If your literary agent does not know how to pitch or fails to target publishers who publish your genre, you could ruin any future chances with those same publishers.

Publishing houses rely on literary agents to screen through the slush and bring them top-notch books that fall within their publishing pillars. They spend years building relationships with literary agents and trust their expertise. A well-respected agent's opinion is worth its weight in gold.

Aside from finding the right agent, you will also want to reach out to experts with a strong public presence to endorse your book. If they agree to review and possibly endorse your work, this will help hold you accountable and encourage you to keep writing.

Don't be afraid to hire an editor. Family and friends tend to put blinders on and will support us and our ideas 100 percent. Often times, they fail to provide us with any constructive criticism or guidance. It is possible to find a good developmental editor, even on a budget. And if you plan to self-publish, you will want to research a copyeditor and proofreader too. The better your manuscript is written, the better you position yourself for publication.

Build Your Writing Platform

It is important, as a writer, that you build your audience prior to your book's publication. Publishers love authors with a built-in audience. Having one will increase your odds at landing a book deal and strengthen your book's marketability. The Writer's Market is a great go-to-guide for writers who need to get published. It lists magazines and trade journals that regularly seek content from writers like you. You may also want to consider starting a blog. Cookbook authors have had much success in going this route.

Get Writing

Now that you have your publishing strategy in place, it is time to get writing. In a previous post titled "Visual Storytelling Webinar: TheBrain Offers Mind Mapping Software Solutions for Writer’s Block," I discussed how the mind mapping software called TheBrain can help writers organize their thoughts and better develop characters and plots. In addition, TheBrain can help you keep track of manuscript acceptance and rejection letters from publishers as well as feedback from literary agents. To learn more visit www.thebrain.com or check out this video:

Final Thoughts

While getting published in 2016 is a lofty goal for the writer who has yet to finalize his or her manuscript, with a little preparation and the right strategy, completing your book, finding a literary agent, and even landing a publishing contract is possible by the end of 2016. But it is up to you to get started. For the self-publisher, your outlook is a little brighter. Just be sure to employ a good editor for your readers' sake.