Achievement Trophies

trophy figure holding a star on a gold background wth confetti. Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels.com

Goals are intimidating. Games are fun.

Seriously. Traditional to-do lists & aspirational goals only depress me, but I’ll go above & beyond for a silly prize with an amusing name.

This list is periodically updated as I think of new challenges for myself.

Current Categories:

Creative Achievements:

πŸ”’ You Never Know
Write & publish a story using only second-person POV

πŸ”’ See My Name In Lights
Receive a short story acceptance from a SFWA qualifying market.

πŸ”’ Never Put Away Childish Dreams
Write & publish a middle grade or picture book

πŸ† Take It Out Of The Trunk!
Complete a novel & publish it.

πŸ† Behind Closed Doors
Write an erotic-themed scene or full short story

πŸ† I Did This!
Write & publish a story using only a single first-person POV (NOt only did I do this, but the story eon a contest!)

πŸ† Good Things Come In Threes…Or Fours or Fives
Complete a trilogy or longer series

Sales Achievements

πŸ”’ I Know Nothing About It
Someone buys my books with no persuasive input from me or anyone I know.

πŸ”’ 28 Days Later
A whole MONTH with online sales or loans each day.

πŸ† Stranger Not Danger
First paperback book purchased by someone I didn’t know before or after the sale.

πŸ† Trust Me!
First paperback sale based on reader-to-reader recommendation. (Outside my circle of friends and friends of friends.)

πŸ† And On The Seventh Day
A whole week with online sales or loans each day.

πŸ† Happy Meal
A monthly royalty total big enough for lunch at McDonalds.

πŸ† Short Stack
A monthly royalty from online sales big enough for Sunday brunch with a guest.

πŸ† Cause For Celebration
A monthly royalty big enough for dinner with a guest at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse

πŸ† Human Chess Game
Sell enough copies of a title that readers could each be a board piece

πŸ† Soccer Mom
Sell enough copies of a title to field two opposing football teams.

πŸ† Bench-clearing Brawl
Enough sales to account for two full hockey teams, coaches, trainers and refs all on the ice at once. (that’s 50, for those keeping score)

πŸ† Welcome To the Matrix
Enough sales to make SFWA membership a reality.

Whimsical Achievements

πŸ”’ But Will It Play In Peoria?
Books in at least one library in every state

πŸ”’ Welcome To The Neighborhood
Shelfie of my book being stocked in an independent bookstore

πŸ† Hometown Hero
See my books on the shelves of my local public library.

πŸ† A Happy State Of Mind
My books get into libraries throughout Illinois

πŸ† The Truth Is Out There
First Review of a title by someone I do not know.

πŸ† Meaning Of The Universe
Achieve 42 total reviews for any one title

πŸ† Can’t Please Everyone
First 2-star review

πŸ† It’s So Shiny!
Receive a shelfie of my book from a happy reader

πŸ† No News Is Good News
First 1-star review

πŸ† Haters Gonna Hate
Multiple 1-star reviews for a single title

Social Achievements

πŸ”’ YOU Look Familiar
Someone cosplays a character from one of my books.

πŸ”’ Mutual Admiration Society
My writing inspires a professional artist to make original fan art for funsies

πŸ”’ Come As You Are
A book release party with cake where guests can dress up as my characters (or not)

πŸ”’ They Like me!
An invitation from a convention to attend as a Guest Professional

πŸ”’ They Really Like me!
one of my titles gets onto a recommended reading list posted by someone with a subscriber following greater than 1000 people

πŸ”’They Really, Really Like Me!
An invitation from a convention to attend as a GUEST OF HONOR

πŸ”’ Do I Know You?
Someone tells me about this cool author who writes the Restoration series & the Rough Passages Chronicles

πŸ† That Sweet, Sweet Sound
Someone writes & performs a filk song related to/referring to one of my books or worlds or characters

πŸ† This Looks Familiar
Someone writes fan fiction based on my worlds or characters.