I'm in the process of setting goals (this experiment kicks off at the start of June) and I am looking for some input from some more experienced shooters.

So I am wondering if you have even put in an application to Shutterstock or iStock yet? A high number of good photogs get rejected the first time around.  WIth Shutterstock, it is then another 30 days to re-apply. So that puts you out till July. Just wondering if you have considered this scenario since Shutterstock is one of the moneymakers. Or will acceptance be automatic for you?

I start uploading on microstocks in november, only to see what happen in this industry and if it can be part of my full time photographer job. I upload about 15 to 30 pictures each week usually preparing in the early sunday morning, when family are sleeping. You need time to shooting, time to edit, time to apply keywords, time to upload, and time to learn from others people.
 In may I hit 200 photos in some microstock and 100 in istock with various acceptance ratio and little less than 50% in Istock.My sells are about 500$ in SS and 200$ in IS, plus 20$ each one of the others principal sites. You must consider the archive you have and the photos you will shoot tomorrow, and as well as you have some thousand of stock photos in your personal portfolio, the one that will sell more is the one you shoot for this market. I have 10.000 slides to scan, 30.000 digital file  to browse for the stock photos, and some daily job to do. And a wife and two children. You need time to go up but you can. I think the best way to go in this market is to begin and learn all you need to do your best. Ah.... of course, I assume you know what you need to know to be a good  photographer.

Get Adobe Lightroom.  Huge time saver.  Academic pricing is pretty good ($100 at UCLA).  And make sure you keyword and descript in the meta data, so you don't have to redo it at each site.

Want models?  Join Model Mayhem or use Craigslist.

I reiterate that earnings per month will vary widely.  I don't really put up the most marketable stuff, I put up mostly pictures I'd take anyway because I enjoy photography.  So not suprisingly, my close to 2000 images only pulls in about $800 a month (hardly any model released pics).  But, that's $800 I wouldn't be making otherwise if my images just collected dust on my HD.

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Why don't you set your goal for getting some good quality, concept images accepted, and don't worry about the numbers?

Because the numbers are everything? Just like with any other job. I'm trying to treat this as a business, it's a bit of a mental switch from just being a hobby.

You're both right.  Goal setting is a very important tool in any endeavor, and goals should always be measurable - which means cold, hard numbers.

On the other hand, I agree with Sean to the extent that Precarious has no microstock image history to go on whatsoever.  The first few months, unless you are really good, are generally met with a lot of rejection, and frustration over what doesn't sell.  So to that point, taking the first few months to at least get a feel for where you stand will allow you to set reasonable goals.

I use goal setting extensively, and right now, I don't think you (Precarious) have enough information to set realistic goals.  An overall earnings number after 1 year might be something you can shoot for right away, but you won't know for at least 1-2 months how many images that is going to take, or what type of images you will need to create.

Set a few easy goals first - particularly getting into the big two microstock houses (istock and shutterstock).  Not easy.  But that is where the sales are.  Then work on getting x amount of images online in your first x weeks.  Observe, theorize, and then get about to some real goal setting.

Thanks for your comments 

After all the comments I've gotten on this I've decided to set some rigid goals just for the sake of experimentation. I'm actually already in at SS and IS so thats one hurdle I don't have to stress about.

I think hanging around and listening to all the discussion here for a few months as well as getting very familiar with all of the stock sites was a good idea on my part before starting to do this seriously. It's also nice to have all the paperwork type junk out of the way before hand. I've got all my accounts made and tax info sent in, tests passed, all that. All I have to do is upload pictures now.

I certainly plan to keep careful track of my goals and report regularly for myself and anyone else who may be interested (from the response to this thread it seems like a few maybe haha). It will be an adventure for me and hopefully useful in general.

That you got into Shutterstock and iStock this fast is a darn good sign.  Get to work then!