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New Year, New Goals

Posted: February 1st, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

January 2012
New Year, New Goals

After writing for about three years, I finally decided it was time to think seriously about turning my dream into a business. Over the years, I’ve kept goal lists and reviewed the results at the end of each year. Most of what I accomplished came from the sheer joy of writing, but did many things without a clear focus. This year I’m taking the steps to be deliberate in my writing strategies. I will create personal deadlines and stick to them. I will document my progress in spreadsheets and trackers. I will work with other writers to keep myself accountable.

In the last week, I’ve read three books about creating a business plan. That’s what I do. I overload on lots of information and hope some of it sticks. The following is a list of the books I read:

·         BIRTHING THE ELEPHANT: The woman’s go-for-it guide to launching a business, by Karin Abarbanel and Bruce Freeman.
·         THE RIGHT-BRAINED BUSINESS PLAN, by Jennifer Lee.
·         ANATOMY OF A BUSINESS PLAN, by Lindon Pinson

I learned many things from reading these books and each had a differing perspective on creating a business plan. In the last two books, I was able to create charts, data tables and spread sheets to help track every aspect of the process. I can track my word counts, my spending and my marketing plans.

Writers are ultimately creative thinkers and the thought of keeping charts and spreadsheets is enough to cause palpitations. The Right-Brained Business Plan is a great tool to help the imaginative writer connect the artsy side of the brain to the logical side of the brain so the business portion of writing is less stressful. Birthing the Elephant teaches the future business owner to think like an entrepreneur.

Many writers focus all of their energy on the honing craft, but there is another side, the business side. This year I want to spend time on the business side of writing while also improving my craft. I want to sell the best book I can write. Reading these books helped me to identify a clear focus to get me on the road to creating my own writing business.

Writing is lonely work full of fear and self-doubt. Accepting self-doubt as part of the process is an almost impossible task. Anyone who has ever done anything risky or artistic has dealt with self-doubt. 
Determination, planning and support are the things that pull writers through the hard times. I need the connection with fellow writers. Attending my writers groups recharges my batteries so I can write more at a higher caliber. I have a constant and abusive battle with my inner critic but I am trying to learn how to accept it as internal concern. Maybe I need to stop grappling with the fear, and instead, use it as a way to propel forward in my writing.
I’ll let you know how it goes. Wish me luck.

One Comment on “New Year, New Goals”

  1. Savannah says:
    February 13, 2012 at 8:42 pm

    Beautiful site! Love the swirls, great job!!!

    C is for commitment and Cici Edward 😉

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