Toiling Tuesday: Maple Valley Writers December Workshop - Goals and Resolutions

Goals vs. Resolutions

Do you write out goals with deadlines in mind?
      Do you have daily goals? Weekly goals? Monthly goals?

Your goals should:

• Be something you can control (not just "make lots of money" but "send out three query letters a month)
• Inspire you

How to define these goals:

• They should be measurable (not "be a better writer" but "write daily")
• They should be attainable (not "be the number one writer" but "get an article published in the local newspaper")
• They should be meaningful

Short term vs. long term measures of success

• Do you want to measure success in terms of hours spent writing per day (or per week)?
• Do you want to measure success in terms of pages produced or words produced per day (or week)?
• Do you want to measure success in terms of queries submitted per week or month?
• Do you want to measure success in terms of projects (articles, stories, or chapters) written per month or year?

What's your writer's bucket list?

Here is mine fantastical bucket list:

1. Become rich and famous
2. Write a book in every genre/type
3. Publish my own anthology of poetry
4. Write my autobiography
5. Have one of my stories made into a movie
6. Write a screenplay
7. Write a one-hit wonder
8. Be a top-selling, name-known author
9. Be on talk shows about my books, as an author
10. Sell a million copies of one of my own novels
11. Be an inspiration to other authors
12. Win an award
13. Travel and do talks in other countries

Don't forget your support! The people who can support and motivate you along the way. 

Also, don't forget about what resources you will need to accomplish your goals!

Are you self-publishing? Take the author self-assessment worksheet to help you as you progress through your publishing experience:

http://www.booksurgepages.com/PDFs/Author%20Success%20Tools_Setting%20Goals_Objectives07.pdf