Chico Writer’s Group

January 2010 Newsletter Article                                                     Vol#1, Issue # 1

Benjamin Franklin wisely advised, “By failing to plan, you are planning to fail.” What are your dreams, your goals, your desires when you write? Have you taken the time to think of it or are you afraid to because you’re afraid you won’t be able to fulfill them? If you do take the time to think about where you hope to go with your writing, are you shooting it down with excuses, pointing the finger at reasons why you won’t be able to achieve your goals? Here are some tips and sage advice from authors and professional writing coaches that might help you reevaluate and take the stand in setting writing goals.

Bonnie Hamre (www.bonniehamre.com), a multi-published author of fiction and travel, has several pages worth of resources for writers including one about setting and making goals. As with any type of goal setting, it’s all about the path you choose to follow. And to get to the big goal, of course, you should take small steps.

Bonnie sets out an easy-to-follow plan that takes you from looking at the big picture and then breaking it down into smaller, more obtainable and palatable ways to get there. To learn more about her method, visit: www.bonniehamre.com/goalsetting.htm

Joe Konrath (J.A. Konrath, author of the Lt. Jack Daniels series) has a wonderful website (several, actually) built to help writers learn from his 600+ rejections to best selling author experiences. At his blogspot site (http://jakonrath.blogspot.com), he shares his insights and wisdom with his “Newbie’s Guide to Publishing”. Most notably, and the most worthy for any burgeoning writer to read, is his very recent “to sum it all up for you” post dated Sunday, December 27, 2009: What I Know (http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-i-know.html). It’s hard not to be inspired to set down on paper your writing goals after reading this post.

Linda Sellers (L.J. Sellers, author of the Dect. Jackson series, professional editor, journalist) is a big proponent of setting writing goals and does this often as she progresses with the various phases of her own noveling ventures. The art of setting goals has fueled Sellers as she has made some phenomenal changes in her career path over the years, all of which have been hugely rewarding on both a personal and professional level. While she doesn’t exactly spell out the process of how to develop personal goals, she does offer some insight with a very candid post regarding her goals for this past year. Take a peek here: http://ljraves.blogspot.com/2009/01/goals-for-2009whats-really-important.html

And then there’s Holly Lisle who’s profession is fiction noveling and has fed, clothed and housed her family solely from the proceeds – which is quite a feat! She maps it all out for you in one of her free workshops, all on one page. Definitely worth visiting and reading what she has to say. Get started here: http://hollylisle.com/fm/Workshops/setting_goals.html

FAQ:

1. Q: Should I be setting up goals for daily writing or long-term goals, more lofty, like being a best-selling, multi-book author?
   A: Up to you. Both, one or something entirely different. These are your goals.
2. Q: What are some daily writing goals?
   A: Setting a minimum number of words/pages to write; setting aside so many minutes/hours to write in a day. One author elected to learn a new word a week and try to weave that new word into the manuscript!
3. Q: In the ever-evolving world of publishing, is it even worth developing a long-term plan?
   A: Of course! But it would be wise to update the plan more frequently in light of these changes.
4. Q: How often should I revise my goals?
   A: As you reach your goals or if there are influences directly related that would alter them.
5. Q: Is there a site that I could use to help me be held accountable for the goals I set?
   A: Try www.43things.com. You can set your goals, find others with similar goals who may be on their way to achieving them or already have and get advice from them. You can also set up the free service to email you periodically to “check up” on you.
6. Q: Is there any software out there to help me keep track of my progress when it comes to writing?
   A: There are many. Next month in our newsletter there will be a spreadsheet that you can download that can help you keep track of and watch your progress with your manuscript.