At the start of a New Year, it’s always a good idea to take a look at where you’re at right now as a writer.
I find that it’s helpful to ask (and answer) questions honestly to evaluate how it went last year and from that you will learn steps to take to reach your goals for the New Year.
By digging deeper and asking the tough questions, it can really help you understand where you’re at in your writing life and what you can change or tweak a little to help you get to the place you want to be. 🙂
Read below to learn 3 steps that will help you reach your writing goals in 2020…
3 Steps to Help You Reach Your Writing Goals in 2020!
As I’ve been pondering my writing goals for 2020, I’ve looked back at the past decade.
I wanted to take an honest look at what I did in my indie author business – what worked and what didn’t.
It was time to be real with myself. There have been way too many years where I didn’t take an honest look at what I was writing or how I was marketing my books. I just wrote what I felt like writing and only marketed books randomly.
Needless to say, that’s not a very good way to run a business.
However, as I’ve looked back on 2019 things were better in my author business than the five years before that.
In 2019 I consistently made 3 figures a month from March to December, with an increase toward the end of the year. That’s not a lot of money, but it was a breakthrough for me. It was a confirmation to me that I could make a living writing fiction.
What I started to do differently last year was to focus on what I wanted to write in combination with what readers wanted to read. So last year I started writing under a pen name that was specifically focused on writing clean romance novels.
Focusing on a specific niche really helped me to write toward a specific group of readers as well as it really helped me become a faster writer.
I share all of that, to encourage you that you can do this too!
Begin to brainstorm and discover what you really love to write. When you discover that niche, you will do well and begin making money doing something you love.
Below, I’ve written down some steps to take as you begin this year that I believe will accelerate you in your writing goals. These are the simple steps I’ve taken and it’s given me greater clarity.
Here are 3 steps to help you reach your writing goals:
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Evaluate how you did with your writing goals last year(or the previous years).
This isn’t easy. I honestly felt a little discouraged when I did this. Last year I wanted to write 5 novels and only wrote 3. But I needed to remind myself that I was consistent to write and self-publish books in 2019. For me this is a major win. I encourage you to look back to all of last year. Take notes on what weeks and months you wrote consistently and those where you didn’t. Ask yourself why(what was different that month?) and write it down. Name two things you learned in your writing business in 2019.
- Name ONE thing that you will choose to do differently in 2020. I will choose to be consistent at writing and at marketing this year. Last year, I didn’t do a lot of marketing other than newsletter swaps with authors who also wrote clean romance. So while I am consistently writing the next book, I also want to learn to focus on learning how to market my books consistently. How about you? Which area do you need to refocus or tweak this year. What is the ONE thing you choose to do differently in 2020? Some examples: write to meet a consistent word count goal each day/week; have a consistent self-publishing schedule(maybe every 3 or 4 months for example) or learn and try a new way of marketing your books each month.
- Stay in your own lane. This last point, is one I struggle with as I’ve always been someone who “discovers and chases the newest shiny object.” Last year was the first year that I really focused in on my own lane. I chose to write clean romance and stuck with it and it was the best decision I’ve made so far in my indie author career. So, what will you choose to focus on in your writing this year? I want to encourage you to stick to the one or two things you do well, instead of having ten things that you are focused on at the same time. You’ll find you will be more productive and successful if you stay focused writing what you are passionate about and combine that with writing something readers love to read.
I hope some of these ideas in this blogpost inspired you to reach for your goals in 2020!
This New Year is a blank slate that is just waiting for you to fill it up with words that you are passionate to write. You CAN do this!
Start today to write down your 2020 goals and get excited for a great year!
What are some steps you’re taking to help you reach your writing goals in 2020? Please comment below, we can learn from each other 😉
