Setting Goals is Important, But How Many Should You Set?

It is the time of year when many writers sit down an reflect on their work over the past 12 months.  They look for ways to see more success in the coming year, and they often set new goals based on what they did or didn’t achieve last year.

As a quick review here is the list I made last year:

1) Publish another book.

2) Improve my writing

3) Expand Living a Life of Writing Blog.

4) Build a Better network of writers.

5) Increase my income.

Let’s see how I did:

I believe that 4 out of 5 isn’t bad, and really, the four came not because of what I did but rather through a series of lucky events.  Because of this, I think my goals are a bit different this year.

1) Publish a book.  I know this will happen, and I know that I am sending it to print in March 2013.  I know this because I have two other co-writers who are working with me on this book, and I also have a following on several sites, who will hold me to this goal.

2) Expand on where I am as a writer.  I’m not only aiming to improve myself as a writer, but continually asking myself, what am I working on to make my writing better and more valuable than what it was before?

3) Have more guest bloggers on my blogs:  This one I think is very doable, and I believe that I can find at least 24 writers who are willing to write guest blog posts for Living a Life of Writing.  It will help me and it will help them.  I plan to achieve this one by working with my networks, and also by setting up a “Contact Us” email address. (Yes, you can now contact us!)

4) Publish Another Book: I’ve been saying that I will write a sequel (of sorts) for my first book, and since all the research is done, it is time for me to begin to write and edit it.

5) Build on my income:  It is great to have a starting point, but now that I have published a book and understand more about marketing, I want to build on that foundation and increase the level of income I receive so that I can build on my business and focus more on publishing books.

It is important for writers to to set goals so that they have a focus when they write.  It is also important to articulate those goals as clearly as possible, and then to build some sort of support system that will tell them when they need to focus more.

Writers should set five goals — setting more will mean that they have much more to do and may become overwhelmed.  Some goals can be simple, like finishing and publishing a book in a certain time, but some can be more abstract, like building yourself up as a writer.  This is not an easy process or as much fun as one might like but setting goals is important.

Setting goals will not only help you focus but you will learn where and how you can make more money by promoting your book. Setting a goal can be personal, or you can put it out for all the world to see.  The more people know about your goals, the more support you will have to see success.