Hello, Writers!

At the beginning of January, I shared my business and writing goals for the year, just like every other entrepreneur, writer, and blogger. While this is a great practice, it hasn’t been as motivating as I had intended. As I look back over 2017 and consider what has worked and what has not, I’ve realised there was one thing that did work. Well, this practice did encourage me to take more action and achieve more by the end of the month. And, this practice was sharing my monthly goals with you. But, you’ve probably noticed I didn’t follow through with this on the podcast. The reason behind this was simple. While I did get more done and I put an end to my procrastination habit. I didn’t achieve all of my goals. It was hard to admit this. I now realise the reason for this was I set the bar for success too high. In light of this, I’ve decided to redefine my definition of success and continue sharing my monthly goals with you.

Writing Goals

Goal #1 – Edit the second edition of SMARTER Goal Setting and prepare it for a manuscript critique.

One of the reasons why I want to work on this book is, it’s my first attempt at publishing. It’s also not my best work. But, that should be no surprise. Every time someone mentions this book I die a little bit. There’s a part of me that want’s to be proud of this book. So, I want to improve on this book and the SMARTER worksheets. I also want to create a trilogy of personal success books. In light of this, I need a strong first in the series book. Otherwise, readers will not go on to read the others. So, I’ve decided to create a second edition.

I’m excited to admit that I’ve been consistently working on this second edition edit. As I’m recording this episode, I’ve finished editing chapter six which means I’m already halfway through. I’ve also found a solution for the delivery of the SMARTER worksheets. The first edition had a clickable link and a password, but I’ve come up with a membership style site. A free membership site has the benefit of a community, updating the worksheets, and adding more content.

Goal #2 – Start editing Immunity five times every week starting from February 6, 2018.

In the past, I’ve set goals to reach a certain point in The Heavy Edit process. A goal like that has lead to failure because as the deadline approaches, it becomes almost impossible to reach the goal. As a result, resistance sets in and no action is taken. By, focusing on consistency I’m making allowance for unplanned circumstances. It’s no longer a case of finish the edit by the end of the month but a case of making progress on a consistent basis. It’s consistency that will help me to finish editing and to make a submission to a developmental editor, not a goal of done this by this date. As I’m recording this, it’s my first opportunity to edit Immunity for the week. I’m hoping to get back to you with great news, and a manuscript that’s closer to submission.

Goal #3 – Write a short story in the thriller genre to share with my mailing list and blog.

The purpose of this goal is to get my mailing list ready for the launch of my thriller novels and to increase the number of subscribers. Ideally, I want to write a short story in the thriller genre every month, that’s in the same world as my James Lalonde Thriller novels. After a few months, I want to publish these short stories in a collection after the launch of Immunity.

My goal for the end of February is to have a completed first draft of a short story. The title of this story is Press Night.I have an outline, but it needs to be reworked before I can start writing. The reason for this is, the story is more of a mystery than a crime thriller. Because the story should fit in with the series, it needs to be in the same genre as the full-length novels.

Business Goals

Goal #4 – Consistently publish content for the indie authorpreneur podcast, diary and youtube channel every week.

This first business goal is quite huge because by, the end of the month I aim to publish nine pieces of content. But, it’s easier than it sounds. I’ve used the month of January to plan my content in advance. This means some of this content needs to be filmed and edited while others need to be written then produced. As I record this episode, I aim to record a total of five pieces of content and schedule these out. Now, that I’ve planned my content thought to the end of April, achieving this goal should be a little easier.

I’ve also added a new show to my YouTube Channel, and it’s called tech tutorial for writers. As the name suggests, it will be tutorial based and be focused on my computer desktop and walking the viewer through how to use certain pieces of tech. This is a much easier piece of content to create than a talking-head writing tip video. So, it won’t add too much work on my already full plate.

Goal #5 – Publish content on my author blog twice a month.

Consistency has been a major issue with my author blog as well as not knowing what to write. But, I’ve recently overcome the what do I write issue. I’ll talk more about this in an upcoming episode of my podcast diary. If you’re listening to this a few weeks or months from the publishing date then, I’ll link this episode in the show notes.

I’ve now decided that I want to create a blog post every two weeks. At this point, I don’t have an author assistant, so I’m a one-man band. If this changes in the future and I hire someone to manage my blogs, then I will change the frequency to weekly. But, at the moment I want to focus on consistently blogging on this site.

Health Goals

Goal #6 – Give up sugar.

By the end of the month, I want to have stopped consuming processed sugar. Yes, I’ve just mentioned refined sugars. It’s a hot topic right now. But, this goal is more about my health and less about health trends.

I have a serious problem with sugar addiction. When It comes to chocolate and sweets, I cannot trust myself. I’ll often eat way too much. At one stage, I was doing well with my sugar addiction, but I’ve fallen off the bandwagon. As I’m recording this episode, I’m focusing on eating three meals a day with no snacks or dessert. The only sugar I’m allowed to eat exists in fresh fruit and the occasional processed foods like pasta. So, that’s minimal bread, pastries, desserts, and processed yoghurts. By the end of the month, I want to have stopped snacking and desserts and eating less processed foods and more fresh foods. But, I want to focus on the snacks and desserts first.

Goal #7 – Work out three times a week.

I’m one of those people who has a gym membership and never uses it. Now, that I’ve admitted this, I’m a little embarrassed because it’s an amazing gym. Part of my problem with the gym is I’ve somehow got it in my head that I need to spend at least an hour every session. This is what’s putting me off going in the first place because I believe I don’t have that much time.

Well, I’m changing my attitude to the gym. My new goal is to work out three times a week for at least twenty minutes each session. Suddenly this goal seems more achievable. A goal of twenty minutes seems more achievable and will take less of a chunk out of my working day.

Concluding Thoughts

So, those are my seven writing and business goals for February. As always I have an important question to ask you. Are you struggling to achieve your monthly writing goals? Like me, do you need a little accountability? I want to hear from you. Why not, come over to the blog post or my Facebook page and share your writing goals with me. Together we can keep each other accountable and encourage each other to go for our dreams.

Thank you for listening and happy reading and writing, everybody!

Your coach,

Amelia xx