How do you decide what goals to set?

For my next installment of 

The Authorpreneur Almanac:

365 Adventures in Writing and Entrepreneurship

I'm still on the subject of goal setting. 

How do you decide what goals to set for yourself?

The Vision: 

Ask yourself where you'd like to be in future. What does success mean to you? What does it look and feel like? It will be different for everyone. Allow yourself to daydream for a moment. Think big but not massive, the point is to change your own reality, not the world.

For me it's about freedom. It's about using my writing as a gateway to travel, live wherever I like and not be tied to someone else's schedule (except perhaps the airline's). It's about exploring my creativity, sharing it and enabling others, through those experiences, while still able to have a few luxuries and not to worry about comfortable shelter and good food.

Ask yourself what you are passionate about? If you didn't have to think about money or responsibilities, what would you do with your life? This is a great starting point to establish a clear vision. For you it could be music, or art, or games, or food etc.

Don't burden yourself with questions of why, or how, just imagine it and focus on it. However it is important to be practical and pragmatic and to accept that it will never be what you expect or what you want right now. 

It will change as you grow, develop and learn but that in no way diminishes having a vision for the visions own sake.

Themes:

Are there different elements to the vision? Are there multiple routes to get there? Identify the possible paths that could take you there, but be sensible and realistic - winning the lottery is not allowed to be on your list. Only pick one theme, you can choose another one once you finish the first.

This Way:

Choose a path that you can break down into lots of small tasks. You can't do all of them and shouldn't beat yourself up about it, the point is regular, focused, action. Sweat the small stuff in this case, less is more and one last cliché just to slam the point home (see what I did there) it reminds me of the old adage; 'Look after the pennies and the pounds look after themselves.'

 

Daily actions:

Here are some examples of small, simple actions that I completed during Operation Author:

·   Scheduled plenty of tweets up to the New Year so I don't have to think about it over the Christmas break.

I also completed NaNoWriMo

My third action was to order copies of the book - they'll be delivered mid October.


How do you decide what to prioritise?

Know Yourself, Know Your Brand - Who is Your Future Self?

I'm delighted to share another fantastic guest post with you this week by a fellow Bristol writer, Anita MacCallum.

Anita and I talked about author branding over a coffee a few weeks back and I've been looking forward to having her input into my Operation Author project ever since.

Here's Anita's great blog: http://louder-than-words.co/

And find her on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/loud_word
 

Who is your Future Self? 

Why Personal Branding is Important for Writers

Anita MacCallum - the positive deviant!

 

Branding belongs in the olden days with horses and blacksmiths, so I've made a new phrase up: future selfing. Future selfing is super sonic imagining. If I could zoom into a time travelling zone, and see my blog on billboards across earth, how do I want to be seen by millions of eyes that would view it? What is my uber identity? Ultimately if I had to dress up as my blog, what would I wear? Boots, custom made; hair brightly coloured according to my mood, right now it's purple; corsets and dresses of distinction.

If you think you have no idea who or what you are. Start a Pinterest board, or a vision board, focus on your project, process or product. It's basically scrap-booking for grown-ups. Collect only what you are drawn to, be ruthless. You will find an energy or underlying feel, trust your instincts. If you've gathered an image and feel it isn't fitting but you don't know why, get rid of it. You need to be completely connected to the images you choose.

Ask for feedback from your community, it's scary to be open to the messages you receive but you will know what you like and what you don't. I asked for feedback on what words are connected to my writing, both on social media and face to face. Essentially I wanted to identify my strengths, unique points and passion. What better way to see what my audience already perceive. I received this:-

• Slightly rippled with a flat underside 

 

• Femo-quirk light & dark

 

• Full bodied with a nutty after taste!

 

• Adult work-magical, macabre, connects with the parts of us we keep hidden, turns your perceptions of 'what is' upside down with a sledgehammer, a gentle tickle, followed by a cheeky whipping! 

 

• Dark, deep, rough edges, raw, animated, alive, force of nature.

 

• Delves into the deepest darkest recesses of our soul, were we to have one, and then pops the light on and yells SURPRISE!

The under-lying message is surprisingly consistent, unpredictable, fun, dangerous and passionate. This was a boost and enabled me to trust that my style is strong. I had a starting point to begin. I have been moving forward, step by step since then. At the beginning of the process, I wanted something clear and strong to define my writing persona, I chose - 'Full bodied with a nutty after taste. Positive deviant.' This phrase now introducing me when I perform, if I write an article that doesn’t fit this description, it will not feature on my blog.

Having studied a million courses in paying attention, for example: colour therapy, dance movement, positive psychology, clowning, theatre lighting and set, physical performance, to name a few, I have learnt over the years that physical form tells a story. The secret to branding is to understand what story you are telling, what genre does it sit in? Create a whole world around your product, take it into a theatre and hot-seat it. What super hero powers does your brand have? Does it go out at night or in the day? How does it sound? If you surround yourself with paradoxes, make sure you choose the two that are most striking to work with.

Do not work alone, research; it is an investment to increase your knowledge of the world you are creating, not procrastination. If you are starting off without an audience, create a sample, approach the people who you would like to be your audience. Who do they already like? Who are you competing with? Or how I like to think of it, who are your professional peers? If you could claim a group of people as your tribe, who would they be? 

Stop dreaming and get specific. Go meet them. Submit work to them, go to your tribe. Or be a leader and create your own.

There is no need to be afraid, I grant you the power to re-invent yourself over and over again. Your future selves are multiple.

 

 

Message from me:

Some great tips and inspiration here from Anita and a massive thank you for contributing.

I love Pinterest - such a useful tool for writers

I've highlighted the parts that really stood out for me.

 

My next action as a result of Anita's advice:
 

I've added an Amy C Fitzjohn, Author: Vision Board to my Pinterest page, inspired by Anita's infectious creativity.