I have discovered that most people don’t think of writing as
a job. A career. A business. I’ve been told it’s nice I found a hobby. Others
have praised me for developing my “gift.” Few realize the hours it takes to
write, pitch, publish, publicize, ….in a word: work.
Is my writing fun? Yep. Rewarding? Yes. Purposeful? You bet.
Lucrative? Not yet.
As a writer I am self-employed. Writing is my business. And
to prove it, I have real honest-to-goodness business cards. (Thank you,
Danielle.) More importantly, I have a business plan.
No one told me I needed to draft a business plan when I
started this career in earnest in 2012, but common sense dictated I create one.
At the time I was still teaching at the university. I knew I would be leaving
that setting in December of 2012, so in March of that year, I spent a good
portion of my Spring Break drafting my
business plan to become a writer. It helped me get my ducks in a row.
This may be the toughest, most honest writing you will do if
you want to be a writer. A friend of mine said, “Can I just say I want to write
a best seller or be famous?”
No.
A mission or vision statement should reflect who you are or
who you want to be as a writer. Not necessarily famous. A few weeks ago I
posted an interview I had with +Debby Mayne. Debby is a successful writer of
Christian romance novels and novellas. At one point she was told she could make
more money if she wrote romance novels with steamy sex scenes in them. She
thought about it. For about a minute. Those
books wouldn’t be true to who she was. She told me she never wanted to write
something she would be ashamed of letting her children or even her parents
read. She was true to the vision of who she is as a writer.
Clearly state your goals.
Set some specific yet realistic goals for your writing career. You may say,
“Within three years I want to have published a novel.”
It’s okay to take it slow though, too. You may say, for
example, “This first year I want to spend building my platform and learning
everything I can about the publishing industry while I write. This would be
realistic. You can then be even more specific by breaking each of these goals
down a bit.
1. I’m
going to build my platform using social media. I’m going to aim to have 1000
friends on my Facebook page.
2. I’m
going to research the publishing industry on the internet.
3. I’m
setting a goal to write 500 words every day.
Get the idea? Write specific, realistic goals in your
business plan.
Engage in a little
self-examination: Analyze your strengths and weaknesses. You are not
perfect. Sorry if I burst your bubble there, but it’s true. You do have some
strengths. And you do have some weaknesses. Maybe you are good at writing
dialogue. Then again, maybe you type so fast your fingers and brain don’t
always coordinate. You are not a good editor.
Put your strengths in your plan as well as your weaknesses.
Plan a strategy to work on those weaknesses. Write it down. Maybe you need to
pick up a book on grammar or self-editing. Maybe you need to type your post
into a Word document first then cut and paste it into your blog. Be sure to
create a plan to address your weaknesses and capitalize on your strengths.
Educate Yourself:
Include in your plan an education piece. I mentioned earlier about researching
the publishing industry. Every writer should learn all he or she can about the
publishing world. It changes, yes, but the more you know as you write, the
better chance you have of getting published. One of the education pieces I
wrote into my business plan was to attend a writing conference. I could only
afford two days of that first conference, but it was well worth it.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhpujEo7_3NseWGqidLW7UncTp_rivSFFQfgvzl052LhD6SJVK8IK-3VhB1QGJdUU7NZPIs9-agibVUTFJFJd9eRIPwVEDc9hncG_uh0FNACJ1bSXe5IBesSe8NjhEQ6ayqgksEmbrT30/s1600/duck+in+a+row+3.jpg)
Once you have found an area you need to address, formulate a
plan to fix it. For me, I decided to read several other writer’s blogs to
identify what types of content I needed and what appealed to me as a user. I
then researched blogging and found an on-line tutorial to help me develop a
plan to implement my blog. Until I finished the tutorial, I decided to write a
weekly mini post on my existing Facebook page. I took this route so I could get
in the habit of regular on-line writing.
I know it was a baby step, but a step in the right direction.
Create a timeline to realistically
meet your goals. I am talking about a visual here: A chart, graph,
calendar, or picture to include in your plan. Do not neglect this piece. Some
elements of your plan will get lost in the words. They will be clear on your
timeline and help you remain focused.
Finally, remember this: Your business plan should be a
dynamic, not static, document. As you grow and learn more about your new work and
about yourself, your plan will change.
As you move from a part-time writer to a full-time writer, your plan will
change. As you age or have children or move to a new location or discover a
passion for skydiving, your plan will change.
If you are a writer, revising your plan is always an option.
The first challenge is to make sure you have one to revise.
On a side note: Breathing on Her Own is getting great
reviews. You can now order it on Amazon or through your local Barnes &
Noble bookstore! Yay!
Here are the links:
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breathing-on-her-own-rebecca-waters/1118968997?ean=9781941103159&itm=1&usri=9781941103159
Making your hobby a business is very wise. Because you’re able to earn money while doing the things you love. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone. Anyhow, setting up goals are the best way to start it with. And in all of your goals, I think building your social media page will take time before you achieve your target views/friends. But it’s a matter of patience and a solid plan, and for sure everything will work just fine. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteBlanca Hoffman @ Marketing theProduct
Thank you, Blanca for the words of wisdom and encouragement!
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