New Year, New Author Goals

[Approximate Reading Time : 4 mins]

It’s a common practice for people to set goals they want to accomplish in the new year, and authors are no different. However, only 25% of people who set resolutions are still committed to them after a month, and a measly 8% actually accomplish their goals. You can make 2020 your year as an author whether you want to break into self-publishing or knuckle down and knock out a bestseller. If you’re having difficulty coming up with manageable resolutions, here are a few ideas.

Writing Goals

When you set resolutions to carry you into the new year, make sure they are realistic and include clear steps. Some examples of writing goals authors can set include the following:

• Either finish or let it go: Some authors have a tendency to start writing a book but never finish it. Make it your goal this year to either finish writing that book you started or step away from it and let it go.
• Try a different genre: As writers, it’s easy to get stuck writing in one genre. While this may be fine for some authors, for others, it can be liberating to try a different genre and expand their writing horizons.
• Self-publish: If you want to use self-publishing services for your novel, you’re not alone. In fact, more than 4 million books were self-published on CreateSpace in 2018. Decide if you want to publish the traditional way or self-publish your work.

Publishing Goals

If you want to publish your work, there are multiple steps to the process and different paths you can take. For publishing, you may want to set goals for yourself that focus on the following:

• Finding a self-publisher: This seems like common sense, but there are plenty of options for authors to choose from when it comes to selecting a self-publisher. There are so many options that self-publishing grew by 40% in 2018.
• Taking advantage of author services: Many self-publishers also offer some services for authors, such as editing, marketing, and cover design.
• Creating a marketing plan: You could create a manageable plan of starting a blog, creating a mailing list, getting reviews, forming connections with other authors and interacting with your audience.

It’s Your Year To Grow as an Author

New Year’s resolutions help you grow as a person and an author, but only if you stick with them. If you are considering publishing, remember to set manageable and realistic goals and then follow through with them. If you’re ready to self-publish your book, Amnet can help by offering author services that help you get started and support you through the process.