(this
article includes quotes from members
of Romance Writers of Australia and
appeared in RWAust’s January
06 newsletter, Hearts Talk)
January 1. The start of a new year.
Time to think about your goals for the
year ahead. But before you start on this
year's list, take a few minutes to reflect
on last year's.
Are you feeling a nice buzz of accomplishment?
Or a sense of letdown because you didn't
achieve what you set out to do? If it's
the first, congratulations (and you might
like to turn the page and move on to
the next article.) But if your hand is
up for the second option, can you identify
why? Perhaps circumstances conspired
against you. Health problems, family
commitments, work priorities, an editor
who didn't know a future R*BY winner
when it tap-danced across her desk....
Or perhaps the problem lies in your
approach to goal-setting. Perhaps you
are setting yourself up for failure by
choosing unrealistic goals. Listen to
R*BY Award winning author Janet Woods
who did achieve all she set out to in
2005. "My goals are always realistic,
since they consist of what I know I'm
capable of achieving. It's always good
to reach a personal goal, and better
still to surpass it. If the goals you
set are achievable instead of flights
of fancy, you'll never disappoint yourself."
Yes, goals are supposed to be a positive
force, a motivator, an opportunity to
feel good about your progress in a business
that, too often, is a series of rejections.
Don't set yourself up for failure on
another level. Instead, set S.M.A.R.T.
goals that will help you track your achievements,
improve your productivity, and (I like
this one) reward yourself for goals met.
S for Specific
Don't say: I will write consistently
or often. Make your writing goal specific,
e.g. I will write for at least 15 minutes
every day. Or, I will write 15 pages
every week. S could also be for simple.
Romaus member Freya Rees says she has
one simple goal for 2006: to write every
day. If you set a simple, specific goal
you know exactly what needs to be done,
which makes it harder to avoid/ignore
and also means you know whether you have
achieved your goal every day/week/whatever.
And that segues nicely into the next
point.
M for measurable
This one's pretty obvious--if your
goal includes an element of "how
many" (e.g. 10 pages) or "how
much" (e.g. 15 minutes) then you
can measure your success. You might notice
that the numbers I chose aren't scarily
large, and neither should the ones you
set for yourself.
A for attainable
Goals should not make you stress, fret
or freak out. They should entice you
to achieve, to feel fulfilled, to end
the day content with your output. Don't
set goals that are too hard, which over-commit
you, or which aren't important enough
that you want to achieve them. One the
other hand, if you set your goal too
low then you won't feel a sense of accomplishment.
Lesley Smith enjoys setting goals because "it
helps me sort through what I really want
to do and my motivation." She breaks
large goals down into smaller steps and
then the project doesn't seem so difficult.
R for Realistic
One of the easiest traps to fall into
is setting goals over which you have
no control. Example: writing a book this
year is achievable. Selling a book to
a specific publisher this year is possible,
but it is also out of your control. You
can't make that editor buy your brilliant
story if she doesn't have a slot available,
although you will influence her decision
with the manuscript you present to her.
That part of the process you can control.
So, if you want to sell a book, your
goals should be about putting the best
manuscript in front of the right editor(s).
As well as goals to get the book finished
and submitted, think about adding goals
to improve your writing and your knowledge
of the market.
Despite her continued success, bestselling
author Anna Jacobs continues a self-development
plan "as I don't want my career
to just wander off. I try to improve
my writing all the time and seek ways
to do this." Paula Roe's goals for
2006 extend beyond writing output to
include: "discovering a new writer
for my keeper shelf; attend at least
two courses to improve my writing; conduct
at least one to help others."
Consider extending your goals to include
professional development, personal development,
sharing with others, and don't neglect
your family/friends or your health/fitness.
If you're finding it hard to juggle all
the areas of your life, write down goals
that correct the balance. And make sure
they're SMART too!
T for Timely
Set time parameters for your goals
otherwise it's easy to let them slip.
A goal such as "I will finish this
book this year" is not smart for
a procrastinator or anyone who finds
writing time hard to come by. Yes, it
has a time element, but December 31 is
a long way off. How easy to take January
off and start next month. RDI author
Allison Rushby has to manage her writing
time around her daughter's daycare days.
She is working on 3 separate projects
in 2006 and has short and long-term goals
established. "I then work out how
many words I need to write each working
day, also factoring in time for publicity,
meetings, answering email etc."
So published authors have deadline commitments
to make, but unpublished writers can
use the contest deadline schedule in
a similar way. Or join one of the RomAus
BIAW writing challenges. To help motivation
with a long-term task, Cass Bowman joined
the Book Before Xmas group to finish
a troublesome ms and is now ready to
keep on working in the new year.
One final point: your goals do not have
to be all about the writing. Deb Allen's
only goal for the next month is "to
give myself a rest. I've been so focused
on writing I've lost track of other creative
things in my life and I think my writing
is suffering because of that. So I'm
going to plan a mini-film festival and
a gardening blitz."
Whether your goals are about writing,
gardening, reading more widely, improving
your writing craft or your quality of
life, it doesn't matter as long as you
set yourself up for feel-good success,
not failure. |
