First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely THANK each and every one of you for your readership of this blog throughout 2017, and I sincerely hope my posts have been informative and inspiring to you. Your part in this little writing community is more valuable than you can imagine!
Now, to those blasted New Years Resolutions…
As many well-intended plans do, New Years Resolutions are notorious for falling through.
Why? Because we have an idea of what goals we would like to achieve, but when it actually comes to executing those goals, we have no idea where to start, and it all seems too big and scary. And so for yet another year, those goals get tossed in the ‘Too Hard’ basket, and we are left feeling cynical and defeated.
This is where learning about and utilising a 30 & 90 Day Plan comes to the rescue!
It’s a simple concept.
First of all, have a brainstorm. A BIG brainstorm. Like, for the whole year.
With the Big Brainstorm, don’t think about where everything will fit yet. Just get it down in writing, like we do when brainstorming for a new idea for a story/book. All the messy ideas.
For example, here’s mine:
- Edit/publish Paid To Dance: Asha’s Story Part II (The final book in the Paid To Dance Series)
- Hold a physical book launch for Paid To Dance: Asha’s Story Part II
- Approach bookstores in Brisbane and on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts about stocking my books
- Set up an author newsletter
- Set up an IngramSpark account.
- Get 10x reviews on Amazon for one of my books
- Achieve 10,000 ebook sales
- Reach 1,000 likes for my Kate Kelsen Author Facebook page.
- Complete typing manuscript for my Irish crime novel Sins of the Son by March 5th (1 year anniversary of my departure on my research trip to Ireland for said book)
- Create an Amazon publishing course, & make the course available online, and facilitate in person in Brisbane and on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.
Geez, you can see why this needs to be broken down, right??
So then the 90 Day Plan comes in to play. Make a list of the goals you would like to achieve in the next 90 Days (January-March 2018)
For example, here’s mine:
- Complete typing the manuscript of my Irish crime novel Sins of the Son
- Set up an Author Newsletter
- Create an Amazon Publishing Course
- Create an IngramSpark Account
Okay, now you have a generalised idea about what you want to achieve over the first three months of this year. Now you can break it down into a plan for the immediate month ahead (January). Here’s mine:
- Choose and learn about an automated email/newsletter subscription service to use for my Author Newsletter
- Learn about publishing with IngramSpark
- Purchase the cover image for Paid To Dance: Asha’s Story Part II
- Find an editor for Paid To Dance: Asha’s Story Part II
And you know what the magic is about the 30 & 90 Day Planners? If you don’t quite get all the items ticked off the list, just carry them over to the next 30/90 days!! So whatever is left over from the current 30 day plan, carry over to the next 30 day plan, and from the current 90 day plan to the next 90 day plan.
And just keep carrying them over until they’re done!
Another fantastic idea I discovered several years ago is keeping a simple daily journal of the things you’t done that day to contribute to your goal. It get you into the daily habit of contributing to your goals, however big or small. It will ALSO serve as a reference tool for you when you’re feeling frustrated. If nothing seems to be happening, or you don’t feel like you’ve done enough, all you need to do is refer to this journal and reflect on all the things you’ve done in the past days & months to move yourself closer!
HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of my fellow authors and creators, and may you achieve all that you wish for in 2018!
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Kate Kelsen 
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