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For decades I took a rather willy-nilly approach to my career as a writer. Throughout 2023, I actually sat down and thought about what I wanted to accomplish with my writing. Since I’m not confined to my 9 to 5 (+ overtime) any longer, I have a whole bunch of time on my hands to pursue what I have been wanting to do since 5th grade.

I came to the realization that I need a plan if I want to do this thing for real. It’s no longer a hobby to me.

Maybe you feel the same way I do. If so, here are some tips that will help me become a REAL WRITER. Maybe they will help you too, or at least get you thinking like a professional author.

Understanding the Significance of Writing Goals

If you don’t have clear goals for your writing, you will just be spinning your wheels. You might as well keep a diary or journal for your eyes only. Please take this thing seriously if you want more. Treat it like a real job. You don’t want to put in all of the time and brainpower for nothing. You may have to change some things that you have been used to doing and implement a plan that will hopefully give you the results you seek.

Identifying Your Writing Objectives

Decide what you want to do. Do you want to write a self-help or motivational book? Have you been dreaming of writing novels since you first realized what a plot was? Or do you want to be a copywriter for B2B or B2C companies to help them build and maintain their businesses and sell their products?

Maybe you are ambitious like me and you want to do all those things.

“SMART” Goal Setting for Writers

As you come up with your plans, make sure they follow the SMART criteria.

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

In my former life I was an analyst and this is how we approached every weekly, monthly or quarterly goals that we were faced with.

I am a spreadsheet type of girl, so that is the format that I went to when I sought to create a plan to make my dreams and ideas a reality.

Specific

Make sure you get as specific as you can with what you want to accomplish. And who you are writing for.

Measurable

Decide what success means to you. Do you want to write a post a week? Do you want to write a 70,000 word nonfiction book? Or do you want to write the first novel in a series of 5 total books?

Achievable

Is this something that you have the ability to do? Have you done the research? Can you make time to work on your projects along with your other responsibilities?

Relevant

Are you just writing junk that you like or will other people get something out of it? Be realistic about what you are doing and what you want to be doing.

Time-bound

Set a due date for every step of every task on your list. This helps you stay on track and ensures that you are not in willy-nilly mode.

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Haven’t you wasted enough time just thinking about writing or writing crap not even your sweet grandmother wants to read? If your answer is yes.

Get yourself together.

Breaking Down the Writing Process

When you have finished your plan or outline. Don’t lollygag, go straight to drafting a full writing schedule. Yeah, sometimes the blank page is intimidating but if you put all the necessary information into the planning process then making a schedule shouldn’t be that hard.

Of course it will suck the first time. But that’s what the revising phase is for. Plus you may come up with some more ideas that are a little better than the original ones fresh off the top of your head.

It may be beneficial to plan projects in 90-day intervals. You will be motivated to get things done quicker than if you just said next year is my year.

Adjusting Goals as Needed

Your plans are not set in stone. You can change or add things as they occur to you.

There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious but please take your skill level, your health, and your availability into consideration. Be realistic with what you hope to accomplish.

The goal is to stay motivated so you don’t want to “commit” to writing 4 books in 2024 when you know it will be a miracle if you get done with one. But make that one book the best it can be. It’s not too big of a goal to aim for the bestseller list.

Staying Accountable and Motivated

Checking tasks off your list will make you feel so accomplished. Review your goals every week to see how things are going. Every month it will be good to reroute your roadmap wherever you see the need to do so. If everything is going well, just keep things moving.

Reward yourself every time you meet a due date. Treat yourself to a movie or binge watch a show on Netflix or Amazon Prime. Snacks and shopping also work pretty well.

Successful Writers and their Goal-Setting Strategies

It’s smart to follow the advice of writers that are where you want to be. Every writer should have other writers whose story they relate to. Some of them even write books, teach courses and do videos that you can watch about their journey. Take notes. Implement the parts that speak to you into your own strategy.

Wrap-Up

Set SMART goals but keep in mind that even if your list isn’t full of check marks, you can always evaluate your plan, see what didn’t work and figure out what you need to do in the future to be in a better position for success.

If you have set out on the journey of writing for a living, keep in mind that it takes time to get where you want to be, but every day with every new word you can get closer and closer to your destination.

Do you have advice to add? Leave your comments below. We are all on this journey together.