Have You Reached Your Goals?

Did you set writing/publishing goals for the year in January? Have you reached your goals so far this year?

If you reached your goals, congratulations! You are a star. 

But even if you are behind in the goals that you set yourself or haven't even started to think about what you would like to achieve with your writing and publishing this year, don't worry.

It's never too late to set yourself goals!

Why is Goal Setting Important?

Setting goals helps trigger new behaviours. Goals help to guide your focus and sustain that momentum in your life and chosen career. Goals help align your focus and promote a sense of achievement. If you don't know what you wish to achieve and set a measurable target for yourself, you will never know if you have achieved your goals.

Even if you don't reach your goals, setting them will show you that perhaps your goals are not quite achievable yet, or that you need to rethink your strategy.

The important thing is to give yourself a map and a destination. How will you otherwise know where to go if you don't have a route to follow?

Display Your Goals

My general goals have not shifted in the past few years. But in June after attending the Self Publishing Live conference in London, I was inspired to set them out a little more clearly.

The conference was incredibly motivational, but the main trigger to re-evaluate my goals was a lecture by Marc Reclau where he spoke about how to become a successful writer.  I immediately downloaded his book, Rich Author, Poor Author: 50 reasons why successful authors sell more books than struggling authors.

Although much of the book's tips and tricks were familiar to me, it was good to remind myself that writing every day works and continuous learning is a must for every writer in the self-publishing industry. The book also confirmed to me why goal-setting – and displaying your goals – is so important.

I've made this poster into a PDF file which you can download here:  https://dl.bookfunnel.com/l8kuk432jv or tap the button below. I have left the year, the number of books and hours blank for you so that you can fill them in to suit your own goals.

I keep my poster on my wall, and I've also made a screen saver out of it. I believe in positive reaffirmation.

Good luck with your goal-setting for the next five months. Remember, it's never too late to start aiming high!