Whether you are looking forward to writing a book or beginning a new adventure in business, the best advice you can take is: Planning ahead equals success. I am going to go out on a limb and say anyone who has ever taught about publishing or business has told their clients to plan ahead for their success. While it seems a bit cliche or overused, the reason everyone advocates for planning ahead is because it works!
Planning Ahead, A How-To
I would hate to lead anyone down the wrong path, especially with some a crucial as creating a plan for their book. Everyone has their own planning process, that being said, I do want to share the way we create book plans for our clients and how we create individual program plans for our business.
- Clarify the end goal
- Select a date to be completed
- Fill in project dates
- Execute the plan
Clarify Your Goal
First off, you need to understand what your end goal is. Are you writing a book? Great! Is your end goal to publish your book or is it selling 500 copies? Do you want to grow your client base or become a best-selling author? Your goal is unique to you and your book but be aware, the end goal should be more than just write your book or publish your book. You will want to set a sales goal which may take your book weeks, months, or years into the future. Finally, find the balance between a goal which will be able to be accomplished and which is challenge enough to give you a good drive.
It’s a Date!
Great, you have a goal in mind! Now it’s time to figure out what your timeline will be to complete your goal. We like to find a date in the future we want the project to be complete and work backwards. Depending on your schedule and how well you know the subject of your goal your deadline might change. We suggest you talk with an expert in the field while completing your plan so you know if the deadline you set is appropriate or if you are way off target!
Filling in the Details
Once you have an overall project deadline it’s time to fill in the calendar with all the needed tasks to reach your end goal. For example, to have a book launch you will need to find a venue to host and you might need to book that weeks or months in advance. There are many individual tasks to accomplish in order to professionally publish your book, in fact we’ve counted over 90 unique tasks! Make sure you understand the timelines for each of the tasks so you don’t miss a step!
Execution!
When you are planning ahead make sure you do the most important step! Execute your plan! A plan is only as good as the action you take to execute your plan. If you don’t take the time and energy to execute your plan you will never reach your goal.
Planning Ahead for The Year
Do you have your goals and vision for 2020 set? I am sure there are many of you who do and some of you who are looking to finalize your vision for #2020Success. Your Literary Prose is hosting a 2020 Vision Board Workshop on January 27 and we want to invite you to join us for an evening of planning and visualization! Be sure to reserve your spot today so you can take the needed time to become clear on your vision. To assist you in this we have created a pre-worksheet with in-depth questions to clarify your 2020. Learn more about the event and how you can register!
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