My Least Favorite Goal by Lynn Lovegreen

 

I don’t write traditional resolutions anymore, but I do give myself a personal watchword for the year. Last year’s was Time, as in think carefully about how I spend my time. This year, I’m thinking of Grace, as in a disposition to show kindness or compassion.

And I make writing/career goals. This year, my least favorite goal is updating my website.

 

I like my website (www.lynnlovegreen.com), and Wix makes it fairly easy to work with. I know authors are “supposed to” update or refresh their websites on a regular basis, and I agree it’s an excellent idea. Good so far. But the choices are overwhelming to me. Should I create a new theme, or does the old one still fit my author brand? Are the pages or sections in the best order? Should I drop one, or add another page? Or tweak my social media links? Where do I even start? 

 

I confess this is one of my 2023 goals that I dragged over to 2024. One of these days, I need to stop procrastinating and just dig into it. Right now, it’s on the to-do list. Maybe I’ll get around to it before the snow melts? 😉

 

Do you have any goals you keep putting off? Or do you have any website advice for me? Please drop a line in the comments.

 

Lynn Lovegreen has lived in Alaska for most of her life. After twenty years in the classroom, she retired to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering for her local library. Her young adult historical romance is set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. 

 

 

 

Setting Goals to Propel My Writing to the Next Level by Kathy Coatney

FALLING IN LOVE SERIES

When I was offered the opportunity to write this blog for Romancing the Genres about taking my writing to the next level, it came just as I was investing some real time into marketing my books on Facebook (FB).

I have limited fiction writing time because I’m also a freelance photojournalist/editor. I write at least three articles a month and edit three different magazines, so I’m not an author who can write three or four books a year. Two is the best I can do.

I seriously considered hiring someone to do FB ads for me, but one thing kept stopping me. No one knows and loves my books as much as I do, so who better than me to write the ad copy? And if I can do that, I’ll have much better success with my ads, and improve my writing.

So, I’ve decided to give up some fiction writing time for the next 30 days to buckle down and learn how to market the books that are already published. To that end, I’ve committed myself to learning the ins and outs of FB ads. I have set aside time to work on my ads every day, which not only includes writing ads, but searching for new and better audiences, learning the jargon and the different ways to determine if my ads are successful. I feel this is critically important to moving my career to the next level.

There are several steps to FB ads from learning how to maneuver in business ads manager to becoming comfortable with all the steps in creating an ad. My first ad took two days to put together! The second ten minutes, so huge progress there.

THE CROOKED HALO CHRONICLES

Another big step is the ad copy. I needed snippets, headlines, and call to action. Fortunately, I took a blurb class last winter from Kathryn Jane (I highly recommend this class). I spent a lot of time developing new blurbs for all five of my books, worked on call to action, headline and snippets, which gave me enough to get my first ads up and running, but I will also have work on more because, what I’m learning is, you have to keep changing and tweaking your ad copy.

To date, I have managed to put seven ads together, I’ve paused the first three, and I currently have four others running, but I will be pausing another one soon. While the cost per click is in a good range, and I’m getting lots of clicks, I’m worried the photo may misrepresent my book.  Here is the link to the ad. https://fb.me/27qrinMXi6GMOxW

This ad is doing pretty well for me, too.

https://fb.me/1P4EFeoKCm5aINk

I will be keeping it because this photo very closely represents my story and my main character. I will be tweaking the photo on this ad as I want to change the look of the book cover on it.

Here are the two new ads I have out.

https://fb.me/2uN3TBmOpmoYNtu

https://fb.me/2mWo8nnHC9thakV

SHE'S OUT OF HIS LEAGUE

I’m testing these ads with different audiences, text, and photos. If you look close, you’ll see the man laying in the grass is the same model from a previous ad with my book cover on it.

It’s still too early to tell if these ads are successful, but early indications have shown they are at least doing okay. I will keep developing new ads, so that when these aren’t successful, they will be replaced.If you’re like me you’re probably saying, yeah, yeah, I agree with you, but I just don’t want to take time away from my writing, or it’s just too hard and I can’t figure it out.

I used those excuses for the last two years, but it occurred to me that if I want to be a successful, independently published author, I have to learn how to market my books or I will be doomed to write more and more books, faster and faster until I burn myself out.

I don’t want to lose the pleasure of writing my books so I’m determined to learn this. I also believe that just like I had to learn about POV and telling versus showing, that seemed oh so complicated all those years ago, I will learn how to do these ads. I have to.

LEAVE ME BREATHLESS

Before I sign off, just a little bit about my books. I write deeply emotional, small town, romances. I have a three book series out, Falling For You…Again, Falling in Love With You, Falling in Love for the First Time.

I also have She’s Out of His League that is a stand alone at the moment, but I have two more books in the series that will be released shortly.

Leave Me Breathless is a romantic mystery, and I will have more books to follow in that series, too.

I also have a short story series, The Crooked Halo Chronicles, that I will be developing into a full series that has love, romance, and guardian angels. 

You can get Angels R Us for free just for subscribing to my newsletter.

Thank you all. It was lovely spending time with you. I look forward to meeting up with you on FB, TW, and kathycoatney.com.

Tis the Season...

by M. L. Buchman

...to TOTALLY freak out!

OMG! I didn't hit this year's goals. OMG! How about next year's goals? Ahhhhhhhhh!

Am I right or am I right? Okay, couple of tips on how I do it.

THE PAST
Let's start with Last Year. I highly (I mean highly) recommend printing out the following and placing it on your refrigerator.

Violet is Level Six

Seriously! It's actually a misquote from my second (and best off forgotten--I've gotten sooo much better since then) novel. My wife mis-remembered it, and those four words have become our guiding beacon.

Anyway, the point about "Violet is Level Six" is that it is utterly meaningless. Like the past, there isn't squat you can do to change it. So all the OMG and I woulda-shoulda--coulda stuff is utterly meaningless.

Now I'll give you the full quote on our fridge.

Violet is Level Six...start where you stand!

You're standing in the present, so start there. (Though if you figure out how to travel backward in time to fix some of the... Never mind!) You can't change the past. Worst year of your life, thank goodness it's over. Best year of your life and your scared it will never happen again (it won't if you dwell on that). The only thing you can really do is start where you stand, so focus on that.

Sure, I peek back, but mostly for one reason: How accurate was my prior year goal setting? Did I tag them all by March? Have I barely scraped the edges? You want a good solid stretch that doesn't tip you into panic.

Now forget the past.

THE FUTURE
Okay, now I'm looking forward at that looming blank canvas called 2018. YOIKS! I could do anything.

So here's the best advice I've ever been given.

Focus on 3 things...max!

In the past, I've set out massive quests, shining business plans, six-flanked teams of ideas armored in shining light that could...

Three things. I find that if I choose the right ones, and hold my focus on them throughout the year, and don't go all "Oh, look! Shiny!", that I'll actually get most of it done each year.

Set those goals. Be a little unrealistic, because that's what goals are for.

THE DREAM
And that's my third piece to this triumvirate. What's the real dream? Is it to complete a novel? Is it to complete a dozen? Two dozen? How much is enough? How much more can I pile on?

Nope, my dreams aren't shaped like that. My dreams are about having fun, being happy, and loving the work that I do and the stories that I tell. I've discovered that the more my goals are focused on that side of my dream,  the more often they come true.

And that's the best tip I've got. Focus on the fun and the rest will fall into line along the way.

Happy Holidays and Merry Next Year!
Matt

• M. L. “Matt” Buchman: 50+ novels, 3x Booklist "Top 10 Romance of the Year", NPR and B&N "Top 5 Romance of the Year", RITA finalist.
• Matt: 30 years as a project manager specializing in crisis projects. Has taught hundreds of classes on dozens of topics including: Lean Manufacturing, IT, Writing, Business Management, and many others.
• M. L. writes: military romantic suspense, contemporary romance, F&SF, thrillers, even more short stories than novels.
• Matt. has: bicycled solo around the world, designed and built houses, worked too many years as a corporate project manager, rebuilt and solo-sailed a fifty-foot sailboat, flown and jumped out of airplanes.
• M. L. also: quilts!?!
• Find out more at www.mlbuchman.com.

Do You Stick to Your New Year's Resolutions?

Are you one of the millions of people who made a list on New Year’s Eve or Day of resolutions for 2014?  Have you stuck to your resolutions?   

The statistics are against fulfilling New Year’s Resolutions.

January every year local gyms fill up with the newly inspired who are following their resolutions to get in shape, and lose weight.  Check those crowded gyms out at the end of February.  Most gyms will no longer be crowded.

A resolution is a promise to (fill in the blank) to one’s self.  Promises are made to be broken and once into the New Year the resolutions start to fall by the wayside.

I propose instead to set goals.  Small attainable goals and maybe one or two more difficult goals.  For instance:

                Resolution:  I want to lose weight and get in shape.

                Small goals and something concrete to shoot for:  I want to lose five lbs by June and take a walk around the block five days a week.

                Resolution:  I want to complete a 100,000 word manuscript, send it out and acquire an agent or editor.

                Small goals, attainable goals:  I will write five days a week.  Aiming for 1,000 words a day.  When the manuscript is complete, I will query two agents and two editors each week.  Small goals, attainable goals.

I think you can see the difference.  Goals are more flexible and what you aim for is a specific attainable goal.  Resolutions are set in stone and are the big picture, not necessarily attainable.

I never make my New Year’s Goals until well into January.  I have a few this year, in a few different areas of my life, and I will share with you.

1)      I will write for at least one hour every day.  My hope is I will write for four hours every day, but at least for one hour.

2)      For family:  I will bring my mother to visit her sister who is ninety years old at least every two weeks. Even though It drives me nuts to hear my Aunt repeat the same story four or five times.  :))

3)      I want to lose four lbs by the end of March.  I’ll join the diet plan at my gym for the next two months.  Should be a piece of cake, pardon the pun.

4)      On my off days from the gym, I will walk around the block for a little added exercise.

5)      I will find four things for which I am grateful in each day, no matter how bad the day was.  I will write it down in my Gratitude diary.

Do you make any New Year’s Resolutions or Goals?  Have you stuck to your resolutions or goals so far this year?