It’s January again, which means time for New Year’s resolutions.
It’s easy for resolutions to become bigger-than-life, difficult to keep, and discouraging. While the big dreams are necessary, it’s often the little steps that get us there…or keep us away.
So for our list of suggested resolutions for 2014, we’ve focused on a few simple, easy to accomplish tasks that will help you succeed in accomplishing the bigger goals. We’ve also linked to past blog posts that will help you complete these resolutions in no time.
Tweetables:
- Check out @AuthorMedia’s simple list of resolutions for authors. Click to Tweet
- Finally, a list of simple, doable resolutions for writers. Click to Tweet
- In 2014, I’m going to do these simple things to help my writing career. Click to Tweet
- Looking for a list of doable writing resolutions for 2014? Look no further. Click to Tweet
1. Create a Writing Schedule
If you haven’t done so in the past, 2014 is the year to get serious about writing. If you want to become a professional writer, you need to treat writing like your job. That means planning ahead and scheduling what you’re going to write and when you’re going to write it.
Check out our post on making your own customized writing schedule to get started on making a schedule that works for you.
2. Give Yourself Room to Write
Don’t let things like blogging, newsletter writing, and social media control your writing schedule. But don’t let them fall by the wayside, either.
Check out our posts on putting social media on autopilot as well as scheduling your posts in WordPress to learn how to write your blog and social media content at your convenience. That way, you can focus on writing the next bestseller while simultaneously building your online following.
3. Learn to Market Your Novel
With the Novel Marketing Podcast, hosted by James L. Rubart and Thomas Umstattd Jr., learning to market your book is easier than ever. Just download the podcast to your iPod or computer (or even listen online), and give it a listen while your washing the dishes, doing laundry, or driving in the car.
4. Give Pinterest a Try
Pinterest continues to be one of the leading sources of traffic referral. If you want to boost your blog traffic, give Pinterest a shot. But make sure your blog is Pinterest worthy first.
5. Set Up Your Google+ Account
Even if you never use Google+ as your main social media account, there are many other reasons why you want to have your Google+ account set up, including boosting SEO and reducing piracy.
Learn to set up your Google+ account, and enjoy the benefits!
What about you? What are your writing resolutions for 2014?
Great tips for the new year!! I have definitely been working on scheduling writing time into my day more and more often, and it really helps. I would recommend that to anyone who wants to write.
I’m going to try to work on getting into Pinterest and Google+. I use Pinterest a lot for my own creativity, but not as a marketing thing yet, and Google+ just doesn’t appeal to me, although I see the usefulness of it.
Anyways, great tips, even for me as a yet-unpublished-author. Thanks!
Yes! These are wonderful! One of my goals is to be more consistent/scheduled with my writing. This just solidifies that determination. Thanks for the link to the customized writing schedule. It’s exactly what I need. 🙂
Pinterest is one that I keep thinking about. I think I’m going to set a goal to get some marketing stuff up on Pinterest…
Good tips, Shaney. I haven’t had a chance yet to check out the links, but I intend to. Under No. 2, I would also include physical space. That doesn’t affect me, but I know from my Facebook page that it does others. Whether they use the kitchen table or a bedroom, many people have to endure constant interruptions and distractions from well-meaning but intrusive family members. That’s not very conducive to writing, concentrating, or accomplishing.
I would also add that I’ve not had much luck with Pinterest. I took a course in it, and unlike most people, I created my own pins rather than “borrowing” them from the Internet. I have just under 400 followers and many likes and re-pins. But I don’t believe anyone has ever gone to my blog, as I’ve suggested in nearly every pin. Pinterest users love recipes, jewelry, fashion tips, shoes, and pretty pictures. They seem to buy things that make them or their home look better. A book won’t do that.
The only advantage I’ve seen for writers — but only for those who create their own pins — is that it forces you to think visually. That’s a huge boost to the imagination and can open the floodgates of creativity and indirectly improve writing.
In my experience, the writing-related sites that re-pin my images are mostly from secondary school teachers looking for visual aids for their students. (And their board on writing is only one of 50 or more, the others about favorite movies, hairstyles, celebrities, homes, exotic locales, shoes, and household cleaning tips.)
I have a feeling that Pinterest will going to boom this year! Better to start working on it now. 😀
Thanks for the do-able, helpful suggestions, as well as the quick links to other retaliated articles. I’ll be focusing on the automated route and doing more with google+.
It is the utmost desire of every author to write such story which capture maximum interest of people. Either you are a content writer, social media poster or writer of other categories, it is important to have some tips in your mind and consider your readers by level as well as interest. I really appreciate your post for clearly describing the new year resolution for authors which are good to write quality content.