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It doesn’t matter if you’re building a writing business or looking to write novels. You need writing goals, and you need to look back on them from time to time.
There are all types of writers out there. Some writers will create books to sell*, while others will write for private clients. You may also blog via revenue share sites to make money. All options are legitimate, and they all have one thing in common: The need for writing goals.
You’ll set goals for your writing every year. This is usually around the New Year, but it could be at other times of the year as well. It is worth looking at your goals every three months or so to make sure you’re on track with a plan. If you’re only going to look at them once, make sure it’s when you come to set new goals.
Check your writing goals were realistic
This is a great chance to assess whether you were realistic in your goals? Did you meet them or are there some left over? You should have checked your goals at other points of the year, but this is the best chance to see just how many you forgot about or that you were reaching too far for.
You can assess your business goals further than just if they were realistic. You can assess why they weren’t or were realistic, and what you could do next year to make sure you meet them.
Make better goals next year
If you don’t look back over your writing goals, how do you know if the next year’s writing goals are any good? You don’t! You could set yourself up for failure again, or make them so easy that you get to the middle of the year without anything to aim for.
This will also take into account if your business took a different turn through the year. It is very possible that you’re looking to branch out, or you are assessing new routes to make money.
Set time to reflect throughout the year
If you didn’t look over your goals throughout the year, this needs to be something you do next year. Now is the time to make a note of strategic points to look back over the aims you set at the start of the year.
If you did look back throughout the year, you may decide whether you need to do it at different points of the year. This is really important to make sure you stay on track and make changes to the aims throughout the year if you find your business takes a different route.
Adjustments don’t mean that your goals are bad. It just means that you’ve been too optimistic or may have even set them not optimistically enough. Plus life happens, and we can’t always control what that means. The reviews give you the chance to see where you are now and push yourself more or create something a little more realistic.
MORE: Why you need writing goals and tips for setting them
What are you struggling with as a writer? What are your writing goals like for the rest of this year? Share your thoughts in the comments below.