Treat your writing like a business. I’ve heard it at conferences and read it in countless articles, but no one really explains what they mean by that. Sure, it could be just a fancy way of saying take your work seriously, but I think it means a lot more than that. I’ve spent the last ten years working in Corporate America and, while I don’t have a business degree, I’ve picked up a few things along the way. 
While every company calls their process something different, at the core they’re all the same. You need to set attainable, measurable goals, and you need to have some kind of accountability. I took the same approach when I sat down to figure out what I wanted to accomplish in 2017. I came up with six goals.
After coming up with the goals, I needed to break them down into steps. For example, one of my goals this year is to build my author platform. That seems pretty daunting when you look at it from that level, and honestly it was the goal I was dreading the most. So, I broke it down into 5 steps. Still daunting, but at least I now have a road map to follow to reach my goal.
They say timing is everything, and it’s true when developing your writing plan. It’s important to set up timing for each of your goals so you don’t become overwhelmed and burn yourself out. Give yourself permission to take things one step at a time. If I were to sit down one day and say, “Ok, I need to make a Facebook page, start using Twitter and Instagram, set up a website, and start blogging. Ready, set, go!” I would never get any of it done. Instead I broke it down and tackled one at a time. I spent the whole month of February developing my author Facebook page. I didn’t worry about any other social media sites. I started with Facebook because I was familiar with it. That made it easier for me to get in the habit of posting on it before moving on to a different platform I didn’t know.
How do you treat your writing like a business? Have any tips to share?
You can find the template for my writing plan on the Resources page.
Holly Ash 
2 responses to “The Business of Writing”
This is wonderful. I love your “strategic plan” approach to writing. I do something similar, but from the perspective of a project manager. However, it’s quite similar. Best of luck reaching your goals!
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Thanks! I had come up with targets for me to hit every month or it would be too easy for me to put it off. In the past, I would find excuses and ended up putting of writing for over a year. I never want that to happen again.
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