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2020: Forgive and forget? I don’t think so…

December 31, 2020 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

NOTICE: I’m doing something different today — I’m sharing my newsletter on my blog. I don’t often do this (after all, I want you to sign up for my newsletter!), but I felt like this needs a wider audience. If you like what you see here, please consider signing up for more encouraging content like this (as well as blog posts sent directly to your in box)!

Raise your hand if you enjoyed 2020.

(looks around; slowly raises hand)

It’s been hard to admit this, but I didn’t hate 2020. I know it was hard for a lot of people—I had my own bouts of tears and frustrations. Overall, however, it was a pretty good year. Different, but good.

And now it’s time to move on.

Regardless of what happened in 2020—if your book was published or rejected; if you had your best sales year or your worst—2021 is a clean slate. If you messed up this past year, or if someone misused or hurt you in some way, now’s your chance to forgive and forget.

I’ve never actually liked that phrase. I prefer forgive and learn.

Did you self-publish a book and have menial sales? Look at what you did wrong and learn from it. Don’t make the same mistake next year.

Did you send out query letters and get zero responses? Find someone (or hire someone!) to review it for you and apply their advice to your next query. Improve your pitch.

It doesn’t matter if someone wronged you or if you’re your own worst enemy. The new year gives you the chance to start fresh, so take advantage of it!

What do you want to do differently this year? How can I help you with that?

Filed Under: goals Tagged With: encouragement, inspiration, New Year's Resolutions, newsletters, writer's life

Set Goals, Not Wishes

January 6, 2020 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

Happy New Year!

It’s the first full week of 2020, and I want to encourage you to take a look at your writing, editing, and publishing goals for the year.  Then ask yourself:

Are these goals or wishes?

Every year I see writers mistakes wishes for goals:

* Get an agent
* Sign a publishing contract
* Make $XXX writing

The problem with these “goals” is that the writer has no control over them.

* You can’t make an agent represent you (without breaking a few laws)
* You can’t force a publisher to offer you a contract
* You can’t make anyone hire you

When you mistake wishes like these for goals, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Instead, look for things you can control. For example, in 2019 you queried twelve agents, submitted to eight publishers, and made $5,000 selling short stories. For 2020, your goals might look something like this:

* Query twelve different agents
* Submit to eight different publishers
* Got to a conference to meet at least two agents and one publisher
* Submit 10% more short stories than last year
* Only accept writing gigs that pay $XXX/story

These are goals you can achieve because YOU are the one in control.

What goals have you set for 2020? What do you wish for in the new year?

Filed Under: best practices Tagged With: editing goals, editing tips, New Year's Resolutions, publishing goals, publishing tips, writing goals, writing tips

Using Past Goals to Set New Goals

December 31, 2018 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

What are your New Year’s resolutions? Have you set your goals? What’s your “theme” for 2019?

How many times have you heard these questions (or something similar)? It’s pretty common to look ahead when you reach the end of the year, but what if you’re not a planner? Not everyone knows how to set goals (did you even know that there are good and bad ways to set goals?). Instead of setting goals today, let’s take a look at how you can set better goals for yourself this year.

Review your past goals. Before you set new goals, look back to see what goals you’ve set for yourself in the past. As you review them, ask yourself these questions?
a. What goals did you meet?
b. Which goals went unmet?
c. Did you reach all of your goals?
d. How many goals did you fail to achieve?

Use past goals to set new goals. After you’ve reviewed past goals, it’s time to start asking another question – why.
a. Why did you achieve certain goals?
b. Why did you fail to meet other goals?
c. Why were you able to meet all of your goals?
d. Why were you unable to meet all of your goals?

Once you’ve started asking why, it’s time to start applying that knowledge. Here’s what I mean. Suppose you set these goals last year:

  • Finish a first draft.
  • Edit first draft by October 1.
  • Launch a website.
  • Start blogging by July.

You finished your first draft in and got your website up, but you never quite finished editing your draft and you never started blogging. Maybe you don’t do well with hard deadlines. If that’s the case, give yourself more flexibility next year and avoid those specific deadlines. Maybe you reached all of your goals because you underestimated yourself (or you didn’t reach them because you used someone else’s goals without considering what you could actually accomplish).

By now, it doesn’t really matter that you failed or succeeded. The important thing is taking the time to figure out why you succeeded and failed. Once you know that, you can set better goals for yourself.

What other goal-setting tips do you use?

—

My debut novel—Summer Plans and Other Disasters—is now available on Amazon! Sign up for my monthly newsletter and you’ll receive the unpublished prologue: find out what inspired Calista Stephens to make those summer plans. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for writing tips, updates on Guiding Light, and more!

Filed Under: best practices Tagged With: goal setting, Goals, New Year, New Year's Resolutions

10 Times You Should Be Sending a Press Release

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ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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Karin understood my advertising and marketing writing needs and accomplished the project in record time. She asked all the right questions up front to equip herself with enough … [more]

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Substantive Fiction Editing: A substantive edit looks at the big picture. Start here to tackle the big issues before moving on to the nit-picky details. Substantive edits not only point out … [more]

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Lover of all things fiction, I also love University of Michigan football, the Detroit Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings, kayaking, gluten-free cupcakes, and my husband.

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Press Release Tool Kit Stop waiting and hoping for people to notice you and your organization! With this Press Release Tool Kit, you’ll learn to apply the step-by-step process I use to … [more]

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