Thursday, January 8, 2015

Developing A Business Plan - Step One

I can do this. Yes I can.

So here's the thing. I started getting serious about writing the year I blew out the disk in my back. Up until that point in my life, my main hobby was needlework - very fancy embroidery in all different styles. The back injury made sitting for long periods a real problem, which made needlework a real problem. I couldn't stitch, but - laying on my belly with a pencil and paper - I could write.

And while I was laying on my belly, attempting to write fiction for the first time since college, I realized I was almost 50 years old, and if I didn't get to it, my lifelong dream of Being A Writer wasn't going to happen. I put my focus on writing, learning what I could about craft and technique, but most of all DOING it, and five years later, here I am,

Being A Writer.

More or less.

After five years, it's time to take stock and to organize my thoughts on how to proceed. By the end of 2014, I felt like I was spending a lot of time flailing, without getting a whole lot accomplished. In order to increase my productivity and to move my writing to the next level (= sell more books), I've decided it's time to develop a business plan. I'm willing to work at this writing thing, to give it my time and energy and passion, but want to work smarter.

I want to get more done.

Back in the day, I survived a short stint in management, and in addition to learning I didn't like managing people, I picked up a few ideas about putting together a strategic plan. Then, in getting ready for this blog entry, I did a quick google search and found a wonderful post by Angela Ackerman, who co-wrote The Emotion Thesaurus. Her post, The 7 Step Business Plan for Writers, does an excellent job of explaining the steps involved in coming up with a business plan.

The basic steps in Ms. Ackerman's post involve brainstorming your goals, identifying themes, grouping and prioritizing, identifying areas for focus & the steps it'll take to meet your goals, and putting it all on one page. I would add that it's important to build in a way of evaluating your progress and reconfiguring things as needed. I mean, there's no point in doing something that's not working in June just because you thought it'd be a good idea in January, right?

I totally stole this from the interwebs, but you get the idea.

The seven steps in Ms. Ackerman's blog post are the planning and the doing, and to that I'd add a way of checking on my progress, then acting, or adjusting my activities to better accomplish my goals. One of the key ideas when you're brainstorming your goals (the planning phase) is to make sure they're within your control. Getting a book contract from Publisher Z may be your secret - or not so secret - desire, but ultimately you don't control the outcome. Writing a sequel or making a list of publishers to submit to are concrete, measurable, and in your control.

Those are the goals you should focus on.

Over the next couple weeks, I'll be developing my business plan and blogging about it, then periodically check back in to see how it's going. For example, here's a quick list of goals that might make it into my final plan.
  • Self-publish at least two more of the short stories from Still Moments Publishing.
  • Work with Margaret to get Aqua Follies edited and ready for submission.
  • Dedicate two hours a day to WRITING, with the internet turned OFF.
  • Identify my next project, whether it's a sequel to something I've already got or a completely new idea.
  • Take at least three craft-related classes in 2015.
  • Develop blog posts suitable for guest shots on higher profile blogs.
  • Develop the skills to create my own cover art and promotional materials.
Now, while I was brainstorming I noticed a couple things. These are all concrete tasks that are within my ability to complete. However, they're steps, small elements that make up a couple bigger pictures. As it said in the 7 Steps blog post, once you come up with your list of goals, you group them according to theme. Given what I've got on my quick brainstorm list, I'd say my three themes are:
  • Increase productivity.
  • Refine My skills.
  • Further develop my author's platform.
If those are my themes, then the first two steps of my business plan might look like this:

Themes
Goals
Increase Productivity
  • Work with Margaret to get Aqua Follies edited and ready for submission.
  • Dedicate two hours a day to WRITING, with the internet turned OFF.
  • Identify my next project, whether it's a sequel to something I've already got or a completely new idea.
Refine My Skills
  • Take at least three craft-related classes in 2015.
  • Develop the skills to create my own cover art and promotional materials.
Develop Author’s Platform
  • Self-publish at least two more of the short stories from Still Moments Publishing.
  • Develop blog posts suitable for guest shots on higher-profile blogs.



I hope this gives you an idea about the first couple steps in the process. While I suspect the three themes are pretty solid, the actual goals may get some tweaking before I hit print on my final plan. I'll be back some time next week with another post on the next couple steps in my plan. Meanwhile, you should be writing. Me too. Write on!
Peace,
Liv

BTW, are you developing a business plan? Have you gone through these steps before? What worked for you?


12 comments:

  1. Looks like a pretty solid plan to me, Liv. I don't have a business plan myself, yet. I'm still clawing my way up the learning curve to produce stuff that's actually worth reading, and even that has to take a back seat to school. But eventually I hope to get to where I need a business plan :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, and when you're ready, I'm happy to help. Hopefully I'll learn by doing, and be in a place I can share what I know.
    ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. You're so brave to post your plan. I so need a plan. Trying to spin to many plates. AS for classes I can't recommend Margie Lawson's classes at less that high decibel screaming DO IT!
    Best classes I've ever taken. http://www.margielawson.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Absolutely agree with Diana. The Immersion Class I took with Liv and others last year was one of the best I've ever taken. I pinged Margie's assistant and asked if and when Margie is coming to Seattle. There's no definite plan, but she said she'd keep me posted. As for the biz plan, yours is similar to mine, but like Mike said, I need to produce more work that's worth reading and publishing. Keep on keeping on!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love Margie's classes, Diana - in fact I hosted one of her 3-day immersion sessions at my house last summer, and like Tessa said, it was a great experience. I'm not sure if putting my plan out for public consumption is bravery or foolishness, but I'm hoping that by having it out there, I'll be motivated to both finish it and follow it. We'll see...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have organization envy! :) Great post, Liv. I'm always tinkering with the idea of planning and plotting, but eventually come to the conclusion that I suck at it, lol. For now, I'll live vicariously through you. xo

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't think my last comment went thru. To summarize: you're already my productivity hero. I look forward to following this years progress and have no doubt you will achieve what you set out to do. Go Liv!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Now wait a minute, Marissa, I'm trying to lead by example here. And Sara, thank you for the positive reinforcement. You've got your own kind of productivity going on, for sure.
    ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll watch your example from the cushy, lazy sidelines. :D xo

      Delete
  9. Sounds like you're in a good place, and I wish you well in developing and then executing your plan.

    I suck at business plans, because I get too bogged down in the detail and end up abandoning the development - at least that's what happened last year with the freelance stuff. :-/

    I've never attempted to do one for creative endeavours. Like Mike, I'm focusing on writing something worth reading. It's good to know you'll be an expert by the time I get there!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Not sure I'll be an expert, Ellen, but I'm going to give it the ol' college try. And I bet your freelance gig has the simplest of all business plans:
    Find work.
    Make money.
    It's as easy as that.
    ;)

    ReplyDelete