No author plans to fail; what he or she does is fail to plan. –Snappy Sassy Salty by Judith Briles

Goals-identify them … a good thing to do for any author who wants to be seriously successfu!

A few “authoring and publishing” years ago, I completed Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers. Today, January 1, 2019, it still stands as one of my favorites. Why? Because it is woven with quotations to kick-start and propel authors and writers forward. The goose many of us need to rejuicing, inspiration, motivation, dealing with rejections, moving forward … the list is endless. 

If you are going to succeed in this writing, authoring, publishing arena, you need to be kick-started and refueled to propel your forward. That means YOU.

Most of us have resolutions at this time of the year, loaded with good intentions. By mid-January, they begin to dwindle. Most likely, mid February, they are gone.

Let’s not do that. First, start with realism. Not pie-in-the-sky … reaching to stuff that is more fantasy and fiction vs. “yes, this can happen." approach. Becoming a best-seller is totally possible; being a best-seller on Amazon is totally possible; earning book awards–sure; getting in front of media is totally possible; having an awesome book event is totally possible; speaking at an event and selling lots of books is totally possible. Is being on the New Times bestseller list possible? Maybe … probable … hmm, most likely not. It’s time to get real and start adding “notches” to your pushing achievements. 

Being realistic is critical to tying in with success for you and your book. It’s goal setting time …

To set you and your book into a positive book strategy mindset for 2019, here are a few tips.

1    Be realistic. You might want your book to sell 20,000 copies … do      you have a GamePlan in place to initiate and support it. Do you have the  time to support it? Do you have the energy? Do you have the network?  If not, perhaps it’s not a realistic goal  for you right now.

Stop living your fears … live your dreams. If you believe your book will be successful, it’s the first step. – Snappy Sassy Salty

2    Determine if your Goals are  measureable and make them so they are. Don’t be vague or up in the      air. Put numbers, facts by them. Don’t say “Get on TV." or “Sell more  books.." State what TV show you will get on … how many books you will sell  (a specific number).

3   Get a Goal Pal.    Someone  you connect with once a week…a someone who will help hold you accountable  and be an encourager as well.

4    Create a visual Goal Board.  Write yours down. It’s time to get the sticky notes out and start noodling ideas.

5    Create an Action Plan for you  and your book. Once you get these in writing, “ahas." happen. It is  also a crucial and realistic checkpoint.

6    Review as the year flows.   Tweak here and there. If they have become unrealistic, move them off your Goal Board and let your Goal Pal know. Stay on track.

7    Revisit your Goals.   Record your accomplishments as the year progresses. It keeps you “goosed."  and IDs what’s working … and what is not.

8    Celebrate when you achieve a Goal.   And here’s the fun part… you design the celebration around what you want to do.

Ta Dah! Here’s to reaching all of your personal and book marketing goals in 2019!

Wake up. Kick ass. Repeat. Don’t you love it?  -Snappy Sassy Salty

Ashography Event Photography

Judith Briles is known as The Book Shepherd, the Author and Publishing expert and the Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of AuthorYOU, a membership organization created for the author who wants to be seriously successful. She’s been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the 80s. Judith is the author of 36 books including her latest, How to Create a $1,000,000 Speech. Her other books for authors and publishing include: Author YOU: Creating Your Book and Author Platforms, Snappy Sassy Salty … Wise Words for Authors and Publishers, The Authors and Writers Guide to CrowdFunding, How to Avoid 101 Book Publishing Blunders, Bloopers & Boo-Boos — all are available on Amazon.  Join Judith live on Thursdays for AuthorU – Your Guide to Book Publishing on the Toginet network at: http://togi.us/authoru