KASIA RADZKA

Romantic Suspense and Thriller Author

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How To Start An Author Blog On A Budget

How To Start An Author Blog On A Budget



How to start your own blogYour job as an author is to write great books.

 

If you want to sell books, you’re going to have to build relationships with people.

 

Your readers; your peers.

 

Building relationships is not everyone’s forte. I know I shy away from people often and this is detrimental to my success. I’m an introvert and small talk drives me insane (although secretly I’d love to do it really well).

 

This is where blogging enters the picture.

Blogging is an awesome way for introverts to communicate with their community without leaving their comfort zones. Ok you might have to step out a little bit but with your blog you set the boundaries.

So why do I need a blog as an author?

 

Writing the book is the easy part. Selling it is where the real work begins.

 

Thousands of books are published on Amazon on a daily basis. That’s a lot of literature to sift through. Do you think you have high  chances of someone finding  your book if no one knows who you are?

 

Didn’t think so.

 

A blog (on your website), will allow you to slowly build a platform from which you can sell more books. That is your goal as an author: to sell more books. Right?

Right.

 

The good news is that setting up a website and starting a blog has never been easier. You can do it in under an hour without knowing any HTML or being technologically savvy. I’m the opposite of tech savvy and have learnt everything I know by doing it.

The bad news is that every man (or woman) and their dog have a blog about something. And yes, as an author, you probably want to jump on the bandwagon and join the blogging circus.

As an author in today’s day and age, whether you’re indie or traditionally published, you require a web presence. A website or a blog. Preferably both, as blogging can draw more traffic to your site and more traffic is likely to lead to more book sales. That’s what we all want, isn’t it?

If you’re wondering about the cost of this endeavour, worry no more. You can choose between a free blogging platform or a paid one. After almost eight years of blogging I’d say go to the paid version straight away. It shouldn’t set you back more than $100 to start with and often considerably less.

Blogger and WordPress.com offer a free service. That’s great for hobby bloggers. Not so if you want to sell your books and run an author business.

Free blogging platforms have limitations with theme and design which is a small pickle. The bigger issue arises when they have the power to shut you down.

Do you really want to work your butt off for a year or more only to find that you no longer have access to your blog and you’ve lost all the material you’ve produced and readers you’ve acquired?

Me neither.

When I first started blogging I used the free blogging services of Blogger.com and WordPress.com. At the time they seemed right for a hobby site but when I realised I wanted to take this blogging business a little more seriously, I needed to make the switch to a paid service.

My first choice these days is WordPress.org. To use WordPress.org you need to have a host and a domain name. Sounds technical? It really isn’t.

The host will support your blog. I use Bluehost for all my hosting. I’ve been with them for several years now and have found them to be extremely easy to use and quick to assist when I ran into problems.

The domain name is your internet address. You’re buying a piece of internet real estate and it can be a profitable venture if you decide that’s the course you want to take. As an author-entrepreneur, you probably do.

Some people recommend you buy your domain from someone other than your host. I bought my domain name and hosting from Bluehost because I already have way too many logins to keep track of and felt more comfortable having everything in the one spot.

The choice is yours.

Still not convinced about setting up your author blog? Here are four benefits to taking the plunge:

  • Improve your writing. With blogging you can write short and snappy or long and poetic. It allows you to practice your writing craft and constantly work towards improving. If you’re a serious writer you will want to get better with each book you write and every blog article you post.
  • Create multiple income streams. Earning a full-time living solely from your books isn’t impossible but it’s difficult unless you write really good books, know how to market them, and produce new ones on a regular basis. I’m talking one every few months not one a year. The way you can make money through blogging is through affiliate sales (like this article), sponsored posts, private advertising, Adsense, courses, or even sell books directly bypassing the retailers and keeping 100% of the profits.
  • Build a platform. A blog can be aimed at your readers and relate to your books and the genre you are writing in. It can also relate to you as an author-entrepreneur so you can assist other writers in achieving their writing dreams. We can all learn something from one another and a blog allows you to reach out to your community of writers and readers. The more people know your name, the bigger your platform. Use it to sell more books. This is even more important for non-fiction writers.
  • Blogging is fun. You get to write what you think, publish and have other people comment. You can have conversations with people from across the globe, exchange opinions, recipes and tips on everything from writing to craft to personal finance and toilet-training your cat. You’ll meet people with similar interests to yours who are located anywhere in the world. You can have readers stretching from the Arctic to Africa and everywhere in between.That is so awesome.

 

Ok, ok. You’re convinced that starting an author blog for your author-business is a brilliant idea.

 

Fantabulous! Here’s what you need to do.

1 – DECIDE ON YOUR DOMAIN NAME

As an author this could be your name, your pseudonym, or something else that relates to what you’re writing about. I use my own name as I plan to write numerous books under it and feel this is the best choice for me. If you have a common name and can’t get a domain you can add the word ‘books’ or ‘author’ beside it.

Your domain name is your internet address. Mine is www.kasiaradzka.com. I was fortunate that no one else with that name had taken it.

My site however has a different title. At the moment I used Writerly Pursuits. That title has nothing to do with the domain name. So you can have a different domain to your website title.

A domain name will set you back as little as $11.99 if you register it with Bluehost. If you’re earning a living from your blog you should check with your accountant if this cost is tax deductible.

Pick a domain name that you will be happy with indefinitely. You don’t want to be switching and swapping as it can get costly and lose you long term traffic. Do it right the first time and never worry about it again. Hence for authors, using your name seems like the easiest way to go.

I recommend Bluehost. But you can use other services also. If you already have a domain name with another provider and want to change, you can usually transfer them over.

2 – CHOOSE YOUR HOSTING

Once you have your domain name, you need to decide on the host you would like to use. Again, I use Bluehost for all my websites. Bluehost has hosting starting from just as little as $5.95 per month. Keep in mind that when you sign up, you have to pay for at least a year up front, and the price goes down for the longer you want to sign up for.

When you choose a host you want to use someone that will have a control panel that is simple to navigate. They need to have a helpline that is available hopefully 24/7, and a decent reputation.

Bluehost has all that and more.

 

3 – INSTALL WORDPRESS

Once you’ve purchased your domain name and paid for your hosting you can move to the next stage of installing WordPress. Fortunately, it’s not as complicated as it sounds.

From your Control Panel you can find the Install WordPress button and follow the instructions. You can do it yourself for free or Bluehost also offer a paid service. It’s up to you. I’ve always opted for the free option and have managed just fine.

4 – CHOOSE A THEME

WordPress has an endless amount of themes. It’s easy to lose track of time and spend an entire day exploring the themes for your blog. I’ve done it numerous times.

Don’t do it.

Figure out what you want your blog to offer and choose a theme based on that. Stick to simple, elegant and effective. Make sure that the theme you use has all the capabilities you require. You can always change it later down the track.

There are free themes and premium themes. I’ve always used free themes but am looking for a paid one so that I have more options. With premium themes you also get to customise me to suit your needs so that you end up with a unique sight rather than one that someone else already has.

5 – SET UP YOUR PAGES

As an author you want to have a few tabs at the top of your blog directing your audience to where they want to go. The main pages are ‘About’, ‘Contact’, ‘Books’ and ‘Blog’. You can always have more but it’s probably best to stick to less than eight. Any more and the top of your page website starts looking like a mess.

The About page, should have a little bit about who you are. This is your space after all. You can use the bio you use on your books or at the end of your articles or add some more information that your readers might like to learn about you.

Readers come to your blog because they want to not only learn what you’re offering or like your books but to also find out about you. Sometimes that’s creepy, but it’s the way the blogging world works. I know I love reading about personal experiences and useless pieces of information about people I follow. Sometimes it makes it easier to relate.

Your Contact page should have your contact details. You can set up an automated form where people can leave their name, number, email address and query. Or you can just provide the best email address you can be reached on.

The Books page will have a list of your books that are currently available. You can add links to the different retailers like Amazon, Kobo, Nook, Smashwords, or even offer to sell them directly from your website.

You can also list your ‘soon to be released’ collections too. That way if readers check out these pages they’ll be able to anticipate your next book. Awareness is key in being a successful author. You want people to know you’re not a one hit wonder.

Your Blog is where your posts are going to be showing. The latest posts go at the top and the oldest at the bottom. When a reader clicks on this tab then they should be taken directly to your blog and your latest post.

6 – SET UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

You need social media to get ahead as a writer even more than your blog. But what you want is to have your social media buttons to be linked to your blog post so every time you write a post it will get automatically shared on all your platforms.

You also want your readers to find it easy to share your content. People love sharing cool stuff on the Internet. Let it be easy for them to share yours too.

You can get a social media plugin by installing one on your site.

7 – START BLOGGING

Excellent. You’re all set. You can start blogging now. All the best. Adios.

Wait!!! What the hell am I supposed to blog about?

Absolutely anything you want to.

That answer makes it a little harder. But to get you started here are a few quick ideas for your beginning stages;

– Why did you get into writing in the first place?

– What made you wite your first novel?

– What books you are currently reading and would recommend? (cross promotion is awesome!)

– A picture of your writing space

– An interview with your favourite author

You can be general or pick a tight niche. Think about what you want to achieve with your blog and the audience you want to attract.

Click here to get started on your WordPress blog!

Happy writing my friends!

Do you use Bluehost? Have you started an author blog? Do you have any tips for setting up an awesome blog? Share your comments below.



 

*This article contains referral links.

January 2016 Progress Report & February Goals

January 2016 Progress Report & February Goals

IMG_5666Well, well, hasn’t the first month of 2016 sped along nicely? It feels like Christmas and New Year’s was a lifetime ago and Easter is just around the corner. January just seems to get faster every year. Is the universe playing tricks on us or is that just life putting everything on fast forward?

Who knows? But I have to say, January was a good month. I managed to ace my goals this month and that is an awesome start to 2016!

I’m excited.

In this post, I mentioned that I wanted to publish 6 books in 2016. Well, I’ve had my novella, Lethal Instincts edited, the cover completed and published yesterday.

Lethal Instincts ThumbLethal Instincts: A Lexi Ryder Crime Thriller is a novella and is now available on Amazon.. You can grab it here. It’s Book 0.5 of my Lethal series with Lexi Ryder, a ballsy investigative journalist who doesn’t mind stepping on a few toes to help those in need.

I also had Lethal Disposal proofread again. It was unfortunate that it got published with far too many errors. Expensive lesson learnt. Note to self, be more vigilant.

No one is ever going to care about your work as much as you do. 

If you sign up for my email list, you can get a free copy of Lethal Disposal here. It’s best to read Lethal Instincts first, then Lethal Disposal.

I’m aiming for $10,000 in writing income by the end of 2016. I’d love it if it was solely from book sales, I’d be ecstatic actually but this will be a combination of book sales, affiliate marketing, freelance writing and advertising.

How did I fare in January with my income?

I was hoping to make $100 to get the ball rolling. It seemed like quite an easy number. I fell short but that’s ok because my main focus was to submit at least 10 pitches.

Queries sent: 12
Responses: 1
Accepted: 1
Follow ups: 2
Income: $27.51
Books sold: 4
Income: $2.34
Total writing income for January: AUD$29.85
Total writing income for 2016: AUD$29.85

So what are my goals for February?

Sell 100 copies of Lethal Instincts and Lethal Disposal.
Publish Lethal Secrets.
Set up a mailing list (and hopefully get a handful of sign ups!)
Run a Facebook promotion for my Lethal series.
Send 25 pitches to websites, magazines and businesses offering my writing services
Make $200 from my writing.

I’m sharing my goals and my results here to stay accountable and show you how much work and effort it takes to create an author-entrepreneur business. It also keeps a record of how I’m going. The freelancing world is very transparent and it’s good to see people sharing their experiences.

My aim is to have a location independent lifestyle while earning a six figure income after tax. I’d like to achieve this within 5 years. When my son goes to school I want to have the flexibility to drop him off and pick him up, to attend all the school events and sporting activities without having to worry about finances or a boss. That way I can work during the school hours and spend the rest of the time with my family.

How did you go with your goals this month? Have you started working towards achieving your 2016 goals?

Goals and Thoughts for 2016

Goals and Thoughts for 2016

IMG_6948Each year I set myself a list of goals. I find it odd come January if I don’t have a file on my computer with all the things I want to achieve, generally categorised between writing and personal development, to health and fitness and personal finance.

These goals are often divided into quarters. Then I have another list for monthly goals, weekly ones and daily ones.

Yes, that’s a little OCD when it comes to lists.

What can I say, I love writing lists, and ticking things off once they are complete.

In 2015, my primary goal was to publish my first novel. I did that. Lethal Disposal was published on Amazon in May 2015. This was an amazing feeling. It also taught me a few things that I wish I paid attention to before putting the book to market. The good thing about e-publishing is that it’s editable. But I don’t plan on making the same mistakes with future books.

In my last post, I mentioned my A goal for 2016. It’s a big one and it’s going to take a lot of commitment, time and sacrifice but it will be worth it.2016 is going to a big year. An exciting year. A hard working year.

1. I want to be a healthy writer.

I’m athletic. I run, swim, cycle, and weight train. Since having my son, my training has been sporadic at best. Given that my day job is sedentary and so is my writing, it’s imperative that I fit in daily exercise. Walking to and from the train station just doesn’t cut it.So I’ve started the year with some daily workouts. I want to run more marathons and do a few triathlons throughout the year and they both require a significant amount of training.

Being a writer doesn’t mean junk food, alcohol and staying on your butt. I’ve found that staying fit boosts my creativity. I use this time to plan out scenes, think through plot problems, and brainstorm article ideas.

I want to be a writer for as long as I’m here so that means I need to look after myself every single day. You can check out some ways I stay healthy as a writer here.

Whatever you do, make sure you invest in your health by eating nutritious food and staying active every day. You can still spoil yourself, just do it in moderation.

2. I want to publish six novels/novellas in 2016.

Insane. I know. How is that even possible?

Anything is possible if you believe and are willing to work your butt off. I’m not one to shy away from hard work and so I like to set myself some lofty goals.

At first glance writing six books seems like a stretch. If I was starting from scratch than that would be the case. I spent the last six months of 2015 writing two novels and two novellas. I’m aiming for the following publication schedule:

January – Lethal Instincts, a prequel to Lethal Disposal.(novella)
February – Lethal Aftershock, a sequel to Lethal Disposal (novella)
April – Lethal Attraction (Book 4 in the Lexi Ryder series)
May – Lethal Untitled (Book 5, a novella still to be written)
July – Lethal Games (Book 6 in the Lexi Ryder series)
September – Lethal Untitled (Book 7 in the Lexi Ryder series)

I hope this works out but life sometimes throws unexpected obstacles at us. While I’ll do everything in my power to achieve this goal, even if only manage half of it, it’s still a success, and more than if I didn’t set the goal at all.

3. I want to become a better writer.

Writing has been a passion since I was a kid. I hope it will continue to be one until my grey old days.

I know I can write fast but at the same time I want to write well. The only way to write well is to write more, read more, and learn more.

I’ll be working on improving my writing skills throughout the year, and I’ll share a post on that later this month.

 

4. I want to read more non-fiction books

In 2015 I read a lot of fiction. I didn’t keep track but I’d say I went through more than fifty books. For some it’s a lot, for others it’s nothing at all.

In 2016, I want to read 26 non-fiction books. That’s one every two weeks. But I don’t want to just read any old non-fiction books. I want to read two books in each of the following categories – business, religion, politics, crime, culture, biography, writing, espionage, travel, science, history, philosophy, and psychology.

Reading is an important part of being a good writer. It’s not enough to read books in your own genre. We need to engage all our senses, question our beliefs, learn new facts, and develop our minds to fuel our creativity. Non-fiction can also provide ideas for future fiction books. It’s a win-win.

I also want to read 26 fiction books. This won’t be too hard. If I really enjoy a book, I can generally get through it within two days.

So that’s a total of 52 books in a year or one book a week. I’ve joined the GoodReads Reading Challenge for 2016.

 

5. I want to earn $10,000 from my author business in 2016

I wasn’t going to set a monetary goal for my writing as it’s not one that I can control. But I like quantifiable goals and an income goal does just that, it provides me with a quantifier.

Why $10,000? It’s a nice round number and fairly achievable and it would pay for the two holidays I have scheduled for this year. I’m aiming for 50% from book sales, 30% from affiliates on my websites, and 20% from writing services I offer (articles, blog posts, etc).

If your business, website, blog or magazine requires a writer, check out my Hire Me page.

6. I want to become more confident

Success comes in many shapes and sizes but one thing that every success has in common is confidence. There are a lot of successful people out there who aren’t necessarily ‘the best’ at what they do, but they are confident.

To become successful in any arena it’s imperative to believe in yourself, because if you don’t, nobody will either. Confidence is one of my major weak points and it’s something I need to work on continuously.

As a writer, this means opening myself up for more criticism. I like a healthy dose of criticism as long as it’s done respectfully. Unfortunately, the online world has made some people think that they have permission to be rude, aggressive and vulgar towards others. But just because you aren’t sitting face to face doesn’t give you the right to be abusive. Play nice, we’re all in this together. Let’s help each other out, the world has enough hate already.

 

7. I want a few more things unrelated to writing.

From finishing a half marathon in under 1:45, to spending more quality time with my family and friends, to exploring new places, tasting new restaurants, embarking on unplanned journeys, building a house, learning the ropes in a new job, and being grateful for the all the wonderful little things that we take for granted.

2016 is going to be an awesome year. I’m looking forward to sharing my journey with you, and I look forward to hearing about yours.

What are your goals for 2016? How are you going to achieve them?

Are You Taking Care of Your Author Business?

Are You Taking Care of Your Author Business?

IMG_5464

You’ve written a novel. It’s either sitting in your drawer, on a file on the computer, or maybe you’ve taken the plunge and self-published. What’s next?

You have a choice: you either let it be and enjoy the accomplishment or you keep going, write the next book and plunge into creating your author business.

Have you read Joanna Penn’s Business for Authors: How to be an author entrepreneur? What about How to Make a Living With Your Writing: Books, Blogging & More?

If you want ‘Author’ as your full time job title then I suggest you pick up your Kindle or log onto your Amazon account and buy the books right now. Go on, I’ll wait.

You won’t regret it. The books are great. Informative. Easy to read. You’re going to keep going back to them as you start to build your own writing business.

Yesterday, I finished reading Business for Authors.

My dream has always been to a full time author. Since I was about ten or so, I’ve enjoyed writing and in my teens I’d dream of days of getting a publishing deal.

I no longer dream about publishing deals. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with them and if one came up well, then I’d cross that road when I got there. But I want more.

I’ve also wanted to run my own business. The first time I came across the concept of Entrepreneur, I was in high school going to a presentation at Bond University and there was an Entrepreneur there explaining to us pimply know it all kids about careers and study choices. At the time I liked the sound of it but I didn’t completely understand what the word meant but it stuck in my brain somewhere, and ever since I’ve wanted to be an entrepreneur too.

It’s a fancy word. Maybe that’s part of the reasoning, haha.

It’s not about making billions, although I won’t get upset if millions end up buying my books. You can grab a copy of Lethal Disposal here.

So what does it mean to be an entrepreneur? It’s a fancy word for setting up a business.

Anyway, Joanna Penn is an author-entrepreneur. She’s done an amazing job in the last few years with her author business and now makes a full time living with her writing. Her books are awesome too. That goes for both her fiction and non-fiction. Her style is friendly, upbeat and very conversational. From her blog and podcasts she seems like the sort of person you could sit down and have a glass of wine with and chat about anything from books and business to theology and murder. Are you intrigued yet? If you’re interested in religious conspiracy thrillers check out her books under JF Penn.

Go on. I’ll wait.

Good to have you back. So where was I? Ah, yes. We’re getting down to business peeps.

For the past two decades my writing has been treated as a hobby. There was a stint of a couple of years whilst living in Europe and teaching English as a foreign language I wrote and got paid for articles, churning out between three to eight a day for content mills. It was easier money and converting it to local currency, well, it was minimum wage for a quarter of the hours put in. At least it supported my coffee and shopping habit.

What used to be perceived as just a dream has now become a goal? It no longer seems impossible to crack the author circle. It’s no longer about editors and publishers taking a chance on you. It’s you, taking a chance on yourself.

The control has shifted and Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, and ITunes have given us mere mortals with a passion for writing, creating stories and entertaining with the written word, a chance to step out into the light. Ok, that sounds scary, a little overdramatic, but it’s true.

In today’s technologically advanced world, it’s up to you whether you become an author you’ve always dreamed of or continue hiding in the closet. The world is your oyster, and you too can become successful and make a living doing what you love.

It’s going to be hard work though. You’re going to put in the hours. Waking up an hour earlier to fit in your writing quota. Saying no to drinks with friends because you have a deadline tomorrow. Hustling for reviews. Being active on social media. Helping others promote their books. Writing quality reviews of your own. Setting up a blog. Connecting with other writers. Writing every day. Then writing some more.

You’re also not going to become successful on your own. You need a team; a support network. From editors and cover designers, to beta readers and a your own personal cheer squad – your family and friends, who will not always be as supportive of your efforts as you’d like them to be. But remember this is your goal, your dream, tread your own path not someone else’s.

Being an author or an entrepreneur is not sleeping in and watching day time TV. Of course you can do it but your business and your writing has to come first. Otherwise you simply like the idea of having been written. That’s fine too, just don’t complain if you don’t get anywhere. Your author business needs your attention every day, there’s no such thing as waiting for the muse to show.

Like any successful business you’re going to want to put in the hard yards and the success along the way is going to be so much sweeter. I can taste it already as I write this post and sip on my cuppaccino, across from one of the best beaches in the world, the sun rising, a sea breeze adding a saltiness to the air. The clatter of cutlery in the cafe kitchen, a coffee machine’s steamer, the chatter of patrons all around, the waves breaking on the shore.

This is the dream. The goal. And once a week it is my writing spot.

Writing is no longer a hobby. It’s a business. I’m no longer dreaming of being an author, I am making it happen. Step by step. Day by day. Word by word. Book by book.

I’ve got my business plan done and dusted. A one page plan of what I want to achieve with my author-entrepreneur business in the next twelve months as well as where I see myself in five years. A one page marketing plan. A one page productivity plan. And one page that specifies daily and weekly tasks that need to be completed to create a viable business that can support my dream lifestyle.

One thing, at this early stage I’m not making any specific financial goals. I’m focusing on productivity and on activities that are within my control.

My ‘A’ goal for 2016 is huge.

It’s a challenge. It’s reaching for the stars. It’s pushing myself further and harder. It’s stretching every muscle in my body and mind to get it done.

I want to have 6 great books on the market by 31 December 2016.

Crazy! I know.

But here’s the thing. I’ve been writing for almost two decades. That’s a lot of material.

I’ve found two manuscripts that I can salvage. The foundation is in them which saves several months of writing. I just need to put on the editors hat and get moving.

In the past four months I’ve drafted two novels and two novellas in my ‘Lethal’ series. Novellas are becoming more popular these days, people have short attention spans. It’s nice to throw in a shorter book in between long ones to sustain reader interest.

That’s six books ready to be edited, revised, and rewritten.

Will you reach for the stars in 2016?

A friend recommended a book to me a few months back, it’s ‘Do The Work’ by Steven Pressfield. I’ve read it a couple of times now. Every time I’m feeling sluggish, overly critical, lose confidence or just couldn’t be bothered, I start reading the first few pages, and realise that I need to stop resisting and keep moving forward even if it’s just getting a sentence written, publishing a blog post, brainstorming the next scene, posting on Facebook or Twitter, connecting with another author.

It’s going to take time, but it will happen. Success doesn’t come overnight.

It’s the slow but steady steps along the way that help us reach the ultimate destination.

I’ll be keeping track and posting regular updates on my productivity and my results. It’ll help me stay accountable but also allow me to share with you the ups and downs of becoming an author-entrepreneur from day one. I hope you join me for the ride.

There are three possible outcomes:

A) I succeed, and within 3-5 years I start making a six-figure per year living as an author.

B) I fail miserably and keep working in a 9-5 (or 8-4) job till I’m 65.

C) I have a dozen or so on the market within a years, each earning me a small income that gives me the freedom to indulge in my favourite things – travel, coffee, wine, books, running, and of course, enjoying more time with family and friends.

Either way, I’d have given the dream a shot.

So yes, that’s it for me. Six books in twelve months. Did I mention that my writing time is limited to the commute to work and a couple hours over the weekend? The goal is a ginormous stretch but even if I only manage half it’s still better than none at all. The only failure would be having done nothing.

What are you doing today to get closer to living your dream in 2016? Is it still a dream or have you changed it to a goal?

*This post contains affiliate links. 

August Recap & September Writing Business Goals

August Recap & September Writing Business Goals

sepgoalsAccountability is a huge factor in success. As someone who dreams of living a location independent lifestyle I need to start being more accountable for my goals. My dream has always been to be an author who can make a comfortable living from writing novels. But unless you’re Stephen King or Nora Roberts or even Joanna Penn or Nick Stephenson, well, it’s not as simple as just writing a book and putting it out on Amazon. A writing business, is a business, and like any business it takes time, energy, perseverance and dedication to get off the ground. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it will happen.

The online world is quite transparent. Writers, especially indies, bloggers and freelancers, often share details of their progress with income and sales. I plan on doing the same. Although I’ve been writing for two decades, I am only beginning to treat writing as a career. I want to share my progress with those who are interested. I will be posting monthly updates on my progress including goals, achievements, and income.

I’ve been working up to this post for the week. It’s not because I’ve failed to achieve the goals I set for myself, it’s that I did in fact achieve 95% of them. The only one I stumbled on was contacting 15 book reviewers, I only contacted five. Now I’m worried that I’ve set the bar too high for myself and September will become a let down. Fingers crossed I can continue with my output.

I’m giving myself a pat on the back for August. I set high goals so that even if I don’t tick them all off, there’s quite a bit that I get done. Here’s a quick August recap:

  • Regular coaching with Gina – done!
  • Apply for 20 freelance jobs – done!
  • Complete draft of book 2 – done!
  • Interview 5 authors – done!
  • Read 5 books – done! (all fiction and I read 6 – reviews to come soon)
  • Contact 15 book reviewers – I contacted 5 and 1 got in contact with me.
  • Run a Goodreads Giveaway – over 400 people added my book to their ‘to read’ shelf and over 900 entered the giveaway.
  • Run a free promotion on Amazon – 2 days and 180 books downloaded. I only advertised on my personal Facebook page and Twitter account. Next time I’m going all out.

CHEERS TO SEPTEMBER!

So what’s up with September. It’s a busy month for me. It’s Father’s Day here in Australia, then it’s my husband and mine first wedding anniversary and eight years together to the day, hubby’s birthday and our lease expires so we’re moving back in with the parents while we start building our new home. It’s going to an interesting time that’s for sure.

September Goals

  • Send 100 pitches. That’s five times the amount as last month. I like a challenge. It’s definitely doable. Three and a bit a day, although I’m going to aim for more on the weekends.
  • Connect with people I know and ask them if they need a writer/blogger/va for their business or website/blog
  • Contact 15 reviewers
  • Finish writing draft of book 3 (yes, I’m giving myself a huge challenge), it’s day 5 and I’m 15% into it already.
  • Interview two authors
  • Improve my websites home page
  • Start a series of blog posts on novel writing 
  • Read 2 non-fiction books (research!) and 3 fiction books (I’m currently reading The Girl in the Spider’s Web).

How are you going with your goals?

Does your business or website need a writer? Check out my Hire Me page for more information or contact me at kasiajradzka@gmail.com.

Have you read Lethal Disposal yet? It’s currently available on Kindle for only 99cents (US$).

August Writing Business Goals

August Writing Business Goals

august goalsAccountability is a huge factor in success. As someone who dreams of living a location independent lifestyle I need to start being more accountable for my writing business goals. My dream has always been to be an author who can make a comfortable living from writing novels. But unless you’re Stephen King or Nora Roberts or even Joanna Penn or Nick Stephenson, well, it’s not as simple as just writing a book and putting it out on Amazon. A writing business, is a business, and like any business it takes time, energy, perseverance and dedication to get off the ground. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it will happen.

The online world is quite transparent. Writers, especially indies, bloggers and freelancers, often share details of their progress with income and sales. I plan on doing the same. Although I’ve been writing for two decades, I am only beginning to treat writing as a career. I want to share my progress with those who are interested. I will be posting monthly updates on my progress including goals, achievements, and income.

I work four days per week. Monday to Thursday 8:30 to 4:00pm. This time is dedicated to my job. No ifs or buts about it. As soon as I get into the office I have my employee hat on. I still need to be putting in 100% in my day job otherwise none of this will work and I don’t like half-assed attempts. They make me feel like shit. It’s a hundred percent or nothing at all. I’m a mum with a supportive husband and family standing behind me. We share the chores and the responsibilities and there are no ifs or buts about that either.

I also spend 3 hours commuting on my work days, two and a half of which are on the train. That gives me ten hours a week to work. During this time I managed to write Lethal Disposal. I’m also halfway through the sequel. Time management is definitely my forte, most days of the week anyway.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are days that I can dedicate to creating my location independent business. The great thing about writing is that it can be done anyplace, anytime, all you need is a laptop, a notepad and pen, and working internet to connect with the world.

For the time being my goals will not be monetary. They will focus on output as I can’t gauge how much I can earn in a given month. Once I get my bearings, more books sales and responses from my pitches, I’ll be able to set earnings targets.

We are half way through the month but here are my goals for August:

  1. Start a bi-monthly session with a coach. I’ve hired Gina from Horkey Handbook. She went from 0 to freelance success in less than a year. Check out her course if your interested in starting a freelance writing business.
  2. Contact 15 reviewers. In order to sell books I need Amazon reviews. Sounds simple enough but it’s hard work finding reviewers who specialise in the niche you’re writing in and have the time to ready your book and post a review in a timely fashion. If you’ve read Lethal Disposal and enjoyed it, please leave a short review. I much appreciate it.
  3. Spend 30 minutes per day on social media: Twitter, Facebook & Goodreads by promoting others and posting interesting things. Twitter seems to be easier than Facebook at the moment. Any ideas how to get more Facebook traction?
  4. Send out 20 pitches offering my writing services/article ideas/blog posts to job sites, print magazines, online magazines, blogs, websites, and businesses. This is key to getting the work! Do you need a writer? Check out my Hire Me page.
  5. Complete draft of the second ‘Lethal’ book which is a sequel to Lethal Disposal. I wasn’t going to do a sequel but I’ve decided that I’m going to write three book series.
  6. Interview five authors for my Sunday Sessions segment and post the interview every Sunday to help promote local and international authors. It’s a win-win. Plus I love hearing how other writers work and what their plans are for their writing careers.
  7. Read five books – two non-fiction and three fiction and then write a review on each book. Also, leave a review on Amazon for those books that I enjoyed. I’m currently the Leopold Blake novels by Nick Stephenson, and I’ve started reading Prince of the Blood, written by PJ Webb who I interviewed last Sunday.
  8. Aim to connect with other writers via social media and/or in person.
  9. Run a Goodreads giveaway. If you use Goodreads, check it!
  10. Do you want to win an autographed copy of Lethal Disposal? Sign up at Writerly Pursuits where you’ll receive posts straight to your inbox, and I will pick two random winners at the end of the month.

What’s my motivation? Hmm, I need to double my income so I can spend more time with my family and build our dream home.

What are writing goals this month? Are you taking action every day to achieve them?