In this week’s blog post, we will be looking at setting yourself author objectives, or goals. We will start by considering what author objectives are and why they are important, then think about what sort of goals you might have and how to set these. We will then look at how to try to keep to these goals and follow up on your progress in a later blog post.
What are Author Objectives?
Your author objectives should be the basis of your publishing plan. They are the goal that you aim for and set out what standard or level of sales you want to reach. They should state clearly what your aims are for publishing and help you decide what it is you want from the process. Do you want to make a certain amount of profit, educate readers about your subject matter, or simply write because you enjoy it? Whatever the answer, this will affect what your plan should be, so it is best to establish these goals early on.
Why is it Important to Have Author Objectives?
As stated above, one of the main reasons for having author objectives is to help you build your publishing plan. However, you will have ideally decided on your objectives before you get too far into the writing, as it will affect elements such as the length and design of your book (these are not so important if you are mainly publishing because you like writing). Knowing what you want while you are still writing can also help to keep you focused.
Having individual objectives can also make things seem less overwhelming than if you are confronted with an overall plan. Objectives should break things down into smaller chunks that you can work through gradually, knowing what task you need to do next, rather than having to work out the solutions to problems as you go along.
Having goals also means that you can monitor your own progress, which we will look at in more detail in my next blog post. If you have a list of all your objectives, you may find it helpful to tick things off as you complete them. Not only does this make it easy to see what stage you are at, but it also means that you can look back over all that you have already accomplished if you are lacking motivation.
What Sort of Objectives Might You Have?
There are a few different types of objectives to consider. The first one we will be thinking about is book sales; i.e. how many copies you intend to sell. You may have separate goals for print copies and ebooks. When you are setting this goal, there are a few things to take into account. Firstly, what are the likely sales of your book? This will depend on its genre, where you will be selling it from and your existing readers. For example, you could expect to sell more copies if you have already built a community.
The other important thing to consider is what you want out of publishing the book. If you only intend to sell it to family and friends, you will have a much lower goal for book sales than if you are hoping for it to become widely recognised. Your goals should fit around what you want out of self-publishing.
You may decide how many copies you want to sell in the first month, then the first year and then the second year. This can help you create a long-term plan. You may also set goals for a certain number of reviews on the selling platform you have chosen.
Another type of objective is awareness. This may be an awareness of you as an author, of your book, or of the subject you are writing about. It may be a combination of these! When you are planning for this goal, bear in mind what audience you are targeting. This will affect what methods you choose to raise awareness and will also change your goals.
If you are raising awareness for your subject, think about what this would mean in terms of goals. Is this a topic that you feel passionately about and would like to encourage people to do something about? How will you measure this? If you have a petition or fundraiser, this can make it easier to set a goal in this area.
Alternatively, it might be your aim to speak at conferences about your subject or book or have book signings. In this case, consider how many events you are likely to go to and set your goal accordingly.
Once you have thought about what goals would suit you, take the time to consider each goal individually. How will you know when you have achieved it? Make sure you set clear targets – if you want to make money from your book, how much? Be realistic as well, so don’t decide that you have to become a millionaire from your books.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this helps you to set yourself achievable goals that you will enjoy reaching for. In my next blog post, we will be looking at how to follow up on these, so come back in two weeks with some goals set!
Want help proofreading your work? Contact Carmine Proofreading for a friendly, professional service from a qualified proofreader.
Email: CarmineProofreading@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarmineProofed
Carmine Proofreading 
1 thought on “Setting Author Objectives – Planning Your Goals”