resolutions Archives - Robin Shelley

January 16, 2020

Clear Vision for a New Year

Can you believe it’s the middle of January already? Can you believe it’s 2020? Where does the time go?

I took time off from blogging around the holidays, but now it’s time to get back to routines. Looking back at my first blog from last year, I talked about New Year’s resolutions. I tried a new system using a vision and a mission with very specific goals. The vision is the big picture of what I want to accomplish. The mission is how the vision will happen. The mission includes specific small steps to track progress and taking time to reevaluate/reenergize along the way. I don’t know what you want to accomplish this year, but maybe give this technique a try. My system didn’t work perfectly, but it was actually better than I expected. I’m happy with what I accomplished last year. By the second half of the year I noticed my efforts were generating more responses from agents, including requests to see the full manuscript. That was definite progress.

Here’s my example: My vision is to get my book published through the traditional publishing route. (Nothing wrong with self-publishing, but my dream has always been to get in print through a publishing house that will get my book into bookstores, libraries, various stores like Costco and Walmart, as well as doing online sales.) So, how do I get my book published? I have to get a literary agent. Therefore, my mission is to get a literary agent. (To get published traditionally, the normal route is to get an agent first – a tough thing to do. They are very selective. An agent will only take on your book if they LOVE it and believe in its ability to sell. That’s because they work for free to find the publisher, only getting paid IF they sell it. Publishers know that if an agent has taken on a book, they’ve already screened it. The book has already jumped the first hurdle successfully. Agents also already know what publishers would be interested in my book. So, first I must find the right agent.) Now for the specific steps. What must I do to get an agent? I’ve already done many steps toward that, but here are my specific steps for this year. Step 1: Continue sending query letters to agents, a minimum of 10 per month. Step 2: Every other week review what queries and manuscripts are out (and follow up). Notice how specific these are.

If I find an agent, I know they will want another book on the way. Therefore, I also have a second mission: to work on book number two. I started it last year but only just started it. The steps? Take time to to daydream about the characters and story. And write! I’m setting a goal of at least 40 pages by the end of February. Hopefully I can do more, but at the early stages it sometimes goes slow as I work out the details and plot.

This technique can work on most goals – losing weight, getting healthier, getting organized, learning a new skill. Maybe you want to travel more, save more, read more. Making a plan to get to your end goal will help you be more successful than just wishing it would happen. Want to join in? Think about your vision for 2020. (Ah! I didn’t even plan that pun on 20/20 eyesight and vision! But now that I did, my husband was kind enough to make me the 2020 graphic above.) It’s a great year to see your goals clearly! Figure out your mission(s). And lastly, write down the specific steps to completing your mission. In a few months, let’s review how we’re doing together. I believe just having the goals set and reevaluating them helped me accomplish more last year than I would have otherwise. Drop me a note here if you’re going to try it. I hope you find success in all you do this year!

Robin

February 1, 2019

How ya doin’?

Image by Lynn Greyling – CCO Public Domain

Hello to all my shells! That’s you – all of my blog followers. It’s how I refer to all of you. With my last name being Shelley, it just works. When I was teaching video production to high school students, I called my personal production company Shells in the Sand. So now, as my media platform has changed to blogging and writing novels, you have become part of my shell world. I love it because each shell is a unique and beautiful work of art, just like each of you. Thanks for hanging with me, and welcome to my new shells! Nine new shells joined us this week! Thank you to everyone for spreading the word and sharing my blog with your friends and family.

My last post was about new year’s resolutions and how we all struggle to keep them. I shared with you my take on it for this year. I developed my vision for the year and my mission – a plan of attack by taking small steps each month. Now that it’s February 1st, it’s time for me to look back at January and see how I did.

I’m pleased with my progress so far. I admit I didn’t exactly complete the plan for the month, but I took care of some other “to do” items that still lead to the end vision. My goal for January was to create a list of 50 potential agents for my book and to revise my query letter. I do have the agent list ready, but I didn’t get to the query letter. I already have a good one prepared, but it never hurts to make it better. That’s on my “to do” list for next week. Looking at February’s goals, my plan is to start sending query letters to agents (at least 10 per month). I also planned to write/revise a long and short summary of the novel for agents who may request it. Here’s where I’m ahead a bit. In January, I decided to do another revision of the novel. As I went through page by page, I also took notes that will become the summaries. All I have to do is revise them this month. So in January I didn’t get to the query letter, but I did get a lot done on February’s summaries.

That’s what I like about doing my resolution this way. There’s flexibility. It takes the pressure off . It gives me breathing room. It isn’t so black and white – either I succeeded or I failed. Instead, I continue to simply make progress toward the vision.

So how ya doin’ with your goals? Take time to look at how you did in January and what you want to do in February. And if you didn’t develop a vision and a mission, it’s not too late. Check out my blog from January to help get you jump started. Make it a productive 2019! You can do it!

January 9, 2019

Here’s to Success in 2019!

Did you miss me? I hope all of you experienced love and joy throughout the holiday season. I took off some time to celebrate and to enjoy family, but now the new year is here and it’s time to get back into a routine.

Have you noticed how we get inundated with ads for fitness equipment, gyms and diet plans every January? It’s so predictable. With the start of a new year, many of us think about new starts. We refocus our energies on whatever we want to improve about ourselves that we missed the mark on last year. We might want to lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more, or we may want to work on our organizational skills, a career goal, or our relationships. According to U.S. News, approximately 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by the second week of February. That doesn’t give us the motivation to even try!

Perhaps part of the problem is that our resolutions are too vague . Instead of resolving to lose weight, a more successful resolution may be to pick a specific amount of weight so you know exactly what your mark is. Perhaps we fail when we make goals that are too big. Instead of making it a big goal for the year, like losing 50 pounds in 2019, how about making smaller goals? Try setting a goal like this: I will lose 10 pounds in the next three months. Or I will limit my fast food intake to once per month. Or I will get my fancy, high calorie, drive-thru coffee only once per week instead of every day. Perhaps we fail because we make resolutions without a plan to get there. Saying what you want to improve doesn’t mean you’ve thought through the steps necessary to be successful.

Among other things, I want to focus on career goals this year. Instead of making a resolution, I’m going to take a different approach. First, I’ve taken time to develop my vision – I’ve looked at the big picture of what I want to accomplish. It may take more than this year to get there, but I have to start by seeing the long-term vision and then take the first step forward. Break the vision into specific smaller goals that need to happen to get to the finish line.

For example, my vision is to get my book traditionally published. I’ve already done some steps toward getting there, like making sure my book is the best it can be, researching the publishing business, writing a query letter, researching agents, starting this website/blog, and so on. But at this point in my journey, the specific step I need to take is to find an agent that is a good fit for me and this book. So how do I do this? That becomes the mission. I create a specific plan of attack. Looking at each goal in your vision, develop a strategy of what you are going to do to achieve that goal.

I set some goals by month. In January I have a goal to create a list of at least 50 people I think are potential agents for this book. Another goal is to revise my query letter, again. Starting in February, I will send out at least 10 query letters per month. In February I will also write/revise a long and a short summary of the book since some agents will request one or the other. In March l will continue sending query letters and responding to requests to see my manuscript. January through March I will also start processing the next book idea in my head and do some basic outlining. April will be the month that I start to seriously write my first draft of a new book. No, that’s too vague. Let’s set the goal to write at least 25 pages of the new book by the end of April. Also at the end of April, I will evaluate how well I’m reaching these small goals and revise if necessary. If you’ve noticed, the mission gives you boxes to check as you progress. Re-evaluating every four months (in April and again in August) and setting goals for the next four months will make this an achievable process rather than a failed resolution. The point is to keep moving forward. That in itself is success.

Do you have a vision for this year? If so, have you made a plan to get there? If not, this is your mission if you choose to accept it. With a plan in place, the success of your mission is possible.