Sometimes, a New Year’s resolution should not be about you, if you’re a writer.
Think about it. Why do you want to write?
It’s probably because you want people to read your work.
Is your goal to get more readers and/or more writing clients next year? If so, you need to focus on your readers and clients.
Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Unsplash
What are their goals, needs, wants, dreams, fears, and even their resolutions, for the new year?
People love to feel heard and understood. They love being helped even more.
Help people who are more (successful, powerful, intelligent, etc.) than you. But also help the people who are even newer than you.
Even if you have just one blog post or just one published magazine article, that’s one more thing you’ve achieved than the person who’s still just talking about writing “some day.”
There’s a lot of talk about crushing your fears and how to win the new year.
It’s a cute story.
But who are you going to help next year? How will you make the new year awesome for your audience?
These are better, and more important, questions to ask yourself – and then ask your potential readers and clients.
So, how can you help your readers and clients?
For example, are you thinking about writing an e-book, or considering writing a traditional book/novel?
Here are some tips on how to help your readers and clients.
Ask a Group
Do you belong to a local or online writers’ group?
If so, start small.
Send a direct email to just three to five members that you talk to (in person, on the phone, email, or on social media) regularly.
Be specific.
Don’t start and stop with “How can I help you?”
Ask more specific questions such as:
- “What is your biggest pet peeve about current novels?”
- “What was the last awesome book you read?”
- “How did that book help you?”
- “What did you love most about that book?”
Do you have a blog with an email list?
Common advice about having an email list says that you need 1,000 email subscribers before you can launch a book or another kind of product.
You can send an email message to your subscribers, even if your blog/website has a small number of email subscribers.
Again, look for three to five of your most active email subscribers.
This small group will probably include friends and acquaintances you regularly talk to online and/or offline. This group can also include readers who regularly visit your blog/website, click on links in your emails and leave comments about your blog posts.
Ask them about their frustrations or goals related to the topic of your book or product.
You Asked. They Answered. Now What?
Now, it’s time to look for common themes and patterns, after you get answers from your friends, acquaintances, and/or email subscribers.
Some examples: do the people who responded to your questions feel overwhelmed at work? Or do they want to find more time to read, or spend more time with their family?
Do their goals or dreams include being more productive at work, or being a better parent, or writing more?
If you write fiction and asked your readers about their interests, did you get answers from people who appreciate a dramatic plot, or who want to feel connected to a book’s main character(s), or who want to read something inspirational?
You can then spend your time writing a book, blog posts and other work that directly speaks to and helps your audience face their common fears or frustrations, or helps them achieve their goals and dreams.
And you can still ask for feedback, especially if you’re working on bigger writing project such as a novel, as you work on rough drafts and eventually have a finished product.
By doing this, you become more connected to people who already support you and your work.
At the same time, you’ve also greatly increased your chances of your work being a success because you’ve created something that a group of people actually want and are likely to pay money for it.
Now, you’ve met your New Year’s resolutions to write more and have more people read your work.
So, maybe you’ve had a good year. Or maybe not.
Either way, I hope you will keep writing and I hope to continue helping you reach your goals for the next year.
Happy New Year!
What are your New Year’s resolutions? What have you learned about writing this year? Please share with us in the comments below any resolutions, lessons learned, questions or any other comments you have about writing.