My gaps between what I know and what I need to know in six months:
how to create an author/writer/book business plan
how to monetize my podcast
how to monetize my blog
how to self publish
how to write a novel and learn plotting
how to do a book launch
how to do a book tour
how to create a marketing plan for my books
I'll just do one here. Plus this one is very much a priority right now. I also started using Trello a few months ago to track all of the courses I have signed up for during this pandemic that will help address all of my gap areas. I just need to take this 1000 Day MFA plan here and apply it to what I created in Trello because it makes so much more sense than my current system.
To Do list - How to monetize my blog
1) Complete the Blog By Number Course that I signed up for back in April that will show me how to set up a new blog and monetize it with ads and affiliate programs.
2) Complete the Blog Like a Boss course that will show me how to create content using various resources and social media
3) Complete the 5-day content challenge by Your Content Empire, that will teach me how to create a month's worth of content in 5 days
1. Identify the gaps between what you know now and what you need to know six months from now.
• Writing short stories with an arc and resolution
• Keywords
• Amazon categories
• Branding the stories
• Finding readers
2. Create a to-do list for each of those gaps.
Writing short stories with an arc and resolution
1. Read 100 classic short stories by writers such as Ray Bradbury, Agatha Christie, Alice Munro
2. Analyse 20 of these short stories
1. Characters
2. Pacing
3. Beginning, middle and end
Keywords / Amazon categories
4. YouTube tutorials – Joanna Penn, etc.
5. Books – Chris Fox
Branding the stories
6. Find books on branding
7. Decide what my brand is
8. Build a branding-oriented blog
Finding readers
9. Study Sean Platt’s advice
3. Lay out your six-month learning plan. This is where you’ll set deadlines for yourself if that sort of thing helps you achieve your goals. It’ll also be where you identify your starting point.
- This week:
1. Finish the short story in progress
2. Read 10 short stories
3. Analyse 2 shorts stories
- Next week:
1. Edit a short story I wrote last year
2. Begin another short story
3. Read 5 short stories
4. Analyse 2 short stories
5. Begin keyword/category reading
- Week 3:
1. Begin another short story
2. Read 5 short stories
3. Analyse 2 short stories
4. Continues keyword/category reading
5. Begin branding reading
6. Read Sean Platt and look for more information on finding readers
Thank you so much for these assignments. Very helpful. Lots of gaps to fill. Thanks again. Adjusting my plan based on life, for sure. Appreciate the comments too.
1. Gaps: a) figure out a simple system to wake up at 5 AM. I already know what it is. I just have to set it up the night before. I need my alarm to be AWAY from my bed so I can't slap the snooze button.
b) Lay out my morning system that will become habit.
c) Plan the schedule for the writing sessions.
d) Plan the schedule for the books related to this.
e) Implement the plan
f) Understand the formatting I need to put this book together.
2. I think I just did the list, above.
3. By the end of September, I'll have these items in #1 imbedded as habits. Full speed ahead. In October, I'll In November, NaNoWriMo, I'll be able to play in that game, and even if I don't finish the book, the habits will be entrenched.
My gaps are:
1. Learn how to publish a short story on Amazon
2. Learn how to enter a writing contest
3. Improve my ability to show rather than tell
4. Learn how to develop a formula for writing short stories
To-Do List:
1. Write more short stories
2. Attend Workshops
3. Enter a short story contest
4. Read short stories
5. Study how to show rather than tell
6. Study how to develop a formula for writing short stories
Learning Plan:
1. Write and submit two short stories per month to Ninja Writers Pub on Medium
2. Read one short story every day
3. Focus on show vs. tell
4. Publish a short story on Amazon by November 1.
5. Enter a writing contest by November 1.
6. Continue publishing on Amazon and entering writing contests as much as possible from November through February.
7. Learn more about publishing short stories
8. Develop a formula for writing short stories by October 1.
1. Identify the gaps between what you know now and what you need to know six months from now.
My gaps are:
a) Learn to manage my time more efficiently
b) Learn to use an email server
c) Learn to use a lead magnate
d) Learn to build an audience
e) Learn how to get curated
f) Learn how to organize and write a non-fiction book
g) Learn how to organize a children’s book for ages 3-7
h) Learn to world build
2. Create a to-do list for each of those gaps.
Learn to manage my time more efficiently:
a) Read High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard
b) Read The ART of WAR by Steven Pressfield.
c) Set up a calendar system for planning
d) Use the Six Most Important Things list to focus my attention.
e) Get more sleep
f) Get more exercise
Learning how to set up an email server, a lead magnate and any other technical information I need to know for blogging or building a website
a) Attend the Tech calls on Tuesday nights with Meg Stewart
b) Set up an email server,
c) Create a lead magnate
d) Set up a website
Learning how to get curated:
a) Watch the Curation Class Recordings
b) Write more posts for Medium
c) Attend the Blogging calls on Monday nights with Shaunta Grimes
Learning how to organize and write a non-fiction book:
a) Read Start Writing Your Book Today: A step-by-step plan to write your nonfiction book by Morgan Gist MacDonald
b) Watch the Creative Nonfiction Co-working calls
c) Plan each chapter using Shaunta Grimes’ PSST Worksheet
Learning to organize a children’s book for ages 3-7
a) Read So You Want to Write a Children’s Book by Rebekah Sack
b) Write the book
c) Find an illustrator for my book
Learn to World Build
a) Use the questions on SFWA’s website
b) Continue to use The Writer’s Journey to learn about writing
c) Continue working on my current WIP
3. Lay out your six month learning plan.
Learning Plan:
a) Set up a schedule for daily writing in September to be followed for the next 6 months
b) Watch the recorded curation workshops in September
c) Set up my email server, lead magnate, and website in September
d) Have 5 blogs ready for posting by Oct 1, 2020 and post them one every 6 days
e) Continue blogging every 6 days to work towards my BYOB project
f) Finish plotting and world building for my current WIP by Oct 31
g) Write my novel in November – sign up to do NanoWrimo
h) Read So You Want to be a Children’s Writer in December
i) Plot my children’s book in December
j) Write my Children’s book in January
k) Plot my next MG or YA novel in January- March
l) Find an illustrator for my children’s book in February
m) Read Start Writing Your Book Today in February
m) Begin Formatting for my BYOB project in March
My gaps between what I know and what I need to know in six months:
how to create an author/writer/book business plan
how to monetize my podcast
how to monetize my blog
how to self publish
how to write a novel and learn plotting
how to do a book launch
how to do a book tour
how to create a marketing plan for my books
I'll just do one here. Plus this one is very much a priority right now. I also started using Trello a few months ago to track all of the courses I have signed up for during this pandemic that will help address all of my gap areas. I just need to take this 1000 Day MFA plan here and apply it to what I created in Trello because it makes so much more sense than my current system.
To Do list - How to monetize my blog
1) Complete the Blog By Number Course that I signed up for back in April that will show me how to set up a new blog and monetize it with ads and affiliate programs.
2) Complete the Blog Like a Boss course that will show me how to create content using various resources and social media
3) Complete the 5-day content challenge by Your Content Empire, that will teach me how to create a month's worth of content in 5 days
1. My gaps
Learn how to write flash fiction and use the skills to write a biography
Read a biography book
Learn how to publish an e-book
Learn how to publish traditionally
Learn public speaking to endorse the book
2. Learning plan
Structured the childhood & Teenage hood part of the book - 25 September 2020.
Write and reorganize adulthood part of the book - 5 October.
Finish the book - 31 October.
Edit the book - 15 November.
Design a cover - 20 November.
Publish an e-book - 25 November.
Gap List
Learn the platforms. Sharpen my saw before cutting the wood.
Secure website
Organize notes and sources for Heart project
Illustration application
To-Do List
Enroll in How-to courses. Enlist grandkids to teach Grandpere.
Pick a platform from the three finalists
There’s an app for that.
Touch base with Jenn for her recommendation.
Six Month Learning Plan
An hour a day reading inspiration sources.
Sydne manuscript finished by October 30
Create core inventory for Practicing Restorative. Adapt the BYOB paradigm.
Post daily
Website completed and populated with resources by January 30
All standard works references for Heart completed and annotated by March 30
1. Identify the gaps between what you know now and what you need to know six months from now.
• Writing short stories with an arc and resolution
• Keywords
• Amazon categories
• Branding the stories
• Finding readers
2. Create a to-do list for each of those gaps.
Writing short stories with an arc and resolution
1. Read 100 classic short stories by writers such as Ray Bradbury, Agatha Christie, Alice Munro
2. Analyse 20 of these short stories
1. Characters
2. Pacing
3. Beginning, middle and end
Keywords / Amazon categories
4. YouTube tutorials – Joanna Penn, etc.
5. Books – Chris Fox
Branding the stories
6. Find books on branding
7. Decide what my brand is
8. Build a branding-oriented blog
Finding readers
9. Study Sean Platt’s advice
3. Lay out your six-month learning plan. This is where you’ll set deadlines for yourself if that sort of thing helps you achieve your goals. It’ll also be where you identify your starting point.
- This week:
1. Finish the short story in progress
2. Read 10 short stories
3. Analyse 2 shorts stories
- Next week:
1. Edit a short story I wrote last year
2. Begin another short story
3. Read 5 short stories
4. Analyse 2 short stories
5. Begin keyword/category reading
- Week 3:
1. Begin another short story
2. Read 5 short stories
3. Analyse 2 short stories
4. Continues keyword/category reading
5. Begin branding reading
6. Read Sean Platt and look for more information on finding readers
- Week 4:
1. Begin another short story
2. Read 5 short stories
3. Analyse 2 short stories
4. Continues keyword/category reading
5. Begin branding blog
6. Begin looking for readers
7. Publish a short story
- Month 2 - 6:
- Weekly
1. Begin another short story
2. Read 5 short stories
3. Analyse 2 short stories
4. Publish a short story
- Ongoing
1. Continue branding blog
2. Continue looking for readers
Thank you so much for these assignments. Very helpful. Lots of gaps to fill. Thanks again. Adjusting my plan based on life, for sure. Appreciate the comments too.
1. My gaps are:
Learn how to plan a well-developed plot
Learn how to build an audience
Learn how to use social media to drive readership
Learn how to use SEO
Learn how marketing can be used to create an audience for my book
Learn how to publish a book
Learn how to build an email list
Learn how to edit a book and put it into a readable format.
Learn how to make a book cover
Learn how to build an author's site and use it to build an audience.
2, To-do list:
Purchase a domain name and set up a web hosting service and get Google phone #.
Build a website.
Create opt-in freebies for my readers. (at least 5)Consult with Meg to learn SEO, and do
research on the web.
Create my landing page and connect my opt-ins.
Plot my historical fiction book.
Organize and edit by BYOB Cookbook.
Create a cover for my cookbook.
Read The Writer’s Journey
Study the Plotting Workshop course on Teachable (Ninja Writers)
Read Self-Editing for Fiction Writers
Read Write to Market
Consult with Meg to learn SEO, and do research on the web about SEO
3. Learning plan:
Complete research for my historical fiction novel by September 30.
Complete my plot planning by October 15.
Complete a draft of my novel during NaNoWiMo.
Set up my email list by September 30.
Research resources for creating book covers.
Complete 30 BYOB blog posts by September 30.
Edit and organize my cookbook by October 31.
Complete first edit of novel in December.
Complete formatting of my novel and create a cover in January.
Research marketing strategies for my novel in January and February.
Learn how to self-publish or submit my book to publishing (pitch?) by end of February.
1. Gaps: a) figure out a simple system to wake up at 5 AM. I already know what it is. I just have to set it up the night before. I need my alarm to be AWAY from my bed so I can't slap the snooze button.
b) Lay out my morning system that will become habit.
c) Plan the schedule for the writing sessions.
d) Plan the schedule for the books related to this.
e) Implement the plan
f) Understand the formatting I need to put this book together.
2. I think I just did the list, above.
3. By the end of September, I'll have these items in #1 imbedded as habits. Full speed ahead. In October, I'll In November, NaNoWriMo, I'll be able to play in that game, and even if I don't finish the book, the habits will be entrenched.
My Gaps Are:
1. Trying to get my Website Launched which is the basis for my writing.
2. Developing a short story format.
3. Publishing on Amazon.
4. Developing a mailing list.
5. Polishing my writing and publishing.
6. Being chicken in not putting my writing out there.
My To Do List
1. Get Website up and running ASAP
1. Seek Help
1. Ninja Writers
2. Squarespace Techs
2. Calendarize My Goals with Due Dates
3. Daily writing for Blog Posts
4. You have a Mailing List source. Integrate it with MailChimp
5. Review YouTube Videos on what you need help with.
6. Continue to trim,polish, and edit from the readers POV
7. Write out your problems and pitfalls in what you are doing.
Learning Plan
1. Write out Mission Plan. My Current goal is Launching my Website. The goal flow is written down in Ulysses Work Flow.
2. Tweak my Landing Page in MailChimp.
3. Write a new Blog Post daily.
4. Figure out how to bring all of this together.
5. Adjust Plan based on what is happening in my life.