Set Up for Success – Strategic Planning for Authors

Every year, authors tend to lay out a plan of what they hope to achieve. How many books can we write? What kind of income can we expect? But quite often, those goals end up being a lot like starting the gym in January—great for a month or two but fade away as we get caught up in the busy-ness of life.

Enter the Strategic Plan! One comprehensive document that does it all—from solidifying your brand, understanding the market and where you fit in it, to marketing strategies and yes, a writing timetable. Using her own personal template, Donna Alward will lead you through developing your own customizable strategic plan unique to YOU—and come away with a career roadmap that frees up more time to do your number one job: write fantastic stories.

What you can expect to learn:

Who you are as a writer and your personal definition of success
Your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
How to set goals appropriate to your mission and vision
The steps you need to take to achieve your goals

Lesson Plan

Day 1: Introduction

What is a strategic plan
Executive Summary and Elevator Pitch

Day 2: Mission Statement

Day 3: SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)

Day 4: Setting Goals

5 yr
1yr
Next quarter

Day 5: KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

Day 6: Target Customers

Finding your readers

Day 7: Industry Analysis

Day 8: Competitive Analysis

Day 9: Your Team

Day 10: Marketing Plan part 1

Day 11: Marketing Plan part 2

Day 12: Operations Plan

How to get it all done

Day 13: Financial Projections and Budget

Executive Summary revisited

Day 14: Wrap up and Questions

Teacher

NYT Bestselling Author Donna Alward loves writing books by the seat of her pants, but she’s a plotter all the way when it comes to her career plan. The author of more than 50 romances, Donna lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, and is currently writing for Harlequin and continuing her indie Darling, VT series. She’s a member of New Jersey Romance Writers and is the PAN Advisor to the RWA Board of Directors. You can visit her on the web at www.donnaalward.com .