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to-create-a-writers-business-plan-f0d81641f453"> <div> <div> <h2>How Create a Writer’s Business Plan</h2> <div><h3>And why you really should.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*iquTbRjFVD-WX8-8)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="8557">Here are some questions I want you to ask yourself this week.</h2><ul><li>What do you want your writing career to look like a year from now?</li><li>What do you hope to accomplish with your writing in 2020?</li><li>Who do you hope to reach?</li><li>How many hours a week can you <i>realistically </i>commit to writing on Medium in January 2020?</li><li>What will your editorial calendar look like — not exactly what you’re posting, but how often? Which days?</li><li>Writing is a service industry. How will your work serve your readers this year?</li></ul><h2 id="34fd">Think a little bit further ahead, just for a minute.</h2><p id="9041">I don’t want you to future jump too much. That can be frustrating and lead to quitting, in my experience.</p><p id="ac6a">But I do want you to take a minute and ask yourself what exactly it is you’re trying to do. So pretend for a minute that we can pop into our local time machine and take a peak at 2025.</p><p id="0b30">Are you a full-time working writer?</p><p id="98ad">Are you just having fun with a fully-realized hobby that you’re really, really good at?</p><p id="7761">Are you internet famous?</p><p id="aa3c">It’s important for you to know exactly what you’re looking for with this thing. Because you’ll make different choices if you’re aiming for world-domination than you might if you have a different career you adore and this is never going to be your main gig.</p><h1 id="f89e">An exercise to help you start off on the right foot.</h1><p id="c95a">Being curated on Medium is a big deal. And it’s something that has to start happening right from the beginning. We’ll talk about that more in a couple of weeks. But I have an exercise for you to start this week and continue <i>every </i>week during this series.</p><p id="06c5">Every day this week, find at least one <i>curated </i>post every day that’s written either by a writer you admire, in a topic you aspire to do well in, or in a style you’d like to emulate. Or some combination of the three. Read that post <i>like a writer.</i></p><p id="f64c">To find a curated post, go to any topic page. You’ll see a featured post, a list of curated posts, and a list of posts that are popu

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lar on Medium in that topic. Any of those will do for this exercise.</p><figure id="c65e"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*Sc4ikgEMok9mWyd_a-TepA.png"><figcaption>The ‘writing’ topic page on Medium. (Screenshot: Author)</figcaption></figure><h2 id="7a74">Reading like a writer means paying attention to how the post is written.</h2><p id="db35">Not the content (that’s reading like a reader, which is good, too.) But the format. The style. How does the post look on the page? What kind of picture did the author use? Why did the title grab you? How about the subtitle? How much white space did the author use?</p><p id="6ab3">Try to figure out <i>why </i>that post was curated. If it did especially well, try to figure out why it resonated with readers. You’re not looking to copy the content, remember. This isn’t about content at all.</p><p id="a62e">You want to learn how to put together a Medium post. So take notes. If you do this every day for the rest of 2019, you’ll give yourself a <i>major </i>head start in 2020.</p><h1 id="ca1e">One more thing. You need a motto.</h1><p id="8837">A motto is a touchstone. A saying or a quote or an idea that helps you to course correct if things get dicey.</p><p id="2523">Here’s mine. I’ve had the same one for three years.</p><blockquote id="b03e"><p>Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. — Ray Bradbury</p></blockquote><p id="76a1">You’re free to use it, too, if it speaks to you. Spend some time this week thinking about what might work as a touchstone or motto for you. Write it down or print it out and post it somewhere you can see it every day.</p><p id="a835"><a href="https://upscri.be/848309/?source=post_page---------------------------"><b>Here’s my secret weapon for sticking with whatever your thing is.</b></a></p><p id="9c92"><b>Shaunta Grimes </b>is a writer and teacher. She is an out-of-place Nevadan living in Northwestern PA with her husband, three superstar kids, two dementia patients, a good friend, Alfred the cat, and a yellow rescue dog named Maybelline Scout. She’s on <a href="https://twitter.com/shauntagrimes">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ninjawriters/">Instagram</a> and<i> </i>is the author of <a href="https://amzn.to/2K3tubN?source=post_page---------------------------"><i>Viral Nation</i></a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/2rv1ozm?source=post_page---------------------------"><i>Rebel Nation</i></a><i>, </i>and <a href="https://amzn.to/2rxds1Z?source=post_page---------------------------"><i>The Astonishing Maybe</i></a><i>.</i> She is the original <a href="http://bit.ly/NWCLUB19">Ninja Writer</a>.</p></article></body>

Create a Plan for Your Medium Business

Plus an exercise that will give you a huge head start in 2020.

This is the second post in a weekly series that will run the rest of 2019. Every Sunday, I’ll post an action plan to help you get ready to start writing on Medium(or take your Medium blog to the next level) in 2020. Click here to get a free ebook about blogging on Medium and be notified when new posts in the series go live.

Read this whole series here:

Get Ready to Start Writing on Medium (or Take it to the Next Level) in 2020

A six-week series.

medium.com

Next week, we’re going to get into the nitty gritty. But this week — I want you to spend some time getting your mind right about this whole thing.

I talk to a lot of people who want to write for money. The good news is that there’s never been a better time to be a writer. The bad news is that pretty much every one knows that — and everyone’s trying to get their piece of the pie.

That means that the days of just writing whatever and having it make you a pretty good amount of blogging income are over. You have to be more strategic than that. You have to treat this thing more like a business than that.

And that’s okay. It is a business. Writing is a profession. It’s alright that you have to work at it.

If you want to start writing on Medium in 2020 (or get to the next level in 2020) then you need a business plan. And that means figuring out a few things.

You can start by reading this post about making a writer’s business plan.

How Create a Writer’s Business Plan

And why you really should.

medium.com

Here are some questions I want you to ask yourself this week.

What do you want your writing career to look like a year from now?
What do you hope to accomplish with your writing in 2020?
Who do you hope to reach?
How many hours a week can you realistically commit to writing on Medium in January 2020?
What will your editorial calendar look like — not exactly what you’re posting, but how often? Which days?
Writing is a service industry. How will your work serve your readers this year?

Think a little bit further ahead, just for a minute.

I don’t want you to future jump too much. That can be frustrating and lead to quitting, in my experience.

But I do want you to take a minute and ask yourself what exactly it is you’re trying to do. So pretend for a minute that we can pop into our local time machine and take a peak at 2025.

Are you a full-time working writer?

Are you just having fun with a fully-realized hobby that you’re really, really good at?

Are you internet famous?

It’s important for you to know exactly what you’re looking for with this thing. Because you’ll make different choices if you’re aiming for world-domination than you might if you have a different career you adore and this is never going to be your main gig.

An exercise to help you start off on the right foot.

Being curated on Medium is a big deal. And it’s something that has to start happening right from the beginning. We’ll talk about that more in a couple of weeks. But I have an exercise for you to start this week and continue every week during this series.

Every day this week, find at least one curated post every day that’s written either by a writer you admire, in a topic you aspire to do well in, or in a style you’d like to emulate. Or some combination of the three. Read that post like a writer.

To find a curated post, go to any topic page. You’ll see a featured post, a list of curated posts, and a list of posts that are popular on Medium in that topic. Any of those will do for this exercise.

The ‘writing’ topic page on Medium. (Screenshot: Author)

Reading like a writer means paying attention to how the post is written.

Not the content (that’s reading like a reader, which is good, too.) But the format. The style. How does the post look on the page? What kind of picture did the author use? Why did the title grab you? How about the subtitle? How much white space did the author use?

Try to figure out why that post was curated. If it did especially well, try to figure out why it resonated with readers. You’re not looking to copy the content, remember. This isn’t about content at all.

You want to learn how to put together a Medium post. So take notes. If you do this every day for the rest of 2019, you’ll give yourself a major head start in 2020.

One more thing. You need a motto.

A motto is a touchstone. A saying or a quote or an idea that helps you to course correct if things get dicey.

Here’s mine. I’ve had the same one for three years.

Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. — Ray Bradbury

You’re free to use it, too, if it speaks to you. Spend some time this week thinking about what might work as a touchstone or motto for you. Write it down or print it out and post it somewhere you can see it every day.

Here’s my secret weapon for sticking with whatever your thing is.

Shaunta Grimes is a writer and teacher. She is an out-of-place Nevadan living in Northwestern PA with her husband, three superstar kids, two dementia patients, a good friend, Alfred the cat, and a yellow rescue dog named Maybelline Scout. She’s on Twitter and Instagram and is the author of Viral Nation and Rebel Nation, and The Astonishing Maybe. She is the original Ninja Writer.