Writers Without Goals are Worse Than a Lost Ship at Sea

This is precisely what you do, to not get lost.

Years ago, it was probably hard to find a lost ship at sea. Technology wasn’t as advanced as it is nowadays.

But the same is true for some writers today.

Without a goal, you’re writing without a purpose, without a destination, without an end state.

I can’t imagine without aimlessly. When I first started blogging over a decade ago, I had a goal. But my desire to achieve that goal wasn’t strong enough. So, I took a break, and I didn’t pick up writing again until a few years ago.

First, I was writing on Quora when they presented me with an offer to ask questions. It sounds silly, but that’s what I was paid for. I had to think of a question and get paid based on the responses and ads people clicked on the site.

But I wasn’t satisfied — I wanted more.

Next, I was offered to freelance for a travel company and never had to step foot in an exotic place or a luxurious hotel. I had to surf the internet and write the story. Writing for them wasn’t exotic though. It became one of my biggest pains as a writer.

The details required and back and forth with the editors became such a pain. So that journey with them didn’t last long.

Third, my appetite grew, and I jumped ship to Medium. I was seeing some top writers were making thousands a month. So I wrote and published a crazy amount of articles.

Then freelance offers were dropping in my Twitter inbox, LinkedIn, or Gmail account. Some deals were easy and I could knock them out with ease.

But then navigating working for companies was an issue. I was used to the freelance lifestyle. Trying to understand what the company wanted was not easy since they never gave you the rules.

You spent too much time trying to copy the style they wanted by reading other writers on the site. To me, this is the worst way to teach an experienced writer. But each time you write, your experience grows so the pay you ask for increases.

In a sense, you are navigating a ship on your writer’s journey. You are traveling from destination to destination to see who is giving you the best deal.

Some deals are like sitting on a tropical island.

Then other deals you are navigating on a sunny day to a hurricane the next. You experience weather that makes you think it’s the end of your journey. But somehow you make your way and find a way back to the ship.

And, your journey continues.

Writing is easy, but it’s also hard.

There isn’t a roadmap for you to follow. Sometimes you make it up as you go.

Sure, you can follow another writer’s journey, but their journey is not your journey. The results will be different.

So, you have to create your own journey to fit your lifestyle…

A New Year or Bust

When January 1 comes, you need to hit the ground running.

So you need to have your goal written down. It can’t be in your head.

If it is in your head, then you probably won’t accomplish your goal.

Studies show you are more than likely to accomplish your goal when you write them down. This study says you’ll be 1.2 to 1.4 more likely to accomplish your goal.

Take the time to think about your goal. Be as detailed as possible. Put real numbers behind your goal.

For example, I want to make $3,000 a month as a writer.

And, don’t forget to include the timeline for when you want to accomplish it. You need to put some pressure on yourself.

So take your previous goal and include the date.

For example, I want to make $1,000 a month as a writer by December this year.

But if you don’t meet the goal, then adjust the timeline.

We all have things in our life that throw a mess into our plans. Maybe you just need a little more time.

The key is you need to stay focused to meet your goal.

Of course, you won’t go from $0 to $1,000 a month. You need to have mini-goals along the way. Each month, you need to track your progress. Make the first of the month the day you review how you did the previous month.

With Medium or another site, it may be a few days after the first. But you need to make this part of your routine to think, plan, and record your goal.

Writing involves more than just writing.

It requires you to do some thinking. This also requires you to be accountable to yourself.

Going to $1,000 or more

To make any money as a writer, you need to have a goal. Without the goal, you are taking any offer that comes to you. Some offers will be good, others will not be so good. Then a few will be a pain in your ass because of what the company wants. People who have achieved a goal, usually have visualized getting there.

For instance, Jim Carey used to carry around a $10 million check he wrote himself and put it in his wallet. He also made the check out to 10 years in the future. This was before he became a famous actor.

About 10 years later, Carey starred in Ace Ventura Pet Detective. At the time he made $20 million for the film.

I encourage you to write down your writing goal for the new year. It doesn’t have to be money. Maybe you want to write so many articles year. Or maybe you want to get published on a certain website.

Just write it down.

Write it down and place it where you will see your goal every single day. This will be a good reminder for you to stay focused on your goal.

Are you ready to grow in the new year?