Writing Goals for Remainder of 2019 – Weekly Reports 8 & 9

As promised, I’m combining weekly reports for weeks 8 & 9 (November 17 – 30, 2019) and I must say — I got some stuff done, y’all. Nothing spectacular or jaw-dropping, but exciting stuff in my personal opinion. Reason being: I got some STARTs accomplished; and oftentimes, STARTs are the most difficult part of a task. In my book, Playground Instruction for the Growing Adult, I discuss some important tips that should be instilled into the mindset, when looking at GETTING THINGS DONE. I mention that “often, the hardest part of trying out something brand-new or accomplishing a much-needed task is getting started. And my doable solution for this challenge is to JUST START.”

Furthermore, I state that you must “stop talking yourself out of and waiting for the perfect time to get going on new endeavors that you have a desire to explore or on activities that need to be done.” And this is so true. Is there actually such a thing as a “perfect time”? I don’t know, but here’s my suggestion. Why not take into consideration that there’s probably not a more “perfect time” than the present? Hey, I guess I took my own advice, because I got more accomplished in first STARTs in the last week than I had done in the last couple of months. Woo hoo!

My list of to-do STARTs is a short one, but this list provided a powerful punch to the gut of the old procrastination antagonist that tends to hinder me from time to time. Perhaps, it’s easier to find an excuse for putting off starting something new; because once you start, you actually set things in motion to either proceed or recede, commit or quit, and succeed or fail. Once I start something, I find that I’m required to move . . . take some action . . . get something done. For this reason, I think STARTs tend to intimidate me a little. And sometimes, I force myself into an action mode before I’ve totally bought into what I’m doing. I find that, if I don’t force myself to do things that take me out of my comfort zone, then I’ll keep putting them off.

Here’s another piece of information from my first book that I’ve decided to take to heart and apply to my own experiences. I share that “what most people overlook is the lesson that informs you that you’ll continue to spin in the inactivity cycle if you keep failing to pass the ‘stop procrastinating test’. This test’s corresponding lesson states that procrastination will, more often than not, lead to NO resolution. You go nowhere and you get nothing accomplished.” Well said Jana, if I do say so myself. It’s true. There’s no way you can accomplish something that you never start. So, my week of STARTs is a big deal for me and I’ve set some things into motion that are going to propel me forward and closer to achieving the goals that I’ve set for myself.

Here’s what my updated goals for the remainder of 2019 into early 2020 look like:

1. Get my second book with workbook self-published by the end of January. I think I’d like to go through IngramSpark for this one because I want to make this book available in teaching establishments and libraries.
2. Get my audio book for Playground Instruction for the Growing Adult created and distributed by the end of 2019. I’m going to make it simple with this first book and just concentrate on distributing the audio book through ACX/Audible.
3. Identify two entities that I would like to volunteer for and create opportunities to present material from my books to these entities by December 31st.
4. Continue to give you weekly status updates on the progress of my goals through the end of the year.

Here’s my list of recent STARTS to address the goals (above):

1. I’m still working on developing some parts of the second book, while line editing other parts. However, my biggest accomplishment with getting my second book to fruition has to do with setting up my IngramSpark account. Yes folks. I set it up, so it looks like I’m serious about using IngramSpark, along with KDP, as a distribution channel for my second book. I’m starting to read through all the fine print to see how the platform functions and what I’ll truly be getting myself into.
2. I finally picked up my book, Playground Instruction for the Growing Adult, and managed to read it (out loud) for the first time after self-publishing it back in September. I’ve gotten through one-third of it and hope to read it all the way through at least two times before the end of this week. For me, picking my book up for the first time (after publication) to read it was a big deal. Check on the reason why in my previous blog post, entitled Reliving the Fears from Your Writing Process. Reading my book out loud is providing me practice on recording it for audio book publication. I also called the contact person for the recording studio at the local university. I left a message for the contact right before the holiday and haven’t heard back from him yet. My guess is that I called too late in the prior week and that he probably already had headed out for the break. Anyway, I will hopefully hear from him this week and see if I can schedule a tour of the facility and demo on how to use the equipment so I can decide if the set-up will work for my audio recording of the book.
3. I’ve identified one of the entities that I would like to partner with and have submitted my volunteer application. Hopefully, I will hear back from them soon, because I’m excited about the possibility of being of service to their clients. If I’m given the opportunity to work with this organization, I’ll make sure and disclose who they are at that time.
4. I’ve been pretty diligent in working on this goal, with the exception of combining the last report with this current one.