Writing S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals

Success takes planning. And planning means that to achieve success in your writing you need to set down some goals. And right now—the end of the year—is the best time to do that.

For an easy and efficient way to write down your goals, use the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. acronym. Each letter directs you to one of the seven elements of writing goals in a way that makes sure that you cover all of them and get to your end result. So what does each letter stand for?

“S” Stands for “Specific”
Note your intention and describe precisely what you want to do. The more detailed you are, the better. By writing down specific details, you’ll find it much easier to plan the progress of your writing career. If you can’t visualize what you’ve written, then it’s not specific enough for a goal.

“M” Stands for “Measurable”
Decide how you’ll know you’ve completed a goal. Tracking your progress motivates you to take appropriate actions so that you continue to progress. The more successful your progress, the more motivated you’ll be to do the next step, and so on. Creating  clear milestones will allow you to benefit from recognizing and celebrating your work.

“A” Stands for “Attainable”
Stretch the comfort zone of your abilities, but be careful not to overdo it. Goals you set beyond your true abilities slow down your progress. You end up going on a guilt trip for not achieving them even though they were unrealistic for your abilities or the current level of your career.

Before you set down any goal, be sure to assess your capacity to achieve it. Make sure you possess the skills and the resources required to take the next step. If not, what do you have to do, learn, or add to make this happen?

Setting goals that are too difficult will definitely discourage you to move on. Setting them too low tells you that you aren’t capable. So set the bar high enough for a feeling of achievement when you do succeed.

“R” Stands for “Realistic”
Make sure you have the determination, habits and willpower to do what it takes to reach your goal from where you are at the moment. What will you realistically do regularly so that you move from where you are now to closer to where you want to be? Do you have the drive to write, the discipline to do it in a business-like manner, and the consistent work habit required to succeed as a writer? If not, what do have to do to change your attitude or expectations?

“T” Stands for “Timed”
When setting down goals, timing is all important. Give yourself a deadline so you can schedule actions and milestones. Putting an end point to your goal gives you a clear point on the horizon to which you can work. Set a time frame to take these actions and review your results as you go. If you don’t set a timeline, your commitment will be too vague. The goal doesn’t happen because you feel you can start at any time. Without a time limit, there’s no urgency to start taking action now. There’s no driving need to take specific actions at specific times.

When will you take these actions, and at what intervals will you review your results? If you’ve done the task before, you’ll have an idea if your time estimate is accurate. If you don’t sufficient experience with a task or action, you should triple your time estimate. Do you need to complete the actions in a particular sequence? Do any of the actions depend on the actions of other people? Will their schedules fit yours? How can you build in some extra time to make sure your timing isn’t too tight?

“E” Stands for “Energy”
Decide to concentrate your energy to work on your goals. Use your energy in a way that feeds your motivation to keep going towards the end results you desire. You may want to get an article or short story published, but doing everything but getting down to writing either of them and it will be too late, especially if the article or story is timely.

“R” Stands for “Rewards for Results”
Give yourself a reward for persevering and achieving your results and acknowledge what it took to get them. To keep yourself motivated, jot down what you’ll do when you achieve your goal. Something as simple as calling a friend to share your satisfaction or taking yourself out for an extra special treat are examples.

Having a series of milestones creates a situation where progress seems to “pull you forward.” One success builds on another. This not only gives you a solid feeling but the  confidence to set even higher goals. Your confidence builds your competence as you build your success. And remember, at the end of the quarter or the year, review your accomplishments. You may just surprise yourself.

Brushed by the Wand of Success

Any writer who has deposited a check signed by the treasurer of a publication has, at least for that point in time, been brushed by the wand of success. To me, success is relative. It’s that special feeling I get at a particular moment when I feel I’ve made it.

In the beginning, it was all about getting published. Once I did that, I sat back on my newly-found success and waited for the assignments to roll in. I waited and waited and waited. In fact, I ended up waiting for nearly six years. And in all that time, I didn’t publish another piece.

Success is a funny thing. It does things to me, as I’m sure it does to you. I feel a not only a sense of accomplishment but one of euphoria. When I saw my first article in print in a national magazine, Popular Mechanics, I couldn’t believe it. The article looked great. And there was my name in print, as bold as it could be, letting everyone know that I was the writer.

Notice I didn’t say “author.” I reserve that title for those celebrity writers, like Stephen King, Ann Rice, and Norman Mailer, among others, who appear regularly as guests on talk shows like “Charlie Rose” and late-night shows like “Letterman.” I’m just a writer who works hard, the kind that makes up the backbone of the freelance writing industry.

After my initial bout with success, I realized I hadn’t handled it very well. While I managed to get something published, what good did it do me. I had my 15-seconds of fame. What I failed to do was build on that success which stopped me dead in my tracks. What actually happened was what I call a “happy accident”—a good thing that just happens but the chance of repeating it is slim. Some writers go through their whole carriers having happy accidents. I soon learned that I had to take control of my success or I won’t have any others.

I had written an article on building a modern “chuck wagon” box for my hatchback so that could travel across country camping while still eating home-cooked meals. The idea was a practical one, so the magazine's editor thought his readers would benefit from it. However, the subject was far from what I wanted to publish—travel articles about exotic places. It was only remotely related to travel, and the writing wasn’t anything like what I wanted it to be. In essence, this became a dead end piece, an article that couldn’t really help me get anywhere. That’s why I didn’t move on in publishing for six years.

The next big success for me was my first book, a book for teens on solar energy. I learned a lot from that book, but it, again, wasn’t in my field of expertise, just a field of interest. Because it wasn’t about travel or by this time history, but science, I didn’t get anywhere with that project, either. I couldn’t promote the book to publications because it wasn’t what I was writing regularly.

After that bit of success, I began to pay attention more to what I was writing. I focused on several different subject areas and made a point of not writing in others that wouldn’t advance my career.

My next book, called Amish Country, was a big success, and showcased my travel writing skills. The Amish live less than an hour from me, so it was easy to write about them. My future articles and books all moved my career forward, and successes became more frequent. Soon my successes outweighed my failures, and at that point I considered myself a professional freelance writer.