By BookBaby author Nina Amir
Nina Amir joined our October #BBchat to talk about the roadmap to successful authorship and her new book, Creative Visualization for Writers: An Interactive Guide for Bringing Your Book Ideas and Career to Life.
For the October edition of our #BBchat Twitter chat, Nina Amir, Amazon bestselling author and Certified High Performance Coach, guest hosted our Twitter chat on her new book, Creative Visualization for Writers: An Interactive Guide for Bringing Your Book Ideas and Career to Life. Amir is the author of How to Blog a Book, The Author Training Manual and over a dozen other titles. She prefaced the chat with a blog post titled “The Roadmap to Successful Authorship.”
If you’d like to be notified about future chats, please subscribe to our Facebook events. To view the entire chat transcript, visit this link. Below is a reformatted version of our discussion.
What’s the biggest problem that writers face when it comes to reaching their destination of successful authorship?
Mindset. They allow negative thoughts and limiting beliefs to hold them back. Also, they aren’t focused on what they want to achieve or create. They get distracted or focus on what they don’t want. So, they may know their destination – Authorship – but they end up with a lot of roadblocks and potholes on the way. They could avoid these by developing unlimited beliefs, positive thoughts, and staying focused on their destination.
Why is it important for writers to visualize their goals in order to turn these ideas into reality?
Creative visualization is an active process. Key word: PROCESS. It’s about conscious daydreaming and personal growth. It is a constant “job” to work on our mindset and develop one that helps rather than hinders. We live in a time with many distractions. It’s much more difficult to stay focused now than it was even 5-10 years ago. Faith is important. It’s even important when it comes to publishing and writing. You need faith!
How do you identify the key elements of your own vision of successful authorship?
You must get very clear about what success looks like for yourself. Do you want to sell X number of books? Leave a legacy? Become a bestseller? Build a biz? Change lives? Write it down for sure. Create a vision map (using photos). Draw it. You have to visualize about your idea of success and get realistic about it. Know what you want, and then write it down. To identify elements of vision, ask yourself what you want, need? And ask yourself why. Also, set clear goals that go with that vision.
What’s the best way to go about defining your own personal definition of success?
Ask yourself what success looks like. Again, this is personal. Do you want a changed life? A book in bookstores? Ask yourself if you want to become a coach and a book is the avenue to make that happen. Is a traditional publishing deal your idea of success… even if the book doesn’t sell well? Or is success only a New York Times bestseller? To define success, you must ask yourself questions about what it “looks” like, feels like, and smells like. You must have a compelling reason to write and publish a book. That “why” is what keeps you going, no matter what.
How do you develop a strategy to reach your publishing goals?
You set goals and then break them down into smaller goals. You also can work backwards. X = Success. How do I get from where I am now to X? Map out the steps. You need a roadmap. Paste your goal somewhere you visit everyday, like near your desk. Keep looking at it. Remind yourself of the goal always.
Why is it important to write down these goals and ultimately your vision of success?
You want to have something you can refer to daily… a written vision, a vision board, your goals, etc. Reading your goals and visualizing them as complete helps to train the mind that you can do it. It reduces the negative thoughts. The key is to continually focus you attention on what you want to achieve. I show one of my own vision boards in Creative Visualization for Writers. And I make a new one yearly.
What does it mean to write a mission or purpose statement for your book?
It means to determine why you MUST write your book. Why do you feel compelled to write it? Also, what is your purpose or mission for writing the book? Do you want to start a movement, transform lives, etc.? Take the answers to those questions and compose a one-paragraph (or more) statement of purpose. For example, “I am writing this book because…” or “This is what I hope to accomplish…” Creative Visualization for Writers has tons to draw and color for that reason. Whole brain = increased creativity and productivity.
How do you set achievable goals? How many steps are involved and why is this process important?
To set achievable goals, you want ones you can commit to… that have that BIG WHY. Your goals should be realistic, sensational, and aspirational. They should be things you can accomplish, but require a stretch too. I suggest SMART and SMARTER goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Goals also should be Sensational, Moving, Aspirational, Relevant, Timeless, Elevating, and Relatable.
What does it mean to create SMART goals? Why is it important to follow the SMART criteria?
Goals are enormously important because they drive us forward. Goals are aspirations. When we aspire to something, we move toward it. SMART goals are good… but SMARTER ones are better! Instead of just specific, be sure your goal excites you. Instead of just measurable, make sure your goals move you. Rather than a goal that is just attainable, make sure your goals are aspirational… something you want to strive toward. Rather than a goal that is just realistic, make your goals relevant to you and your purpose. Instead of just time-bound, make your goals timeless–attached to a big vision that extends into the future. And, create goals that elevate you and help you to level up. And, finally, create goals that relate to you and to your customers, clients, and readers.
Do you have any recommendations for further learning about goal setting or managing your progress?
Accountability is key to achieving goals, managing progress, and setting goals. That’s why coaches are so important. There are many pages in Creative Visualization for Writers on goal setting and managing your progress. I suggest you write out your goals and look at them weekly or monthly or quarterly. Find an accountability partner to help create and set your goals…and watch progress. Coaches are great!
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