General Archives - Project Online Publishing

2019 Goal Setting

Sally — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 03:30:42 +0000

Welcome to 2019. This is yet another opportunity to start fresh and accomplish new goals. I started last year to create a list of goals at the beginning of the year so that I can measure my progress and have a sense of accountability. Here are the goals that I set for myself last year that, unfortunately, I didn’t accomplish.

Publish my first book by July 1^st, 2018.
Read 24 books by December 31^st, 2018
Blog 4 times per month
Be active on social media daily

Unfortunately, I was unable to publish my first book last year. However, I did start two more projects that I am planning on working on this year. Although this may seem like a failure, I believe that I achieved small stepping stones through research. I was able to clearly identify exactly what genre I want to publish in and began working on two books.

I was short of my goal of 24 books. However, I did read 18 books in a variety of genres. I am a member of a book club now and it forces me to read books in genres that I wouldn’t consider otherwise. This has definitely been an exciting experience. At the beginning I thought I was not going to enjoy reading in genres that I do not find interesting but I have been pleasantly surprised by some books. These are the books I read in 2018:

Passive Income: 40 Ideas to Successfully Launch Your Online Business by Adam Ovechkin
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
Fahrenheit 451: A Novel by Ray Bradbury
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
The Joy of X: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity by Steven Strogatz
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage
Five Chimneys by Olga Lengyel
Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Origin by Dan Brown
The Witcher: Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
The Witcher: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
Payton by Connie, Jarrett and Brittney Payton
A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest
Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous

I unfortunately became very inactive on my blog and my social media. However, I became a member of authors groups and have learned a lot about publishing, the challenges of publishing, and advertising. It is important to educate myself as I go through this process.

On a positive note, and not to justify falling short of my goals, I did start my eBay business this year. Getting back into the mindset of having an online store and doing product research took my mind and focus away from my writing. But now that I have the eBay store up and running, I will focus more on my writing and on creating quality content to help authors who, like me, are starting their publishing journey.

With that being said, I now have a vision for 2019 and these are the goals I have set for myself for this year:

I will publish my first book by October 1^st
I will be active on social media at least twice a week
I will read 20 books by December 31^st
I will blog at least 4 times per month
I will continue to grow my eBay business

I have made the commitment to achieve these goals and I am looking forward to a successful 2019.

Happy writing, everyone!

The post 2019 Goal Setting appeared first on Project Online Publishing.

Set Goals For 2018

Sally — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 04:49:22 +0000

It is now 2018, an opportunity to start with a clean slate and to set goals for the rest of the year. When I started to venture into this fascinating project, I came to the realization that goal setting is an essential part of this journey. Whether it is weekly or monthly, it is important to plan things to hold ourselves accountable and to see results faster. I have mentioned in some of my other posts that it is important to work with a schedule to reach milestones and to have a sense of accomplishment that will give us the drive to continue moving forward.

I want to invite you to put this into practice. Set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound.

Specific Goals

You want to make sure that the goals that you set are not general. They must be narrowed down so that it provides you with direction to follow so that they are better attainable. Instead of saying “I will publish two books in 2018” be more specific and say, “I will publish one book by April 2018 and a second one by October 2018.” This will create a timeframe for you to work with and will also provide you with guidelines that will motivate you to complete your projects.

Measurable Goals

Goals should be measurable. This means, you should be able to track your progress through the process. Going back to the example provided above, if the goal is to publish a book by April, there are steps that you need to take from now until then. Set up timelines as to when the first draft should be done by, when the book cover will be designed, etc. You want to make sure that you can measure your progress little by little.

Attainable Goals

Whatever goals you decide to set must be attainable. They shouldn’t be too high to the point where they are impossible to accomplish. Consider whether you will be able to attain them and if the task seems daunting, re-evaluate and set different goals that are easier to achieve.

Realistic Goals

Realistic goals should yield results and you should be able to see them become a reality. For instance, you cannot expect to have a book published by April if you know it takes you longer than four months to write a book. Understand your abilities and what must be done to set realistic goals.

Time-Bound Goals

All goals should have a timeframe, otherwise you jeopardize not accomplishing them. If I want to publish a book by April, I know I must have everything ready to go by the end of March so that I only work on the minor details before going live on April. This means that I need to set up deadlines for my first and second drafts, my editing process, my cover page design, my formatting, etc.

Develop a Plan

Once you have set your goals, write them down and develop a plan of action that will guide you through the process. Try to stick to the plan of action as much as possible to remain accountable and motivated. Although setbacks will happen, whether self-inflicted or due to external forces, this plan of action will help you keep on track. Adjust if necessary but do not deviate from the original plan.

My Goals for 2018

Since goal setting is important, I want to hold myself accountable and decided to come up with the following goals for 2018. At the end of the year, I will come back to this post and compare the results.

1) I will publish a book by July 1^st

2) I will read at least 24 books by December 31^st

3) I will post at least four times per month on this blog

4) I will be active on social media daily

The list might not be long, but it is a commitment that I am making to share more about my writing and publishing journey.

I wish you all the best in this new year!

Happy writing!

The post Set Goals For 2018 appeared first on Project Online Publishing.

WELCOME!

Sally — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 16:53:50 +0000

Hello and welcome to Project Online Publishing's blog.

I would like to start by introducing myself and by giving you a bit of background information about me and why I decided to start this blog.

My name is Sally and I currently live in the United States, although I am originally from Mexico. I had the opportunity to come to this wonderful country at the age of 16 when my dad was fortunate enough to get a job offer in the beautiful city of Chicago back in 2001. We thought that we would be here for just a few years but I guess destiny had different plans for us.

Growing up, I always had an interest for Business. I would watch the stock market and international currency exchange rates on TV when I was just a little girl. Although I didn't understand much of it at such an early age, there was something about it that I found fascinating. This is why I decided to pursue a career in Business.

I went to college and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor's degree in Business Management. When I graduated, I thought that I was going to get a corporate job in one of the big companies in Chicago. However, God's plans for me were different. I had the opportunity to get a job offer at the university I graduated from and I never looked at the corporate world again. Working in higher education has been so rewarding. Every day I get to interact with students from diverse backgrounds and my job is to help them shape their future by guiding them with their career choices. I help them, step-by-step, to get through college, making sure that they attain their goals in the process. Seeing them walk across that stage with their degree in hand is a satisfaction that cannot compare to anything else. The first time I attended commencement and saw our students graduating I knew that I had made the right decision by staying in higher education.

However, the entrepreneur inside me has always been knocking on the door. I decided to go back to school to earn my Master's degree in Management with an Organizational Leadership concentration and in the process of working and studying, I have ventured into different businesses. I have done a bit of real estate (I was a realtor at a point), I have learned about real estate investment, I used to sell collectibles and sports apparel on eBay, I have taught martial arts, and I have sold health and fitness products. I started this entrepreneurial journey back in 2009 and it has driven me since. I am a true believer that in order to achieve financial freedom, you must become an entrepreneur and have different streams of income. The golden rule is not to put all of your eggs in one basket. You must diversify in case one of your businesses fails.

So, how did I end up creating Project Online Publishing?
Last year, while exploring other entrepreneurial ventures, I came across Kindle Publishing. When I researched this venture further, I became fascinated by it. Although I do not think of myself as a great writer, I do have a passion for it. I decided to take a couple of classes in Creative Writing and at the beginning of this year I made the commitment to start my own publishing business. Since, I have a passion for writing (I've been writing stories since I was in elementary school), I will be writing my own books instead of outsourcing them. I know this is a longer, more time-consuming process, but I decided to venture into this business because I have a passion for it. People say that when you do what you love you will never work a day in your life. This is exactly what I am looking for through writing.

Now, the question is, what is the purpose of this blog?
I would like to share with you my journey, with all of its ups and downs. My goal is to share, honestly and transparently, information and resources that have helped me start this business and continue to help me grow it. I have always had a passion for helping others, so I hope this can help you in any way with your own publishing journey.

Thank you in advance for the support and I look forward to starting this journey together!

Wishing you much success,

Sally.

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