SMART Self-Assessment

This time last year, I posted an article about SMART objectives, and listed those I was planning to achieve in the coming year. Getting ready to do a repeat performance this morning, I thought I’d better review last year’s list to see how I got on. So here goes:

A Novel Is Announced

Anyone who has read part 3 of my Business of Writing series, Improving Effectiveness, or indeed read Terry Tyler's Z Files last week where I exposed my inner Virgo, knows that I set great store by planning. In fact, it is sometimes suggested I would get more done by spending less time writing plans and just doing things instead.

Read, Reflect, Review...

You know how sometimes a topic seems to crop up in lots of different places at the same time? Well for the past few days, everywhere I turn, I bump into conversations about book reviews.

No Place For Bystanders

Anyone who's read any of my books on business skills for writers, or sat in one of my workshops at Swanwick, knows I am a strong devotee of the spreadsheet. Great for setting up simple accounts systems, wonderful for a quick and easy to-do list, and invaluable for planning the latest writing project. Well, this week, I've been using it for viewing and weeding out unnecessary characters in my novel.

Looking Back Thankfully

It's hard to believe, but there are only two Mondays left to this year. Next week, I'm going to be looking forward to 2015 and making some New Year's (writing) resolutions. But this week, in the tradition of many media outlets at this time of the year, here's a quick round-up of the past twelve and its achievements - and a few thank yous.

Publishing Lessons Part 2

Back in October, I wrote about the first part of the publishing project for Gorgito’s Ice Rink. At that point, I’d only brought out the ebook. Now, two months on, I have a paperback edition as well. I’ve been reflecting on the second part of this project, and as always, this is written from the point of view of a small business owner—with the adjective attached to ‘business’ rather than ‘owner’—rather than as an author. 

A Writerly Round-Up: Blowing My Own Trumpet and Planning the Future

It's been a busy few months. I spent much of May and June working on the publicity and logistics for our town's annual summer festival, which took place earlier this month.

The Business of Writing is No Joke

I've been running my own small business, together with my husband, for twenty-two years and it's been a complete joy (well most of the time anyway). To start with, there were only two of us. He was an education consultant; I had a 'proper job' but looked after the books and administration in my spare time. It took about two hours a month. 

Then we got a bit braver and took on an employee, then another one. Before we knew it, there were eleven of us plus a group of sub-contractors and we had to start thinking about holiday entitlement, health and safety policy and other administrative systems. I left the 'proper job' to join the team full-time. I spent about a third of each month running the company and the rest on my own projects.

The team shrunk back to four and then there were just the two of us. We used sub-contractors from then on to fill the gaps. We moved offices four times, bought (and later sold) what seemed like vast quantities of stationery, office equipment and filing cabinets; at one point, we had nine of those, all full of paper.

The focus of the work shifted several times; the education consultancy waned as my pharmaceutical projects grew.  At one point, we had two suites of computers and provided software training on behalf of Business Link in Kent. My husband moved from education administration into tutoring. I gave up the technical work and began writing full-time. Today we think of ourselves as writers, publishers and tutors.

Soon after we set up the company, we wrote our objectives on a flip-chart. There were income targets, profit targets, client targets - and right at the bottom: "To still be having fun in twenty years' time." And you know what? We are! And for me, part of fun has always been looking after the systems, making the numbers add up,  keeping the papers in order. Over the years, I've learned a lot; made some mistakes; put them right; and identified the simplest way to run our small business. These days it takes me one day a month.

But I know that's not a typical reaction to business systems. And I also know many writers hate the idea of losing creative time working on a spreadsheet or filling in forms. For the past few years, I've been presenting sessions on The Business of Writing at the Swanwick Writers' Summer School. I've also blogged about it.

So, the purpose of this post is three-fold: to remind writers they are not alone in wanting to make their business as simple and time-efficient as possible; to reveal my shiny new cover; and to say that if you see an advert on 1st April for the first in a new series of ebooks on The Business of Writing, it's not a joke.  It really does exist - and there will be more later in the year!