Good goals help you gain good results
You need to have realistic and motivating goals for all areas of your life, from income generation to health to relationships.
That’s why I’ve asked 19 of my favorite successful freelance writers to share top freelance writing goal and top personal goal for 2014.
Linda Formichelli
My top freelance writing goal is to pull back from online engagement so I have more time to CREATE — e-books, courses, and more.
My personal goal is to be as mindful as I can, every day.
Linda Formichelli runs the Renegade Writer blog, offers mentoring and e-courses for writers, and is the author of Write Your Way Out of the Rat Race…And Step Into a Career You Love.
Tom Chandler
In addition to writing copy, I’m going to write more quality editorial work — articles and op-eds — for myself and a handful of clients. (I’ll develop those clients if necessary.)
I’m going to spend less time at my desk and more time outdoors — and make sure my kids come with me.
A copywriter and consultant for more than 27 years, Tom lives on the flank of a stratovolcano with his wife and two daughters (5 and 3). Despite approaching “You kids get off my lawn” age, he still believes in happy endings.
Carol Tice
My top 2 goals for 2014 are:
To dive headfirst into self-publishing. I actually have a slate of 9 books planned already, and ideas for many more. I’ve been very slow to turn my trainings, old blog posts, and my knowledge into ebook products and plan to rectify that big time next year! I keep telling writers that if they’re not taking advantage of the self-publishing options available today, they’re nuts, and in 2014 I plan to take my own advice.
To cut the timewasting in order to create more and take more time off. I’m guilty of checking email, blog comments, blog traffic stats, or Facebook more than necessary. Instead, in 2014 I want to leave the office and spend more time exercising and with family, and devote more blocks of my work time to creating — those ebooks I just mentioned, new courses, blog posts, and more. I need to remember that I better fulfill my mission of helping the most writers earn more by creating products that many people can access — such as my recent free Freelancer’s Fear-Buster podcast — rather than answering individual emails or comments.
Carol Tice founded the Freelance Writers Den and writes the Make a Living Writing Blog, recently named for the third time to Write to Done’s list of Top 10 Blogs for Writers.
Lori Widmer
Top freelance writing goal for 2014: I’m focusing a portion of my efforts toward establishing my poetry business and growing those blog numbers.
Top personal goal for 2014: Personally, I’m already training to take part in the local Tough Mudder competition.
Lori has over 15 years of writing/editing experience, and has built a solid trade/business career. Her focus areas include risk management and insurance topics and companies. She writes the Words on the Page blog.
Tom Mangan
Top freelance writing goal: I want to build stronger self-discipline to glue my fanny to my desk, tune out all my social media distractions and just buckle down and get as much work done as I can within a 40-hour week. If I can pull that off, having an even better year than 2013 will happen almost by default.
Top personal goal: develop interests unrelated to work. Since my freelancing business really took off in 2011, I haven’t really been interested in anything besides work, and I’d like to change that up a bit.
Tom left the copy desk of the San Jose Mercury News, and 20 years in newspapering, four years ago and never looked back. He’s now based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where the housing is cheap, the winters are pleasant and the scenery suits him fine. He writes and edits for clients in finance, education, fitness and B2B content marketing.
Sophie Lizard
My primary goal for 2014 is to work on longer-form blog posts and non-fiction books. Short articles are fine, but my unbillable hours are roughly the same whether I’m writing a 500-word or a 2500-word piece, so it makes sense to aim for longer projects.
I aim to spend even more time with my family this year, and take a couple of fantastic vacations before my daughter starts her first year of school.
Sophie Lizard is the founder and editor of Be a Freelance Blogger, where she shows writers how to make real money blogging for hire. Start by taking advantage of her free Ultimate List of Better-Paid Blogging Gigs.
Kristi Hines
My biggest area of improvement for 2014 is time management. I’m approaching this by using browser apps to keep focused (StayFocusd for Chrome, LeechBlock for Firefox, and WasteNoTime for Safari) and the time tracking tool in Freshbooks to determine how much time I really spend writing.
As far as personal goals, I’m looking to get more physically active. I’m already going to the gym, so for 2014 I just need to keep that up!
Kristi Hines is a freelance writer, professional blogger, and social media enthusiast.
Emily Suess
My top freelance writing goal is to double my online portfolio by finally getting around to adding additional writing samples.
My top personal goal is to complete volunteer or foster training with our local humane society.
By day, Emily Suess writes for an in-house technical communications team in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. She works with a select number of freelance clients as time permits and is a featured contributor at Small Business Bonfire.
Allena Tapia
My top freelance writing goal of 2014 is to teach my Writing for Social Justice class through Women on Writing, and to develop other outlets for a similar seminar/talk/workshop.
My top personal goal for 2014 is to continue to develop my ability to balance work and my personal life.
Allena Tapia started GardenWall Publications LLC in 2006 because her best writing and editing is done after 9 pm. The agency focuses on social justice communications, but also offers translation, editorial work and author support.
Tom Bentley
Top freelance goal: Eliminate lower-paying projects and try to deliver the highest quality work to clients I enjoy, and am proud to work for.
Top personal goal: Find a traditional publisher for my new novel, or self-publish using best self-publishing practices for launch and marketing follow-up.
Tom Bentley is a business copywriter working with mostly tech clients, as well as an editor for fiction and nonfiction. He is also an essayist and journalist, writing for newspapers, magazines and online. And he writes fiction too.
Anne Wayman
Writing goal – 30 min a week on the family story.
Personal goal – Exercise 4x a week.
Anne Wayman has been freelancing for over 30 years – she no longer will say how much over.
Meryl K. Evans
By the end of the first quarter, find two new long-term clients to support their content needs.
By the end of the first quarter, resume my workout regimen to where it was prior to surgery.
Meryl K. Evans is a content maven aka writer and content marketer with mad tech skills. The native Texan writes and manages content for B2B and B2C clients across various industries.
Amy Harrison
Top professional goal: to get published in a national paper/magazine. It’s something I’ve not tried before so thought I’d give it a go.
Top personal goal: to sing in a country/bluegrass band again (my last one disbanded last year and I miss playing!)
In addition to writing, Amy Harrison likes to rip copywriting techniques apart to see how they work. She then shares her findings through tips, templates, and free resources on her site Harrisonamy Copywriting.
Jake Poinier
My top freelance writing goal for 2014 is to query a couple of magazines that I’ve been dithering about for a while–nothing to lose!
My top personal goal for 2014 is to achieve US Sailing Certification for Celestial Navigation and Offshore Passage Making.
Jake Poinier (aka “Dr. Freelance“) has been freelancing since ’99 as the owner of Boomvang Creative Group. In 2013, he published The Science, Art and Voodoo of Freelance Pricing and Getting Paid and Help! My Freelancers Are Driving Me Crazy.
Cathy Miller
Top freelance writing goal for 2014 — launching a residual income site with products/ebooks focused on a personal passion.
Top personal goal for 2014 – increasing the number of short trips to places of interest.
Cathy Miller is a freelance business writer with over 30 years of professional writing experience from small businesses to Fortune 500 customers. Cathy started her own business in 2008, providing online and print business writing and has a specialty in the healthcare and insurance industry. Cathy shares top-notch advice for business writers at Simply Stated Business.
Laura Spencer
It’s hard to pick a top professional goal, but I think adding one more long-term paid blogging client in 2014 would be at the top of my list.
My top personal goal is a tie between finally launching a blog I’ve been working on about gluten-free living and mastering the Spanish language course that I’m currently taking.
Laura has managed her own writing business since 2002. Laura’s current writing specialties include: blogging, content creation, copywriting, editing, and web content. Laura runs the Writing Thoughts blog.
Sharon Hurley Hall
My top writing goal for 2014 is to write 10 short ebooks. I’ve had the titles on the back burner for a year; now I’d like to deliver.
My top personal goal for 2014 is to achieve the right balance between writing for others and writing for myself, which will feed into better balance in my life as a whole.
Sharon Hurley Hall is a professional writer and blogger. Her career has spanned more than 20 years, including stints as a journalist, academic writer and ghost writer.
Jennifer Mattern
My biggest freelance writing goal for 2014 is, strangely enough, to scale back my freelance writing work to around half of its current volume. I’m doing this as I diversify my writing business, further emphasizing Web development and indie publishing — a three-prong business model I’ve pursued for years.
My husband and I have decided to start building our family, so my biggest personal goal for 2014 is to achieve and maintain a healthy pregnancy — a bit different than a traditional goal with predictable steps to work on, but it’s personal priority number one for me.
Jennifer Mattern is a professional blogger, freelance business writer, and e-book author. She owns 3 Beat Media which, in addition to providing writing services, publishes numerous websites and blogs on topics including writing, publishing, small business, and social media.
John Soares
My top writing goal is to become more efficient in my work so I increase my hourly rate. This will allow me to work even less and still meet my target income goals.
My top personal goal is to spend more time outside in nature. I especially love to hike, and I will make much more time for that in 2014.
John Soares has been freelance writing since 1990, primarily for higher education publishers. He is the author of Find Your Freelance Writing Niches: Make More Money for Less Work, Writing College Textbook Supplements, two outdoors guidebooks, and over 100 magazine and newspaper articles. The creator of the Productive Writers blog, he is especially interested in efficiency, time management, and getting the most from life.
Your Take
What is your top freelance writing goal for 2014? Your top personal goal? Share them with us!
Great job with this post, John. 🙂
I feel honored to be included on this list along with some of my favorite freelance writers. It’s interesting to see what everyone is planning, and of course, making it public adds an element of accountability.
Making goals public definitely ups the accountability factor!
Thank you, John, for including me. I’m humbled. I love reading what other freelance writers have on their priority lists. It proves we all have a unique perspective. That’s pretty awesome.
Continued success in 2014!
Cathy, I was impressed by the wide range of goals, some unexpected.
Thanks for including me in the list, John! Always happy to be part of your blog community. Nice to see everyone’s goals and see where they’re headed.
Thanks for including me John. There are some great goals included here! 🙂
These are all awesome goals. Thank you for sharing! I look forward to seeing some of these projects put into action since some of my favorite freelancers are this list, too.
Alicia, I really like seeing other people’s goals. It’s inspiring, and it gives me ideas.
John, thanks for including me. It’s inspiring to read other people’s goals, which will spur a few more of my own. Here’s to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014 to everyone! Here’s to exceeding our goals.
John, thanks for putting me in with an inspired bunch. My personal goal is actually to eat more ice cream, but I wasn’t sure it would work in context. Best success to all you writerly types in 2014!
Thanks Tom. And best of luck with meeting your ice cream goal. It sounds doable.
Once again, a great post! My goal for 2014 is to get my novel and screenplay done, and to be a much more disciplined blogger. I am aiming for 2x a week. It’s time to grow my followers and hopefully, my sphere of influence.
All the best this New Year to my fellow writers-in-arms!
Ambitious goals Aimee! People who write novels really impress me.
All the best in 2014.
This was a terrific idea and and inspirational post, John–great way to start the year, and proof that there are innumerable ways to approach the business. Thank you for including me. Not surprisingly, as I read my compatriots’ ideas, it has sparked some thoughts for additional goals!
This list is inspiring. For me, 2014 will be a year of experimentation in an unsettled industry – but that’s exciting, isn’t it?
Thank you for sharing this John. It’s comforting to know writers from anywhere in the world have similar goals and also faced almost similar hurdles in their careers. It motivates me more that my goals are also achievable.
Jovell, you’ve raised an important point. A good goal is an achievable goal, meaning it’s realistic. I think all the goals above are realistic and achievable.
Great post that delves into the minds of some of the best online writers. I find it interesting that, even with their success, they still feel the need to be productive and cut down on their social media use during work. I like the browser extensions Kristi Hines mentioned in her answer to help maintain focus while working.
Chris, social media can be a real productivity killer. That’s why I frequently work with the Internet off, just so there is no temptation.
Here’s to everybody accomplishing their goals — and a special fingers-crossed for Jennifer Mattern!
Hear, hear!
Thanks Helene! 🙂
John,
This is very inspiring to say the least!
I think now is the best time for everyone to clearly define their goals and create their plan to achieve them. From my own personal experience, without defined goals and a plan, execution becomes very difficult.
Happy New Year!
Lots of women, only a couple men. You think the copywriting world is continuing to swing towards women? When I began working as a copywriter (1980s), women writers were relatively rare. Now I’d suggest women are the majority, especially in the freelance field.
Interesting.
Hope everyone achieves their goals, or at least stumbles onto something even more interesting in their pursuit.
Thank you John, I have only been writing for about 2 years off and on but with your group the same goals keep coming up. The goal indicate that they believe they are capable of doing better than in the past.
I am really glad I am not the only one. It is a good thing to have strategies to get to those goals as well.
John, thanks so much for including me here. I’m wishing everyone success with accomplishing their goals for 2014. 🙂
Thank you so much for your blog, will be following. Love the term “stratovolcano”. Wish you a very happy holiday and look forward to reading your future posts. I will be writing about the mining industry and also working on bringing awareness to some of the conditions.
I like the personal goal of exercising 4x per week. That’s my goal. I’ve made it up to three days for a while, but haven’t been to the gym for about three+ weeks now. LOL I plan to go today (Saturday) for the first time in a while.
My main freelance goal is to once and for all get my writing site and blog(s) looking the way I need them to look. I’ve already re-organized plenty to make them easier for people to read. I also want to make a certain maximum income 12 months instead of four months out of the year.
Writing down goals is a great idea because it makes them seem more tangible. It also reminds you that while you still have time, time is limited and it does fly by fast.
My biggest goal is to balance my fiction writing and non-fiction writing production and income. There are several fiction projects I’m working on right now, two of which are finished and trying their chance at contests. One novel is being edited and polished, and I’m planning to have started the agent hunt by April. I also plan to increase my querying and write for more and more publications I enjoy reading myself.