[Courses] chapter nine: Running A Business- Business Plan and Focus

[Carla Schroder]

On Friday 30 August 2002 04:29 pm, Marcia Barrett Nice wrote:
> Alright, my question is this: How realistic should the further flung goals
> be (in your humble opinion)?

I say don't even worry about realistic- just daydream and brainstorm. You 
want to get in touch with your subconscious, where the self-honest part of 
you lives. 

> For example, I took your list here and applied it toward my goal of being a
> professional sf novelist (please stop laughing at me, I'm serious).  So my
> goal for today was: Revise 10 pages out of that blasted novel.  Doable,
> realistic, and a solid start since so far I had printed it and written
> notes on the printed copy.  (And done, yay me!)

Yay you indeed! The world is full of wannabes- it takes someone special to 
actually go for it.  Well done!

<snip>
> But at 10 & 20 years, I'm just befuddled.  I can get starry eyed "Be more
> famous than Stephen King".  I can be more realistic "Have published 10
> novels."  I can do both.  I can't determine from where I sit which would be
> more helpful, and so I'm asking.

Your plan is not set in concrete, it's just a tool to focus your thoughts and 
dreams. Thinking 10 and 20 years ahead is useful for perspective. Do you 
still see yourself writing novels in 10 or 20 years? Maybe you have other 
things you would like to do in your life. The idea is to put your thoughts in 
writing so you don't forget things, and to bring clarity. You can always 
change your mind. That's the nice thing about being a grownup, you can do 
what you want.

Perspective is useful for teaching patience- if you are full of great 
stories, if you have several books in you, then you don't want to try to cram 
it all into one book. You have time, not only to plot out a series of books, 
but to take the time to do them right. Having a clear artistic vision is 
vital, otherwise business pressures and other considerations can derail you.

If fame is important to you, then you need to focus some energies on making 
that happen. How? I dunno- another good homework project: finding 
professionals who can guide you. It is not a magic process, it is another 
business skill.

You will remember us little people, won't you? The ones who patiently 
explained 'man rtfm' to you?

>
> Thanks for doing this Carla.  You've done a great job of putting this into
> a format that's helpful.

Ah, my first A student!  ;-)

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Carla Schroder, Bratgrrl Computing
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