Today I’m sad. Sad, sad, sad. A friend who decided to desert our friendship is moving away. He already deserted the friendship months ago so I’m not sure why this is all hitting me hard now. I guess it’s because he’s not going to say goodbye. He’s just going to go. No reconciliation, no nothin’ and I hate it. I hate losing friends, especially when I don’t understand why.
So, all I want to do is write self-pitying dirges, which only belong in my journal for my private angst moments, not for public viewing. But I need to write. My goal this year is to write at least 1/2 hour a day or 3-4 hours a week. I know that doesn’t seem like much, but the only time I have to write these days is sometime between 7pm and 10pm after I get home from work and do home stuff. So, for me, it’s a commitment. And writing a blog doesn’t count towards that goal either, in case you were wondering. I came up with that commitment when I did a SWOT analysis on myself to see where I could improve.
Remember I mentioned what a SWOT analysis was yesterday? Well, today, I’m going to copy and paste my notes from my presentation in case anyone out there is interested. Cuz when I did a SWOT analysis on myself, I found it was very helpful. Hopefully it will help other writers or creatives out there as well. Here it is, below:
SWOT Analysis for Writers: The Business of Creativity
While writing may still happen in isolation, publishing does not. As writers, we are used to playing the role of the creative and the editor, but we also need to be comfortable playing the entrepreneur. We need to sell and market our product in order for our art to be seen and heard. We need to think like business-people. SWOT is a tool, similar to the Pro/Con list tool, that is commonly used in business to assess where a business stands and where it needs improvement. This tool can easily be used by writers to help them see where they are now and how they can improve their chances to be published and noticed.
SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It uses a simple grid so that someone, when assessing a business, can clearly see what the status is and where things can be better. Strengths and Weaknesses mirror each other and have to do with what we have immediate control over. As writers that would be our writing ability, skills, and talents. Opportunities and Threats also mirror each other and have more to do with outside influences such as networking, pitches, public speaking, conferences, workshops, etc.
The only way a tool like this works is if you can set aside your ego and preconceived notions about your writing and yourself and objectively assess your writing, your habits, skills, abilities, talents and resources. It also helps to draw on outside resources for your assessment, such as friends who have read your work, fellow writers, editors, agents, or anyone else who knows you and knows your work.
Remember this is a tool to help you get a complete picture so you get a clear idea of where you should focus your efforts. As with all assessment tools, fit the tool to your needs. Don’t try to force your life or your writing to fit into the grid if it doesn’t. You can always change the grid to fit your life. This is a tool that’s supposed to help you, not slow you down or hinder you.
First you need to look at the basics, so start with the Strengths and Weaknesses. Remember that they mirror each other. Once you have done your Strengths and Weaknesses, then you have a better idea of what your Opportunities and Threats are. Also keep in mind that these writing strengths that you are considering are ones that you do very well (better than) others, not just ones that you do as well. Take a look at your favorite authors or those who are best-selling in your preferred genre to give you an idea of what to consider and whether to consider it a strength, a weakness or just standard.
Again, Weaknesses mirror Strengths. So consider, are you good at dialogue, but not very good at plot? Do you have a good premise, but are weak at developing characters? Are you good at narrative, but not very good at descriptions? Are you able to get the first draft down, but not very good at revisions?
After assessing your Strengths and Weaknesses, sit back and look at your Opportunities and Threats, and see how your Strengths and Weaknesses can help with your Opportunities and Threats. For example, romance is heavy in dialogue and thrillers are heavy in plot. If you happen to be a romance writer who is good at both, then you have an opportunity to write in the thriller genre, perhaps, or write a novel that will cross-genres and pick up two different markets or take advantage of a current trend.
Also, take a look at your networking capability through conferences, parties, and clubs you may belong to, as well as resources and contacts you may have picked up through using the internet such as websites, blogs, etc. Have you developed your own blog and/or website? Do you belong to an online writer’s group? Have you invested in writing classes or trade books or magazines such as Writer’s Market and Writer’s Digest? What other opportunities are out there and available to writers in your genre? How can you avail yourself of them?
When assessing the Threats, take a look at those obstacles that hold you back from being the best writer you can be or that hold you back from actually publishing and marketing your material. Do you have a lack of time or money or materials available? Any of these can hold you back in regards to networking opportunities, classes to improve your writing, or books and magazines that will keep you abreast of trends in your genre.
Another aspect to look at is what threats are common to writers in your field? Are there common cliches you need to watch out for? Are there trends that you not aware of? For example, I know a writer who was told that his script was being returned because he was too old. The studio was only accepting scripts from writers under 40. He was advised to dye his hair and lie about his age. In the past, writers didn’t need to be marketable, or pretty or young, but what is the case now in your particular genre?
Another thing to consider is whether your genre has been oversaturated with a particular type of story or setting or character or premise that you may be working on. Can you bring a new twist to it?
So, what now? After assessing and analyzing yourself and your writing skills, what do you do with that? With this tool, you can gain clarity and figure out where to best focus your efforts. The next step, then, is to set achievable goals. These don’t need to be grand or extravagant, just clear, focused, specific goals that you can work towards.
After setting these goals, decide on what action steps need to be taken to achieve goals. Break down the steps that need to be taken to achieve that goal.
Take stock of the resources you have and need to accomplish this goal – your skills, encouraging friends, people you can borrow paper from, etc.
Set a specific date for accomplishing your goal. If you don’t have that goal finished by then, fine. You can reassess and reset the date. Ultimately, you are in charge.
When I used SWOT, I was able to see where I needed to focus my efforts and how I should focus my efforts and where I was okay, so I wouldn’t need to put more energy into things that were already okay. Just maintain it for now while I work on the other stuff. For me, that includes standard writing time, finishing my work, and being thorough.
Sources I used to research this topic:
Jones, Sonya Carmichael. Taking Control of Your Sales in 2007 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. Lauren Mosko, editor and Michael Schweer, assistant editor. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books. 2006. pp. 70-74.
on January 22nd, 2007 at 8:53 PM
Okay, for some reason, my paragraphs won’t go where I want them to go after I’ve saved the draft. Anyone out there who can help figure out how I can keep my paragraphs separated in a rational manner, let me know.
Thanks.