Plotting Your 2025 Author Success Story

Turn your writing dreams into reality with this step-by-step roadmap.

Do you have an Author Career Roadmap? It’s not just about setting big goals—it’s also about creating a personalized plan to help you turn your writing and publishing dreams into a long career path.

Today, I’m walking you through a comprehensive plan to help you reflect on past achievements, set meaningful goals, and build sustainable habits for a productive year. By the end, you’ll have the tools and resources you need to create your own author career roadmap that guides you every step of the way.

Lessons Learned and Wins to Celebrate

Before diving into new goals, I’d like you to take a moment and reflect on last year. What were your key achievements? Did you finish a first draft, publish your book, grow your social media audience, or simply write more consistently? Celebrating wins—big or small—builds your momentum and reminds you of the progress you’ve already made.

Understanding what worked and what didn’t can help you replicate your successes and address shortcomings. For instance, if daily writing sprints helped you meet word count goals, make that part of your routine this year as well. If your marketing efforts felt scattered in 2024, how can you refocus on one or two tactics and refine them?

Reflect on 2024 by asking yourself:

1. What writing goals did you achieve in 2024?

2. What habits or strategies worked well for you?

3. What didn’t work, and why?

Dream Big, Plan Smart

As you look ahead to this year, I want you to dream big, but do so with a strategic mindset. Your goals should be ambitious enough to excite you but realistic enough for you to achieve. Start by breaking your goals into three categories:

1. Writing

2. Publishing

3. Marketing.

Categories help you focus on specific career areas and ensure a balanced approach. This way, you’re not spending all your time writing and neglecting your goals in publishing or marketing.