Dear ETR: “This might be a personal question…”

“Michael, this might be a personal question, but you seem to cross boundaries when it comes to helping people, so I’ll ask anyway. What were your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals for becoming a writer? How did you accomplish those goals? Also, did you self-publish your books? Finally, what is the best platform for selling your books? Any guidance you have will be greatly appreciated.

“Thanks from a loyal reader.”

Robin Fulcher

Spring Hill, TN

Dear Robin,

I always wanted to be a writer, but wasn’t much more than a dabbler until I started following my own advice. You can find that advice in past ETR articles on personal productivity. Or you can buy a copy of my Confessions of a Multimillionaire.

This year, I’ve been rethinking and revising my ideas about attaining goals. And I’ve been publishing essays in ETR on that important subject. Read them. They will be put together at the end of the year and offered as a book. The working title is How to Master Plan Your New Life. It will contain all my latest thinking, plus examples of what I actually do on a day-to-day basis.

In the meantime, here are some short answers to your specific questions.

Question: What were your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals for becoming a writer?

Answer: My writing goals change every year. This year, they are very ambitious. I am writing no less than six books (plus revising a seventh!). To accomplish that, I have to write every day. I write an average of 10 words a minute. Based on that average, I’ve calculated how much I must write on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis. It’s a simple formula. I’ve attached a worksheet that shows you the actual figuring I did:

Question: How did you accomplish those goals?

Answer: I’ve accomplished my writing goals the same way I’ve accomplished all my other goals: by making them a priority. I described the process I use for doing that in a recent ETR article.

Question: Did you self-publish your books?

Answer: No and yes. Most of my books have been published by John Wiley & Sons, one of the largest book publishers in the world. Two (Words That Work and Confessions of a Multimillionaire were published by Early to Rise.

Question: What is the best platform for selling your books?

Answer: Though Wiley does an excellent job of selling books through bookstores, the best platform, by far, is the Internet. One way ETR promotes my books is through joint-venture relationships with other Internet companies. ETR has a great program on how to sell on the Internet – including how to develop joint ventures. It’s sold out for this year, but you can sign up for next year’s hotlist.

[Ed. Note: Mark Morgan Ford was the creator of Early To Rise. In 2011, Mark retired from ETR and now writes the Palm Beach Letter. His advice, in our opinion, continues to get better and better with every essay, particularly in the controversial ones we have shared today. We encourage you to read everything you can that has been written by Mark.]