New Year, New Plans, New Perspective

In my article for my New Year's goals (Perseverance), I had a SMART goal specifically for Vocal: In the next 3 months, I want to write 2 articles on Vocal per week in order to increase my visibility, to practice perseverance, and to continue improve the success of my blog in an effort to hit an average of $0.50 per month in reads. Baseline: I made an average of $0.40 per month on Vocal during the last quarter of 2024.

Well, there has been a slightly new development that happened in my life and while I am happy to say that I already love it, it has left me a little bit in shock and concerned about the future. To aid in reducing the financial worries that I am dealing with in regards to the new development, I am trying to build my business a little bit more in an effort to build a more stable life for my little family.

While I was looking into ideas to accomplish this goal, I stumbled across a newer (to me) feature of Vocal: Subscribers! I am not sure that anyone will subscribe to me, however, it is a good way for me to attempt to get a little bit more revenue and also boost interest in my books.

I am adding in another part to my goal on Vocal for the coming year: In the next 3 months, I will write and publish at least 1 article per week for subscribers only that focuses more on my books that either are (or will be getting published) in my "Whispers of ______: A Schizophrenics Daily Journey Through the ____ Year of Motherhood" series which will allow me the chance to not only share snippets of my book(s) on Vocal, but also share more about a particular entry. In example, reflecting back on what happened and comparing it with current thought patterns - which will allow other's (and myself) a chance to see how perspectives change and the growth that occurs over time. Baseline in January 2025 is: nothing as I haven't done any work for Subscribers only yet.

I really hope that this goal not only boosts my business and continues to help people understand what it is like to live with schizophrenia while decreasing the stigma around the illness, but also helps me to remember how much I have grown as a person - especially on days when it feels like I haven't learned much at all and get really hard on myself. *smile* I am sure that a lot of people can relate to that feeling!

I'm going to break my plan down into smaller steps on here now, so that I can practice my overall word of the year: Perseverance, while also potentially helping others who would like to write about their experiences, but don't really know where to start.

Step 1: Focus on a memory. For me, this will take the form of copying an entry from one of my books into a Vocal article. For those of you who want to share their stories with loved ones, it could look like grabbing one of those treasured family photos. *smile*

Step 2: Identify who. For me, this will look like delving into the specific people in my entry. Are they still in my life? What has changed in the relationship dynamic? What do I know now that I maybe wish that I could tell my younger self? For you, it could look like identifying the people in the photo. For example, Grandma is the lady on the right wearing a red shirt. What else could you tell me about Grandma from this memory? Maybe you can remember that she was getting on Grandpa about eating too many cookies or you can remember the smell of her shampoo.

Step 3: Identify when. For me, this look like sharing which book it is from in order to protect as much privacy of my children and loved ones as I can. I mean, those who know me in real life could figure out more specifics about when something happened, but this is the internet and the general public doesn't really need to know if this is June 2nd or the 12th of August. For you, it could look like being able to remember the specific date or maybe you just know that it was in the Fall of '82. Write down the when so that as you add to your stories and photos, you can organize them by time into a better flowing story to share.

Step 4: Identify the where. For me, this will look like delving into more details about the scene. Let's say that I had shared that I was stressed about how clean my house was or was not. Do I still have the same issue? How did I get it to a better state? Or maybe I had shared about a trip. I would want to go into more detail about what was so fascinating about a place or why it is still so special to me. For you, it could look like talking about where the photo was taken. Maybe it was at your childhood home: what do you remember of it? Maybe it was a blue 2 story home and the photo was in the living room on the main floor. Do you remember specifics about what was hanging on the walls? How about the flooring? Where was the living room compared to the kitchen? Questions like these help you set up the scene for readers to really feel like they are right there with you!

Step 5: Identify the what. For me, this might look like sharing a few more details about what was going on that maybe didn't make it into the final draft or maybe talking about what I would do differently now however many years later. For you, it would be what was going on that makes this photo so important. Perhaps it was your Uncle's 30th birthday party? Perhaps it was a funeral, but it was the first time in 15 years that the whole family showed up?

Step 6: Identify the why. For me, this might look like going into more detail about why this entry sparked my interest now or why I choose to share about something. It might also look like explaining why I didn't put certain details into the final manuscript. For you, it might be explaining why you love this memory or why you didn't like the photo. It might be explaining why you had acted a certain way or why you are so glad to not have that hairstyle any more!

Step 7: Identify the how. For me, this will likely look like how things have changed in either the situation, my perspective, or even how they haven't changed. Maybe it will look like sharing how I wish things would have gone. For you, it could look like adding details about how you made it to the location in the photo or how you felt or how you acted.

Step 8: Edit for clarity. For me, this might look like breaking the original entry into quotes and giving each quoted section the benefit of Steps 2-7. Or maybe it will be just making sure that I keep my run-on sentences to a minimum! For you, this might look like tweaking sentences to flow better or just making sure that the photo is attached to the document.

Step 9: Share! For me, this will be posting the article to Vocal under the Subscriber Only option. For you, this might just look like collecting a pile of stories and pictures into a box for your grandkids or sharing it on your Facebook feed. Maybe you will want to put it in a Word document and then print a book of memories for your niece's graduation present. Or maybe it will be a gift to your parent who may not get to have as much time with your kid as they would like. However you choose to share it, share it with love and a smile as it is your heritage and life lessons that you are passing down to others!

I do hope that breaking my goal down into smaller steps will help me keep focused and encourage me to be more detailed. I am also hoping that this allows me to grow my business in a way that is sustainable for me to keep doing. I hope that it encourages interest in my books as well as gives people more details about... well... my life and all that it entails - both the good and the bad. *smile*

Even more than that, I hope that you are able to use these steps to share your stories as well! *smile* Life is full of lessons and memories - and one of the greatest gifts that one can give anyone else is to be vulnerable and share the things that are important to you. It is your story and your heritage that you are passing on - to whomever you share it with. That is a very special gift indeed!

I'd love to hear if this helps you in the comments or if you have any questions about the steps. Good luck in your writing journey!