Goal setting vs. plan making – what matters more?

Let me ask you a question – do you have publishing goals or do you have a plan for writing? Perhaps a trick question, as you may very well think to yourself, don’t I need both?!? However, what I want to clarify in this post is that goals are different than plans and one should hold greater weight than the other in your daily writing efforts.

So let’s start with identifying the difference between goal setting and plan making.

Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: May 14, 2021

How often do we look at the results of our work with frustration, disappointment, or even anger at failed attempts? As another semester of teaching came to a close, I found myself once again with students who were not satisfied with their overall grade in the class, seeking ways to make up for lost time to get better results. The problem, however, is not with the results, but with the effort (or lack thereof) throughout the process.

7 Ways to share your dream of publication

Sharing your dream with others is one way to help that dream become a reality. There are two primary benefits that can be realized by sharing your dream. The first is accountability. The second, shared ownership. Regardless of which or both benefits you seek, sharing your dream is essential.

In this article, we’ll explore seven ways that you can share your dream of publication to increase your overall success.

What is your dream worth?

It’s one thing to have a dream. It’s another to do the things needed to achieve it. Every dream, including your dream of publication, comes at a cost. That cost will be different for every dream and every dreamer, but there are some common realities to all of them, perhaps the most important being that it is possible to pay too much for your dream.

To avoid paying too much, you must first identify what your dream is worth and measure the likely costs of achieving it.

So, what is your dream worth? Unfortunately, only you can determine the answer to that question. And you must answer that question before you can answer the bigger cost question of “Are you willing to pay the price for your dream?” To help you evaluate the value of your dream, let’s explore how to measure the costs of pursuing a dream.

What if you had no limitations?

The first step to conquering your dream of publication is owning that dream. But most people don’t fully commit to their dreams. They accept a level of success within their comfort zone, “dream” of bigger, but crush that dream with a multitude of self-imposed limitations.

In his book, Put Your Dream to the Test, Dr. John C. Maxwell outlines 10 questions to help you see and seize your dreams – the first being the question of ownership. In order to own your dream, you must first be sure it is your dream and not the dream someone else has for you, then commit to that dream in a way that assumes no limits to your potential for success.

But how can you take ownership of your dream in a way that assumes you couldn’t fail? Here’s a five-part method for doing just that.

Will getting published achieve what you think it will?

People want to be published. Whether it is a journal article, textbook, monograph, dissertation, or something else, the urge to be published is palpable with many scholars, researchers, and academics. I work with many people and they all have different motivations: tenure, career advancement, to have their work disseminated, financial rewards, and more. Many have a sense of urgency to them.

But will getting published achieve what you think it will?