Consolidate, Streamline & Refocus: How I Did It Part One

I’ve talked a lot about how I’ve streamlined my career for 2010. And even though, you’ve heard plenty about how I’ve cut, cut, cut back, I haven’t really offered a through-line of the constructive steps I took to relaunch my new identity as The Prosperous Writer. So let’s take a look at that.

Choose A Time When You Are Not Frantically Busy

I have learned the hard way, that it’s difficult to make solid decisions about my future when I’m moving too fast. In fact, I would go so far as to say, that if you can’t create a lull in your usual workload then maybe it’s not really a good time to change directions. Changing directions smoothly for me this New Year has had everything to do with the fact that I could create something of a trough where, free from the pressure of a lot of deadlines, I could hunker down and concentrate on the major shift at hand. The year before, I’d wanted to make changes at the New Year but I was so busy and had so much momentum going under my new book that, I can see in retrospect, it really wasn’t the best time for making changes. Waiting for a quiet time, like over the holidays, was a good plan.

Take Your Time, Do It Right

I didn’t make any impetuous decisions. I spent a good nine months just getting ready to make the change, studying what was going on in my niche, noticing the folks who were setting the most integrating examples, and being clear that I would not get mixed up in any way with those I either don’t trust or who I perceive as not acting with integrity. I’ve worked too hard and too long to follow the example of people who are making it up (sometimes questionably) as they go along.

Zoom In On The Essence of Who You Are & What You Offer

Of course, how to get to the crux of who you are and what you offer is outlined in detail in my book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths To Grow An Author Platform (Writer’s Digest 2008).  I sure did not expect to have to use my own tools to refocus my career so soon after the book coming out. But I did and fortunately they work just as well for refocusing as they do for focusing.

Take Advantage Of The New Technology, Because It’s All At Your Fingertips

Once you are committed to integrity and you know who you are and what you are all about, it’s a lot easier to appraise the vast array of technology at your fingertips and decide which tools will best serve you. For example, I am currently using blogging as a primary tool for creating a centralized online presence. Having studied the examples of other people for many months, WordPress.org emerged as a highly recommended host. I also noticed that the people who are really informed about blogging, like Chris Brogan, use a template called Thesis which was touted as offering ease of use and great SEO. So far, so good.

Making Smart Choices Takes Patience

If you are in a hurry while you consolidate, you are going to get frustrated. One stumbling block I encountered was that all of my previous websites were hosted by a provider that was no longer working out. My old provider had been sold about a year and a half ago and I hadn’t had the time to decide what the next best move was with my many websites. After repeated technical problems with the new provider, I knew I was leaving. I did some polling on Twitter and Facebook, and narrowed the choice of my new provider down to two. Ultimately I chose the provider I felt would allow me the most ease of use because it is the most popular provider on the Web. Since I do everything web-related myself, I wanted the provider with the best DIY tools and customer support. That’s why I ultimately went with GoDaddy.com. (For the record, the other host I’ve heard lots of good things about but chose not to go with was Bluehost.com.)

To Be Continued…