~by Amanda Smith

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about branding. Not only because we have been thinking, planning, and talking logo at 24 Carrot Writing (see the introduction post here) , but also because I have been working on my personal website. I am constantly considering how I want to present myself, and here at 24 Carrot Writing, while we come up with a lot of cool ideas, we always circle back to the question: “How does this fit in with our main directive?” So, what is branding and how does it fit onto a writer’s life?

Branding is the ways in which a person or company establishes their image. It is the promise they make to their customer and the thing that makes them recognizable. Branding includes core values, interactions, slogan and logo. Anything a business puts out into the world, including websites or promotional materials, communicates its brand.

Today, 24 Carrot Writing is thrilled to reveal our logo, designed by graphic designer Russ Nemec.

Our brand is built around goal-setting. 24 Carrot Writing encourages you to set monthly writing and craft goals, and to reward yourself with meaningful carrots along the way as motivation to keep moving forward. Our audience is writers of children’s books, and so, even though we are serious about those goals, we embrace playfulness.

Are you intentional about setting and attaining writing goals? Join our Facebook group, browse our Writing Goals tag, download a 24 Carrot Writing Goal Worksheet, and earn those carrots! If you consider yourself part of the 24 Carrot Writing community, or have contributed to our website, we  invite you to download our logo for your website. 

Join us on Wednesday for a post about branding for writers.
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​This isn’t a blog post on querying, so I’ll leave it at that. The point is that it’s great to have big goals. In fact, I’m such a fan of big goals, I post them prominently on a large bulletin board in my office. On the practical side of things, though, each goal needs to be broken down into small, incremental parts and placed on functional to-do lists. That’s how you move from goal setting to task management. I remember having “research agents who rep middle grade sci-fi” on my to-do list. When I checked it off, I felt confident that I’d moved closer to my goal of getting an agent.
 
That’s the key, right? Actually getting things done and feeling accomplished. So first, I break down my goals into incremental tasks. Next, I estimate how much time each task will take. Then the tasks make their way into my task management system. 
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Here are the basics of my task management system. I generate monthly to-do lists that are separated by category. Currently, my categories are writing, book business, kids (as in my own), and life/domestic management. Writing tasks and most of the book business tasks can be tracked back to one of the goals on my bulletin board. I further break down my to-do lists at the beginning of each week (i.e., a weekly list) and then again at the beginning of each day. My daily lists typically have no more than 4-6 entries, and I more often than not check every item off by the end of the day.

I​f my approach resonates with you, give this a whirl. Set 2-4 writing/book business goals, then spend some time breaking each goal into tasks. For each task, indicate approximately how long the task will take and determine a sensible task order. Assess your task lists and how they realistically match up against your other time commitments (family, domestic, other work, self-care, etc.), then determine what you think you can reasonably accomplish in one month and generate a monthly to-do list. If you’d like, you can further streamline and create weekly and daily lists like I do.
 
At the end of the month, make sure you take some time to assess how you fared with your to-do list. Don’t worry if everything doesn’t get done. Figuring out how long things take (not to mention assessing how you’re actually using your time) is a process. The important thing is that you’re able to track your progress.
 
Good luck! And happy writing!