As a writer, you want all the help you can get to stay in the game. But sometimes it’s hard to go it alone. That’s where a goal-buddy comes in handy.
Got a problem tracking down an editor’s email address? Ask your goal buddy. Seems impossible to locate a publication’s phone number? Ask your goal buddy, she’s probably already written for that publication.
Getting credible insider information from your goal buddy is so much easier than trying to second-guess editor’s current likes and dislikes. I should know, I’ve got a goal buddy. Karen, who lives in Williamsburg, Virginia, and is a former Associated Press journalist turned freelancer and I am an environmental journalist in Los Angeles. We became writing goal buddies following a discussion about a design magazine that began on a professional writer’s list five years ago.
Each week, we email each other our writing goal lists then we follow-up the subsequent week with the outcome of each item on the list. Week after week as we complete each of our tasks on our “To Do” rewards continue to pile up week after week.
For my goal buddy and I, finding a new publication is as close as an email between the two of us. We simply trade publications back and forth.
When we need info, we would queries to each other’s sources. Karen got a first assignment from an editor I know, and an editor Karen knows assigned me a story.
Goal buddies work, and if you don’t have a goal buddy, get one. And, here’s how to do it—
1) Specify what type of writing buddy you want on your team. Look for a goal buddy who shares similar writing interests. Don’t pair yourself with someone who writes romance novels when you write about construction. Continue your search.
2) Look for someone like a technical writer who is capable of giving you honest feedback, not someone who is afraid to tell you what you wrote needs work.
3) Get a partner who is a knowledgeable and experienced writer. A buddy who can see the overall picture and offer constructive suggestions to improve your writing is a good choice.
4) If you are not on a writer’s list online or in-person, join one. There you will find a group for possible candidates.
5) Attend writer’s conferences or be that frequent visitor to the library or local bookstore? Look at the bulletin board for writer notices or strike up a conversation with another writer. Writers are everywhere so don’t limit yourself. The perfect goal buddy for you is out there, your job is to find that person.
6) Your buddy must be someone you like, whose opinion you respect, and someone you feel comfortable sharing your hopes and dreams with week after week.
7) When you find goal buddy, define your logistics. How often do you want to exchange goals, weekly, monthly or quarterly? Find a system that works well for both of you.
8.) Is critiquing each other’s writing part of your goal buddy arrangement? If so you need to make sure you are comfortable with that process.
9) Once you have a goal buddy you are accountable for your goals and your work. Be sure your heart is set on being that goal buddy. You don’t want to disappoint your goal buddy or yourself.
10) With a goal buddy, no more isolation for you. Now you have that goal buddy you know you have someone to support you through the hard times and celebrate your triumphs.
