10 challenges for 2015

I want to look forward to the year ahead – it seems to be the season after all. I’ve identified my top 10 challenges for 2015 – just to keep me on track.

During 2015 I want to:

1. finish self-publishing two travel eBooks: Four Days in Budapest; and Five Days on Skye. They are ready for the SIGIL treatment and subsequent distribution on Amazon and Smashwords (Premium Catalog).
2. write and self-publish an eBook on Program Management/Monitoring as relates to the development assistance (aid) industry. I spent over 30 years in this industry and I have to just “get it out of me”.
3. research, prepare, write and self-publish an eBook on a driving holiday in Queensland. We plan to drive from Maroochydore to Cairns via the coastal route and return via an inland route.
4. continue to focus on my photography. I think my photos are getting better but there is plenty of room for improvement – unfortunately I’m not a natural. I consider photos to be an important part of my travel eBooks especially with the rise of the high definition tablet as a reading device. So I want to continue to learn how to use my Nikon D3100 SLR with (a) Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Zoom lens; and (b) Tamron SP 10-24mm 1: 3.5-4.5 wide angle lens. I find Digital Photography School resources very useful.
5. continue to learn how to post-process my photos using Photoshop Elements. I find Photoshop Elements User resources help me learn and find solutions to my post-processing issues.
6. publish travel albums on my website. My first task this year will be to create an album based on the photos taken during our 2014 two-week narrowboat trip in the UK.
7. build a better social media presence. Over the past three years I have really struggled with this challenge. I tried Facebook and  Google+ but I don’t like Facebook (irrational?) but I might revisit Google+. However this year I have found Twitter and I like it. I used it as a form of travel diary this year and now I’m using it to track developments in my areas of interest: self-publishing; photography; travel and tools. So this year I am going to focus on Twitter and Google+.
8. blog consistently and with a purpose – to the point where I might consider a mailing list. I have struggled with this aspect as well. So this year I have set myself a goal of posting a blog every two weeks. What am I going to blog about? Well I am really interested (no obsessed is more like it) in the workflow and tools for self-publishing my travel eBooks (words and photos);  I will be examining program management for development assistance; and tackling the new challenges of author entrepreneur and print-on-demand.
9. be a better self-publisher and author entrepreneur so I am going to study the resources at The Creative Penn.
10. learn about “Print-on-Demand” – can I lift my eBook quality and market to the point where this is a feasible? This is the big stretch: a coffee table travel book; or a print edition of Program Management/Monitoring for development assistance; or both?

I have always set goals that are too ambitious and perhaps I am guilty of this again, but you need to put it out there in order to improve. By identifying these challenges I have suddenly realised that I have progressed in 2014 and that is satisfying. I didn’t have the knowledge, resources, experience or confidence to list these challenges 12 months ago.

This is a link to all of our Goals and Reflections posts

This is a link to all our eBook self-publishing posts.