The SWOT plan

Yep, those of you who have worked in corporate America have just rolled your eyes. You think this is BS that they just put on paper. The others of you are wondering wtf SWOT is. Well, make sure you have your four P's out for this. Now this may not be the way every one does it, or exactly how it is used, but this is how I did it. First let's cover SWOT.

SWOT is normally done in a two by two chart. Each square is labeled: Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Pretty simple yes? Okay so take your four P's first one should be Product, yes?

Now look at your SWOT.

What Strengths do your products have? Pricing? Amazing Cover? Unique twist? A good schedule for releases?

What Weakness do you have? Marketing? Exposure? Little fish in big pond syndrome? Be honest with yourself, it's the only way you're going to make progress with this. Are your covers horrible? Do they match?

Opportunities: Unlike the other two, this one isn't quite as self explanatory. This is where you know you can make improvements and can go hand in hand with weaknesses, or they could be different. Could you, realistically, write and publish more? Produce more product? Increase exposure?

Threats: These are things you MAY have no control over. Over saturation is a huge one. Lack of funds? Things that could change as you further your career.

Now, rinse and repeat for the other 3 p's.

When you're done with that, look at each of your squares, and start writing down what you can do to either keep it that way (in terms of Strengths) or improve. How can you over come your weaknesses and start maximizing on your opportunities?  What can you do about your threats, if anything?

You maybe surprised as to what comes up. It's a bit like brain storming. Like I said, the key here is to be honest. Through this I've found a plan for Black and White I didn't expect, as well as a plan for my series.