Independent Publisher Academy · Milestone 1 of 20 · Free Action Plan

How to Choose Your First Independent Publishing Project

This working session will help you move from several possible ideas to one project you can realistically complete. You are not choosing the only thing you will ever create. You are choosing the first project you will carry through the full publishing cycle.

Before beginning, read Milestone 1: Choose Your Independent Publishing Project.

What you need

• 30 to 60 minutes without interruption
• A notes document, notebook or worksheet
• Any existing ideas, drafts, recordings or unfinished projects
• An honest estimate of your available time, tools and budget

Step 1: List the work already pulling at you

Write down every project you are actively considering. Do not organize or judge the ideas yet. Include unfinished work, recurring ideas and projects people have already asked you about.

Examples:

• A practical eBook based on your experience
• A six-episode podcast season
• A workbook that accompanies existing articles
• A new music single and release campaign
• A beginner workshop or training path
• A newsletter series
• A downloadable prompt pack
• A YouTube or short-form video series

Keep the list to a maximum of ten. If you have more, combine closely related ideas under one heading.

Step 2: Separate the idea from the format

Creators often confuse what they want to say with how they will publish it. Write the central idea beside each possible format.

Core idea	Possible format
Help beginners organize their first AI-assisted project	Workbook, article series, workshop or podcast
Introduce a new artist identity	Single, EP, visual campaign or creator story
Document a personal faith journey	Book, devotional, podcast or video series

Use Find Your AI Idea Before You Build With Core Squared when the central idea is still unclear.

Step 3: Choose your three strongest candidates

From your list, select no more than three projects. A strong candidate should meet at least two of these conditions:

• You have useful knowledge, experience, material or creative work already available.
• You can identify who would care about it.
• You can imagine a specific finished version.
• You have enough interest to keep working after the excitement of starting fades.
• The project supports the direction you want your creator work to take.

Move every other idea into a Later Projects list. This protects the ideas without allowing them to control the current decision.

Step 4: Define the smallest credible version

Write the minimum version of each candidate that would still feel complete and useful.

• Book: a focused 12,000–20,000-word guide rather than a complete life story.
• Podcast: a four-to-six-episode season rather than an open-ended weekly commitment.
• Music: one finished single and release package rather than an album.
• Course: a four-lesson starter path rather than a large certification program.
• Campaign: one goal, one landing page and a two-week content sequence.
• Digital product: one workbook, checklist or template set solving one clear problem.
• Video: a five-video series rather than a permanent channel schedule.

Do not reduce the project until it becomes meaningless. Reduce it until it becomes finishable.

Step 5: Run the beginner feasibility check

Score each shortlisted project from 1 to 5 in the following areas. A score of 1 means weak or unavailable. A score of 5 means strong or already available.

Question	Score 1–5
Do I understand the subject or creative direction?	___
Do I have original material, experience or a meaningful point of view?	___
Can I identify the intended reader, listener, viewer or customer?	___
Can I finish the minimum version with my available time?	___
Do I have or can I reasonably access the required tools and skills?	___
Would finishing this project support my larger creator direction?	___

Add the six scores. The total is not an automatic decision, but it exposes projects that currently depend on too many missing pieces.

Step 6: Check the real production burden

For each candidate, list what must actually happen before publication.

For a podcast, that may include outlining, recording, editing, cover art, hosting, episode descriptions and promotion. For a book, it may include research, drafting, revision, formatting, cover design, metadata and platform setup. For a campaign, it may include the offer, landing page, email, graphics, content schedule and measurement.

Mark each requirement as:

• Ready: you can do it now.
• Learnable: you can reasonably learn or complete it during the project.
• Outside help: you may need a collaborator or specialist.
• Not available: it makes the current version unrealistic.

Step 7: Select one project

Choose the project that offers the best combination of:

• Personal commitment
• Audience usefulness
• Available material
• Realistic scope
• Accessible production
• Value to your longer-term direction

The highest-scoring project is not always the correct one. A slightly more difficult project may be worth choosing when it clearly represents the work you want to become known for. The important requirement is that the challenge remains manageable.

Step 8: Write your project statement

Example:

I am creating a six-episode podcast season for first-time independent creators to help them understand how to move one idea toward publication. Finished means six edited episodes, show artwork, episode descriptions, a show page and a simple launch sequence.

Step 9: Use AI as a reviewer, not the decision-maker

Copy and complete this prompt:

Review the response using your own judgment. AI can expose missing steps, but it cannot determine which work carries your experience, conviction or long-term purpose.

Step 10: Create your Milestone 1 project record

Save the following in one document:

• Working project title
• Project statement
• Intended audience
• Primary result
• Minimum finished version
• Material already available
• Known production requirements
• Weekly time available
• Ideas intentionally placed on hold

This becomes the first record in your publishing project folder. You will refine parts of it during later milestones.

Project-type examples

Book or guide

A 15,000-word beginner guide with five chapters, a checklist and an eBook edition.

Podcast

A six-episode first season, each episode focused on one stage of a defined listener journey.

Music release

One fully packaged single with final audio, cover art, metadata, product or streaming links and a two-week promotional sequence.

Course or training path

Four lessons, one workbook and a clear completion outcome for a beginner.

Marketing campaign

A 14-day campaign focused on one offer, one audience, one primary call to action and one measurable result.

Digital product

A focused workbook or template set that helps one audience complete one practical task.

Helpful Jack Righteous resources

• Find Your AI Idea Before You Build With Core Squared — clarify the central idea before selecting the format.
• Choose One Idea Worth Developing — paid-access voice work for selecting an idea you can meaningfully develop.
• What You Are Actually Building — connect the project to its larger brand role.
• VIP Plus AI Creator Toolkit — access the related advanced milestone implementation and supporting paths.

Milestone 1 completion checklist

• ☐ I listed my active project ideas.
• ☐ I separated each core idea from its possible formats.
• ☐ I reduced the list to three candidates.
• ☐ I defined the smallest credible version of each.
• ☐ I checked time, tools, skills and production requirements.
• ☐ I selected one primary project.
• ☐ I wrote a one-sentence project statement.
• ☐ I defined exactly what finished means.
• ☐ I saved the decision in a project record.
• ☐ I moved competing ideas into a Later Projects list.