How to Create an Author Opportunity Tracker That Keeps You Focused
How to Create an Author Opportunity Tracker That Keeps You Focused
A promising opportunity can appear at any time.
You may discover a podcast looking for guests while scrolling through social media. A conference may announce its speaker deadline while you are answering email. Someone might mention a book festival during a conversation, or you may suddenly remember an organization you intended to contact three months ago.
You tell yourself, I’ll remember that.
Then the opportunity disappears into an email folder, a screenshot, a text message to yourself, or the mysterious wilderness known as your phone’s Notes app.
The problem is not that authors lack ideas and opportunities.
The problem is that those opportunities often live in too many places.
An Author Opportunity Tracker gives them one organized home, allowing you to evaluate each possibility, record the next step, and return your attention to the work already in front of you.
What Should an Author Opportunity Tracker Include?
An author opportunity tracker should include the opportunity name, type, organization or contact, important dates, recurring-event information, status, priority, cost, potential benefit, next action, follow-up date, and notes.
Keeping these details in one central system helps authors make clearer decisions, meet deadlines, follow up consistently, and protect their writing time.
Why Authors Need One Central Tracking System
Authors manage far more than manuscripts.
Your opportunities may include:
Podcast interviews
Speaking engagements
Writers’ conferences
Book festivals
Guest articles
Media interviews
Award submissions
Writing contests
Bookstore events
Library programs
Collaborative projects
Networking connections
Promotional partnerships
Training opportunities
Calls for submissions
Each opportunity may include a different contact, website, deadline, cost, requirement, event schedule, and follow-up date.
When that information is scattered across several places, you must rely on your memory to keep reminding you about it.
That creates mental clutter.
David Allen’s Getting Things Done approach recommends
capturing ideas and commitments in a trusted system rather than expecting your mind to store and continually rehearse them.
Your tracker does not make every opportunity a commitment.
It simply gives each possibility a safe place to wait until you decide what belongs on your route.
Step 1: Decide What Belongs in Your Tracker
Your tracker should include opportunities that may support your writing, publishing, speaking, visibility, relationships, or author business.
You do not need to add every passing thought.
Add an item when it may require:
Research
A decision
An application
A pitch
A financial investment
Preparation
A deadline
A response
A follow-up
For example, “I should post more often” is too broad for an opportunity tracker.
“Submit a guest article to the Christian writers’ association by September 15” is specific enough to track.
The first is an idea that needs clarification.
The second is a potential opportunity with an action and deadline.
Step 2: Record the Essential Information
A tracker should provide enough information to guide your next decision without becoming so complicated that you avoid using it.
Begin with these essential columns.
Opportunity Name
Give the opportunity a clear, recognizable name.
Examples:
Hill Country Book Festival
Faith and Fiction Podcast Interview
Writers’ Conference Speaker Application
Local Library Author Panel
Avoid vague entries such as “conference” or “contact that woman from Facebook.”
Future you deserves better clues.
Opportunity Type
Use a dropdown menu so you can sort similar opportunities together.
Possible types include:
Speaking
Podcast
Conference
Book festival
Author event
Media interview
Guest blog
Collaboration
Contest or award
Submission
Bookstore
Library
Networking
Training
Other
This allows you to quickly see whether your tracker is filled with opportunities that support your current author goals.
For example, an author focusing on speaking may want to see several podcast and event opportunities. An author working toward a manuscript deadline may discover that too many upcoming events are pulling attention away from writing.
Organization or Contact
Record the organization’s name and the primary person connected with the opportunity.
Include an email address, website, or social profile when available.
Do not rely on remembering that the contact was “the friendly woman wearing the green scarf at the conference.”
That description may not narrow things down nearly as much as you hope.
Date Discovered
Recording when you found the opportunity helps you see how long it has been sitting in your tracker.
An item discovered six months ago may need fresh research before you act on it.
Deadline
Include the application, submission, registration, pitch, or response deadline.
This is one of the most important fields in your tracker.
Without a deadline, a worthwhile opportunity can quietly become a missed opportunity.
Event or Publication Date
The deadline and the actual event date are often different.
A conference application may be due in September for an event the following March. A guest article may be submitted months before publication.
Recording both dates helps you evaluate the complete time commitment.
Is This a Recurring Opportunity?
Some events and opportunities happen more than once.
Your tracker should identify whether the opportunity is:
One-time
Weekly
Monthly
Quarterly
Annually
Seasonal
Offered on an irregular schedule
If the event recurs, also record:
How often it happens
The usual month or season
Whether application dates remain consistent
When you should begin preparing
Whether you have participated before
When you should check for updated information
For example, a local book festival may happen every October, but speaker applications may open in March.
Recording that pattern allows you to prepare before the next deadline rather than rediscovering the same event after applications have closed.
A recurring opportunity that is not right for you this year may still deserve a place on next year’s road map.
Step 3: Create Clear Status Options
A status tells you where each opportunity currently stands.
Use simple options that describe the actual stage of the process.
Recommended status choices include:
New
Researching
Ready to Pitch
Submitted
Follow-Up Needed
Waiting for Response
Confirmed
Not Now
Declined
Completed
The Not Now status is especially valuable.
Not every worthwhile idea needs to become an immediate assignment.
An opportunity may be a good fit for your audience but a poor fit for your current schedule. Marking it Not Now allows you to preserve it without letting it compete with active priorities.
Step 4: Assign a Priority
Not all opportunities deserve the same amount of attention.
A simple priority system can help.
High Priority
The opportunity directly supports a current goal and has a meaningful deadline or potential benefit.
Medium Priority
The opportunity may be beneficial, but it is not urgent or central to your current destination.
Low Priority
The opportunity is interesting but does not strongly support your present goals.
Priority is not a judgment about whether something is objectively good.
It is a decision about how well it fits your route right now.
A national conference may be an excellent event, but it may be low priority during a season when you need to finish your manuscript or manage family responsibilities.
Step 5: Consider the Complete Cost
Some opportunities are free to apply for but still require a significant investment.
Track any expected costs, including:
Registration
Travel
Lodging
Meals
Display materials
Books or inventory
Advertising
Technology
Professional clothing
Time away from work
Preparation time
Then consider the potential benefit.
That benefit might include:
Reaching ideal readers
Building credibility
Growing your email list
Selling books
Practicing your speaking skills
Meeting industry professionals
Developing long-term relationships
Learning a valuable skill
The potential benefit does not always need to be financial.
However, it should be clear enough to justify the cost of money, time, and energy.
Step 6: Give Every Active Opportunity a Next Action
An opportunity without a next action often remains an interesting idea instead of becoming progress.
Avoid entries such as:
Check this out
Work on podcast
Research event
Contact bookstore
Those phrases are too vague.
Instead, write a specific action:
Read the podcast guest requirements
Draft three interview topics
Email the event coordinator
Ask the bookstore about author-event policies
Download the speaker application
Update my professional biography
Submit the proposal by August 20
Check when next year’s applications open
A clear next action reduces the time you spend wondering where to begin.
Your tracker should not merely tell you what exists.
It should tell you what to do next.
Step 7: Add a Follow-Up Date
Many opportunities are lost not because the author failed to make contact, but because no one remembered to follow up.
Record:
The date you first contacted someone
The response you received
The date you plan to follow up
The next method of contact
A polite follow-up is not pushy when it is appropriate, professional, and respectful.
People miss emails. Schedules become crowded. Plans change.
Your tracking system allows you to follow up intentionally instead of relying on a vague feeling that you were supposed to contact someone again “around this time.”
For recurring opportunities, your follow-up date might remind you to check when registration, applications, or submissions reopen.
Step 8: Include a Notes Section
Your notes field can hold details that do not fit neatly into other columns.
You might record:
Speaker requirements
Suggested topics
Audience information
Submission guidelines
Referral details
Conversation notes
Accessibility needs
Promotional expectations
Questions you still need answered
Reasons you declined or postponed the opportunity
Recurring dates or seasonal patterns
What worked well during a previous appearance
Keep the notes useful but concise.
Your tracker is a navigation tool, not the complete memoir of every email exchange.
Store lengthy documents elsewhere and include a link to them in the tracker when possible.
DeeDee’s Field Notes: Give Your Ideas a Safe Place to Wait
I have learned that writing an opportunity down does not mean I have committed to pursuing it. It simply gives the idea a safe place to wait while I finish the work already in front of me.
Have you ever been up late at night watching television or scrolling through your phone when an ad appears for something you suddenly feel you simply must order?
Yeah, me too.
It may be a marvelous coffee maker that multitasks, cooks eggs, gently wakes your children for school, and chops onions without making you cry.
But do you really need it?
That is how it can be with writing, speaking, networking, and business ideas. They may sound wonderful, but they might not be realistic for you right now—or perhaps ever.
Still, a promising idea or valuable opportunity should not be abandoned in the wasteland of phone notes, sticky notes scattered around your office, or thoughts rolling around in your mind and occupying space they have not yet earned through your focused business filter.
I always have great intentions of returning to the pictures I have taken of interesting ideas. I convince myself that if I create a note or send myself a text message, it will surely become the next task on my list.
Sound familiar?
You are not alone in wanting to capture ideas before they go prancing away to tease someone else’s brain.
A reliable system can rescue those misplaced ideas.
God created us with an incredible ability to dream, create, and recognize possibilities. He also placed systems throughout our bodies and throughout nature. But He did not create a personalized system for tracking the 101 items on your to-do list, promising ideas, deadlines, and contact information.
That part is up to us.
Creating and maintaining a tracking system may seem like one more task demanding your time. But the right system can actually give time and mental space back to you.
When your ideas and opportunities have a dependable place to wait, your mind is freer to focus on the work already in front of you. You gain more room to create, dream, and accomplish more than you may have thought possible.
To make that process easier, I have already completed some of the setup for you.
The Author Opportunity Tracker is a ready-to-use template designed to help you capture, evaluate, and follow up on writing, speaking, networking, and business opportunities. I have also included sample entries so you can see how the system works before adding your own information.
You can record the opportunity, trust that it will not be forgotten, and then return to the task you intentionally chose for today.
That is not ignoring a good idea.
It is giving the idea a proper place on your road map—and freeing your mind to focus.
Step 9: Review Your Tracker Every Week
A tracker only becomes dependable when you review it regularly.
Choose one day each week to spend approximately 15 to 20 minutes updating your opportunities.
During your review:
Add newly discovered opportunities
Check approaching deadlines
Update statuses
Review follow-up dates
Identify your next actions
Move unsuitable opportunities to Not Now or Declined
Remove duplicate entries
Confirm that active opportunities support your current goals
Check recurring opportunities for new dates or application periods
Schedule reminders for future annual or seasonal events
Your weekly review does not need to become an elaborate meeting with yourself, refreshments, and a printed agenda.
It simply needs to happen consistently.
Keep the System Simple Enough to Use
A tracking system should reduce overwhelm, not create a new form of it.
You do not need:
Twelve complicated formulas
Seven shades of nearly identical green
A dashboard that resembles a military command center
So many categories that entering one opportunity requires an afternoon
Begin with the information you genuinely need.
You can add features later after you discover how you naturally use the tracker.
The best tracker is not the one with the most bells, whistles, charts, colors, and tiny marching bands.
It is the one you will actually open and maintain.
Your Waypoint Challenge
Gather five opportunities currently hiding in different places.
Look through:
Your email
Phone notes
Text messages
Screenshots
Saved social posts
Paper notes
Browser bookmarks
Calendar reminders
Place all five opportunities into one list or spreadsheet.
For each one, record:
The opportunity name
The deadline
Whether it is recurring
How often it occurs
The current status
The priority
The next action
The follow-up date
Then choose one opportunity that deserves action this week.
Move the others into the appropriate place on your road map.
A Word of Encouragement
You do not need to act on every good idea the moment it appears.
Recording an opportunity is not the same as accepting it.
Saving an idea is not the same as promising to complete it.
Your tracker gives you permission to pause, evaluate, pray, and decide whether an opportunity belongs in this season.
Some ideas will become assignments.
Some will wait.
Some will return next month or next year.
Some will lead you toward an unexpected destination.
Others will eventually reveal themselves as coffee makers that claim to cook breakfast and raise your children.
Capture them first.
Commit later.
Your Next Waypoint
Once your opportunities are gathered in one central place, the next question becomes:
Which ones are truly worth your time?
Our next Compass Stop will be:
How to Decide Which Author Opportunities Are Worth Your Time
We will create a practical evaluation system based on your goals, audience, capacity, cost, and potential benefit.
Recommended Resource
The Author Opportunity Tracker
Would you like a ready-made system instead of building your own spreadsheet from scratch?
The Author Opportunity Tracker helps you organize:
Speaking invitations
Podcast opportunities
Conferences
Book festivals
Media appearances
Guest articles
Collaborations
Submissions
Networking contacts
Follow-up dates
Recurring events and opportunities
The downloadable package includes:
Microsoft Excel version
Google Sheets version
Status and priority dropdowns
Recurring-event fields
Opportunity evaluation section
Follow-up tracker
Sample entries
Quick-start instructions
Find the Author Opportunity Tracker in the Authorpreneur Marketplace.
Related Resource
Need a clearer next step for your author journey?
Explore DeeDee Lake’s Author Resources for practical tools, encouragement, and guidance for navigating the business side of writing.
Related Compass Stops
The Organized Author Road Map: How to Manage Opportunities Without Losing Writing Time
Learn how to organize competing responsibilities, reduce task-switching, protect your energy, and identify the next right step.
Chart Your Writing Journey: SMART Goals for Authors
Create clear, measurable goals that make it easier to decide which opportunities support your destination.
Networking Without Feeling Pushy
Build authentic professional relationships without treating every conversation like a sales transaction.
How Authors Can Pitch Themselves to Podcasts
Learn how to identify suitable shows, develop audience-centered topics, and approach podcast hosts professionally.
How to Create an Author Media Kit
Prepare the biographies, images, links, and book information you need when opportunities arrive.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an author opportunity tracker?
An author opportunity tracker is a centralized system for recording, evaluating, and following up on speaking, podcast, publishing, networking, promotional, and business opportunities.
What should an author opportunity tracker include?
It should include the opportunity name, type, organization or contact, deadline, event date, recurring schedule, status, priority, cost, potential benefit, next action, follow-up date, and notes.
How should authors track recurring opportunities?
Record whether the opportunity is one-time, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual, seasonal, or irregular. Include its usual dates, application period, preparation timeline, and a reminder to check for updated information.
Can authors use Google Sheets to track opportunities?
Yes. Google Sheets works well because authors can access and update the tracker from different devices. Microsoft Excel, a project-management program, or a paper system can also work.
How often should authors update an opportunity tracker?
Authors should add opportunities as they discover them and review the complete tracker once a week.
Does recording an opportunity mean I have committed to it?
No. Recording an opportunity simply preserves the information so you can evaluate it later. It may eventually become an active commitment, remain a future possibility, or be declined.
How do I decide which author opportunity to pursue first?
Begin with opportunities that support a current SMART goal, reach your intended audience, fit your available time and budget, and have a clear deadline or meaningful potential benefit.
A Final Compass Thought
Ideas are gifts, but they do not all require immediate action.
An organized system allows you to preserve possibilities without allowing every possibility to pull you off course.
Record the opportunity.
Review it thoughtfully.
Choose your next step.
Then return to the work God has placed before you today. 🧭
