The Year Ahead

Now that we’ve said goodbye to 2022, it’s time to focus on the year ahead. New goals, new challenges, and of course, new books.

Here’s what I have planned:

 

Writing

Q1:

• Finish writing the current WIP, my untitled portal fantasy LitRPG. The goal is to release this one first to Kindle Vella at a cadence of a few chapters a week, while I turn my attention to drafting A Dead Man’s Favor, aka The Many Travails of John Smith, book 5.
• Release the audiobooks for Ghost of a Chance (available as of today!!) and The Italian Screwjob (next month!).

Q2:

• Finish drafting A Dead Man’s Favor, and release it on Amazon in the usual formats.
• Start proofing the audiobook for The Queen of Smiles, which will likely release somewhere in Q2/Q3.

Q3:

• Once the LitRPG has been fully released and consumed on Vella, release it on Amazon in the usual formats.
• Begin drafting the new series starter set in the post-Break world.

Q4:

• Release the new series starter.
• Eat pie¹.
• Write free Christmas shorts set in both the Damian and John worlds (I have some fun ideas for this year).

So, the goal is to write and release three new books this year, while also testing out a new audience (Kindle Vella), and hopefully attracting new readers in doing so. I’ve released three books in a calendar year before, but I’ve never written three of them in that same year, so we’ll see how it all goes.

I also have a stretch goal of squeezing in the sequel to The Queen of Smiles². I really want to write that one³, but time is limited, so no promises!

 

Writing-Adjacent:

This year, I want to tackle a number of writing-related initiatives, focusing on the business instead of just the books. I’m entering the brave new world of Facebook ads this month⁴. I’ll be attending an authors’ business retreat in Alaska this April⁵ and will be reprising my appearance at the Vegas convention in early November⁶.

I may also dip my toes into TikTok and the whole #BookTok community. I’m not a huge video or photo person, (case in point: my author photo is old enough to drive), but when you’re an indie author, you can’t afford to ignore marketing trends! On that note, I recently did an AMA (Ask Me Anything) over on reddit.com/r/progressionfantasy. Stop on by and say hi; though the AMA is over, I’ll still answer any questions that come in!

On the author website front, I’m thinking of starting a second newsletter. The existing newsletter would remain for new release announcements , as promised, while the new one would be more of a monthly chat and summary of my recent efforts and/or exploits. With Amazon no longer sharing blog entries on the author pages, it would give me a way to keep you all apprised of what’s going on without you having to remember to come to the site each month. I’ll let you all know when and if this new newsletter launches!

Lastly, we have finally updated our signed books store, adding in the two books released last year. The next step on that front is to dig back into the possibility of merchandise⁷. Because who doesn’t want a Bill-themed coffee mug, greeting cards from the Weaver, or artwork of Sally Cemetery marching through a forest of ghosts?

 

Miscellaneous

This is the year I get in shape, eat better, walk farther, talk less, listen more, and try new things. No, seriously… this year, I mean it!

 

 

 

1. Preferably pumpkin. And apple. And maybe chocolate silk. Also cheesecake.
2. Also currently untitled, though I feel comfortable assuming it will have “Queen” in the title.
3. As well as the new novelettes I’ve been promising for years now
4. You may or may not see a Murder of Crows boxed set ad if you’re a Facebook user!
5. I’m looking forward to everything but the cold!
6. I’ll have a half-table again to sell and sign books at the readers event, so stop on by!
7. As ever, we just need to find suitable artists!