In 2017, I decided to jump into self-publishing with both feet.  I had several books ready to go and wrote several more to go with them.  I had a goal of publishing 6-8 books, I managed 6 published, the 7th is in re-writes, and the 8th is started.  Not a bad year for my writing.  Not bad at all.

Then the holidays hit, and I got a bit overwhelmed.  My dad passed a few years ago and I still miss him terribly.  I also got hit with some hormonal depression due to my not quite being menopaused yet.  I stopped writing for a bit.  I shouldn’t have–nothing was so bad that I couldn’t keep on with my writing–but I took a bit of a break and thought about where I want this writing journey to go next.

Scamper loves Christmas.

And I made some decisions.  I’m done with Kindle Scout, at least for the foreseeable future.  I got some lovely feedback from one of the editors there, but it isn’t quite the direction I want to take my writing in now.  Some of his advice I am certainly going to take to heart, and adapt things accordingly.  It is lovely to know that a professional editor at a publishing house sees no fatal flaws in my writing style.  My plots style could use some tweaking, and I will continue to nurture it and let it grow.  However, I’ve come to realize that my style of writing is never going to be quite what KS is looking for, and that’s all right.  It was a great way to grow my readership and it has accomplished that.  Now, I feel it’s time to fly on my own.  I can get as much attention by a little paid promotion at launch as I could through KS.

I published some stand along books in 2017 and started my first series, the Unruly Ghost Mysteries.  2018 is the year of the series for me.  My goal is to get the next 2 books in the Ghost series published.  Along with that, I will start the next series I’ve been very excited about.  It will also be ghost stories, but this one will me more action oriented.  Think the TV show, Supernatural, but only the ghost side of things.  I’d like to get the first 4 books of that series published.  They will be slightly faster reads, so I think it’s doable. In addition to those goals, my upcoming book, Crucible Station, needs a sequel.  I am not certain if there is enough of the story to make it a trilogy, but there is certainly enough for a sequel.  That’s 7 books planned for this year.  We’ll see how I do.

Brian needed an “ugly Christmas sweater” for work.  This one is so perfectly Brian that I can’t look at it without snickering.

I also need to begin thinking about the advertising side of writing more.  Now that my writing is making some money, it’s time I start figuring out what paid promotion I should undertake and carry it out.  That side of the business is still a bit murky, but there’s great advice out there on how to get started.

That’s it.  Those are my plans for the shiny New Year.  Now that the holidays are over and I’m feeling replenished, I can’t wait to get started!

We had lights outside this year!  And little trees made of tomato cages and tinsel.