Tag Archives: goals

May 2013 Goals

I need to take a new approach to my goals. I was seriously not paying attention to my editorial calendar when I wrote down my goals for April. Oops. I barely touched Secondhand Mom. In fact, I’ve been feeling pretty weighed down by this manuscript, so I’ve decided to table it for now. Instead, I focused on finishing up Ermengarde, (Cowardly) Zombie Slayer and started rewriting it, and whipped Sandpaper Fidelity Season One into ebook format.

I made a couple of author-ly appearances. I did my first reading and signing event, and read at the NVCC annual writers’ conference.

I made my sales goal of $75 look silly, and divided the money between bills, wedding things, and savings. This is largely in part thanks to the trade paperback of Sade on the Wall. I’m now a huge advocate for getting your stuff in print. I’ve already made back half of what I spent on producing the paperback version.

I did a lot of brainstorming and planning and outlining. While there is nothing new in the works yet, I got my creative juices flowing.

Aside from all of that writing stuff, I made it my business to get outside more, and did some gardening inside. I planted basil and cat grass, pruned my dragon tree and my sister’s fern, and am hoping to transplant some of the dragon tree. I also got the go ahead to plant a garden outside. Whoo-hoo!

Clockwise from top: basil, cat grass, cactus, cat grass.

Pruning my out-of-control dragon tree.

Hoping to make shoots out of these cuts.

This little fern is spiky. I still have one of its thorns in my thumb.

Even though I accomplished a lot last month, I want to revamp the way I set my goals.

My Goals for May

Release Ermengarde, (Cowardly) Zombie Slayer for May 7th. I keep wanting to add more to the current manuscript, but need to remember that it’s a four-part series of novelettes; all of the things I want to do with #1 can wait until #2 or even later. I’m just loving playing in Ermie’s world. Pfft, writer problems.
Write Sandpaper Fidelity Season Three. Since Season Three begins in July, I need to give myself plenty of time to write it. Episode #25 is already about a quarter written, and I’ve already outlined #25-30. I cannot wait to start writing this season. It’s going to be the best yet… even though some of my readers might end up hating me.
Produce more print editions. Since Sade on the Wall is doing so well in print, I’d like to release more trade paperbacks—and even some hardcovers. I have to be careful, though, since this format is a bit more expensive, and I don’t have too much overhead… yet. There is one title in particular that will be at least going to trade paperback this month. Stay tuned!
Write something new. I’m not sure if I’ll get to this, but it’s been a couple of weeks since I wrote anything new. I wrote a poem a few days ago, but that doesn’t really count. I’d like to write a new short story, or maybe even a novel. We’ll see…

I know I usually set other goals, but I’m trapped in the wedding prep closet, so that’s pretty much my focus this month. I really need to delegate more things to Mike. Trying to work on my writing, get my health in order, and plan for the wedding is really overwhelming. I know that, traditionally, the bride-to-be takes care of all the details, but my fiance is more than capable.

What are your goals for May? How did you do with last month’s goals?

♦♦

$3.99 on Amazon for the Kindle

Sandpaper Fidelity Season One is now available for the Kindle! Available for the Nook, Kobo, iOS, and other e-readers on Tuesday, May 14th.

Life in your twenties is a bitch. Getting knocked up by your gay best friend makes car repairs look like a cake walk. Josalee, David, Ingrid, and Victor walk the line between loyalty and disloyalty. Learn more »

This edition contains the first twelve episodes of the serial.

Get it today for the Kindle for $3.99, saving you $7.89 (the individual issues are $0.99 each).

April 2013 Goals

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I blew my March goals out of the water.

Though I didn’t finish Ermengarde, Zombie Slayer #1 by March 15th, I did finish it before the end of the month. She weighs in at 15,451 words and eight chapters. (“Ermie” is a novelette, which is basically a long short story, pardon the oxymoron.) I am incredibly pleased with how it turned out, and can’t wait to release it. I’ve tentatively scheduled it for May 7th.

You know the drill: make sure you sign up for my newsletter so you can be notified of any changes, pre-orders, etc. You can also read the first chapter, for free, here. Please note that this is not a final product, so things may change. (If I remember correctly, I’ve already changed a couple things about the first chapter, so yeah. Just be aware!)

I made double my sales goal… and then some. I wanted to make $30 in sales across the board, but made roughly $72.64. Here’s a quick breakdown:

Amazon: $17.40
BN: $6.48
Pre-orders (SOTW TPB): $34.38
Sales (SOTW TPB): $14.38

I sold two copies of Sade on the Wall almost immediately after receiving my shipment for my signing. They are $9.99 each, but I paid $2.81 per copy (plus shipping, but I have not factored that in). That’s how I got $14.38, in case you’re wondering.

Same goes for the pre-orders. I had to factor in what I paid out of pocket for the copies, but didn’t factor in other materials (like packaging).

Amazon is also a rough estimate, because I won’t get the official sales report until April 15th… and that won’t convert international currency. (I’ve given up on figuring out international sales, for now.)

March was a good month for a couple reasons:

Sandpaper Fidelity Season Two came back, and has been selling consistently;
I took pre-orders for signed copies of Sade on the Wall.

I may do pre-orders again. (I recently found out that you can do them for ebooks via Apple and Kobo.) It was a good way to make some quick cash (which I used toward much needed repairs on my car), and something fun and new for my readers. Packaging their signed copies was a lot of fun for me, too. I even made my own mailing labels for Maietta Ink (my publishing company).

Even though my third goal was to save $400 toward our wedding, I ended up spending money more than saving it. My car needed some exhaust work, as well as some other repairs so that we can make it to the book store on Saturday. (It’s over an hour away, so “Ellie” the Sunfire definitely needed the TLC.) I did list some things on eBay, but probably spent more on shipping than I made. So it goes!

My Goals for April

There are a lot of things I’d like to accomplish this month, but I need to remember that I’m not Superwoman. I had to pare it down a bit so that I don’t make myself crazy.

Read through and rewrite Secondhand Mom. I’ll be happy even if I only manage to read through it and re-outline. This is a project that keeps getting buried under everything else, but I’m determined to release it this year. It’s a full-length novel, and you can actually read the first chapter here for free. I had plans to post new, rewritten chapters weekly for my email newsletter, but that hasn’t panned out too well. I feel awful about that, which is why I really want to make Secondhand Mom my focus this month.
Make $75 in sales across the board. This is definitely a lofty goal. I don’t have the excitement of pre-ordering a release on my side anymore. Now I’m in the “real” game. My book will be on the shelves of a book store, and at this point, I’ve done all I can for it. Now I have to wait and see how she does on her own. I’m still working with my honeypots theory: if I sell lots of books across lots of different channels, I will be able to build a steady income. My next step is to get Sade on the Wall into a couple other local book stores, and organize some more signings and readings.
Brainstorm something new. I don’t necessarily want to start something new, because my plate is pretty full at the moment, but I do want to have something sizzling on the backburner for when I wrap up Secondhand Mom. I’ll be happy even if I just come up with some new characters or draft an outline. My new MO is to constantly be working on something new, and have lots of releases scheduled.

Speaking of releases, this is going to be a busy spring and summer for me! In my quest to build up my writing income to a full-time gig, I’ve scheduled lots of releases so that I can reach my goal of quitting my day job by August. I’ll be sending out an official schedule soon, so make sure you get my email newsletter.

I usually try to include something non-writing related, so my fourth goal for April is simply to get outside more. I’ve been brushing up on gardening and have been tending a very, very infant basil plant that I grew from a $1 kit at Target. I can’t wait to get outside and get dirty!

What are your goals for April?

♦♦

PS: Sade on the Wall, my debut novel, came out in paperback today! It’s gotten amazing reviews from all over the world. Please pick up a copy! “Sade” is available via Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and CreateSpace in paperback, and across even more retailers in ebook format.

March 2013 Goals

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I’m pretty sure I meant to write monthly goals, but I completely forgot. What can I say? I’d rather focus on writing. I feel that I could use a couple goals for March, though, because I’ve been picking up momentum in both sales and writing. I’ve also realized that I have just about six months to plan a wedding—my wedding!

My goals for 2013 are going really well. I tend to get intimidated when I set goals for the year and then beat myself up when I don’t accomplish any or all of them, but I think the approach I’ve taken toward 2013 has really helped. I chose a word, focus, and every time I feel stuck or scared, I just repeat that word silently or aloud. It really helps!

My biggest goal for this year is to get Sade on the Wall in print by April. Well, consider that one checked off! I’ve been combing through the proof copy and finalizing the design, and started taking pre-orders for signed copies. I have booked a signing, and will be attending a writers’ conference in April, both in support of the book! I am incredibly proud of myself; to be perfectly honest, doing all of this required me to step out of my shy little hermit shell. Believe it or not, I’m incredibly introverted and am terrified of public speaking—even though I used to teach classes on social media marketing, and met with complete strangers to talk about their websites. Since leaving the web design business, my public speaking phobia has gotten worse… but that’s going to have to change! (Gulp.) I have faith in myself, though, and really believe that by doing these things, I am going to launch a successful writing career!

Mwahahaha.

Speaking of novels, I want to publish two as ebooks this year: one in the first half, and the other in the second half. This is super ambitious, and I’ll be happy if I “only” publish one full-length novel. I’m currently working on a series of four novelettes as well, which I am super pumped about. I have never been so thrilled by a writing project (which says a lot, because I love writing)! I’ve pretty much decided that this year, I want to focus on publishing Secondhand Mom, keeping Sandpaper Fidelity going, promoting Sade on the Wall, and releasing the first two installments of Ermengarde, Zombie Slayer. I’ve noticed that the more I release, the better my sales are, which brings me to my third goal for this year: quitting my day job by August!

At the beginning of this year, I thought this would be absolutely impossible. I had a couple months of very low sales, which were disheartening, but seasoned indie authors told me that those months were always slow and that I’d see a jump in the beginning of the year. Well, they were right! I began consistently making $10 a month in sales across Amazon, BN, etc, and though that doesn’t sound like much, it means the world to me. It means that people are really interested in reading my stories! There is no better job in the world. In February, I made $20 in sales on Amazon alone.

Despite some setbacks—including one of those temptations that Julia Cameron mentions in The Artist’s Way—I am back on track, and ready to take things to the next level!

My Goals for March

I want to use March to propel me into the next quarter (April-June), so I thought really hard about what my goals for this month would be. Drum roll, please!

Finish “Ermie” #1 by March 15th. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t been writing every day. I haven’t been writing much at all, really. I’m a little ashamed to admit that I stopped writing 1,000 words a day a couple weeks ago, with the exception of editing issues for Sandpaper Fidelity (but that’s not really writing, so, yeah). I was having a blast writing “Ermie,” but then the flareup I’m in really flared up, and I’ve been saving my energy for my day job. Well, no more! I’m going to find a way to make my 1,000 words a day, and will have the first draft of Ermengarde, Zombie Slayer #1 finished by the midpoint of this month!
Make $30 in sales, across the board. This is a super tiny amount, but it’s also the exact amount of my share of our current cell phone bill. I think it will be amazing to say I paid a bill with my writing income. Yesterday, I opened up shop for pre-orders of Sade on the Wall, and I’m thrilled to say that I’m already halfway to my goal. I want to continue to increase my monthly writing income so that I really will be able to quit my part-time job by my birthday! This way, I’ll be able to spend more time writing stories for my lovely readers.
Save $400 toward our wedding. I realized, about a week ago, that Mike and I have six months left to get everything together for our wedding! Panic and hilarity ensues. I created a savings plan, then brainstormed ways to bring in extra income (without overfilling my plate, which is a tough feat right now, with my autoimmune disease flaring up like crazy). I decided to offer some special pre-order packages, as well as sell some gently used items on eBay. I may also open up shop for pre-orders of Ermengarde, Zombie Slayer #1 via Kickstarter. I haven’t decided yet.

I’m also working on getting Sade on the Wall in more book stores after it’s released in print, and setting up more events. I am super busy, and extremely exhausted, but it’s so worth it. This is my dream, and it’s coming true!

What are your goals for March? It’s a new month, and spring is almost upon us, which means a fresh start! How will you reset and refresh?

100 Days of 1,000 Words a Day

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Via munhitsu on Flickr

That’s 100,000 words between now and April 25th.

Here’s the thing. I am incredibly good at leaving novels and writing projects unfinished. My poor email subscribers have seen the ups and downs of my writing work ethic. I’m a writer, which means I should be writing on a regular basis, right? Too often I start the day intending to write X or Y, and instead spend time on other things, finishing the day too tired to write, and feeling guilty.

I have consecutively written at least 1K words every day for the last week, skipping a day now and then when necessary (like on Monday, when I spent the day searching every store in my city for a new memory foam mattress topper so that I can actually sleep). You know what? Every day that I wrote at least 1K, I went to sleep feeling really good about myself. I felt accomplished, productive, and motivated to keep writing. As of last night, I have twenty-one issues of Sandpaper Fidelity written—a project I almost gave up on a couple months ago. The last SF release was #16. The series will be returning in February for sure, all because I sat my butt down and made myself keep writing until the little word count tracker in Pages reached 1,000+.

I have three major projects I’d like to finish:

Sandpaper Fidelity up to #24;
the short story rewrite of a novel I never finished, “April Temptation”;
what I’m hoping will be my second novel release, If Juliet’s Father was a Nazi.

At the bottom of my sidebar, you’ll find a little widget keeping track of my progress. And, if you get my email newsletter, you’ll soon find a little surprise in your inbox…

PS: Shout out to Britt Reints, who inspired me to try 100 days of action!

My Goals for 2013

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Ignore the terrible handwriting.

Every year, I set goals rather than resolutions. Resolutions have the stigma of being short-lived, whereas I’ve always worked hard to achieve my goals. When I sit down to choose my new goals, I think carefully about the last year: what I wanted to achieve, what I actually accomplished, and how I progressed as a person. Then I think about where I am now and where I want to be by this time next year.

I try to set only a few goals; more than three feels overwhelming, but less than three feels lazy. The object is to make sure they’re not completely out of reach, but also to make sure they’re something I’ll have to work toward. Easy goals are boring.

This year, aside from setting goals, I decided to start with a clean slate. You may not have noticed, but I nuked my old site. The only things I kept were my main information pages (seen in the menu up top), and a handful of reviews of indie fiction (which will be re-published soon). I’ve been blogging for a long time—since 2004! I carried a lot of crap with me every time I started a new blog or moved to a new domain. By December 2012, I had over 1,000 posts dating back to 2008 clogging up this space, and I realized something: I’m not at all the same person I was back when I registered the domain perpetualsmile.net. I’m proud of how I’ve grown and who I’ve become, but I don’t want to carry all of that dead weight with me. It’s time to move forward, with less baggage—both physically and emotionally.

This year, not only do I have three goals, but I also aim to focus on improving my life. One way I am doing this is by letting go of past negativity (and there was a lot of that in my archives). As a writer, it was hard to just delete four years’ worth of words, but as soon as I did, my spirit felt much more buoyant.

Anyway, here are my three goals for 2013:

Release Sade on the Wall in print by April. More and more people have been asking me when they can get a physical copy. It seems like I’m not the only one who loves a book I can feel and smell. I will be announcing some exciting news about this soon, so make sure you get my newsletter.
Publish two novels as ebooks. Ideally, I’d like to publish one in the first half (by June), and the other by December. I’m not sure which ones will be published yet, but I’d love to do If Juliet’s Father was a Nazi and Secondhand Mom.
Quit my part-time job by August. This is going to be the hardest of all my goals—especially since Mike and I are trying to move out of my parents’ and throw a wedding. However, I believe that by doing the above things, I’ll put myself in a better position to complete this goal.

What are your goals for 2013? Do you prefer resolutions or goals?

Elizabeth Barone

Author of SADE ON THE WALL