Welcome back to Austen Promises and the Writer’s Journal!
~~~***~~~
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means They cost you nothing to click on but may yield me a small payment. These links are clearly marked as affiliate links.
I thought I’d toss a couple journal posts in along with the purple this month and next. LOL
I started this year out with a big long list of goals. Last December, I listed them in this post. Let’s see how I did …
I had planned to stop selling books at signings and festivals, unless they were local. I mostly did this. I attended a book signing as an author that was connected to my RWA chapter’s conference in September. It was a bust. However, I also sold books at a vendor fair in a town about twenty minutes west of me that went very well. I also had a book signing right here in my town in November, and sold more on Small Business Saturday. I didn’t sell huge numbers of books at these things, but I did sell, got my name out there, and showed up in the county’s newspaper.
I had planned to use Dragon (affiliate link) to dictate every day. This fell by the wayside, for two or three reasons. I do need to use it. I can plainly see where my productivity and health will improve by doing so. I have purchased a book called Fool Proof Dictation (affiliate link) by Christopher Downing. It has exercises in it that train you to use Dragon. I have done the first exercise. LOL I have to gather some items together to do the next one and my office was a total mess the day I got the book, so … Still, I do plan to use the book and begin to use Dragon to dictate.
I had a goal to increase word counts. I have done this. Except for when I’m editing, I am writing between 2,000 and 3,000 words a day, four to five days a week. I’ve mentioned before that I go to a newly-opened bakery in my town four days a week and write. As long as I’ve slept long enough and well enough, I can knock the words out when I’m there, and do.
I wanted to add a blog feature on Friday, which I have. I’ve also changed some of the features, with more changes coming.
I wanted to buy ISBN numbers to use for my print books. This I was unable to do. I’ll add it to the goals list for 2020.
I wanted to improve and grow my mailing list. This I have done, especially the improve part. The growth has been organic and slow, but it is growing.
I wanted to do live Patreon videos for $10 patrons. I actually owe them these, but none of them have ever asked for one or indicated they had questions for me, so I have not done them. I might look into just changing the rewards for that level and taking those out. Videos in general are something that had to be dropped over the course of the year, because I was drowning in work and other things.
I had a long list of things I wanted to continue in last year’s post.
Facebook LIVE videos I have done almost every Friday evening. I love them, and the two or three readers/fans/followers that come enjoy them, too.
Recording short stories on audio and uploading to YouTube came to a screeching halt. This is one of the things I have had to cast aside.
I am selling signed print copies from my website. I don’t sell huge amounts, but I do sell. <3
I am advertising more on Facebook and Amazon. Mostly Amazon, because I get a higher return on investment from those.
Promoting Gumroad has not happened in months. That’s a slog and honestly, unless I have a special sale, I get no joy from Gumroad. In general, JAFF readers do not care who they’re buying from as long as they get their fix.
I have continued the three blog features, but again, a couple have changed.
I have improved my presence on Pinterest. I generally create a board for each book I write and share that board here and there.
Professional development … well, I have tried. I was unable to go to the 20Books conference, and I cried for weeks over it. Podcast listening really fell by the wayside over the course of the last six months or a year. I have almost completed the Ads for Authors course. It’s a lifetime access thing, so I have plenty of time. LOL
Overall, I have a 60% success rate. I met 9 goals and failed at 6. I counted professional development goals as one for the purposes of giving myself a grade. In most schools, 60% is an F. However, I feel that meeting just over half of them is good. It could have been a lot worse. LOL
I learned quite a bit this year, mostly about myself and my work habits. I was so overwhelmed by June that I didn’t know which way was up. So, for 2020 I have two goals, and only one is actually work-related. My work goal is to write five days a week and get 3,000 words per day down “on paper.” That’s it. I hope to faithfully maintain my blog, continue to advertise with AMS, and do all the other things I succeeded at in 2019, but my only goal is to write.
You might wonder what my other goal is, and I’m inclined to tell you. 🙂
I stopped walking on the treadmill in March, due to severe chafing (thunder thighs, ya know) and, as usual, nine months later I’m still not back at it. My second goal for 2020 is health-related.
Goal: get healthy
Objectives:
1) walk one hour on treadmill, daily
2) lift weights up to 5 lbs.
3) stretch
a) shoulders
b) video
4) sleep a minimum of 8 hours/night
5) eat as much of a keto-type diet as I can
And, there you have it. Have you taken a look back at your goals and successes? Where do you want to go next year with them?
