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2022 publications
It's time for the annual late-December What I Did And What I'm Doing Next post; you can see previous ones under the "year-end roundup" tag. Here's what I had out in 2022:
It is worth noting that 4/5 of these were published in the first half of the year, before the back half of 2022 fell on me with a resounding thud and a few kicks in the teeth. The one book that I got out in 3rd and 4th quarter 2022 (Eren) was actually written in July/early August, before The Suckening.
(Not shown: a couple of porny novellas not worth mentioning that I wrote and put out in the first half of the year, with the idea in mind of relaunching my contemporary romance efforts under a new pen name. These were such an utterly dismal flop - I mean, we're talking single digit revenue - that I shelved the entire project. I might revisit it later when I have time and inclination to do some serious market research on contemporary romance.)
Still, except for The Suckening (health issues, surgery, deaths in the family, etc) I do actually feel pretty good about 2022, professionally at least! I got THREE Zoes out (Tor, Eren, and the cult-hit-ish Dad Bod Dragon), got another Keeley out, and tied a bow on Lauren Esker for a while, wrapping up my tanking SF romance series at four books instead of the planned six.
My theme for 2022 was "consistency" - get more consistent at writing, better at planning, better at outlining, better at figuring out how long it takes me to write a book and sticking to it; do more preorders and do a reliable job of getting them out. And I do feel like I leveled up on that!
I also finished my webcomic Kismet (for now), which frees up another big chunk of time and brainspace.
So basically, even though 2022 was ... a lot, I feel good about where I'm ending the year and how I'm set up professionally for 2023.
2023's themes and overall plans are going to be:
• Consistency pt. 2. I think I've leveled up on working steadily on one project before hopping to a new one, and I'm now planning to work on books in the same series 2 at a time instead of bouncing back and forth between series like I've been. Also going to try to get my preorders a little more organized so I can do more promo leading up to them rather than freewheeling it as much.
• Finishing things. Part of my inability to settle down to one thing over the last few years is that I've ended up juggling a bunch of open series, and it's a wearying grind. I got Lauren Esker to a stopping place this year, and in 2023, I'm planning to get all of my remaining unfinished series either wrapped up or in a place where I don't need to be constantly grinding on them, and can work on some new things. Westerly Cove gets 1 more book (downscaled to a 3-book series from a 5-book series, since fluffy cozy PNR isn't *that* popular right now; I can always write more books for it later). Stone Shifters (Zoe) gets 2, and Keeley gets 2. (I can still write more books on most of my existing series; I just need to get to the point where I don't have to.)
• Planning and prewriting for a thriller/mystery pen name and my next series for LL.
Some of this may end up getting pushed off to 2024 depending on time/unexpected events/The Suck/etc, but part of my "consistency!" work is getting more realistic about what I can actually do in a given amount of time, and the amount of work vs. payoff on any given project. And right now, at least, all of this looks very doable to me.
Edit: Oh, and I feel like I've gotten the mailing list stories down to a very manageable level, where it's fun for me, fun for them, professionally useful, and not a lot of extra work. I'm sending out a new story about every 1-2 months, with a mix of stories set in my existing worlds and new original ones. I have definitely figured out by now that my readers like shorter better than longer, and what they seem to like best are short, cheerful slice-of-magic stories that are basically a glimpse of life in a version of our world with magic. The stories that get the best response are not very plotty and are somewhat self-inserty - I think they'd much rather read relatively plotless fluff about a ghost support group meeting or a night gas station attendant waiting on magical customers than something longer, darker, and plottier. Which is great! I love writing those, they're WAY easier than trying to write something more complex, and in another year or so I'll probably have enough to put together a collection. It's also a nice way of test-driving ideas and tonal/genre shifts to see how they react and what gets a better response.
It is worth noting that 4/5 of these were published in the first half of the year, before the back half of 2022 fell on me with a resounding thud and a few kicks in the teeth. The one book that I got out in 3rd and 4th quarter 2022 (Eren) was actually written in July/early August, before The Suckening.
(Not shown: a couple of porny novellas not worth mentioning that I wrote and put out in the first half of the year, with the idea in mind of relaunching my contemporary romance efforts under a new pen name. These were such an utterly dismal flop - I mean, we're talking single digit revenue - that I shelved the entire project. I might revisit it later when I have time and inclination to do some serious market research on contemporary romance.)
Still, except for The Suckening (health issues, surgery, deaths in the family, etc) I do actually feel pretty good about 2022, professionally at least! I got THREE Zoes out (Tor, Eren, and the cult-hit-ish Dad Bod Dragon), got another Keeley out, and tied a bow on Lauren Esker for a while, wrapping up my tanking SF romance series at four books instead of the planned six.
My theme for 2022 was "consistency" - get more consistent at writing, better at planning, better at outlining, better at figuring out how long it takes me to write a book and sticking to it; do more preorders and do a reliable job of getting them out. And I do feel like I leveled up on that!
I also finished my webcomic Kismet (for now), which frees up another big chunk of time and brainspace.
So basically, even though 2022 was ... a lot, I feel good about where I'm ending the year and how I'm set up professionally for 2023.
2023's themes and overall plans are going to be:
• Consistency pt. 2. I think I've leveled up on working steadily on one project before hopping to a new one, and I'm now planning to work on books in the same series 2 at a time instead of bouncing back and forth between series like I've been. Also going to try to get my preorders a little more organized so I can do more promo leading up to them rather than freewheeling it as much.
• Finishing things. Part of my inability to settle down to one thing over the last few years is that I've ended up juggling a bunch of open series, and it's a wearying grind. I got Lauren Esker to a stopping place this year, and in 2023, I'm planning to get all of my remaining unfinished series either wrapped up or in a place where I don't need to be constantly grinding on them, and can work on some new things. Westerly Cove gets 1 more book (downscaled to a 3-book series from a 5-book series, since fluffy cozy PNR isn't *that* popular right now; I can always write more books for it later). Stone Shifters (Zoe) gets 2, and Keeley gets 2. (I can still write more books on most of my existing series; I just need to get to the point where I don't have to.)
• Planning and prewriting for a thriller/mystery pen name and my next series for LL.
Some of this may end up getting pushed off to 2024 depending on time/unexpected events/The Suck/etc, but part of my "consistency!" work is getting more realistic about what I can actually do in a given amount of time, and the amount of work vs. payoff on any given project. And right now, at least, all of this looks very doable to me.
Edit: Oh, and I feel like I've gotten the mailing list stories down to a very manageable level, where it's fun for me, fun for them, professionally useful, and not a lot of extra work. I'm sending out a new story about every 1-2 months, with a mix of stories set in my existing worlds and new original ones. I have definitely figured out by now that my readers like shorter better than longer, and what they seem to like best are short, cheerful slice-of-magic stories that are basically a glimpse of life in a version of our world with magic. The stories that get the best response are not very plotty and are somewhat self-inserty - I think they'd much rather read relatively plotless fluff about a ghost support group meeting or a night gas station attendant waiting on magical customers than something longer, darker, and plottier. Which is great! I love writing those, they're WAY easier than trying to write something more complex, and in another year or so I'll probably have enough to put together a collection. It's also a nice way of test-driving ideas and tonal/genre shifts to see how they react and what gets a better response.
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I approve of your icon.
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Here's hoping 2023 is a much better year for all of us!
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I'm glad 2022 wasn't all suck and you're leaving it on a good note. All the same, 2023 better be better.
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Honestly the best thing that happened to me this year was getting hooked on Biggles, though! Which I entirely have you to thank for!
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That's an awesome year of writing.
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It also sounds great to be close to winding up series to a point where you can continue if you want to, but have the flexibility to work on something else if you just aren't feeling that series right now.
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BH says he has a toaster in his gut. Maybe he's secretly a dragon! Must go ask!
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