Daily Archives: July 17, 2020

Unexpected Third Quarter Reset

Happy July.

It’s hard to believe we are in the middle of July.  This really isn’t the summer I planned.  What’s that saying, “If you want to know if God has a sense of humor, make plans.”

This has been a year unlike any other and that is pretty much how it will be described.  We will tell future generations how we survived 2020.  

I sympathize with all who have suffered any type of loss during this time.  

I have elected not to dwell on the negatives.  Instead, I’m focusing on what I can do to update my writer life.  I made a list of things I wanted to get done.  I was surprised at the length of the list.  Here’s a sampling of my tasks…some are still WIP:

• Update website – In my defense I do this about once a year.  As my writing style evolves, so does my site.
• Re-read my own books [I really suggest doing this. It’s good to see how you’ve progressed as a writer.  It’s also good to see what might need to be changed or tweaked.  I’m currently re-reading my series The Good Girl, because I’m working on the third book.  I need to make sure there’s a cohesive storyline across all three books.  To my surprise I discovered a few format glitches I missed.]
• Refilled my print inventory – I’m doing this a couple of titles at a time.
• Moved books to Ingram Spark – this one is taking a little longer than I expected.
• Started a street team
• Did my first review session with Hidden Gems.  I don’t know about you, but it’s been difficult getting my list to post reviews.  I heard good things about the service and thought I’d try it.  Needless to say I was nervous about the reviews, but so far it’s been good.
• Ordered swag samples.  I want something in addition to book marks and pens.  If there are signing events next year, I want to be prepared.
• Participated in a newsletter building giveaway.
• Edited a book and started another one.
• Judged a contest
• Read for pleasure
• Rebranded a series – this one is still in the works.  This was my first series…my first born, so I’m a lot protective.  I have to break the attachment and do what’s right for the series.  That means new covers and if necessary, new titles.  I’ve been testing the covers and have yet to make a decision.  I’m pretty sure it’s going to be man chest. I’ve been studying my sales and two of my best selling books have man chest covers.
• Created a new logo, that I like
• Set a regular newsletter schedule – I really needed help with one.  I realized I was putting pressure on myself to send out a weekly newsletter.  I stepped back and looked at this like a reader.  Based on my open results, my readers really don’t want to hear from me every week.  I’m now on a twice a month newsletter schedule.
• Re-instated my book box.  I really like subscription boxes.  I realized something very valuable, whatever I push energy to will succeed.  In order for this one to work, I have to promote it.  And that might mean getting help with this one.

I have yet to master a regular social media schedule.  I got close earlier this year, but fell off the wagon.  I heard about two planning apps: Planoly and Plann.  I’m trying them out on my lingerie site.  Once I complete a month of use, I’ll share the results.  I will share this.  On my lingerie Instagram page, I did the pre-planning and it yielded sales and a couple of new followers.  Again, If I’d placed a little more energy into it, I believe the results would have been better.

What new or different thing have you done for your writing career?

Stay safe.