What's in Store for 2013

2012 was a great year for me, one that exceeded my wildest dreams. Confession time: I had this secret hope that I could sell 100 copies of my books in a year. Well, as of  December 29, 2012, I've hit 1,000 sales (and this doesn't include borrows) and counting! To say I'm happy and excited about this is the understatement of the century.

I've made some rookie mistakes and learned a lot in 2012, so I'm going into 2013 feeling like I finally have some idea of what I'm doing. That's been great, because it's helping me to focus and set some good, solid goals. So, here is what I'm looking to accomplish in 2013:

1. More books: First will be Asleep, book two in the Fairytale Collection., followed by Infiltrator, the second book in the Contributor series. I'm also going to try my hand at an 8-episode romantic comedy serial. I have most of it outlined and I'll share more details once I'm closer to having it ready for publication. Other possibilities: a companion book to Phoning It In that will focus on one of the secondary characters and another novella in the Creators sequence, which takes place prior to Contributor.

2. Expanded distribution: when my exclusivity period lapses with some of my works, I'm going to expand to other markets, such as Kobo and Barnes & Noble. I've had limited success with these in the past, but I want to give them another shot because I really dislike the idea of restricting the outlets where my readers can get my books.

3. Mailing list: I'm planning on quarterly newsletters with exclusives for members: giveaways, access to extended excerpts, etc. I'll also use the mailing list to alert readers of new releases. One thing I will never do: spam my readers. Ever.

4. Author website: This blog is limiting, and I'd like to have a central presence on the web for my bibliographies, blog posts, etc. I'm also the author of a fairly popular work of fanfic, and I think I'm going to out myself and host the fanfic on my site. In addition, I have ideas for some fun stuff: short daily stories, a forum for interacting with readers and getting feedback that will influence the way serials pan out, etc.

5. Social media presence: Though I'm still planning on Tweeting, pinning things that interest me on Pinterest, and posting to FB, I'm going to be devoting most of my efforts to Google+ and Goodreads, as I feel that these are the outlets that allow me to best interact with readers. I'm a big fan of Google+ Communities, and I'm thinking about dabbling in the Hangouts. As for Goodreads, well, I fell in love with that site a couple of years ago and use it daily as a reader, so it goes without saying that I love the idea of what I can do with it as an author.

6. Physical copies of my books: Several readers have expressed interest, and I'd love to offer the option to them. Since I already have covers for my books, I need to look into having these changed so they'll meet physical copy requirements. I've used several different cover designers, and I'm hoping to be able to negotiate with each of them so that I won't have to change any covers.

7. More group promotions: I love working with other authors and have found some amazing books thanks to my self-publishing journey. I already have one promo lined up for late January/early February, and I will try to participate in others throughout the year.

That's it for me! Thanks to all my readers for making 2012 such a memorable year for me. I wish you the best for health, happiness, and good fortune in 2013!

Monday Musings: Author Website

One thing that's important to know for those who are thinking of delving into the indie business is this: you're going to work a lot and you're going to make very little money.  See, the thing about going it alone is you have to go it alone; meaning, you're going to be responsible for all your own marketing, you're going to have to manage all of your social networks yourself, you're going to have to either make or find someone to make all of your cover art, you're going to have to edit...oh, and you're also going to need to write a book somewhere in the midst of all this.

My biggest frustration with being an indie is figuring out how to prioritize what money I do make.  There are so many things I'd like to do but, because I don't have unlimited fundage, I can't do them all.  I'm only now reaching the point where I may break even.  Up until now, I've been plowing all of my royalties into things like writing and business-related software, taking some classes, buying a few ads, and paying for cover art.  I'm certainly not complaining because I'm frankly thrilled with every penny I make, but it's incredible how quickly costs can add up, especially if you don't practice some restraint.

An expense I am starting to think seriously about taking on, however, is the expense of an author website.  I have this blog and am active on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest, but none of these things allow me to centralize information the way I'd like.  I'd love to have a bibliography so readers can see all of my available books at a glance, would love to have somewhere to run polls (such as having readers vote on which book I should work on next), would love to have a one-stop site for all info about me as an author, with my social media platforms as something extra. 

I also have some ideas I'd like to implement.  I've been kicking around the idea of doing a series but, if I do, I want there to be a central place where readers can post feedback and suggestions for future installment, and I really think a website would be the best solution for that because I can centralize all that on one page instead of readers having to click through multiple blog posts.  I'm even contemplating making a sort of "choose your own adventure" series in which I'd conduct regular polls and let the readers decide which direction the story will go.  Another thing I'm thinking about doing is writing free short stories periodically.  And, last but not least, I am the author of a certain fanfic that has been fairly popular over its somewhat lengthy existence, and I'm thinking about claiming it publicly and hopefully even finishing it, as that's something I've yet to do.  It's also the most epic thing I've ever written, which has quite a bit to do with why it's not yet done.

Really, the overall big picture here is that I want a central source I can use to interact with readers.  It's difficult to try to reach out to people over multiple platforms, and it would be more efficient for me and easier for my readers if I had a central site where all of my important information is housed.  Plus, I just think it would be fun.  I love the flexibility I have as an indie, particularly when it comes to things like collaborating with readers to help me shape stories.  While I'll still write more traditional novels, I am 100% in love with the idea of creating interactive narratives.  To me, it's a really exciting new form of literature, and I'm eager to explore it.

So there's an idea of what I'm looking at doing on the horizon.  My big goals for 2013 are to get an author website up and running and to make some of my books available via a print on demand service--most likely Createspace, as that will allow me to distribute on Amazon.  If you have any thoughts, opinions, or ideas, I would love to hear back from you.