Last week, I discussed some of the things I learned in 2013, and this week I thought I’d discuss what my plans for 2014 are.
So, first up, I’ve gotten some feedback on my covers to indicate, while interesting, they might not be the most enticing, so I’m going to make a cover change around the 15th of the month and see how things go. Why the 15th, as opposed to right this second? Well, I’m in the midst of a Goodreads Giveaway and it seemed like it would be awkward to make the cover change during the giveaway. So, once it’s over, I’ll swap the old cover for the new. I’ll let you all know how that goes. I’ll also try to send out to a few more review sites once I do the cover swap. Once I made the decision to try a new cover for both titles, I figured I’d pause on the reviews to update the cover art.
Second, I’d like to publish at least two new titles this year. I plan to finish the Life First series, releasing the third book later this year (no later than August). I’ll also publish a second book in 2014. It will either be a paranormal young adult story, or my mystery Dark Visions, an unpublished, but complete novel that requires substantial revisions. Depending on how well writing time goes this year, it’s possible I could revise Dark Visions and complete the YA book, but don’t count on that.
The YA book is about 25 percent written, and I have a very good idea of where I want it to go. The key is seeing how long it takes to finish it and get it to beta readers, etc. Like I mentioned, Dark Visions is complete, but it’s the first novel I actually completed. (I have a few unfinished drafts on floppy disks somewhere; eek, who remembers floppies?) I like the characters and story in DV, but the revision feels like it will be a daunting task, so we’ll see.
Lastly, to help improve my writing time, I’m going to blog less: once a week. I’ll still do some social media (a few Facebook/Twitter/Google+ posts). However, to make my deadlines for completed novels, I need more novel writing time.
So, that is what is on the horizon for me in 2014. What’s up with you? Got any special goals or plans?
My main goal is to finish a third draft of my novel and polish it enough to present to beta readers. I also hope to publish one collection of travel memoirs on working in national parks. I envy anyone who can put out one book a year, let alone two 😉
Good luck with finishing your third draft and getting it to betas. Everyone writes at different speeds, but my writing goal for the year, while to get two books out, still takes into account that I’ve already started them. We’ll see. Hopefully, it will work out.