This year is going to be a busy one (shocking, I know), but most of that will be behind the scenes. I’m prepping myself for 2022 and beyond and it’s all my fault. I did not have the system in place to keep the publishing machine flowing smoothly and I don’t have the time or talent or money to do things like buy book covers for monthly releases (seriously, how do some authors release a book a month?).
I tend to squeeze in my cover designer and editor searches where and when I can.
I need to improve on these processes.
I know that.
My cover designer and editor are excellent professionals and people, but if I want to have a shot at writing books for a living, I need to get more out, more quickly. That means I need to build a bigger team.
Besides writing more (words and novels) in 2021, expanding my team is a top priority. I simply need to if I’m to reach the goals I have for myself.
So I’m a little disappointed in myself that I’m not as prepared to tackle 2021 as I wanted to be. Though I plan on writing six, yes six, novels this year, I don’t think I’ll publish more than two. That’s incredibly disappointing to me (my bad, yo!). I try to balance that by reminding myself that I’ll publish four books in 2022 and eight in 2023. That’s not much consolation when I’m looking at the publishing schedule for 2021, let me tell you. I just need to be a big boy with a keyboard in my hands and buckle down.
Of course, things might change. If I figure out where my bottlenecks are (I know where they are, so I need to figure out a way to un-bottleneck them). Open those floodgates and who knows what I’ll get done.
One thing I do know is that I want to get more of the Zodiac out! I want to get the new high fantasy Battleborn Trilogy to the world, and I want to start working on the next urban fantasy that will borrow from the Zodiac world (hey, a guy has to prep for the end of Zeke’s story, doesn’t he?).
I’m also looking at ways to streamline the Audio Fiction podcast. The podcast is fun and is a great way to get my stories to people who might not otherwise find them, but wow, are they a ton of work. Being a one-person show was not the smartest decision I ever made, but neither was managing large teams, like those back when I first started podcasting. Somewhere, buried in the middle, is probably where all the smart people hang out.
Unfortunately for me, I’m not one of the smart ones. So, for 2021, the podcast will stay on the course it currently occupies, and I’ll reassess at some point (hopefully after I find a way to speed up my editing and book cover process).
2021 will be welcomed with open arms (though I don’t expect it to be any more fun than the Eighth Circle of the Underworld). Maybe I can turn it into a Utopia before all is said and done. At least for one insignificant demon and demon-creator.
So, I have tons of writing and a little publishing ahead of me.
What is in store for you in 2021? Let me hear from you. Email: paul@paulsating.com.
Cheers!
Originally Posted: January 2021