Great things to come

/

Holy cannoli what a year it has been. The pandemic threw my 2020 plans for a loop. I wrote 1.5 books in 2019 and had plans to release Book 4 and write book five last year. But as my old pal Rabbie Burns said, ‘The best laid plans of indie writers and their chihuahua familiars’. (I’m paraphrasing of course). My publishing plans were derailed by my entire family suddenly being in my workspace. All. The. Time. Add to that the general anxiety of living in a pandemic and election year, and it’s not a favorable atmosphere for the creative brain. Work never stopped, but it definitely slowed down.

But it’s a new year and like so many of us, I am hopeful and determined. I’ve got my calendar out and I’m setting goals and due dates and feeling like I’m much closer to getting done.

I’m not going to publicly state all of these goals because in my perverse brain, that’s the best way to make sure I DON’T achieve them. The next step in getting Nothing Good Gets Away to market is getting feedback from beta readers. I’m expecting to do that in February. I have opened up my beta reader list for folks who want to have a voice in making Nothing Good the best book possible. You can sign up to be a beta reader here. (Note: Because this is a series, I am looking for beta readers who have already read the first three books in the series.)

What I will say are that my 2021 plans at a high level are:

  • Publish - Nothing Good Gets Away

  • Write – Book 5

  • Revise – Tarheel Pie

  • Grow – Readers, offerings, and mailing list

On the Mailing List front, I just gave my current subscribers an exclusive Once & Future Short Story that introduces a new character that I am partial to. And I am planning some giveaways for subscribers in the future. Sometimes that will be a chance to win a book or a new short story (I may or may not have one for Grant MacDuff in mind.) Sometimes it might be something else.

For February I will be editing Nothing Good Gets Away and will be giving away a copy of Kris Spisak’s The Novel Editing Workbook: 105 Tricks & Tips for Revising Your Fiction Manuscript. So, if you’re interested in writing a book (I know some of you are.) This is a great tool for getting a handle on the editing process. For a chance to win a copy of this helpful book, all you have to do is subscribe to my newsletter (If you’re already subscribed, then you’re already eligible.) The winner will be announced in my February newsletter.

You can sign up for the newsletter in the form in the sidebar or here.

I’m feeling good about my prospects for hitting these goals this year. I hope all of you are setting your own goals and gearing up to kick ass in 2021.