Progress Report: Changes Ahead

Currently at 79% into Draft 3 of Matched to the Alien Prince. Hoping to finish the draft today or tomorrow.

Started working on improving the eBook covers for some books in my previous series. So far, I’ve played around with Shifting Sides and Shifting Cargo, though Shifting Loot is the one that really needs some attention. I’ve also been doing a lot of brainstorming on how to make these more attractive to new readers. If I ever want to be a full time author, I need to do better on that angle.

I scheduled my latest email to my mailing list, which goes out today, and also created a new Amazon ad for Shifting Cargo. I have plans on how to (hopefully) make the ads turn a profit this year (they were always just barely losing money in 2022).

I’m also solidifying my plans and goals for 2023 with my publishing schedule, which ironically, means a schedule that’s a lot more fluid. I’m focusing right now on getting through the publication of Alien Prince, but after that, I’m going to try to give myself a lot more leeway and grace than I have in the past. In fact, I just removed “Publish 3 Books” from my SMART Goals for 2023. I do hope that I’ll still get three books out, but I need to find a better balance between the many tasks an author career demands. I have a bad habit of driving myself like mad on a single task to produce a book (i.e. writing, editing) then burn out and lose a large block of time, forcing me to make another mad dash toward my deadline. Moving forward, I want to have a better blend of tasks, with writing, editing, marketing, and more being performed as I have the most motivation to do them, reducing the chances of burnout. I won’t spend weeks on end doing nothing but a single task until I hate doing it (which also means I’m probably slower at that task than I should be).

That being said, I can’t say when Matched to the Alien Captain will come out exactly. Definitely 2023, but probably not in June.

I’ve also been throwing around the idea this week of starting a serialized novel (because I can’t help myself). I’ve been intrigued by Vella and Patreon for some time, but with no clear ideas on what I would want to do with either platform. This week, though, it kind of struck me like lightning. I have this idea for an almost post-apocalyptic Earth with alien dragon shifters, fated mates, and very resistant humans. Not sure exactly how everything will play out, but I’m really wanting to write it, and I am increasingly liking the idea of doing a serialized novel series. The idea I sort of have is to share the serial on Vella and Patreon (and maybe other platforms in the future), then when a “season” ends (basically, a single romance gets its HEA), I convert those episodes into eBook and print versions for sale on sites like Amazon, allowing that audience to enjoy the series as well. If this works out, I would be producing the same number of books per year, but in a slightly different way. It would require a shift this year, which is bound to affect my publishing schedule (along with the shift I’d already intended with my normal book production schedule).

In conclusion, I have a lot of ideas and plans for this year. Maybe too much, but I’m really looking forward to it. I want this author journey to be one I enjoy more, and I’m really excited about these changes. I can’t wait to start.

Until next time,

Danielle