Wrap Up 2022
This last year has been a whirlwind of ups and downs. Family responsibilities took us to a different state for nearly 6 months, cost far too much in time and resources, but also afforded my hubs and his family an opportunity to reinforce family ties that had been strained by the distance.
The List
- New Writing and Critique Group
- New Series Drafts
- ARC Site Trial
- SocMed Management and Expansion
- Discord and Virtual Lives
I count the development of a new and exciting writing group among the greatest achievements of the past 12 months. Thanks to the lovely ladies of the group for all their support and insight in helping bring my new series to market. Particular thanks go out to Lillian and Becs for the late night and early morning Imposter Syndrome Therapy Sessions!
Also in 2022, I managed to give the Starling Nightcastle Series a great foundation of completed books to line up for release. The series launch campaign is well on its way and so many things are planned and in place. Website updates and a full ARC review listing online were new and useful additions to my process as well!
In social media management and digital marketing, I upped my game by testing several manager options and implementing the winning system, Social Champ. I’ve seen simultaneous growth and flatlining of post engagement and reach. Twitter appears to have imploded or be in the process of doing so, prompting my tentative exploration of other options. TikTok seems to be a clear winner as audio-visual platforms, particularly in short form, are on an undeniable rise.
I also created and launched my Discord server with the creation of several regularly scheduled live events through channels there, while research into audiobook production and distribution has set up testing and recording trials for the coming year and leads me neatly into that list.
Goals for 2023
My goals for the upcoming year include more books, more social outreach, recording of multi-media formats of my books and a demanding release schedule.
The List
- 3 Books Launched
- 4 Books Drafted
- Patreon and AV Books
- Website Articles and Compilation Newsletters
- Developmental Editing Services
The release schedule for new books this year is one every four months. I always release my books on the 7th of the month. This is a primarily superstitious number for me but the reason I felt the need to choose it to begin with has to do with letting my readers know when to expect another book and go looking for it. The superstitious bit is based on my magical thinking logic telling me that the two most common “random” numbers people will choose when asked are 3 and 7. As such, 7 should scratch an itch for readers that helps them remember the date. Therefore, January, May, and September 7th will see new releases for the Starling Nightcastle series!
As for writing new books, I’d like to get at least 4 more books in that series drafted over the next 12 months. It’s a reach for me but also completely possible. I intend to begin the recording of both audio and visual books for my previous series and take that series wide as I do. I’m looking into the possibility of turning Patreon into a distribution platform where I can make AV Books available, with an epub, audio, and video version of each title. I want to start recording by June.
Additionally, I’m not getting good traction on the newsletter front. I’m going to begin releasing the newsletter articles onto the website as a blog feed. Invitations to join the newsletter will be upgraded and made more prominent on the site this year. I’ll turn the newsletter sends into compilation pieces from there. I’ll start sending the compilations out the month before each release. That’s assuming I have somewhere to send them.
The last thing on my goal list for this year is expanding my freelance Developmental Editing Service. I’ve come to appreciate that my skills in editing are top-notch, but my interest in editing is greatest at the developmental stage. I currently offer freelance services, but I am posting my availability on at least one of the gig-sites. I’ll only take one at a time and shepherd such projects through to the author’s end goal. Be that querying or final submission or publication through Ubriel Bryne Books, I’m excited to see how it goes!
That’s all I’m planning, and I think it’s plenty for my plate, particularly given that none of this includes my Day Job responsibilities. Those don’t belong here.
Ubriel Bryne Books 