New Year, New Opportunities

The last quarter of 2018 pretty much sucked. Not all of it, true, but a good portion.

First, the good. Got edits for The Judas Dilemma back from Lea at MuseItUp Publishing. She enjoyed the novel, which made me happy. No release date or cover reveal yet, but I'm glad another publisher rejected it. I think it'll have a better home at Muse.

The bad? The DH fell seriously ill back in the autumn. He's doing much better, but the specter of his illness still remains and must be monitored.

Needless to say, I didn't get much writing done. Instead, I worked on required government and court-related forms, which had deadlines, took over the finances, and took on the role of caretaker, not only for him, but also our adult daughter who has autism. So here's a shout out to you caregivers out there.

But, as the post title indicates, it's a new year and new opportunities. I've been studying self-publishing, marketing, and promoting. The main thing I've learned is about building relationships with potential buyers, such as in the form of a newsletter. I've put off putting out a newsletter for years, but this year, I'm going to do one. The other advice is authors need to be at the forefront of people's minds. If no one remembers who you are as an author, then it's doubtful he/she will buy your books. I've noticed on Facebook, for example, those authors who engage their readers/potential readers. While I tend to be introverted, if they can do it, so can I.

It's time to put what I've learned last year into practice. Fingers are crossed.