Happy New Year to you! I hope you’ve had a fabulous Christmas, and that 2023 brings you a year of calm and happiness.
This is my first piece of writing of 2023. I wrote yesterday about the achievement – or not – of my goals for 2022 and of what I had learned last year in relation to my writing and author business generally (you can read about my lessons learned in 2022 here).
Today is all about goal-setting for the next twelve months. What I learned more than anything last year was how I achieve the most when I stick to sensible plans and don’t allow myself to deviate, either in my head or on paper/on screen, and how this drastically affects my mindset.
With this in mind, I have chosen a theme for my goal-setting for the next twelve months, to encompass my writing, publishing and readership growth.
One big goal for 2023: FOCUS
One thing I know for certain about myself is that narrowing my focus, rather than letting my creativity wander in all directions, will result in me getting more done, creating more books, and build a bigger, more engaged readership (and without readers who enjoy my books, I could write forever but there would be no one to enjoy my stories with me. I don’t underestimate the importance of my readers, and I respect them greatly).
I am determined this year to choose, then maintain, my focus on those parts of my author life and business which will be the most useful AND give me the most joy. If this author is happy, she is more productive, which makes me all the more happy.
Focus on writing suspense
I am making a commitment to focus ONLY on suspense books this year. My goal is to write and release one per quarter of the year, but due to changes that I know will be coming to my working life outside of writing books, I am not going to set strict deadlines for the publishing of these books prior to getting the first draft completed. When the first draft is done, I will then know whether I can create to schedule or manage to add in an extra book before the year ends!
As I mentioned in my end of year review for 2022, I already have the covers for these books, so I know exactly what I am going to be working on all year. Keeping my focus on these will be more beneficial to both my productivity and my mindset than if I was dithering and debating whether to also begin writing another series alongside them.
Here’s that sneak preview again of what’s to come from me this year:
Focus on my readers
Without my readers I have no writing career. I love my readers to bits, and I appreciate every comment made and every piece of feedback I receive. And so, my other main focus for the year is on you, the reader.
I have surveyed my Readers’ Club, and will send this out once more for those who missed it. If, however, you read my books and wish to respond to my two main questions, please feel free to reply in the comments:
1. Do you buy your books on Amazon or somewhere else, and do you read with a Kindle Unlimited subscription?
2. Which of these would you read if I wrote them –
- Psychological suspense thrillers
- Contemporary mystery thriller series (female sleuth)
- Victorian mystery series
- Suspense with a suggestion of supernatural
Will I achieve them? Will I consider 2023 a successful year? There’s only one way to know: come back at the very end of the year to find out!
My focus in 2023 is on getting more readers to enjoy my books and to interact with me, the person behind the writing. I am going to double down on ways to get interested readers to join my Readers’ Club (where you get a free book as a welcome gift and all sorts of other exclusive stuff!). If you’d like to sign up to my Readers’ Club, you can do that here. I am working on bringing these readers added exclusive features and more fun, as a thank you for being valued members.
I am getting more intentional in communicating with readers in other ways, too. This year, I intend to focus my social media efforts, tailored to specific platforms. You’ll mainly find me on my Facebook page, in my Facebook group, and on Instagram this year, although I will also be on TikTok and Pinterest.
Most of all, my focus is on responding to the feedback I have had recently from my readers – to keep writing “great” and “excellent” books (their words, not mine!).
So, there you – and I – have my main author-focused goals for 2023. I am completely unsure what the year is going to bring for me at a personal level, and I have had to allow for the changes that will, I know, occur. But for the first time in my author career, I feel that I have (finally) managed to set realistic, attainable goals which still leave me room to push myself.
Thank you so much for supporting me through 2022. I wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Claire x
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