Plan Your Work & Work Your Plan

Hello once again Faithful Readers! Have I mentioned lately how grateful I am for each and every one of you? Not just because you’re patient enough to read the silly stuff I write on the interwebs, but because you’re you. Don’t forget that, while the universe might be really hard sometimes, you’re valid and needed. And, most importantly, you’re perfectly YOU and perfectly deserving of love and acceptance.

Okay. Glad we had that chat. 🙂

So, what have I been up to lately? This is a lot like one of my “What Am I Working On?” posts, but with a little more focus. Now that I’ve begun planning my work in quarterly “sprints,” I can go back and review my work even more easily! So, I figured what better way to review my work than to write a blog post about it? Some quarters, I might do a live video review. Would that be cool? Would any of you watch it? Let me know!

I had three goals for Q3 (July-August.) But here’s the catch: I didn’t start this whole thing until super late in July. So I really had a two month quarter. I planned my goals accordingly. Here they are:

Submit to all of the agents and editors who requested material during pitches at RWA 2018 by August 1st.
Increase my social media presence – increase frequency and regularity of posts on Facebook, Twitter, and in my Facebook Group (Elle’s Belles). Increase followers by 5-20%.
Complete second edition revisions of SHIFT and RECAST in preparation for re-release in Q4!

So how did I do?

Nailed it! I got all of my material submitted and have just begun hearing back from agents and editors I really admire. Super exciting!
Got it! I became better about how I track my posting schedules on social media, particularly around writer-specific stuff. I still love to post on the fly to all of my channels (I’ll never be somebody who curates everything I ever post–nor do I want to be!) but I feel like I’m putting out more frequent, quality content which has given me some peace-of-mind that I’m not boring you all with too many random musings and not enough meaty goodness 😉 Those of you who like me on Facebook, or are members of Elle’s Belles have likely seen some new faces around those parts because my followers grew by more than 20% in both (Welcome, new faces!) On Twitter, where my number of followers was much higher to begin with, I didn’t quite hit my target, but the number did trend upward and I met a lot of really awesome new tweeps so I’m counting it as a win!
Done! The second editions of both SHIFT and RECAST are complete and darn near ready for re-release later this year! Stay tuned for more on that soon!

So, what are my plans for the final quarter of 2018, I hear you ask? Let me tell you!

Launch my author Instagram! I’ve been on Insta for a while, but wasn’t sure if I was ready to take the plunge and put my author self out there. Well, after some research and discussion, I’ve made it official! Come find me on Instagram! I mainly post book pics (other people’s, rarely my own,) coffee, secondhand fashion finds, and pics of my Happy Planner because I’m obsessed (more on that in a later post!) I also post aesthetics for my works in progress. Check it out!
Get DRIFT and STAND second editions ready for re-release! Then, you know, RE-RELEASE THE ENTIRE SERIES! It will happen sometime in December. I’m building the plan now, and I’ll let you all know as soon as I do!
I’ve been asked to write a children’s book for an organization that’s near and dear to my heart. My goal is to have the rough draft completed by the end of October and emailed to the organization’s coordinator for review and iteration. I’ll be writing this under a different name (because, as it turns out, paranormal romance and books for early-readers don’t exactly have the same audience lol!) but I may post about it some here because I’m really excited about it.

Well, there you have it! I’ve said all of these goals “out loud” on the internet, so now I better get them done or you’ll all come asking me when the hell the Shift Series is going to be re-released and better than ever! 😀

What are you hoping to accomplish by the end of the year? Do you track your goals formally or in a less rigid way? Tell me all about it!