As 2014 comes to an end, I found myself thinking about the goals I set for myself for this year, and I’d like to share what I’ve learned with all of you since my readers have been instrumental in helping me achieve my goals.
Goal #1–Write 240,000 Words
This was a goal I managed to meet and exceed in 2014.
Here is the breakdown:
- When Love Gets Hairy. The third book in the Provincetown series, this novel came in at 78,000 words
- When Love Comes to Town. At 78,000 words, this novel was the fourth and final book of the Provincetown Series
- Being True. My first coming of age novel came it at 81,000 words.
- Please Remember Me. A contemporary gay romance that will release February 6, 2015. It was complete at 85,000 words.
- Spell Bound. This represents the first book of my new paranormal series titled The Warlock Brothers of Havenbridge. It has been accepted for publication and will release later in 2015.
- Blood Tied. Currently at 12,000 words, this novel is the second book of The Warlock Brothers of Havenbridge series. This novel is my current WIP.
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When Love Gets Hairy
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When Love Comes to Town
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Being True
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Please Remember Me
All together, I have written 397,000 words in 2014. Wow!
I can’t tell you how happy I am to see that number, especially when there are times when I doubt that I’m making any progress. After looking back, I realize I have, and that just feels amazing!
Goal #2–Increase Social Media Presence
This was another goal that was difficult because I had so many different social media sites–Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Tumblr, and Google+. It had become extremely overwhelming. So here is what I did to meet this goal:
- I focused on Facebook. Instead of trying to take on all the social media options and do them poorly, I concentrated my efforts on one to make a difference. I created Jacob’s Junkies, a secret Facebook group, that allows fans to more intimately interact with me than in the regular FB feed. I share excerpts, giveaways, tours, and upcoming releases to my Junkies prior to releasing it anywhere else. Right now, I’m at almost 200 members, and we are still going strong. If you want to be a member, just click on the link above and ask to join. We’d be glad to have you.
Goal #3–Expand Into the Audiobook and Foreign Market
This is a goal that I could not meet on my own. Dreamspinner, my publisher, selects books for these markets based on sales. So though I set this as a goal, it wasn’t up to me to be able to meet it. Only readers like you could determine if I met this goal, and you know what? I did!
Thank you to all you wonderful readers who made it possible to meet this goal!
Goal #4–Actively Maintain My Blog
This is a goal that I, unfortunately, did not meet. 🙁
In fact, I have hardly kept up with my blog for this entire year. I could cite may reasons as to why I have neglected my blog, but they would only be excuses. Instead, I will definitely rectify this in 2015.
Overall, after looking at this year in review, I think 2014 has been a success, and I’m extremely pleased with what I have accomplished. Still, I don’t plan to rest on my laurels in 2015. I’m planning my goals for next year right now, which I will share with you all in a future post.
I hope you will join me. 🙂
So what were your goals for 2014? Did you achieve all you wanted to? What was your greatest accomplishment this year? I’d love to hear from you.
