2015 in review and 2016 plan

At the beginning of the year, I posted about my goals for 2015.

So, how did I do?

• Self-publish at least three titles - I published Adamant, Nemesis, Delinquent: An Alliance Novella and Collision. Demon Heart (Darkworld, #3) was also published.
• Draft at least 3 books - I definitely did this!
• Fully edit at least 3 books -  Yep!
• Be flexible, and listen to the shiny new ideas! - Yes!
• Write what I love. Be crazy about it, be madly, passionately in love with my own story. Make magic happen. - Oh, hell, yes.
• Read 300 books - Definitely surpassed this, but I did a lot of rereading.
• Travel! - Didn't end up happening... yet!
• Go on a writing retreat - Didn't end up happening, but I did go to YALC for book-related awesomeness!
• Actually get a tattoo this time! - Er... no. I will do this at some point!
• Kick fear, self-doubt and adversity in the face. - Ongoing!

As for my non-writing life, I had a great year freelance-work-wise -- one goal I didn't write on my plan was to build my freelance editing income to sustainable levels, which I managed to do earlier this year. I'm not working for any publishers and I'm no longer interning, so I wanted to focus on building my client list. I also took part in the Pitch to Publication contest as an editor-mentor.

One thing I epically failed at was finding a work-life balance. I went through a bunch of shifts in my personal life and had to adjust to losing a major part of my support network as well as dealing with the emotional fallout of self-publishing. I'm trying to work on finding a better balance between my writing/editing and non-writing life.

The first quarter of the year was all about finishing the Alliance series and preparing to publish Adamant. Once I'd finished drafting the series, I decided to revamp some 2013 projects (Beneath the Waves and the Indestructible trilogy) and added them to the self-publishing plan. The second half of the year was mostly about revisions and promotion, but I did find time to do some drafting and outline some potential future projects. The problem is, I write faster than I can afford to publish, and I've had to stop taking risks on projects that aren't going to make back the initial costs. So one of the things I'm doing next year is switching my focus to "publishable" projects and working on side-projects when I have time to spare.

It also means cutting back on social media and blogging, and other non-essential things. I have more work than there are hours in the day, and I've really struggled this past year. So if I'm online less, it's for my sanity's sake, and will hopefully make for a more productive year.

So, here are my aims for 2016!

• Publish the Indestructible trilogy (scheduled for January, April and June).
• Finalise schedule for Alliance Books 4-6 -- exact release dates tbc.
• Darkworld Books 4 and 5 are scheduled to be published in 2016, too.
• Write and publish at least two books in another series.
• Read 300 books.
• Travel. I'm going to New Zealand in February! :)
• Book signing! :D 
• Watch Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. (Woo!)
• Try to reduce stress, if possible.

I think this is achievable. :) Normally, I'll aim to publish 3-4 books per year, but I spent a lot of last year revising my backlist (especially from 2013). I'll also be rearranging my release schedule this year based on reader responses and anticipated sales. So it's likely the first in my next urban fantasy series will be out later this year.

Goals for January:

• Publish Indestructible.
• Edit Divided (Alliance #4).
• Prepare for New Zealand trip. (2nd-20th February!!!!!!)