For those who are unaware of my year-end analyses, I do not ‘do’ New Year Resolutions. Why choose a particular date in the calendar? If you want to lose weight, why not start as soon as you think about it? Why make a promise to yourself that you are extremely unlikely to keep? Around 80% of resolutions fail, most people give up in 10 days.
Maybe.
Or 20% – 40% are achieved.
Maybe.
Statistics, eh? [ https://www.cynicsguidetoselfimprovement.com/are-new-years-resolutions-doomed/ ]
The fact of the matter is, I know that my own history is littered with failed resolutions made, at the time, for the best of reasons and with the best intentions.
But when those resolutions are broken, the realisation that the journey has come to an end in crushing defeat, can be harmful. The well-wishes of loved ones and the high hopes of a change in circumstances count for naught.
Yes, of course there are long-term goals and aims. When you get to your late ’60s and are overweight, of course I wish to lose weight, move more, and eat (and become) more healthy. One day. Soon.
But I find this time of year is great for looking back on what I said I was going to do the year before, cry a little, and gird my loins (whatever that means) for the upcoming year.
So, what am I going to achieve in 2025?
BOOKS – FICTION
Our February ’shutdown’ (where we move offsite for the whole month) is an opportunity to take stock of where I am with my writing and publishing. Am I doing the right thing? Could I do more to advance my writing career? Should I change course slightly now as the publishing landscape continues to change, when opportunities for the self-published other are not the same as they were a year ago?
It is a fact that in a world that continues to develop and move forward, if we stand still, we end up going backwards as others sweep past. I am a commercial fiction writer, a storyteller, but if my books aren’t selling as well as I wish, where’s the problem? Is it my writing, or the subjects and themes of the books, or is it the marketing? These are questions to be asked before any meaningful plan can be drawn up.
But, for the moment, I need to finish the 3-book series of Witford Mysteries. Book 1 is out and published [ https://gerald-hornsby.com/last-orders/ ]. Book 2 (current title “Deadly Trails”) is about 70% drafted, standing at 43,000 words if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Quick note: a first draft – even a ‘clean’ first draft which has been structured properly – still needs several rounds of editing, proof reading, beta reading by trusted readers, and so on. And here’s a little teaser for the cover image:
BOOKS – NON-FICTION
One fact of my writing and publishing career is that my non-fiction books have always outsold my fiction. By a considerable margin. I’ve just done some analysis (to be detailed in a forthcoming blog post), which shows that my 10 non-fiction books account for 65% of my sales, but only 37% of my published output.
Hmm. Maybe I should write a non-fiction book this year – something like “Book Marketing and Selling for Self-Published Authors (and Others)”
BUSINESSES / TUTORING / PROJECTS
I will continue with my help for self-published authors offer. I should probably market them more aggressively (or maybe even marketing them at all!)
VLOGS / VODCASTS / PODCASTS
Podcast productions are becoming increasingly the preserve of well-funded media concerns… and Gary Lineker, whose Goalhanger Productions company looks to corner the UK market. Other podcasts are suffering. There is a corner of the vlog / vod / pod world where enthusiastic amateurs can still strut their stuff. But as a viable means of creating money? Not so much [ https://www.joanwestenberg.com/is-podcastings-golden-age-already-over/ ]
So in the meantime, I watch other creators who started years ago and have a substantial following, whilst I dream about what might have been. Having said that, I’m nothing if not stubborn. I’m not a quitter, and there’s a broadcast medium for me. Somewhere. Doing something.
And I’m still toying with a project centred around analysis of language – in particular, the language of persuading people to think and act in a certain way.
YOU WILL BUY MY BOOKS!!
No, that doesn’t work. But other mathods do, and not just in the narrow world of writing and books and selling. I find it interesting to see how the course of history is changed by use of language. Maybe some others will, too.
ONLINE COURSES
They’re still tempting, and despite sometimes being a refuge for scoundrels and pedlars of dodgy schemes, I’m sure they can be a viable stream of income.
But here in Britain, we recoil from the American “ra ra just do it” tactics of some US businesses. We just need to get past the inherent reticence of the Great British Psyche, and convince some people that it’s worth spending a few quid in order to learn something new. As well as convincing them that it’s the sort of valuable information which ISN’T available for free on the internet somewhere.
PERSONAL / NON-WRITING
I’m getting to the stage of life where waking up in the morning is a huge win. After that, I need to focus more on my health (weight, specifically) and activity. I need to get the bikes out of the shed and do something with them. I need to get more flexibility back into this aching and pain-wracked old body of mine.
So yeah, those things will do for a start. When I’ve done those, I’ll come back to you.
SUMMARY
How do I summarise that little collection of black clouds? Do I need to? Okay – don’t become a zombie-like couch potato.
DO STUFF IN 2025!
