Once More Around the Sun, Big Changes

Another Year Older

I turned 41 this week.

I don't feel any sort of way about it, not really. It's just another day. The LadyWife made sure I had an excellent birthday week/weekend, so don't fear there, but I'll be honest, it feels like just another day.

Which is odd for me, I usually am much more of a birthday enjoyer. But this year I'm feeling off. And I have been for months now.

Let me be very clear, I have a great life. I have a loving family, supportive parents, and an amazing LadyWife and Kiddo. I have a secure, good paying job. I have a host of friends for which my only complaint is not getting to see them more. Literally everything in my life is pretty rad.

But I have one point of festering discontent, that has been bubbling and gnawing at me for what feels like all year. It's been a sense of discontent that has been brewing for months, and has led to me being fairly unproductive (for me at least). 

I am unhappy with where I am at in my author career. 

So let's talk about it.

Another Year Wide...Wiser?

Just over a year ago I made a blog post where I talked about how I realized that solely focusing on in person events would not get me to where I want to b (a full time author). You can read it HERE. 

I have, largely, been sticking to the plan I discussed there. Which, really, wasn't exactly a revolutionary plan. It really wasn't much of a difference from what I was already doing, it was just spelling it all out. 

And here's the thing: I wasn't happy with how things were going then. And I didn't dramatically change anything, so yeah once the new wore off I have come to realize that nothing really changed. I'm essentially where I was a year ago, with just a few more copies sold. 

And I get, that thanks to my transparency there are a number of folks who read this that may well be pissed off right now. I've sold a lot of books, and actually make some money doing this. For most authors that isn't the case. I get it. I understand how it may sound to some folks. "Woe is he, he's sold 5k copies of his books.'

I get it. 

But I have a goal, and I don't see where I am really moving the needle towards that in an appreciable way. 

I have grown and changed a lot over the 15 years since I re-discovered my love of writing. I've really pushed myself. But over the past two years, while I have increased the amount of money I have made each year, I haven't really moved the needle I feel. 

Here are the core issues as I see them:

• My online book sales have slowed.

• Certain events have not been as good year over year. I worry we are heading for some form of recession. 

• I'm not making major increases in my social medias.

• I am not completing tasks outside of writing like I used to. 

So, what do I need to do?

Another Year, Another Plan

I like making plans. It ticks something in my brain, scratches an itch. It takes my chaotic mind and gives it a little bit of structure. This plan is the result of lots of long conversations, mostly with Ben, Joe, Derek, and the LadyWife. It's the product of lots of research. Of diving through my data that I've been collecting for years now. I've taken it all, mixed it into the blender of my mind, and have poured out the following slushie:

The Plan

I have to cut down on the noise, the distractions.

I let myself get involved in a lot of projects. Over the years they have clung to me like barnacles on the hull of an aging ship. The biggest is my non-profit that I run. As I have grown more busy with work and authoring, it has taken a back seat. A back seat to the point that it is essentially non-functioning. I do all the legally required actions each year, but don't actually do anything with it. I just don't have the time. But it stresses me out, knowing I'm not doing anything with it. So I will be closing it down.

But also I will be doing things like tidying up my fan group, probably renaming it, appointing mods for things, etc. I will be shutting down my second facebook account that I used for 'convention' friends and as a backup admin. 

I need to consolidate.

Building on the above, I am bad about standing up all sorts of social media accounts, facebook groups, etc as ideas hit me. They have grown to a truly staggering number. So I will be shutting down a bunch of them. I am streamlining my operations, so that I really only have just one or two social media accounts to keep on top of. I've already started shutting down facebook groups I have run for example. There are going to be a bunch of small instagrams that get the axe. All my BBI socials are going to go away. On top of that, I am going to kill off every website I run, except for this site, and probably BeardedBardInkworks.com. Those socials I keep that I don't really use, I will be shutting down other than to reserve the name and provide a link to my website. 

I need to focus on buyers, not authors.

I spend a staggering amount of time each month doing my transparency reports. Seriously, at least one day a month I spend my output for the day doing the monthly statistical report. And I spend time doing recaps, etc. Now, I'm not going to stop doing those. But I am going to stop putting so much emphasis on them. That is a ton of work that really only benefits other authors. And while I like that, it doesn't really do anything to get me readers. And frankly, I'm in the 'selling to readers' business, not the 'giving useful info to authors' business. I like doing it, and I won't stop.

But this site? It's going to look different. It's going to be getting changed so as to prioritize readers and fans above all.  

I'll also be adding a reader magnet to my newsletter. I'll be rewording my bios. My Linktr.ee will be getting a revamp. Lots of small things like that. 

I need to set up my store.

I have a store on beardedbardinkworks. That store will be getting moved to this one. On top of that, I have started the process to pull my omnibus editions, Southern Saudade, and Create Your Way to Freedom out of Kindle Unlimited. These will then be available for purchase directly from me. I will also be offering direct sales of paperback books. This is the part that worries me, as I am concerned that if this goes well (big if) that I may struggle to keep up with getting deliveries out in a timely manner. But I have thoughts on that, and no point in borrowing worry just yet. 

I need to start paid ads.

This is the biggest 'new thing.' I will start paying for ads. Facebook? Amazon? both? I'm not locked in. I've been doing research, been trying to learn best practices. But this is one of the two things that I think hold the best chance of moving the needle for me when it comes to getting new sales. Everything to this point in the plan is to make me more focused, productive, and de-stressed. But starting to actually really put my money where my mouth is, and sink funds into my books? That's what I think can allow me to be more selective on events, and still earn money. 

I have got to get new books on the table. No really.

I have not had a book come out since October of 2024. Zines? Sure. A story in a charity anthology? Yeah. But actual novels? Nope. 

And what's so stupid is in that time I have written, no shit, three full novels and half of another, and am 15k words into Marsh number 7. I've also edited to hell and back my novel for Falstaff. 

This more than anything is the most important thing I have to accomplish. Steps 1-4 will get me more focused, less distracted. Step 5 will allow me to do fewer in person events. But this step, this is the one that will take me to the next level I think. If I could get my shit together I could easily, EASILY, have six books come out in the next year. Going from 7 books on the table to 13? Fuck me that would be incredible. 

I am considering looking for an agent.

I have a lot of dreams. I think I can reach them. But I think I might need some form of help. Be that shopping some books to trad presses, pitching my books to a film company, or discussing my projects with comic book companies, I think having a third party who does this for a living might be the move. This is less in the Plan proper, and more in the 'I think this may be something I need to do, but only after I have done all the other things on the list' category. But just for completion, here it is. 

Fin.

And that's it. That's the plan that I hope takes me to the next tier of my career. It won't be the last tier (I hope), but it should get me to a place where I can be happy for a time. Then in five years when I stall out again I can repeat the process and get to the tier beyond that. And maybe that tier will be the one where I do this full time!