The State of the Tales by Bob Empire, 2023

Alright, 2022 is in the rearview, and far enough that I have had time to think things through a bit! So let's dive in to my annual review!

A Look Back!

Last year was a good one, for sure! Overall it was very productive, and while not 100% where I would have wanted it to be, it was pretty damn close.

On the book front, I released two more books in the Jubal County Saga, as well as published an omnibus collection of books 1-3. Not too shabby! I also have book 5 off to the editor, and book six over halfway complete. I also started, for Nanowrimo, a horror novel set in the world of Jubal County.

On the convention front, I achieved a long held goal of being on a panel at DragonCon! My little heart is full, but now even more hungry! I want to do all the panels haha! I also moderated three panels, and guested on three panels, at CONjuration, which was my first trip there (it was a blast!). Multiverse was another convention first for me, and besides being perhaps the single best networking event I've been to, I also got to be on a panel there.

Podcasting went well! Books, Beards, Booze, the lumbering zombie that it is came back to life with a bunch of great episodes! I also started an interview style podcast called Southern Fried Fantasy. I also got a few slow moving, sporadic type podcasts started, the main one being the Tales by Bob Podcast, where I talk about all things me, in order to hopefully share my hard won knowledge.

As for shirts and games, I didn't do a ton here. I mean I sold throughout the year, but I did little in the way of designing new ones. I did start on a Troika! supplement set in a highly fantastical version of my Jubal County setting, but that will take some time.

A Look Ahead!

Well March 15th will see Jubal County book five hit the market! Outside of that what I have planned is:

• Finish writing book six, and get it ready to publish.

• Make an omnibus of books 4-6.

• Finish my Jubal County horror novel and submit it to an interested press (fingers big crossed).

• I want to publish at least one book from my 'chest.' I am undecided on if it will be steampunk, horror, or something else though.

• Start writing book seven.

• Money allowing, I want to get an audiobook recorded of the first Jubal County Omnibus. Shit ain't cheap, and I don't think I have the draw (yet) to run a successful kickstarter for it.

For conventions, the first half of the year is on hold mostly, as I am getting married in April!!!! Woohooo!!! So my only convention will be in February, I will be a guest at Imagicon in Brundidge Alabama. After that, I will of course be doing Dragoncon, where I applied to be an attending professional. I also have applied to be a guest at ConCarolinas and Multiverse. I will attend Multiverse regardless, but ConCarolinas is a bit too far for me unless I am vending/guesting. And I do intend to apply to be a guest at CONjuration once that opens up. I do want to find a few more to hop on though, so keep me in mind if you are reading this, and control any programming anywhere in the Southeast from May onwards.

I am also doing my first paid appearance! The Atlanta Self Publishing Conference is bringing me on to talk about diversifying your revenue streams as an author. I am hopeful that this will be the first of many, because I love teaching. And getting paid to do it, when I happily do it for free all the time? Hell yeah!

For podcasting, moves will be happening, but I am not in a position to share them just yet. Some shows will be changing dramatically, others may go away, others may be added. It's very much in a state of realignment, and some big stuff is coming down the pipe.

For shirts, I want to get better about betting back to designing them and posting them up. One a month seems a reasonable goal, lets see if I stick to it. On the gaming front, I want to finish the writing on my Troika supplement. I also want to overhaul my one sheet games, and bind them into two volumes. So, in theory, I want to be in a position by the end of this year that I could have as many as three game books under my name ready to go to press. The biggest hold up will be art, both financially and timewise.

Lastly, for some smaller goals, I would like to:

• Double my number of Patrons on Patreon from 4 to 8.

• Tick off 5 items from my Success Tier One list.

That about sums it up I believe! It's been a great year, and it looks to be an even better one coming up (did I mention I'm getting married?!?!)! So hang around, and lets see how things play out!