Last year was a big year for me, I published my first – and second – children’s book! I learned so much, but I think my biggest takeaway was that everything takes time. Especially if I have to learn something new. I had schedules, and nothing went according to plan. I set up Amazon ads, and lost money the first couple months. But, I just rolled with whatever was sent my way and chalked it all up to experience and a more informed next book.
I had the opportunity to work with many talented women from around the world and am looking forward to working with some of the same women again. These women were my editors, translators, and illustrators. I know there are so many other things I could hire people for, but as I am just starting out, I don’t have the budget for it. So, I have been learning new skills – social media, marketing, Amazon ads, uploading files for print. I love getting the chance to learn these new skills, but, it takes time (see above about not-to-schedule releases).
That was a very brief review of 2022, but all the experience I gained is going to help me reach my goals for 2023 – and there are a lot of them!
First thing, I want to get my second When I Grow Up book off to the editor and illustrator, so I can release the next in the series later this year. While I am waiting for edits and illustrations, I plan to work on activity books to go with When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a Dinosaur and the new book. I also want to create a pregnancy journal to go along with Waiting For You / Esperando Por Ti.
I have an almost fully finished manuscript that I may also try to self-publish this year. I am debating between self-publishing more books, or polishing up another couple manuscripts and trying to find an agent to get traditionally published. I keep going back and forth between these two options, so I need to first nail down which direction I want to go.
As time permits, I’d like to try to send one newsletter email a month, with freebies and updates. I also want to try to write some more blog posts. I think I had a grand total of three last year. So, if I can get another three this year, I’ll count that as a win!
And of course, I want to figure out how to sell tons of books without spending all my money on advertising. I’m hoping to set up some author events to help with local sales. But first, I need to work on stepping out of my comfort zone.
So, I have some big plans for 2023. And that’s just for my book business. Two active boys at home and a full time job come with their own goals and challenges.