New Year, New Goals

Happy New Year, friend! Do you set goals or resolutions? I sure do! I love the idea of a fresh start. Plus, I’m turning 40 this year. I understand that life doesn’t simply change with a birthday, but ideas for the new year and this new decade of life have been percolating in the back of my brain. Mostly, these thoughts center around how I want to sustain my author business and lifestyle. I took the time in December to reflect on the content I want to put into the world, what I want to reduce, and what I want to expand on. Let’s dive in!

• First things first: I plan to do more long-form content. I enjoy writing. I enjoy connecting with an audience. I have thoughts on author community discussions, have some deleted scenes saved up for my newsletter subscribers, and have been brainstorming a Q & A format I want to implement. If you want to join my newsletter list, please subscribe at cafrayauthor.com. Otherwise, I would love to meet you here on Substack every other week.

• My second realization is that I do not want to be a dancing bear any longer. I love connecting with other authors and readers on social media, but the landscape of Instagram and TikTok is very different from it was a few years ago when I started my author journey. My reels and posts are played to some of my followers, though not all. I follow a ton of folks, and I never see their content. That is because the algorithm sends me things it thinks I want (which sometimes I do, but other times not), and I can only assume this is the same for other users. Therefore, I am resolving to post 2-3 times per week rather than the 4-7 times per week I have been striving for.

• Third, I want to enhance and expand on my ACTUAL WRITING TIME. Apologies for caps lock shouting at you, but in a way, I’m shouting at myself. Advice from the author community and my own experience indicate that the best way to increase sales is to put out another book. Build a backlist. All of my stuff sells better when I have a new release. So, in order to do the job I want to do, I have to do it!

• Finally, if my strategy is to double down on books and long-form content, I need more avenues to bring awareness to my work. Enter: Ads. I’ve messed around with Amazon and TikTok advertising a bit in the past, but after listening to a few podcasts from other authors, I really need to commit to the bit. I need to pick one platform, decide how much money I’m willing to effectively gamble, and test it for 3 months or more to gather data.

These are my goals as a romance author, however, also I have some personal goals as a result of turning 40. Mostly, they include taking care of myself in better ways and connecting more with those in my life. I am so pleased with what I’ve accomplished in the last 5 years as an author. I’ve heard nothing but great things about turning 40 from those who have come before me. I’m excited for what’s to come. Thanks for being here.