by Kasia | Feb 1, 2016 | Business, Writing
Well, well, hasn’t the first month of 2016 sped along nicely? It feels like Christmas and New Year’s was a lifetime ago and Easter is just around the corner. January just seems to get faster every year. Is the universe playing tricks on us or is that just life putting everything on fast forward?
Who knows? But I have to say, January was a good month. I managed to ace my goals this month and that is an awesome start to 2016!
I’m excited.
In this post, I mentioned that I wanted to publish 6 books in 2016. Well, I’ve had my novella, Lethal Instincts edited, the cover completed and published yesterday.
Lethal Instincts: A Lexi Ryder Crime Thriller is a novella and is now available on Amazon.. You can grab it here. It’s Book 0.5 of my Lethal series with Lexi Ryder, a ballsy investigative journalist who doesn’t mind stepping on a few toes to help those in need.
I also had Lethal Disposal proofread again. It was unfortunate that it got published with far too many errors. Expensive lesson learnt. Note to self, be more vigilant.
No one is ever going to care about your work as much as you do.
If you sign up for my email list, you can get a free copy of Lethal Disposal here. It’s best to read Lethal Instincts first, then Lethal Disposal.
I’m aiming for $10,000 in writing income by the end of 2016. I’d love it if it was solely from book sales, I’d be ecstatic actually but this will be a combination of book sales, affiliate marketing, freelance writing and advertising.
How did I fare in January with my income?
I was hoping to make $100 to get the ball rolling. It seemed like quite an easy number. I fell short but that’s ok because my main focus was to submit at least 10 pitches.
Queries sent: 12
Responses: 1
Accepted: 1
Follow ups: 2
Income: $27.51
Books sold: 4
Income: $2.34
Total writing income for January: AUD$29.85
Total writing income for 2016: AUD$29.85
So what are my goals for February?
Sell 100 copies of Lethal Instincts and Lethal Disposal.
Publish Lethal Secrets.
Set up a mailing list (and hopefully get a handful of sign ups!)
Run a Facebook promotion for my Lethal series.
Send 25 pitches to websites, magazines and businesses offering my writing services
Make $200 from my writing.
I’m sharing my goals and my results here to stay accountable and show you how much work and effort it takes to create an author-entrepreneur business. It also keeps a record of how I’m going. The freelancing world is very transparent and it’s good to see people sharing their experiences.
My aim is to have a location independent lifestyle while earning a six figure income after tax. I’d like to achieve this within 5 years. When my son goes to school I want to have the flexibility to drop him off and pick him up, to attend all the school events and sporting activities without having to worry about finances or a boss. That way I can work during the school hours and spend the rest of the time with my family.
How did you go with your goals this month? Have you started working towards achieving your 2016 goals?
by Kasia | Jan 31, 2016 | Reading
My goal is to read 52 books in 2016. These are the books that I’m reading and my thoughts on them. When you read dozens of books, it becomes hard to remember what they were all about, so I’m making notes and posting monthly on what I’m reading. Do you have any books you’d like to recommend? The below contains affiliate links so if you click and purchase I may be compensated for them. I need to support my reading habit somehow!
I managed to get through 7 books in January. Two non-fiction and five fiction. No, I don’t have much spare time on my hands but I do like to make the most of the time I do have. Most of my reading is done during the commute to and from work if I’m not writing, or before I go to sleep, although that usually lasts about five minutes after a long day and I start dozing and completely forget what I’ve read.
Here’s a quick run down of the books on my bookshelf in January 2016.
In Cold Blood by Mark Dawson
Beatrix Rose has been wronged. Badly. She’s going to get her revenge. I was actually a little surprised by this story and where it jumped to after her stint in Hong Kong which was the novella trilogy I first read. I’ve grown to like this ballsy character and there were a few surprises about her that I hadn’t expected but made perfect sense. They also intrigued me and made me want to read more of the series. Lots of action, interesting characters, and a fun read.
Beatrix Rose – Hong Kong Stories – Volume 1 by Mark Dawson
Beatrix Rose, the type of character I like to read. Over-the-top kick-ass lady who’s going to seek revenge and knock out all the bad guys. I don’t care about plausibility, if you do, then this type of book isn’t for you. As mentioned before, I like to be entertained. If I want reality I’ll stick to real life. I enjoyed these three novellas and I look forward to reading more of the series.
Self-Publishing Success by Joanna Penn
I’m a huge follower of Joanna Penn’s blog, The Creative Penn. I love her podcasts and all the valuable information she shares with readers. She’s an inspiration and someone I would like to emulate. Joanna’s has recently released a new novel for writers who want to self publish, and guess what it’s free on Amazon!
Night of the Assassin (Assassin Series Prequel) by Russell Blake
This was a freebie on Amazon. I love free books, even more so when they get me sucked in, and I end up wanting to read the entire series. The main character is an assassin. Um, yeah, normally that would be the bad guy in fiction but in this case you can decide for yourself. Blake does a great job in making his characters three dimensional and it’s easy to root for them even if they aren’t necessarily moral or go against the grain. This is an entertaining read, at times stomach turning, just the way I like my action thrillers.
Jet – Legacy (Volume 5) by Russell Blake
The fifth Jet book is another page turner. I love books that deal with spies, assassins, and terrorism. The edge of your seat, by God I hope it never happens in real life type of stuff. I have ideas of my own future books on similar topics that have been brewing in my mind for the past couple of years.
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
I’m aiming for 26 non-fiction books in 2016 on various topics. I picked up The Prince on Kindle from Amazon as it was free and related to politics. I’ve heard of Niccolo Machiavelli before but don’t know anything about him other than he was Italian.
The Prince questions: does the end justify the mean?
I like to write about people doing terrible things to get what they want. That’s what crime-action-thrillers are all about, at least the ones I enjoy reading and writing. This book will provide a fresh perspective on morality and getting what you want whatever it takes.
Jet – Reckoning (Volume 4) by Russell Blake
I started reading the Jet series in December 2015 after listening to a podcast with Russell Blake on The Creative Penn. I love action books, I love tough female protagonist, and I love the suspension of disbelief. If I want an education I’ll read a text book, if I want spiritual elevation, I’ll pick up a Bible. When I pick up a fiction book, I want to be entertained.
Russell Blake’s Jet series entertains from the get go. Sure it’s far-fetched and unrealistic action and adventure but that’s the point of these type of books. It’s escapism. It’s experiencing an existence completely different to your own.
Jet, is an ex Mossad agent who’s not having any luck staying dead. Quitting her profession isn’t an option. It makes her a liability to many parties. So, she has to fight the people trying to kill her so she can retire and live happily ever after.
The story is a bit more complex than that but I suggest you grab a copy on Amazon if you like action-packed thrills to keep you up at night.
What are you reading this month?
Can you recommend any good books to read?
by Kasia | Jan 27, 2016 | Writing
I’m super excited to reveal the cover for my next book, Lethal Instincts – A Lexi Ryder Crime Thriller!*
Let me know what you think!
Lexi Ryder is in London investigating the disappearance of a young woman. Her search leads her to Soho’s red light district, a female detective who might be hiding something, and a danger that lurks in the darkness.
Lexi was never one to back down from trouble, not even a little threat is going to get in her way. Except this time, she has no idea who she’s dealing with and her instincts could get her killed.
Lethal Instincts will be available on Amazon and Kobo soon!
*Lethal Instincts is a prequel novella to Lethal Disposal.
by Kasia | Jan 5, 2016 | Business, Motivation, Writing
Each year I set myself a list of goals. I find it odd come January if I don’t have a file on my computer with all the things I want to achieve, generally categorised between writing and personal development, to health and fitness and personal finance.
These goals are often divided into quarters. Then I have another list for monthly goals, weekly ones and daily ones.
Yes, that’s a little OCD when it comes to lists.
What can I say, I love writing lists, and ticking things off once they are complete.
In 2015, my primary goal was to publish my first novel. I did that. Lethal Disposal was published on Amazon in May 2015. This was an amazing feeling. It also taught me a few things that I wish I paid attention to before putting the book to market. The good thing about e-publishing is that it’s editable. But I don’t plan on making the same mistakes with future books.
In my last post, I mentioned my A goal for 2016. It’s a big one and it’s going to take a lot of commitment, time and sacrifice but it will be worth it.2016 is going to a big year. An exciting year. A hard working year.
1. I want to be a healthy writer.
I’m athletic. I run, swim, cycle, and weight train. Since having my son, my training has been sporadic at best. Given that my day job is sedentary and so is my writing, it’s imperative that I fit in daily exercise. Walking to and from the train station just doesn’t cut it.So I’ve started the year with some daily workouts. I want to run more marathons and do a few triathlons throughout the year and they both require a significant amount of training.
Being a writer doesn’t mean junk food, alcohol and staying on your butt. I’ve found that staying fit boosts my creativity. I use this time to plan out scenes, think through plot problems, and brainstorm article ideas.
I want to be a writer for as long as I’m here so that means I need to look after myself every single day. You can check out some ways I stay healthy as a writer here.
Whatever you do, make sure you invest in your health by eating nutritious food and staying active every day. You can still spoil yourself, just do it in moderation.
2. I want to publish six novels/novellas in 2016.
Insane. I know. How is that even possible?
Anything is possible if you believe and are willing to work your butt off. I’m not one to shy away from hard work and so I like to set myself some lofty goals.
At first glance writing six books seems like a stretch. If I was starting from scratch than that would be the case. I spent the last six months of 2015 writing two novels and two novellas. I’m aiming for the following publication schedule:
January – Lethal Instincts, a prequel to Lethal Disposal.(novella)
February – Lethal Aftershock, a sequel to Lethal Disposal (novella)
April – Lethal Attraction (Book 4 in the Lexi Ryder series)
May – Lethal Untitled (Book 5, a novella still to be written)
July – Lethal Games (Book 6 in the Lexi Ryder series)
September – Lethal Untitled (Book 7 in the Lexi Ryder series)
I hope this works out but life sometimes throws unexpected obstacles at us. While I’ll do everything in my power to achieve this goal, even if only manage half of it, it’s still a success, and more than if I didn’t set the goal at all.
3. I want to become a better writer.
Writing has been a passion since I was a kid. I hope it will continue to be one until my grey old days.
I know I can write fast but at the same time I want to write well. The only way to write well is to write more, read more, and learn more.
I’ll be working on improving my writing skills throughout the year, and I’ll share a post on that later this month.
4. I want to read more non-fiction books
In 2015 I read a lot of fiction. I didn’t keep track but I’d say I went through more than fifty books. For some it’s a lot, for others it’s nothing at all.
In 2016, I want to read 26 non-fiction books. That’s one every two weeks. But I don’t want to just read any old non-fiction books. I want to read two books in each of the following categories – business, religion, politics, crime, culture, biography, writing, espionage, travel, science, history, philosophy, and psychology.
Reading is an important part of being a good writer. It’s not enough to read books in your own genre. We need to engage all our senses, question our beliefs, learn new facts, and develop our minds to fuel our creativity. Non-fiction can also provide ideas for future fiction books. It’s a win-win.
I also want to read 26 fiction books. This won’t be too hard. If I really enjoy a book, I can generally get through it within two days.
So that’s a total of 52 books in a year or one book a week. I’ve joined the GoodReads Reading Challenge for 2016.
5. I want to earn $10,000 from my author business in 2016
I wasn’t going to set a monetary goal for my writing as it’s not one that I can control. But I like quantifiable goals and an income goal does just that, it provides me with a quantifier.
Why $10,000? It’s a nice round number and fairly achievable and it would pay for the two holidays I have scheduled for this year. I’m aiming for 50% from book sales, 30% from affiliates on my websites, and 20% from writing services I offer (articles, blog posts, etc).
If your business, website, blog or magazine requires a writer, check out my Hire Me page.
6. I want to become more confident
Success comes in many shapes and sizes but one thing that every success has in common is confidence. There are a lot of successful people out there who aren’t necessarily ‘the best’ at what they do, but they are confident.
To become successful in any arena it’s imperative to believe in yourself, because if you don’t, nobody will either. Confidence is one of my major weak points and it’s something I need to work on continuously.
As a writer, this means opening myself up for more criticism. I like a healthy dose of criticism as long as it’s done respectfully. Unfortunately, the online world has made some people think that they have permission to be rude, aggressive and vulgar towards others. But just because you aren’t sitting face to face doesn’t give you the right to be abusive. Play nice, we’re all in this together. Let’s help each other out, the world has enough hate already.
7. I want a few more things unrelated to writing.
From finishing a half marathon in under 1:45, to spending more quality time with my family and friends, to exploring new places, tasting new restaurants, embarking on unplanned journeys, building a house, learning the ropes in a new job, and being grateful for the all the wonderful little things that we take for granted.
2016 is going to be an awesome year. I’m looking forward to sharing my journey with you, and I look forward to hearing about yours.
What are your goals for 2016? How are you going to achieve them?
