2013: A Year in Writing

2013 was my first full year as a writer.  I have written in the past and actually had my first short story published in 2011.  I did write a great deal in 2012, but also had a few months where I wasn’t so disciplined.  2013 is definitely my first real year in terms of publishing, though.  

In many ways, I’m awe of what I did accomplish.  In other ways, I wished I had been more disciplined.  While I didn’t write (or do something significantly related to writing) everyday, I rarely missed writing for more than two days in a row and kept my output consistent.  

In terms of numbers, here’s my output:

• 1 Novel
• 2 Novellas
• 10 Short Stories Published or Accepted for Publication

I gave away over a 1,000 ebooks in 2013 and sold nearly 200.  If if I had to do a final accounting of my revenue versus expenditures, I’d still be in the red.  (Editing and promotion cost money.)  Obviously, I’d like to see sales increase.  That, I hope, will come in time as I get more books out there.  

I think I’m becoming both a better writer and a more efficient writer.  I have altered my style somewhat to better suit the needs and desires of my readers.  That took some adjustment.

As for 2014, I have some very ambitious goals.

My sequel to Sanctuary from the Dead should come out sometime in late January or early February.  I plan to release a collection of my short stories early in the year, too.

I’m still outlining the third book in my “Forget the Zombies” series and want to have that one out by April or May.  I’ve had more than a few people eager to see this last book in the series.  

After getting through that, I want to get out the third and fourth books of the Books of the Dead series.

Here’s hoping that 2014 allows me to keep bringing the words!