I wanted to do a post before the end of the year thanking everyone who has purchased a copy of any of my books. I do donate part of my author royalties to my local animal shelter, and I wanted to give an update on that, since I know I've been amiss in doing so and some of you might be wondering if I've kept true to my promise. I don't have an exact figure because I suck at accounting and bookkeeping and all the financial things, but after attempting to come up with a figure this past weekend, I estimate I have donated approximately $800 to Greenville County Animal Care so far. That includes all of the pet food, pet supplies and other donations including money I've used to sponsor animals on the euthanasia list. A huge thank you also to my couponing, sales savvy best friend who helped me gather twice the donations I would have done otherwise, and for being my delivery person in getting them to the shelter more often than not. And, from the bottom of my heart, thank YOU for taking a chance on my books. I know there are a lot of great reads to choose from, but I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to use what I love to give back to a cause I believe in. I like to think that together we've saved a few lives this year. Let's help save some more in 2015, okay?
*High fives!!*
Looking ahead ...
I really try not to do resolutions because I think they're a bunch of rubbish, but since I've been struggling to stay motivated lately, I thought, "Eh. Why not?" But rather than making resolutions I know myself well enough to know I'll never keep — lose weight (bahahahaha), get in shape (BAHAHAHAHA), etc. — I'm keeping these resolutions strictly geared to my writing. And I'm only making two of them, so that should be easy to keep, right? Gulp.
No. 1 – Marketing Mondays for Writers
I suck at book promotion. Really, I do. But so do most writers, I think. So I thought I'd start a feature here on my blog where, each Monday, I share some promotion tips I've learned that kind of, sort of do work for me, and I might invite some of my more successful author friends to share advice, too. Why? Because I've lost track of how many times on forums, in writer's groups, and in chats I've seen new writers (and even experienced ones) ask for help because they are completely clueless about selling their books. And I'm all about paying it forward and even though I suspect I know as much about book marketing as my cat Dusti, maybe I know more than that poor lady bawling over her keyboard in Fill in the Generic Location because she doesn't even know where to start. And the fact that my post for new writers is one of the highest-trafficked posts on my blog EVER, I think there's a need for it. We'll see.
No. 2 – Finish Connor's book
This one is to keep me in gear, guys. I'm still working on the fourth book in my psychic detectives series, but I'm also working on another project now that could be brilliant or a complete disaster. My lovely editor had asked me a while back to consider writing a novella from the points of view of Abbott and Costello and Charlie. I made no promises, but the idea intrigued me enough that I've decided to give it a try and see what happens. Fingers crossed.
That's it! Pretty simple, huh?
Again, I want to thank anyone who has taken the time to read this, buy any of my books, or write a review for any of my stories. I hope each and every one of you has a great New Year's Eve!
Mwah!
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