Tif’s 2024 Goals
Hello Dear Readers and Happy New Year!
A few days ago I posted about Blacksteel Press’s plans for 2024. But I’ve been doing some thinking and I have some of my own goals I wanted to put down into writing. Blabbing to everyone about writing my debut novel gave me some great accountability and got me across the finish line. So if it works, why change it? Lucky you, you get to hear all about my ambitions for the next year!
Before jumping into that, I want to speak candidly about the last half of 2023. I’ve mentioned before that I work in healthcare. I love taking care of people, but the emotional weight of it was starting to become unhealthy. To put it frankly, I was getting incredibly depressed. I had no energy for anything after work. I just wanted to come home and sleep. I got stuck in the doom-scrolling spiral on social media. I just felt exhausted and miserable all the time. This isn’t normal. I’ve spoken openly about struggling with depression in the past, and I’ve dealt with it enough to know when it’s time to make some changes. It was time to make some changes.
I’m going somewhere with all this, I promise.
I’m moving out of 100% full-time patient care and into more of an administrative role. My hope, and my plan, is to take this year and really focus on setting the foundation for my own business so that sometime in the next 6 to 18 months (depending on how things go), I can make the leap and transition to full-time author and artist. (See, now we’re getting to the goals!) This is kind of the sprint to the finish for me. I want to lay all the groundwork so I can leave the healthcare world and set out on my own to make weaving stories for you all my full-time gig. (Which is scary AF, but that’s another post for another time.)
I’m hoping that I won’t feel quite so drained at the end of the day and I will have a lot more energy to write and work on things for Blacksteel Press and Dusty Rabbit Media. This leads me to the good stuff!
Here are some of the projects that I have planned for 2024:
Release the second edition of A Songbird’s Tale!
I wasn’t able to afford a copy/grammar editor (I spent it on a developmental editor instead, which I have mixed feelings about), and now that my book is in the wild, I’ve had some friends and family point out some typos. I need to go in and correct those. I would also like to add in a Map of Tigraen, as well as an Appendix. Fun stuff!
Get an Audio Book version of Songbird’s Tale produced.
For all you audiobook listeners out there, I’m working on it! It’s not a cheap or fast process. Pretty much every person who I told I was writing a novel over the last two+ years would ask if there would be an audiobook version. I’m going to do my best to bring you one in 2024. ^.~
Begin my new series!
I want to plunge headfirst into writing my next book, which is the first in a series called The Drialadon Tragedies. It takes place in Galhadria, but in the coastal country of Drialadon. This should be a fun, swashbuckling adventure. If you enjoy theatre, the mafia, heist stories, or if you are a fan of Mistborn, or the Lies of Locke Lamora, then this series may be right up your alley. I would like to have my first draft done by mid-year.
Release some merch!
Guys. I love things like pins and stickers and swag. I love crafting and creating. I want to spend more time drawing, painting, and making things this year. I hope to open an etsy shop and be able to offer stickers, pins, and prints by the end of the year.
Grow my social media accounts
Connecting with my readers and getting the word out about my book requires more posting on social media. Love it or hate it, it feels like a necessary evil.
Bonus goal - READ MORE BOOKS.
I am not a great audiobook listener, so when I read I typically have to sit down and read on Kindle or a physical copy. There’s not always a lot of time for that. I have a massive “to-read” list piling up, and I really want to get on top of that. Plus reading tends to make me feel inspired to write. In 2023 my goal was to read at least one book a month. I sort of squeaked by and hit my goal because I read some shorter comics and graphic novels. This year, I want to try to read at least 12 books, but hopefully 24. Fingers crossed. Again, hoping a better emotional work-life balance will go a long way towards this.
Those are the big ones this year. Do you have any goals or New Year’s resolutions that you’ve set? I’d love to hear about them! Till next time dear reader, keep working on your goals, take care of yourself, and be sure to drop me a note and let me know what kind of merch you want to see this year! <3 Tiff
