With the 2016 2K Indie Book Tour over, we’re back to our regular programming on the blog. And since it’s the first of the month, it’s time to reflect on February.
I’m really proud of my February progress. Considering my regular routine was (happily) interrupted by a trip home to Kansas as well as by Daniel attending an out-of-state conference then jetting home to Australia, I think I did a decent job of staying on track with my goals. The first draft of Desertera #2 is still on schedule for its April 1st editing date, and my nonfiction booklets are churning out as planned. While I didn’t read as much as I would have liked, I did squeeze in a few other intellectual activities, and that’s always a bonus.
Writing
- Blog Posts Written — 5 (but posted 16 interviews/guest articles)
- Fiction Words Written — 16,214
- # of Days I Wrote Fiction — 11
- Nonfiction Prompts Written — 90 prompts (plus front/back matter material)
- # of Days I Wrote Non-Fiction — 6
- Outlines Written — 1 (100 Children’s, Teen, and Young Adult Writing Prompts)
- Days Without Writing — 12
Editing/Revising
- Drafts Revised — 2 proofreads of 100 Romance Writing Prompts (Fiction Ideas Vol. 2)
- # of Days I Revised — 3
Reading
- Books Finished
- The Earl and the Artificer (The Ingenious Mechanical Devices #3) by Kara Jorgensen
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- Book Launch Blueprint: The Step-by-Step Guide to a Bestselling Launch by Tim Grahl
- Books Begun/In-Progress
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: No Future for You by Brian K. Vaughn
- Books Reviewed
- None on the blog
*Remember, I review every book I read on my Goodreads page.
Author Business Activities
- Published 100 Romance Writing Prompts (Fiction Ideas Vol. 2)
- Read the second edition of The Curious Tale of Gabrielle by Zachary Paul Chopchinski and hosted an interview with his protagonist, Gabrielle
- Co-hosted the 2016 2K Indie Book Tour with Kate Evans
- Hosted Sandy on my blog, and had Thomas write for hers
- Completed an interview on fellow author Margarita Morris’s website
- Participated in the #AuthorLifeMonth Instagram photo challenge
- Sent two email newsletters
- Made a profit on my first paid advertising for The Cogsmith’s Daughter (Desertera #1)
- Attended a self-publishing webinar hosted by Joanna Penn
- Watched the Author Publishing Academy video series by Steve Scott
- Watched the Six Months to Six Figures video series by Peter Voogd
- Watched the Book Launch Blueprint video series by Tim Grahl
Goals for March
- Finish the first draft of Desertera #2
- Initial edit/clean up of Desertera #2
- Publish 100 Children’s, Teen, and Young Adult Writing Prompts (Fiction Ideas Vol. 3)
- Try a different paid advertisement for The Cogsmith’s Daughter (Desertera #1)
- Resume vlogging
- Deliver my birthday gifts to YOU!
Who else has accomplishments to share from February? What are you working toward in March? Share in the comments!
Kate M. Colby 
Another busy month, Kate! Can you believe it’s March already?
Do you mind my asking who you advertised with? I’ve been trying a few different things with Oak and Mist, to mixed results. I do think that paid advertising is the way to go, though 🙂
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I don’t mind at all. I used The Fussy Librarian, an email newsletter service similar to BookBub. My next advertisement will be with Bargain Booksy. I’m keeping all elements the same, for the most accurate comparison, then I plan to share my full results in a blog post. I will also probably run more ads, with TCD at discounted prices and possibly with different copy. But for now, I’m taking it slow and trying to be as “scientific” as possible while I test the waters.
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Thanks, Kate 🙂 Yes, it really is best to approach it that way – then you know what works and what doesn’t. I must say I didn’t have much luck with Bargain Booksy, however I’ve heard other writers say they had very successful campaigns, so I’ll be interested to see how yours goes. I’ll check out the Fussy Librarian – thanks again for sharing 🙂
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