Where am I at for 2017? / Happenings In The Outhouse 16-Dec-2016

In October 2015, I posted a blog in regards to my goals through the end of 2017.
My focus has still remained the same: publishing more.


Seems simple.  But what am I publishing?


In reviewing where I want to be in twelve months, I have enhanced the vision for my publishing empire.  There are three components:


1) Publishing

2) Educating

3) Marketing

First, let's tackle publishing.  In Q1 and possibly Q2, I am going to finish the last two books in the Shadowkill Trilogy.  From there, I want to start on a superhero book or two, a nonfiction book on travelling for type one diabetics, the fifth book in the Central Division thriller series, and even put together a novel that incorporates those involved in my successful novelette Guest Of Honor.

But that isn't all.  I have a number of books I've written and would like to do a complete re-write to bring them to a publishable form.  What do I have?  Two horror novels and a fantasy epic novel.  I do have another horror novel (a deer hunting horror story), but I'm not quite certain about that one.

Okay, on to educating, the second leg to the empire.  And before you ask, no I am not doing the educating.  I am furthering my education.  As I mentioned last week, I am going on a podcast fast.  This will still continue into 2017.  There are a few choice podcasts I will still listen to, but even those will be far and few between.

So, what am I educating myself on?  First is reading fiction.  I find myself late to the party on many great books/series, and will continue to read these.  Not that I haven't read books, but this time I will be taking it to the next level while cutting back on other needless activities.  Next in the education category are web-based training like James Patterson's Masterclass, Dean Wesley Smith's WMG workshops, and David Farland's Story Doctor training.  These are fairly inexpensive ($99 for the Masterclass is the most of the three) due to a limited budget.

The third part of my publishing empire is the marketing leg.  Or the dreaded M-word.  First is to capitalize on the Central Division series by making the first novel free and offering other freebies.  Others include creating better covers, enhancing product descriptions, and even reviewing keywords.  Then, I will be looking into some paid advertising.

As you can tell, I'm still keeping it simple.  Publishing, educating, and marketing.

What are your plans for 2017?