End of the Year Reflections

As everyone knows, 2020 was a very challenging year in a number of ways. Most of us have had our lives impacted profoundly (if not permanently) by the pandemic.  In short, this thing has taken its toll.

In terms of writing, I didn't get as much done as I was hoping.  The goal was to publish at least three Kid Sensation books, but I only got two done.  That's going to result in me trying to step it up this year and write four. (Basically, one per quarter.)  It's certainly doable - that's essentially the pace I was on when I first started the series - but will require me to knuckle down in a way that's been elusive of late.  

There was some good news, though.  For instance, I crossed the 20,000 threshold in terms of audiobooks sold. To be honest, however, the achievement is a little bittersweet. Frankly speaking, audio is difficult to market - especially when you're exclusive to Audible (like I am) and lack the ability to run discounts and such.  You simply market as best you can and hope that Audible will include your title in a sale at some point. Thus far, after almost 5 years of creating audiobooks, I've been included in exactly 1 sale (which was around the time I started).  Still, I really can't complain as I will end this year having sold around 5000 audiobooks in 2020, which is actually pretty good. (Another author recently told me he's only sold about 5 - yes, five - over the past few years.)  And I've already talked about Audiblegate, so I won't go into that again.  However, bearing everything in mind, I'm currently considering other options for audio.  (Just to be clear, my audio titles would still be available on Audible and Amazon, but I may use another platform to create them.)

Also, the two Kid Sensation books were well-received, with both achieving a #1 Bestseller ranking.  That, of course, is clearly indicative of fan support and reader interest in the series, for which I am incredibly grateful.   In addition, I don't want to overlook Ignotus (Fringe Worlds #3), which was also released this year.  It didn't do as well as the Kid Sensation novels (and those are admittedly hard to match), but I'm pleased with the book's performance, and - most importantly - readers enjoyed it.

Finally (and this will come as no surprise to anyone), selling books became more competitive in 2020.  There are more people writing and releasing titles, but that has been the case for a while now. Moreover, it's trend that's likely to continue, making it that much harder to get visibility and attract new readers. However, a CEO once gave me the following advice about dealing with crises in business:

"In good time times, good companies do well. In bad times, good companies get better."

Needless to say, my publishing goal is to get better on all fronts.  Not quite a New Year's resolution, but there you have it. (And speaking of which, have a Happy New Year!)