March writing update

I set out a few goals for this year, and here's where they stand at the end of month 3 of 2018:

Writing goals: My YA novel launched! And my Dreamers short. I started writing the next short, but I'm having a bit of trouble. The YA needed additional edits after I saw the paperback proof, so hopefully I can finish it in early April instead. The second romance novella is off with the editor and the first is up for preorder.

Reading goals: I finished Help! My Facebook Ads Suck! and have been seeing some nice success with ads for the YA. I also read a few romance novels and an alternative history ("speculative fiction" I think it's called as well) and they were all so different. It's been fun to read with a writer's eye and figure out what kinds of things I'd like to start trying in my own writing. While not a book on writing per se, "Hourglass" by Dani Shapiro is a memoir on writing and marriage that certainly gave me a lot to think about.

I started "Pivot" as well, and am slowly working through it. The exercises will hopefully help me identify what direction I should take the second half of the year. More fiction, or more WML?

Personal goals: I was sugar-free for most of the month, which felt great, but I didn't work out very much. Once I started eating sugar again, I tried 20 minutes of movement per day (yoga, walking, a youtube workout) to try and balance things better. My son was sick the entire last week of the month and I have now caught of bit of his cold/sinus thing, so I'm not ending the month feeling terribly healthy unfortunately.

I think I will try meditating in April, in an effort to refocus and center myself a bit better. With the weather finally getting a bit warmer, perhaps I'll try to sneak in some lunchtime walks as well in an effort to be more active.

Podcasting/WML goals: Things are right on schedule! All numbers are up from last month, so they should keep growing! The Facebook group in particular has been a real joy, and seeing all the connections being made there is incredibly inspiring and motivating.

Financial goals: For the first time since I started 11 months ago, I made more than $100 in sales! I'm actually at $200 and with around $90 in ad spend, that's still a "profit" of $110. Now, I also spent roughly $600 on website domain renewal, conference registrations, and other sundry business items, so I'm a long way from breaking even. But my highest month before this was $20 in sales, and with the third book in the YA series coming out next month, getting a handle on ads will hopefully be a big factor in maintaining this level of income. Then, with the romance novellas this summer, increasing that income!

There we go for the third monthly update of 2018!