Those of you who have been reading my work since the beginning (or close to it) know that I used to write and publish frequently. My goal when I started out was to write and publish as quickly as possible, seeing the value of momentum (and I published eight books that year*). In fact, from Tangled Web (April 2011) through Bullet (February 2013), I wrote and published a total of 17 books (which averages out to approximately one book every month and a half. And if you don’t like my math, remember I’m a writer, not a mathematician!).
I got a lot of attention for Bullet and that entire year was amazing! But, without going into a lot of details, I was clueless when it came to marketing and, not long after that, I had a hard time getting my books noticed, even with established readers. I started doing research into how to market (and I’m pretty good at it now, I think). I started a newsletter (a rookie mistake in that I didn’t start there!) and I began paying for ads and promotions. But I started to believe that wasn’t enough.
So I began to focus on craft. I think I began as a decent storyteller, but now I believe I am even better. I read a lot of in-depth books on storytelling (seriously, a LOT!!) and applied what I was learning as I went (and I’m still reading and growing). I used to be a “pantser” in terms of my writing style but, thanks to what I’ve learned, I’ve become a dedicated plotter—and I’m better for it. When I spend the time up front plotting, I can (and do) write faster. Sure, I still have “pantsing” moments where I’m inspired to change the plot a little, but having those guideposts in place—even with the occasional detour—has helped me get to my destination faster and with more confidence that I’ve done it well.
(And side note: in the early days, I used to self-edit; as a writer who holds three degrees in English and who has worked as an occasional editor, I trusted myself—plus I couldn’t afford to pay someone to edit my work back then. Today, I do have an editor and have found that I will always miss errors in my work, no matter how good an editor I am—I’m just too close to my work to catch it all.)
Over the years, my sales have dwindled despite my best efforts, but that’s okay. Still, when I began publishing and after the success of Bullet, I was convinced I could make writing my sole means of income. It’s not—and please know that I’m not complaining when I say that. However, becoming a full-time author remains my goal.
So, in December 2025, I wrote out my writing/publishing goals for the next year, and I was surprised how many there were! But they all focused on one main goal: to earn a living writing. That’s what 2026 is all about for me—finding out if I can get there. How am I doing it? I’m focusing on writing and publishing, because I know my new releases make more money than older books. My goal is to write 60,000 words a month, so I have daily goals as well. My daily word count is my main goal and one I am not comprising on—so some goals have fallen to the wayside (for instance, I wanted to post on four social media channels weekly, and that just hasn’t happened).
And here’s the problem with my main goal (writing)—it’s difficult if not impossible to find time in my schedule to edit/revise what I’ve already written (I have a full-time job and a side job teaching…plus life)! Because I have much heftier writing goals than I have in the past, it’s more difficult. But I also know that, once I get in a rhythm, it’ll be easier. And I’m proud of myself. Since January 1, I’ve been hitting those goals…and that means that, as of today, I’ve written 173,233 words this year (which is more than I’ve written in some entire years in the past)!
Part of why I wanted to talk about it here was to let you know. I’m going to finish writing series I’ve started (and then ignored) in the past, and I’m planning to finish books I started writing years ago that you may not have even heard of. During my journey studying craft, I lost confidence in my skills and abilities, but now it’s back and I’m ready to tackle it all!
I’ll be talking about AI in the future (because I have lots of opinions), but I want to assure you that I am writing my books—not AI. And I hope my past track record, long before AI, provides evidence for that (not to mention my writing style and “voice”). I know it’s sometimes hard to tell if something was written by AI (I have to read student papers frequently, and it gets harder and harder to figure out who’s cheating by having AI do the actual work), and maybe in the long run it doesn’t matter. I don’t know. But I do know that if you want to read an author who has written her own work, I’m one of them!
And if you’re someone who has been with me for a long time, scroll down to see my plans for the remainder of 2026 if you’re curious.** I can do this!
Also…thank you so much for sticking around.
Oh. I almost forgot. What if I don’t see anything changing over the next year, despite all my efforts? Well, first of all, I don’t want to imagine my plan not working but let’s entertain that thought for just a moment. Let’s say my plans don’t yield the results I’m seeking. What then?
Well…I’m still a storyteller. I’ve been doing this for so long now that I can’t imagine not doing it. But I’ll shift from trying to make a living at it to only doing it for fun. Don’t get me wrong—I’ll still publish, but I won’t keep sinking money into it. Most of the time, I just put all my earnings back into my business to gain visibility for my work. So if my efforts don’t reap the benefits, then I’ll just ease back into a less strenuous writing rhythm…and not worry about what happens with my books after I click publish.
And this year I will have at least proven to myself that I can write like the wind!
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* The eight books I published in 2011: the first five books in what used to be the Nicki Sosebee series; Stating His Case (now known as Love and Lust); Fabric of Night (now titled Love and Redemption); and Worst Mother (republished as Love and Sorrow)
** Plans for the remainder of 2026:
- publish Shade Me (Rock Stars on the Rise #4) in April
- finish writing Shape Me (Rock Stars on the Rise #5) and then publish in May
- Rewrite Just One Wish (a novella that kicks off the Wishes series that I started writing in 2014!), followed by the next three books in the series (and, in the process, finish off that series)
- then I plan to write the second book in the Codie Snow series (another series I started back in 2016 and ended on a cliffhanger; yeah, sorry—asshole move—but I’m rectifying it now!)
- later in the year, I’ll be writing the final two books in the Pretense & Promises series (another series I started back in 2017—the paperbacks and audio are through a publisher who had to back away for a while, and—at the time—I told them I’d hold off on writing the other two books, so I’ll have to reach out to them before publishing, but that’s a bridge I’ll cross later)
- I will also finish writing Guilty as Charged, a book I had shopped to Harlequin, and the editor I was working with was interested; however, I lost my mom right around that time and had those confidence issues I talked about earlier and wound up setting the story aside. That said, what I wrote was objectively good and I can’t wait to share it with you!
- I also plan to finish writing a book (Taking Chances) I was cowriting with a friend. One of her pennames was Selene Chardou, and we had written about half of the book when she passed away. I am going to resurrect it and find a publisher for it, because I want the proceeds to go to her daughters, and I’m not sure how to arrange all that on my own.
Believe it or not, that only takes us (writing-wise) up to November, based on the pace I am currently maintaining, but that does take us through 2026 in terms of publishing. I have a huge list of concepts and plotted books to come after that, so I’m not worried about what I’ll write the rest of the year. In fact, I can hardly wait!
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