Category: quarterly goals

Posted in quarterly goals, Thoughts

My Pep Talk to Myself

Posted on by Sherri

The emotional ups and downs of being an author don’t always follow the pattern of our books’ success and failure. Too often, it is the low that comes after a super high, only to plummet back to reality.

As I look back at the month of August and what I’ve accomplished and haven’t accomplished, I find myself fighting melancholy. Why? A two-star review on Goodreads for Janie’s Secrets, not making the finals in Kindle Book Review Awards for Red Steel, feeling like I don’t have the time to do everything I need to do or want to do. I worked very hard to write a novella for the Heart of Carolina’s upcoming anthology only to realize I didn’t have time to finish it. Failure is crushing even when it is self-inflicted failure.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084LX1D1P

But I should be doing somersaults after all I have accomplished this month. Chrome Pink made it into the Amazon Top 100 Kindle Free Books. It finished #34 on Sunday, August 30th after a Free Booksy Ad. It also reached #3 in Romantic Suspense and #4 in Suspense. Over 2000 books were down loaded on Sunday and that doesn’t even count the books I sold or the ones down loaded on other sites. I should be sailing in the clouds but I allowed a bad review, not even a really bad review but a 2-star rating, crush me. Why? Because I’m human. I can tell you I’m tired, I put my heart into my stories, they’re like my children, I want people to like me/them. The truth is not everyone is going to like my stories. Not everyone is going to like me.

I’m not alone in my emotional roller coaster, many authors, especially indie authors feel the same way I do. Author Sarra Cannon, whom I follow on YouTube with her Heart Breathing Channel and whose courses, Publish and Thrive and her HB90 changed my life, speaks of mental health and well-being in her videos. We often put too much on our plates and expect to be able to perform well, but like the juggler with his chainsaws that last addition can be catastrophic.

In Sarra’s HB90 course she talks of planning quarterly, 90-day increments and even breaking those down into monthly expectations. Sitting down with a planner, thinking of what I have to do, want to do and need to do. How much time things will take and how much time I will actually have to devote to the tasks amid life, work and family. Allowing time to sleep, eat and maybe even cuddle with my husband.

https://www.youtube.com/c/SarraCannon

I really have no reason to feel down. I know much of what I’m feeling stems from fear, exhaustion and coming off the high of other successes. For those of you who fear this might be a whining session and wish to tune out, it’s not, this is my pep talk to myself and to anyone else who is happy when they see one sale a day or are thrilled when their free book gets 100 downloads. I keep telling myself I’ve only been published three years. I have six books, seven if you count my trilogy of the first three books I just released, plus I have novellas in several anthologies. I’ve come a long way in a short time. Even though I’ve been writing for over forty years, I’ve only started writing to publish in the past fifteen years with a couple of years off after losing our house and my father. We had a couple of really rough years.

So, what do I have to whine about? Nothing. I should be celebrating. I have had over 300 new subscribers to my newsletter, that is both exciting and terrifying. I thought, how can I keep these people interested? What hoops will I have to jump through to keep them? But then I thought of the ones who have been with me all along the way. My steadfast friends who read everything I write good and bad, who offer opinions and assistance, and I realized, I just need to be real. I just need to be me. Yes, I’ll lose some people but that’s okay. Some will come for the free book, some will stay a while and go, others will be here for the duration. I just need to be the best me I can be for that is all I can be. That’s all any of us can be.

I know putting my books out into the world for other people to read means some won’t like it, but some will. Channeling Sarra Cannon again, I’m going to write from my place of joy. I’m going to write the books that I feel compelled to write and hope they will appeal to readers. It is time to get back to work on Roxy’s Secret.

For those of you who received my newsletter, I sent the first few pages of the novella I was writing for the Heart of Carolina anthology. I didn’t get to finish it and I’m starting to think it might be a full-length novel. I think I might try a stand-alone novel once Roxy is wrapped up. Maybe I can tie it into my other stories. I’ll have to think about it.

My goals for August: Promote Janie’s Secrets, I’m still working on it. Start Roxy’s Betrayal, I’ve started but I’ve not made the progress I’d hoped. Increase Newsletter subscriptions, okay this has tripled thanks to Bookfunnel. Janie is free in a Bookfunnel promo this month, https://books.bookfunnel.com/weloveromancegiveaway/ao2jdazxop.

Janie’s Secret is also in a Cover of the Month contest on All Author, https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/9385/  I’d appreciate your vote.

Janie’s Secrets is also in a Book Tour on Instagram and Facebook, through September 6th. I’d appreciate your support.

https://www.instagram.com/bed.and.books/

I still need to learn more about Publisher’s Rocket but I’m tackling it in small bites.

One other thing I accomplished this month I’ve been wanting to do for a while was to combine the first three books of the Leeward Files into one book. It’s only on sale for a little while longer.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FHGPKLL

I haven’t even planned what I’m going to try to accomplish in September but we’re going to do some great things: #1 write Roxy’s Betrayal. I’ll figure out the rest but that’s the most important.

I hope my whine, rant, pep talk has helped someone else. The truth is some days this is my dream job and other days it’s a nightmare. Sometimes it’s all on the same day.

Posted in quarterly goals, Recipes, Thoughts

The Fruit is Sweeter After the Climb

Posted on by Sherri
My mom, my grandmother and my aunt…three strong women!

I keep trying to tell myself that I’ve only been a published author for three years and like any infant I must learn to crawl before I can run. It is difficult not to compare myself to other writers. Like the baby demanding it’s bottle, I want it now. I want to make the sales, to get my name out there, to get a movie deal and retire, but the fruit is sweeter after the climb.

Remembering things my grandmother told me has always given me strength and courage to persevere. She didn’t have an easy life. As a farmer’s wife, a share-cropper’s wife, she knew the hard scrabble of getting by, doing without and learning to make things herself. From her blackberry jam that was both tart and sweet with the taste of summer to selling ladies’ products out of her car down backroads all over eastern North Carolina, my grandmother knew if she wanted a better life, she had to do it herself. My grandfather worked hard. He paid the bills, but anything extra came from what my grandmother could do.

My grandmother led the way for my mother and me. She taught us that we could dream our dreams and make them come true, but no one was going to hand them to us. We had to work for them. I’m proud to come from a long line of hardworking women.

It is sometimes difficult for me to toot my own horn. I grew up believing a true southern lady (which I’ve never been able to be) was humble and quiet. Most people who know me as an adult know I’m a loudmouth with a wicked laugh and sense of humor equal to that of a teenaged boy. But I wasn’t always so vocal. It has taken me years to find my voice. It is often difficult to promote my own books and believe in myself.

Raising six boys taught me to be a little stronger, a little braver, a bit bolder but it has only been in the past few years that I’ve come to believe I might have something worth saying.

When you are promoting your books, you have to first promote yourself. It’s been scary but in the past few months I’ve started a newsletter increasing my readership from the seven original subscribers to 97 in the past four months. I’ve joined a few groups: AllAuthor and Bookfunnel and using their platforms began doing promos for my books. I’ve also bought a couple of ads from Bargain Booksy and joined a couple of free online groups on social media to help promote myself and my books. It’s a lot of work and sometimes a lot of money but I’m hoping that it’ll pay off. I can see steady traffic and that’s a good sign. As my dad would say “scared money don’t make money.” I’m trying to be brave and I’m thankful to all of you who have supported my efforts.

I now have six books out and I’m working on number seven. I’m hoping to finish a novella for an upcoming anthology.

The pandemic has made public appearances difficult. I’d just taken books around to the Brown Library, Riverwalk Art Gallery and The Next Chapter Books and Art Store when the pandemic first hit. I had a book signing at The Next Chapter but there was little traffic in the store that morning. I’m hoping to go back once Janie’s Secrets finally arrives. Covid-19 has messed up a lot of people’s plans but we’re still making progress slowly but surely.

As July ends and August begins, I can’t help but think about grandma’s blackberry jam. It was a lot of hot work to make a few jars but that first taste of sweet, tart jam reminded you that it was worth the effort. Looking at the past 30 days sales and subscribers it may not seem like a lot to someone with thousands of followers but I’m celebrating. Each sale, each new reader, each new subscriber is a blessing and a positive step forward.

Thank you to all of you who repost my promos and try to help me sell my books. Thank you to all of you who leave reviews. Your efforts make a huge difference and I cannot thank you enough. Wishing you all a happy August.

seven books sold in D2D last month may not sound like much but I’d only sold 1 the previous month

Grandma’s Blackberry Jam with my own twist

4 cups blackberries raw

1 cup sugar, white granulated

2 tablespoons Cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Mash blackberries in saucepan with potato masher. Stir in sugar until becomes juicy. Take out a little juice and mix with cornstarch in a small bowl, return to blackberries and sugar. Bring to a boil. Stir often until thickened. Approximately 15 minutes. Stir in spices and lemon juice. Remove from heat and let cool. Put into a glass bowl, cover and refrigerate until cold. Fill jars to save.

Posted in inspiration, quarterly goals

Q2 and Covid-19

Posted on by Sherri
My Q3 Goals

Quarter Three Begins

As I plan my goals and tasks for Q3, I stop to look over what I have and have not accomplished in Quarter 2. For those of you who aren’t sure what I’m talking about, I took an online program with author Sarra Cannon called HB90. In her HB90, she teaches us to break our goals down into manageable pieces to be completed over a three-month or 90-day period.

Last quarter was my first full quarter since taking the course and Covid-19 derailed a lot of my plans. I know that sounds like an excuse and it is. Like any self-employed business owner, you have to find a way to work even when the world is turned on its head.

That being said, I am still proud of what I accomplished. Some of which wasn’t on my original plan but due to the virus I altered it after I made it to try to salvage as much as I could. So, I’ll take you through the original breakdown and then tell you how I compromised.

Goal #1: Learn KDP Rocket and Increase Sales, Promote Older Books financial goal of $200, $300 or $500 (name has changed to Publisher Rocket)

https://kindlepreneur.com/

I tried to watch the training videos, but I needed to be at my computer in order to follow along. Not something I could do while at work. Excuse: too tired after selling booze all day to people who were staying home and drinking. Compromise: KDP YouTube Videos as well as D2D YouTube Videos and several other writing-business videos. I also joined All Author where I am promoting three of my books and I took out an ad with Bargain Booksy for Chrome Pink selling over 100 eBooks in one day.

My approximate sales for the quarter were $430, mostly in paperback sales locally. My Ebook sales were the best they have been: D2D: $14, Amazon: $50.

My AllAuthor profile page

While I met my second goal and wasn’t far off of my highest goal, the virus kept me from having a book signing and really promoting Red Steel, the book that came out in February. I’m going to count this goal as a win, but I will be watching those videos this quarter!

Another part of this goal was learning about SEO (search engine optimization) and META data. I think I’m getting a little better at this, but I still can’t say I understand it. This is all about the words you choose to describe your work in order to get the most attention. People cannot read my books if they don’t know they exist. So, promoting my books and my blog are an important part of the marketing I’m trying to learn.

Goal #2 Finish, Publish & Promote New Book to Increase Sales $200, $500 and $1000

Well, I finally finished writing, editing re-editing, editing again and last night I uploaded the printed book… Janie’s Secrets to KDP and ordered proof. I haven’t yet formatted and uploaded the eBook. I’m only about a month off of my goal but Covid! I really allowed myself to get derailed for about a month. At first, I was a little freaked out over the news, plus I was extremely tired both physically and mentally. People were coming in the store buying a lot of liqueur so afraid they’d close us down. It has just now started slowing down some but it’s still not back to normal.

The name was changed several times during the writing process until I settled on Janie’s Secrets. I’ve already worked out the title for the next book and I’m playing around with the third. I’m a little bit ahead here as I’ve already started planning the next two books. I’d like to be able to put out four books a year but right now, I’ll settle for three.

Since I just finished the book, I’ve not made any money from it or even planned any ads. I have started the cover reveal. I have a few things planned but I’ll add those to my Q3 goals. Have you seen the cover? I am so proud of the cover. I’m so thankful to my daughter-in-law Katelynn Hollister for taking such an awesome photo and to her friend, Raven Rayann who is such a lovely young woman and a perfect candidate for my Janie.

I love this cover!

Goal #3: Start a Newsletter, Get a following and Increase Blog following by 100, 200, or 500

Ha, ha! Yeah! Okay, I did the newsletter and I’m proud that I started with 14 and now have 48 in only three months. I call that a win. According to my website I have over three thousand followers but only 252 on WordPress.com, 14 have signed up to receive email notifications and nearly three thousand follow me on social media. Interesting and much more than I expected. I think they must include my followers on Facebook and Twitter.

Part of my goal was to have book signings and other appearances. Just before Covid restrictions I’d taken books around to different places hoping to get my name out and then everything shut down.

My author interviews for my website have increased this month with a free promo group I joined on Twitter, Shameless Self-Promo. I even had my own interview with Rebellion Lit. I submitted Red Steel to Kindle Review Reader’s Choice Award. If you get the chance, I’d appreciate your vote, I’ll post the link.

https://www.thekindlebookreview.net/2020-readers-choice-awards/

Thriller, Sherri Hollister, Red Steel

While I may not have accomplished all of my goals this past quarter, I feel that I have succeeded in accomplishing the bulk of them.

I’m working on this quarter’s goals and hope you will continue to be my inspiration and cheerleaders. My goals so far are to finish publishing Janie and start on her sister, Roxy’s story. I am determined to understand more about META data and SEO, and the business of writing and marketing. I’m hoping to build up my newsletter and social media following, and of course, sell more books!

Thank you all for you support. It means so much to me to have you on my team.

Proofs arrive next week!