The New Year’s No-Way-in-Hell list

This is sort of going to be about resolutions. Or maybe goals. Something like that. I’ve been sitting here trying to figure this stuff out all day–which has led to lots of blog entries, ’cause I have to either write or walk when I think. And it’s snowing. So, well, here’s another post.

But for various reasons I prefer thinking of November 1 as the first day of the year. As it happens, there has “historically” (over how long a span, again?) been a post-Christmas spike in ebook sales. And it may be that getting ready for such a thing is important. I really don’t know–maybe it is. So I’ll talk about now-to-then. Only.

Thing is…I think Joe Konrath and Dean Wesley Smith are probably right about a lot of things. Among them is the notion that, while other activities may be useful in promoting ebooks, the single best use of a writer’s time is (wait for it…) writing new stuff. That’s write: New. Stuff.

There’s so much else to do, though! What about:

• Creating print and audio versions of the stuff I’ve already written
• Reading lots and lots of blogs about writing and publishing
• Advertising! Here lie AdWords, friendly site owners, Goodreads, and more!
• Posting stuff on Kindle Boards, Goodreads, whatever…won’t interacting with potential readers, one by one, help me build an audience?
• For God’s sake, what about Twitter? John Locke sez I gotta!
• Revisions! Of everything! Until it’s all perfect and current and true and good!
• Reading and obsessing over reviews
• Facebook
• For fuck’s sake, don’t forget stalking reviewers of other books to see if they’ll write about mine too!
• Oh yeah–blogging. Ahem.

I think you see where I’m going here. Years ago I started writing, and then let events stop me for a while. If I had just kept going, I’d have all sorts of things written by now. I wish I’d done that. It would’ve been way more fun than the stuff I did instead…though that wasn’t so bad either. Hmm. Should I have admitted that? Life’s been pretty good the last few years.

But anyway: I’m looking forward to more actual, by-god writing. Because I love doing it.

So. My resolutions for the span of time ranging from about-now through Samhain:

1. I will not ask for, obsess over, or so much as read any reviews of my books. I’ll appreciate the hell out of them in November, in one giant review-gulp. But not before.
2. I will not check any online ebook sales reports until then. Certainly not on a daily basis…ahem.
3. I will do nothing at all about audiobooks or print versions. I really want to. But not now–I’m busy.
4. I will post absolutely nothing to my Facebook author page or Goodreads (though my blog posts go to both places automagically).
5. I will not blog more than twice a week, and never just to post a status update. Of anything.
6. I will not tweet, or check email, or read/write blogstuff, until my working day is over.

This is probably not sustainable over the long haul. But for a few months? I figure it’s worth trying. So here’s what I’ll be doing instead:

I will write and publish three (3) novels, and possibly some short stories, by October 31st. I promise.

I hope you like them.