On the Cusp of the Future

The Best Christmas Ever is finally over. Four generations gathered to open presents, eat too much and play with grandchildren some hadn’t even met yet. With the leaf in the dining room table plus two card tables we managed to seat and feed the crowd. And now everyone has arrived home safely.

What do we do after Christmas? Aside from packing away the decorations and eating leftovers, we turn our eyes to the New Year. This is when we look back and measure the accomplishments of the year past and make plans for the one coming up. This is when we make our New Year’s resolutions. I think those resolutions mean more if they are made public, so I figured I’d share mine.

I am a writer first, and I’m committed to some of the characters I’ve created. So in 2016 I resolve to publish the next Stark & O’Brien adventure. I need to continue Felicity’s story arc of emotional recovery from her knife wound. I will also complete a sequel to Beyond Blue. Those characters have been calling out to me, and I now have three story lines that can wind around each other nicely to show these detectives in more depth.

I’m also a publisher, and my goals for the business are simple in theory, but most challenging to execute. Intrigue Publishing has a dozen excellent writers under contract. In 2016 I resolve to do all I can to maximize the sales of their books and, by extension, their royalties. We have negotiated a contract with a stronger distributor and plan direct promotion to bookstores nationwide to boost sales. Scheduled contests and giveaways should help with ebook sales. And we are actively seeking new ideas to improve book promotion.

Finally, I’ve become a mentor to several new authors and I appreciate that responsibility. So for 2016 I resolve to help any interested aspiring authors get their first novel (or their next novel) plotted, written and actually finished. I’ll do much of that here, filling my blog with direction, insight and inspiration that will help new writer stick to it until they have a final finished novel on their hands.   

Well, those are this writing publisher’s New Year’s Resolutions. What are yours?

I'm Baaa-aaaack!!!

A new beginning.  Every new year brings a chance to reexamine our lives and make a fresh start. For me, that process has resulted in, among other things, a new title for this blog.

In preparation for 2014 I had to plan my goals and objectives. In doing so I realized that describing this as an author’s life was no longer accurate.  The life of a publisher is also exciting, and hopefully of interest to those of you who aspire to be published authors, or who just want to know what it’s like to be one.  Besides, publishing is as big a part of my life now as writing, and the two roles are often in conflict.  We all have the same number of hours each day and have to choose carefully what we do with them.  But, as a publisher I have responsibilities to others and they often win out over my selfish desire to add words to my next novel. 

So, yes, high on my list of things to do is completion of the next Hannibal Jones mystery.  And I am dedicated to making sure the second Creatures, Crimes & Creativity conference is even better than the first.  But as editorial director of Intrigue Publishing I owe it to my partners and the emerging writers I work with to read and appraise incoming manuscripts with care, and help the authors we sign with to make their manuscripts as good as they can be.  So I add to my goals the release and publishing of at least six exceptional works of fiction.

There is also the matter of promotion to face.  Only now, in addition to marketing my own novels I must dedicate time and energy to promoting my company and helping to establish our place in the publishing community.  So my objectives now include attendance at a certain number of conferences and assisting with events that support our authors.

But I am off to a pretty good start. I’ve set myself some deadlines.  I’ve cleaned out my office so I now have an uncluttered place to work.  I’m scheduled to be on panels at two literary conferences.  I’m 58,000 words into my next novel and realized this week that it needs another suspect. And Intrigue already has three magnificent books in the hopper scheduled for 2014 release.

SO, if you’re interested in how I juggle my different roles and seek balance in my life, or if you just want to know how my books and publishing venture are doing, keep reading this blog.  And if you have something to say about the writing life, or the life of a publisher, please send me your thoughts and opinions at ascamacho@hotmail.com. I am always happy to host guest blogs.

And I’m always happy to see comments on my blogs.  In this case, what are YOUR plans for 2014? And how will you stick to those plans?