One Year

One year ago today I got the first printed copy of my first book and with that published this site to give people a way to purchase it online and to get my racing jumbled thoughts out. My goals for this site and my work remains the same as it has always been. I want to be able to be honest and upfront about everything that my parenting journey entails and hopefully help another parent or two along the way. Everything I have written so far has had a reason, a point, and in some way a lesson.

My daughter said to me tonight that it would be so cool if I became super famous with my books. I have NEVER wanted that. Enough presence to generate consistent sales, would be ideal. Enough money to change my oil when needed or cover the septic being pumped or a flat tire, those would be really nice, but fame is definitely not the goal. I have put out an average of a book a month, but because my brain is...special, I have actually put them out in clusters. Marketing savvy? Not even a little.

I currently have a completed children's chapter book I am having illustrated, another children's book that I am TRYING to format, and a third with a chapter done of a concept, but no real direction. Odds are I will get that burst of motivation at some point and finish all three pending projects, but until then I should be promoting the ones I have. Problem is that they were put online, I haven't had time to plan for actual events and they and my site have been out of sight and out of mind for months.

I know logically I need to up the events and promote myself, but honestly I am so tired. I work and pour into my kids, and carving out that time just hasn't been a priority. A therapist said to me once that "you can do anything for just ten minutes" and I am going to try to apply that to my projects. Every day I am going to include it on my to do list to log into my website and book analytics. When I do take that first step I always get several things accomplished, I just have to take that first little step to leap into things needing to be done.

What is your first tiny step to work toward a big goal? Have you even thought about your goals lately? Or are you, like many of us, just surviving?