State of the Pen 2023

Around this time every year I like to reflect on one of my newer passions, writing. It’s been three years since I began self-publishing books and maintaining a weekly blog. Writing is therapeutic for me on a personal level, but also includes an added benefit of helping others through shared experiences and knowledge.

So, what is the current state of this hobby / business / passion? Stronger than ever! I can’t recommend strongly enough to anyone considering putting pen to paper to just go for it!  Writing is an exceptional outlet, even if no one is listening.  That being said, this past year my writing journey was a little different than the first two years. Allow me to share some details that may be insightful.

Book sales. Lifetime book sales are over 800 copies with 187 copies sold so far this year! I’ve stated on numerous occasions, I certainly don’t write to sell books, but it’s pretty rewarding when someone is actually interested enough in what you have to say to purchase and read your book! What’s more, reviews are slowly creeping up. I’ve learned over the past three years that reviews are directly proportional to sales. This year’s book sales are a little lower on average than the previous two years because I didn’t publish a new title and I didn’t spend as much on advertising. Which brings me to observation #2….

Business operations. While I certainly don’t write solely to sell books, learning about the business side of the endeavor has been almost as rewarding of an experience as the catharsis that comes from putting pen to paper. I would have never imagined a few years ago that I’d be interested in things like advertising cost of sales, impressions and clicks! This year, I can’t take a loss on the business, so I’ve advertised much less. Additionally, I decided some time ago to stick to advertising purely on Amazon. I got tired of reading the sometimes-disturbing comments I received when advertising on social media! This year I’ve explored brand advertising something I hope to invest more in next year.

New outlets and content. This is probably the area where I’ve stagnated. I realize that to remain even remotely relevant, I’ve got to come up with new and interesting material! I believe my website has gotten stale, but then again, I’m not pushing a lot of traffic to it. I haven’t progressed on my fifth book as far as I wanted; just got overcome by events at times this year. I also know my blog material needs some improvement. This year I drifted from mostly self-help blogs on real estate and personal finance to much more personal reflection. While I’ve certainly enjoyed reflecting on all the many things going on in my life, I realize my ruminations may not be exactly helpful to others! This year I did do one new thing. I was on two video podcasts. It was an honor to even be asked to participate and although I’ve always hated hearing my recorded voice, they turned out pretty good.

What’s the road ahead on this writing adventure? In the near term, more of the same, but in 2024 I am definitely committed to finishing my new book. I also really want to crack the code on advertising by finding the right balance of budget and exposure. Finally, I plan to breath some life into my website and blogging in general.  I may go back to dropping new content on Wednesdays as that just seemed like a better fit.

Regardless of the “state” of my pen, I have no intentions of abandoning what, for me is a rewarding and enjoyable pastime. While I’ve shared experiences and lessons learned on a variety of topics over the past three years, I hope a reader would take away the one not so glaringly obvious theme- let it out! Get it on paper! Share with others! I am so glad I took this path.

Enjoy books about, you guessed it, Leading – Investing – Living? Check out my Amazon author page here!

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