New Year Goals 23/1/19

Happy 2019 everyone!

I know. I know.

We’re weeks into the new year, and the holidays are a dim and distant memory.

However, the second half of 2018 was a bit of a write off for me what with one thing and another. Now it’s the new year, and it’s taken me a while to get out of holiday mode and into a place where I’m raring to go.

Bring on the year!

My friend and mentor, Sarah Painter is a big fan of setting herself goals for each year, so I thought I’d give it a try too. I’ve never done this formally before, so here we go. Finger’s crossed I don’t show myself up at the end of the year by not achieving half of what I’m aiming for.

So, in 2019:

1. I’d like to sell 1000 copies of Folkland Fables

2. I want to take all the photos required for the follow up book to Folkland Fables, which is about the fairy tale creatures who live around the coast of Scotland.

3. I’d like to etch at least five of the pictures for my next book (with at least one done by Open Studios North Fife in May).

4. I want to buy 1000 copies of Folkland Fables (printed in China which is much cheaper, but a big outlay) and get them into shops across Scotland.

---

Suspicion and Superstition

At the moment, I’m thrilled to be working on a commission. It’s a book cover to the new edition of Suspicion and Superstition by local author Annie Harrower-Gray. This book is a dark social history of the Fife Coast, and my cover will feature a preacher, the devil, stampeding pigs and knitting women.

I really love my job!

No pictures yet, but I’ll give you a sneak peek when I can.

---

New Skills

The last few weeks I’ve been learning how to promote a book – especially on Amazon. I’m not naturally talented at marketing, so as you can imagine, this has been a huge learning curve. Luckily there are brilliant tutorials online, and I think I’m understanding the basics now.

I also whiled away an afternoon by dreaming big. Maybe a little too big, but I can always remorgage the house…

---

Reviews

I’ve had a couple of wonderful reviews of Folkland Fables on blogs, which has been fantastic. The Happy Daze of Life review almost made me cry, and the Off The Record review convinced me I was doing something worthwhile. If Folkland Fables is loved by a 23 year old man who thought he’d left magic and wizardry behind him, then I must be doing something right.

Off The Record did this interview with me as well, which was published a couple of days ago.

I also need to ask you a favour.

I don’t have many reviews on my book’s Amazon page. Having reviews really affects how much books are seen on Amazon, so if you’ve read Folkland Fables and have five minutes free, I wonder if you could write a one sentence review for me on Amazon. It can even be just a couple of words. It’s not the length of the reviews, but the amount of them that counts.

The review doesn’t have to be five stars, or anything fancy at all. Just quick honest reviews from people who’ve read it.

If you’ve not read Folkland Fables yet, then here’s a link to the first few pages so you can see what all the fuss is about. Preview of Folkland Fables

---

Competition

In Folkland Fables I put small animals (tortoise, ladybird, owl etc) in every picture. I’m planning my next book at the moment about the fairy creatures living off Scottish coast, and need your help to choose new coastal animals to feature in every picture.

This is a competition to choose small animals NOT the fairy creatures.

They don’t need to be Scottish animals
I’ll name you in the book if picked.
I’ll pick my favourites
One animal per person

Just email me back with an animal and I’ll add you to my list. I’ll let you know at a later date if you’ve been chosen.

As always, thank you so much for your support and your interest in me and my books. I truly appreciate everyone of you.

Jenni x

Comments

---

My Other Blog Posts