By Brian Feinblum
Looking to welcome in the New Year with what you already love and cherish? No, I am not talking about your pets, spouse, or kids — or your favorite sexual position or most beloved erotic romance site. We’re talking about you writing and reading books.
Here are 20 resolutions for romance writers and book readers to commit to for 2024 — and beyond:Professionally, take these goals to heart:1. Write more books. Never stop writing. Explore all of your ideas to their natural conclusions.
2. Work in your craft. Choose better words. Experiment with your style. Hold your work to a higher standard. Give every sentence a litmus test.
3. Write books that are needed or desired. Serve society by supplying books that will inform, entertain, enlighten, or inspire us. Don’t just churn out volumes of what you think is commercially viable.
4. Edit your writing better. Tighten up the prose. Clean up the sloppiness. Let language and punctuation be your asset.
5. Ask questions. Let your curiosity guide you. May your imagination help you see a better world — then write about it!
6. Break some rules. No one can tell you what to write or how to write it — screw the so-called experts.
7. Market your books more effectively. That means take ownership of your book promotions. Plan to take action. Outsource to a pro. Collaborate.
8. Do what you have avoided. Social media? Fixing your website? Getting on the speaker circuit? Do it! No more waiting, whining, or delaying.
9. Attend more writer ‘s conferences and workshops — learn and network more. Travel, stay local, or use zoom — but learn, mingle, and test your ideas with peers.
10. Get some help. Beg, trade, pay for, or donate in order to get help and favors. For instance, hire a book publicist. Beg friends for help. Trade books for access. Give books or content away for building your mailing list.
11. Take your passions and move them from hobby mode to Defcon 5-level intensity. Write with an urgency and the expectation of being published and marketing your book.
12. No longer accept No for an answer. Rejection by one is not rejection by all. Keep asking for whatever you want until you hear a Yes. Think about it. If an author gets 97 query rejections but succeeds on No. 98, what do we call this? A published author. We don’t say “Oh, she had one win and 97 losses.” All of the rejections mean nothing. The published book is all that matters.
Resolve to be a better book denizen:13. Buy more books, especially from indie bookstores. Amazon is a necessary evil, but where possible, buy from your local indie proprietor or Barnes and Noble.
14. Read more books. You didn’t really need me to tell you this, did you?
15. Donate more used books and gift new ones to family and friends.
16. Volunteer at a library or literacy center. Give the gift of reading to others. Cherish literacy for all.
17. Join more free speech groups — and be active. This means donate to their cause, participate in their events, support their activities, and speak out to protect our most cherished right.
18. Form — or participate in — a book club and discuss books with anyone, anytime. Why not?
19. Support other authors by attending book signings and at any events where authors speak.
20. Experiment with your content, prose, and writing style. Be willing to stretch yourself and try out a new author voice. Go where your keyboard has not yet gone!
May 2023 bring you literary riches, peace, love, health, and happiness!
Ring in this New Year — and every day of your life — with the pure, beautiful, and enduring love of books!
About the author
Brian Feinblum is a leading book promoter and marketer based in New York, having helped thousands of authors to succeed over the past three decades. He founded his award-winning blog, www.bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com, a dozen years ago and has garnered over 3.5 million page views. He can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com
Want to hear me in action? Listen to this podcast -- I was interviewed recently...
For the past three decades I have promoted over 1,000 authors, ranging from bestselling authors such as Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Susan RoAne, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler, as well as first-time, self-published, unknown authors.
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