Q4 2024: Setting Intentional Goals

This week was just as busy as the last few have been, but for different reasons. My oldest daughter spent a few nights with us early in the week, which was great because we had some time to catch up and chat a little, even if she is a beautiful little distraction. After that, the youngest daughter and I both came down with a bug that sidelined us for a couple of days; we even missed church on Wednesday night, but the rest did us both some good. We spent a little time laying around, healing and rehydrating, and by the time we were better it was Friday, which I had set aside for a shopping date with my spiritual mom.

I did get some writing time squeezed in, but first...

I've been thinking a lot this week about my goals as a writer, and some of my downtime was spent working on making those goals a little more concrete. So while I was stuck in bed, I examined my platform numbers, book sale stats, and current progress and trajectory, then turned that information into goals for the rest of the year.

Those of you who have been with me for a while might remember a few years ago, when I used to share my quarterly goals for growth, both in my writing life and my personal life. The problem with those goals (and the reason I eventually stopped posting them) was that I had a habit of expecting way too much from myself, so I'm keeping it simple this time around and limiting myself to five goals for the upcoming fourth quarter of the year.

If you'd like to see how my goals play out for this quarter, make sure you follow me on Instagram; I'll be checking off goals as they're accomplished, and will update and share the above image to my stories!

We're now thirty-one weeks away from the release of the second edition FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM, and while the writing and editing are pretty much complete, I'm still waiting for feedback from one beta reader before sending this book to the last person who will see it before the files are totally finalized. There are a few kinks to work out with one of my distributors as well, and I hope to have that settled in time to set up an option to preorder the book; if it all works out the way I want it to, there will be a little discount for those who pick the book up before release day.

This was my third week in a row working on chapter 16 of STILL FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM, but I finally love how it's looking and I'm looking forward to finishing this chapter and digging into the next part of the story. Malachi Matthews is long overdue for some justice, and I'm excited to see Christine grow through the rest of this book as she finally comes face-to-face with the husband who abused her.

Six chapters to go, and then that's a wrap on Christine's story!

As I work toward finishing this chapter, this book, and this year, I would also love to hear from you. What goals or dreams are you working toward? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and until next week...