Here was the 2021 goal setting episode. It followed the AFI framework I use for my strategic management classes. It’s useful but a very specific approach.

Last year we bypassed the goal setting all together. So we can just review what worked and what didn’t in 2024.

This year we’re going to do it by category: Financial, Personal, Professional, Health & Fitness, and Friends & Family. We’ll focus primarily on the Professional goals since this is a show about writing.

In 2024, Rx generated three new books and got one out on distribution. He tested some channels for distribution and felt like if he’d been more consistent with the effort, he would have had more success.

For 2025, Rex is working on a new series and will be focusing on the marketability of that series: everything from cover to storyline. Wants to try to produce a new 40-50,000 word book every two months. He also wants to query Slaughter Shark and maybe find an agent for Way of the Wolf.

In 2024, Kasie re-wrote the vampire novel from a blank page and got three revisions out of it over the summer and into the fall. She’ll work on the vampire book two this spring and get back to writing short stories.

Marketing goals: email list – send one per month and try to earn new subscribers. Rex has been using Facebook groups and connecting with other authors to be part of promos. Rex is also planning to spend more time on the Amazon ads and working on promoting products there.

Let’s create a backlist! We need the books on the shelves so when people discover how much they love us, they can read additional texts.

Kasie sees the success of someone like Deborah Harkness (The All Souls Trilogy) and wants to follow that path. It might be slower and require a deeper-researched book, but the idea is to create something sustainable in a longterm way.

Let’s get out in the world. Aim for four book festivals this year. Selling events – two or three.

Health and Fitness goals: Rex quit vaping, he claims it caused lethargy. Want to be more productive? You gotta get the non productive stuff out of the way. Let’s get back to the exercise routines and measure some of that work.

Personal goals: get out and socialize more. Be with friends. Share experiences.

Writing goals: Kasie needs a daily word count. She’ll also be working on a new blog and some academic summaries. Maybe fit a short story in here or there. Rex wants to generate a new series.

What about book reviews? Rex reads the obscure books and leaves reviews faithfully for those. We both agree to not leave bad reviews. Unless they’re deserved.