Looking Back at 2016, Plus 2017 Goals

by | Jan 9, 2017 | Creepy Hollow Series, Trouble Series | 14 comments

I feel like I didn’t do as much as I could have in 2016, so it’s good to look back and see what I actually did achieve!

Published two novels and two novellas:

titles published in 2016

Put together two digital boxed sets

Sold my 100,000th book!

  • I haven’t added December 2016 numbers yet, as I don’t yet have reports from all the retailers, but up to and including November, I had reached an all-time total of 122,000 Creepy Hollow books sold, 290,000 free Creepy Hollow downloads, 3600 Trouble books sold, and 52,000 free Trouble downloads. (These are totals since I began publishing, not just for 2016.)

 

Wrote two Creepy Hollow short stories for anthologies:

 

2017 GOALS

  • Publish 3 Creepy Hollow novels – I plan to get Creepy Hollow #7, #8 and #9 out before the end of this year.
  • Become a USA Today bestselling author – I attempted this in 2015 but only got about halfway there with sales numbers. I didn’t make any attempt in 2016, so I’m hoping 2017 will be the year!
  • Incorporate dictation into my work process – I tried out dictation last year and failed miserably at it. It’s just so foreign to me to speak a story instead of typing it! But I’m going to give it another go this year, during the outlining/rough drafting phase, and not the clean-prose-typing phase!
  • Read more – because I have far too many amazing books on my TBR list that I haven’t yet got to.
  • NOT work into the wee hours of the morning! I saw far too many 1 am, 2 am and 3 am mornings, and I even hit 4 am for the first time in my life on one occasion. It was horrible! I need to be more productive during daylight hours when normal people are working 😉
  • Start working on a brand new series – this is kind of a scary one, as I actually have no idea yet what I’ll be working on next! (Too many ideas to choose from at this point!)

14 Comments

  1. Alex J. Cavanaugh
    Alex J. Cavanaugh on January 9, 2017 at 7:08 pm

    Wow, your sales are impressive! You’ve built up a fan base – keep at it.

  2. Cherie Reich
    Cherie Reich on January 9, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    That’s awesome, Rachel! And you have a lot of great things coming up this year. I’m so looking forward to more Creepy Hollow! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you for the USA Today bestseller too!

    • Rachel Morgan
      Rachel Morgan on January 10, 2017 at 8:04 pm

      Thanks, Cherie! I’m looking forward to the work you’re publishing this year too 😉

  3. Murees Dupé
    Murees Dupé on January 10, 2017 at 7:49 pm

    Congratulations with your awesome sales. You had an amazing 2016. I can’t believe you don’t think that was a busy year;) I take my hat off to you. Wishing you an awesome 2017. I know you will reach each and every goal.

    • Rachel Morgan
      Rachel Morgan on January 10, 2017 at 8:07 pm

      Thank you, Murees! It definitely WAS an extremely busy year. I just think that if I’d managed my time better (there was quite a bit of “creative procrastination” in there 😉 ) I could have achieved more 🙂

  4. christy hintz
    christy hintz on January 10, 2017 at 9:38 pm

    I’m always impressed by your accomplishments and goals. Keep at them and I know you’ll succeed at anything you put your mind to. USA bestseller… no problem. Not for Rachel Morgan. Once again, I have to tell you, you’re my inspiration! I’ve self-published, and you’re one of the main reasons why. So…thank you! I hope I find a fraction of the success you have! Christy (aka Cecelia Earl) 😉

    • Rachel Morgan
      Rachel Morgan on January 12, 2017 at 4:21 pm

      Christy! Congratulations on the release of your book! That is so exciting 😀 😀 😀

  5. Sheena-kay Graham
    Sheena-kay Graham on January 11, 2017 at 6:08 am

    Congrats Rachel! Glad to see you are striving for even more success. You deserve it. If you ever want to brainstorm book ideas with someone, I’m here for you girl.

    • Rachel Morgan
      Rachel Morgan on January 12, 2017 at 4:25 pm

      Thank you so much, Sheena!

  6. Emilyann
    Emilyann on January 21, 2017 at 1:33 am

    Rock on Rachel, you inspire us! Hope 2017 is completely amazing! =-)

    • Rachel Morgan
      Rachel Morgan on January 21, 2017 at 5:39 am

      Thank you, Emilyann! I hope you have a fantastic 2017 too 😀

  7. Charlie Rose
    Charlie Rose on August 12, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    When will your next creepy hollow book be out..? I am a serious fan as is my five year old. We have read all of your books. I read them first and then i re-read them to him. We are both patiently waiting for what comes next.
    Xx, Charlie and Chick

    • Rachel Morgan
      Rachel Morgan on August 15, 2017 at 12:39 pm

      Wow, your five year old is a fan too?? That’s amazing!

      I’ll be sending an email next week with the release date of Shadow Faerie 🙂