It’s hard to believe the first quarter of 2021 is already over, but here we are. I think all in all, it was a good quarter for me. I got a lot accomplished, reached some big personal milestones, and learned a lot. I can’t wait to see where this next quarter will take me, my books, and my author platform.

I accomplished 13/17 writing goals in the first quarter of 2021, which I am quite happy with as I worked on several projects in several stages, while completing my third semester of college. I posted 4 blog posts a month, wrote draft 3 of Solemn Vow, finished the second round of beta readers for Summer’s Revenge, started the beta reading process for Solemn Vow, revealed that Solemn Vow is the title for the Guild Trilogy book 3, wrote the 11th and 12th drafts of Summer’s Revenge, sent Summer’s Revenge to my editor, registered my authorship as a business, did the fast read through of Project Madness (and Project Winter, which wasn’t planned), learned more about launching and marketing, overhauled my website, marketed for Silent Night and Sacred Ruse, and joined Amie's Inspired Collective.

Obviously, there were a few goals I didn’t reach and I want to touch on a few of them. I didn’t read my goal of 6 books, but I did read 3, which I’m quite proud of given how little I read last year. I didn’t reach my sales or reviews goals for Silent Night and Sacred Ruse, but I sold 14 books and gained a couple new reviews, so that’s always worth celebrating.

I also completed 3/8 personal goals which isn’t great, but it’s been a pretty rough first quarter in terms of school and finding free time to work on my personal, but not school related goals. For this upcoming quarter, I’m going to keep my personal goals private so I can relieve some of the pressure and give myself more grace if it doesn’t go as well as I hope.

My goals for the second quarter of 2021 – April, May, and June – are as follows:

· Read 2 books a month

· Post 4 blog posts a month

· Sell 12 books

· Reach 10 reviews for Sacred Ruse and 15 reviews for Silent Night

· Write half of Project Winter draft 8

· Finish the beta reading process for Solemn Vow

· Write draft 5 and 6 of Solemn Vow

· Input my editor’s notes for Summer’s Revenge

· Format Summer’s Revenge

· Order my first proof copy of Summer’s Revenge and start proofreading

· Do the cover reveal for Summer’s Revenge

· Create and send out ARCs for Summer’s Revenge

· Finalize giveaway items for Summer’s Revenge

· Market Sacred Ruse and Silent Night

· Learn some more about marketing and book launches

This gives me a total of 15 goals, which is pretty manageable for me. This second quarter will really be ramping up the release for Summer’s Revenge, so I’m super excited for all the posts and reveals I’ll get to do.

I’ll update my progress in the July. In the meantime, you can check out my monthly goal posts on Instagram at emmathewriter if you’re interested or you can subscribe to my newsletter and get info first hand from yours truly, along with access to my member’s page : )

Let me know what your guys’ goals are in the comments! Keep in touch and drop me a line if you need advice/encouragement. Have a great second three months of 2021 and as always, keep writing.