Schedule - What to Expect from the Blog and Radio Show

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful 4th yesterday. I know I did! If you were here two weeks ago, you know that I spent last week thinking about what I was going to do with the blog and a re-launch of my radio show, A Daily Cup of Jo. Tomorrow will be my Utopia 2016 recap, but I'll get into the following next week. Well, no more rambling! Here's the new schedule!

• Mondays: On the radio! Highlights from the show will be posted here on the blog. Expect a book reading and discussion or review.
• Tuesdays: New author lessons. You wouldn't believe how many people don't know the basics. Devoting time to teaching all the things I assumed people knew and didn't. You old hats can probably skip these and be okay.
• Wednesdays: A new release, blitz, or other something like a guest post.
• Thursdays: On the radio! Highlights posted here. Expect news on new releases (with blurb readings) or stuff happening around the Indie author world.
• Fridays: Whatever I feel like talking about. Could be a new book from ME, or it could be random discussion. Tips and tricks for established authors will happen now and again, but it's mostly for me and my big mouth. I'll also post any book reviews I may have written on this day if I didn't do them on the air earlier in the week.

So, there you have it! Pretty exciting, eh? Yeah, it's also back to the basics of what I've been doing here since I started. Tips and books. *grin*

What do you think? Sound like we're gonna have some fun?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Organizing Life

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm just talking. It's probably a topic you're all too familiar with, so I do hope you'll read along. Ready? Let's get going!

So, as you all probably know, I reorganize my everything once a year in January. I look back over the previous year and measure what's working, what isn't, and add new things to my schedule I'd like to try.

This year killed me! I just tried to do too much. I'm not afraid to admit failure. After all, I'm only one person; I can't do everything all the time.

So, what to do about it (because I refuse to take it lying down)?

Drop back and re-group. That's all I can do. I have to nail down a schedule and stick to it like superglue.

Things I want to look at:

• My blog--Formulating a plan and a posting schedule
• My book publication schedule--I want to amp this up
• Takeovers in events--I'm looking to pair this down to one a month (they take a lot of my time and $$)
• My radio show--Figuring out content that doesn't require me to rely on other people--that KILLED me
• IBGW--Finding new avenues to promote my amazeballs team
• My downtime--Scheduling in time for me outside work
• Time, period--finding out where all mine is going, and why I can't seem to get a grip on managing it right now
• Reviews--I have a ton of books on my list to read still--gotta carve out time for those

So, there's my to-do for the week after Utopia this year. I like to set goals. *grin* Like you didn't already know that about me. haha!

Thank goodness I have a planning app! Deadlines are things I need, and clear direction is something I thrive on.

Do any of you have suggestions on how I can tackle all that (like desired content for a bookish radio show)? What about your schedule? Tell me in the comments!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

2015 in Review - 2016 Blogging Goals and Schedule

Well, happy Tuesday, everyone! If you've been a long time follower of the blog, you'll know I do a recap and goals post in January every year. Basically, I look over the last 12 months, decide what's working and what's not, and make goals for myself for the upcoming months.

2015 was a doozy! Here's what I accomplished this year:

• I published 245 posts on this blog - each blog post was an average of 300 words, for a count of over 70k.
• I held one massive event (12 Days of RR) and it was bigger than last year.
• I launched A Daily Cup of Jo to make my interviews more awesome.
• UtopYA (now Utopia) was attended in June.
• I took a position as the Utopia official blogger coordinator.
• I re-organized the blog for ease of navigation by my visitors.
• I reviewed 16 books for the 2015 Review Team (missed my goal of 20+).
• I wrote four novels - Markaza, M, Emancipation, and 7 - for a total word count of over 200k words.
• I published two writing books in a new series for kids.
• I typeset fourteen novels.
• I edited over 400k words.
• I proofread over 200k words.
• I have 58 new subscribers to this blog, and about 10 on Tumblr.

Here were my goals for 2015 (taken from last year's look back):

• Publish three novels and another anthology with the ladies of Fractured Glass.
• Attend UtopYA Con again in June.
• Publish a blog post every day (M-F) unless I let you all know otherwise.
• Write one book review per week (which should get me very close to 52).
• Keep up with my author interviews and make them bigger, badder, and more awesome.
• Find a way to launch my 12 Days of Review Requests event to the next level.
• Follow my schedule for posting to various social media sites and blogging to the Nth degree.
• Get the Review Team's posts into the hands of more readers.

In green are the ones I accomplished. Orange indicates something I did most of. Red is what I totally failed at. Totally. There is no in between place there.

So, here are my goals for 2016:

• Publish three novels and another anthology with the ladies of Fractured Glass and 7.
• Bring Emancipation into the world kicking and screaming.
• Do more to share promotion with other authors (back of book excerpts, etc...) on every book I publish.
• Write at least 20 book reviews.
• Cut off my client list at IBGW with the ones I work with now. It's getting overwhelming.
• Do more with A Daily Cup of Jo - see new schedule below.
• Hold an online workshop for authors - details to come.

There you have it. I don't reach far, and I keep my goals reachable. One of them is already done: Cut off my client list at IBGW. This will give me time to do a better job for the clients I already have and give me more time to write and focus on things I need to do.

Here's the new blog posting schedule, so you know what's coming:

• MONDAYS: I'll share news I find on Facebook and Twitter. Could be writing articles, new release information, or information about something going on in the writing world. You never know!
• TUESDAYS: Author Spotlights for NEW Indies.
• WEDNESDAYS: This is my day for writing. There will be no Wednesday posts unless it's about a new release, or cover reveal, or something else like that.
• THURSDAYS: Blogger OR Reviewer spotlight. I'll be bringing you information on bloggers and reviewers that help Indie authors.
• FRIDAYS: Whatever Jo wants. You may get a post, and you may not get a post. Again, it'll be whatever. If I write a review for a book, this is the day it'll show up.
• SATURDAYS: Daily Cup of Jo shows for the week will be highlighted.
• SUNDAYS: Nada. This is my day off all the things.

This will start next week. We'll see how it goes. As you all know, if it's not working, I'll change it.

Did you do a look back for the year and set goals for the next? What are they? Share!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Your Entertainment Until 6/15

Happy Thursday, everyone! Today, I'm gonna tell you all about the entertainment you'll be enjoying on the blog over the next two weeks. I'll be out of town for a few days, but I'm putting you in the capable hands of some fellow authors for the duration. Not tomorrow! Tomorrow is all about tips and tricks for utopYA con (my official post for the month). This is basically the schedule from now until I leave for the conference. Ready? Grab that coffee and let's get going!

6/5 (tomorrow) - UtopYA Con 2015 survival tips and tricks and pre-order awesomeness - What to bring, pack, and avoid, and what I really want from those pre-order lists (and where you can find them).
6/8 - Sheena Hutchinson takes over
6/9 - Tricia Zoeller is your hostess
6/10 - Elizabeth Kirke wows you
6/11 - Stormy Smith brings the rain
6/12 - Shawn McGuire will be guest posting
6/15 - An author interview with myself - no, I asked other folks for the questions (some of them).
6/16 - Time Traveling to utopYA 2014 - A look at last year
6/17 - My Travel to the con! Yes, I'll be putting up a blog post the day I arrive in Nashville.
6/18-6/21 - Be ready for utopYA stuff! Blog posts, maybe a video or two with interviews!

So, get yourselves ready! It's coming SOON!

Are you coming to the con? Looking forward to my takeovers?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo