I’m excited to share that I’m a week or so away from finishing my fourth book The Journey Home and the entire Mind Monsters series, and what a long, strange (and impactful!) trip it’s been.
As the writing and editing wind down and I shift more into the technical side of book publishing like formatting, book cover design, etc, I’ve been thinking about next steps.
I needed to write this entire series for myself. The books have paralleled my healing journey (in a very surreal, speculative, out-there way, mind you), but they’ve been important in helping me discover who I am and where I want to go with the decades I have left.
I’ll be marketing the new book and the whole series for at least the next year, but I’ve been wondering where my energy will also go.
It’s freeing and a little scary when you release something you’ve focused on for years, so I’m sitting into possibilities and am excited to see what bubbles to the surface.
My Focus
As it stands now, my plans are to promote the new book and series, like I mentioned. I made an audiobook for Rock Gods & Messy Monsters and haven’t started promoting it yet. I want to market the series in the UK as well as the US. And I’m thinking about publishing a German translation for Rock Gods (the first book). I think Germans would get my humor, as would the British.
More toward summer, I plan to start drafting a guide to indie publishing for people in their second phase, or for those who aren’t tech savvy and are confused about how to get their work out to the world.
On a personal level, my healing and spiritual practice (which are intricately intertwined) remain a top priority, and the themes in my fiction writing will continue to reflect what I’m learning and discovering.
How to Focus
The ‘how’ in my work is my bigger challenge. I’ve got this publication here on Substack, a private newsletter, a YouTube video podcast and several business ideas I’ve been formulating and trying to get traction on. There’s also the usual social media nightmare and the many associations, groups, and platforms I’ve joined.
It’s taken me months, but I’ve made some decisions, and I hope you’ll indulge me in sharing them.
YouTube
First, I’m pulling back on my YouTube podcast. To be transparent, I thought I could easily get a thousand subscribers, monetize on YouTube, and earn a little income. Right now, at almost a year, I have ninety-three people who follow me. Depressing.
Having a YouTube channel is not easy. Up to eighteen million videos are uploaded to YouTube every week, so it’s extremely competitive. Also, making videos is much more complicated than you might think - coming up with ideas, writing scripts or bullet points, filming, editing, uploading, etc.
I also understand now that the type of content I create - sharing my experience and tips about my life journey - is a slow burn. It could take literally years of posting weekly before I start getting traction. I think the people who are making money on YouTube are people telling others how to make videos or money on the platform.
I’m not shutting down the channel, but I’ll no longer post weekly. I’m looking at once or twice a month, and I won’t stress over how many views I get. My main goal is to get more comfortable on camera and learn to speak off the cuff. I’ve improved, but I’m not there yet.
So, A Writer’s Life on YouTube will remain, just not as a major focus.
Substack
I’ve had this Substack for about seven years but haven’t been consistent with posts over the long term. I’ve also changed names and publication focus several times, but I’ve finally figured things out.
When I was thinking about my work plan for 2026, it became rather obvious. I’m a writer - shouldn’t I be on a platform where there are readers? Duh.
A Writer’s Life is a publication that focuses on writing, creativity, and life in the second half. If you want to find out more, please visit my About page. And if you ever have suggestions for topics or want to learn more about something, drop me a line and let me know.
I’ll be putting much more attention here on the platform, posting twice a month, and writing articles and essays that focus on indie publishing and the second phase of life. It’ll somewhat parallel YouTube but won’t duplicate it.
At some point later in the year, I’ll look at how to give some benefits for paid subscriptions. Thank you so much to all of you who currently contribute to my writing without anything in return - it means more than you know. I’m trying to figure out how to continue giving free subscribers and followers the same amount of depth that I’ll give to paid ones. More on that to come.
Social Media
I think social media is dead. All I ever see on Facebook and Instagram are ads - rarely do I even see friends anymore, so I’m pulling back on regular posting there and not worrying about it. Same with LinkedIn and Twitter/Blue Sky/Threads, etc. Substack and YouTube will be my two main platforms, along with my newsletter.
As an aside, if you’d like to stay in touch less often and prefer more of a roundup of what I’m doing, please sign up for my monthly newsletter. It’ll cover everything I’ve done in the past few weeks as well as plans for the future, including links to all the articles I post here on Substack.
Changes and Letting Go
Last year, I put together a concept for an experience called The Hearth Network, focused on women in midlife going through change. I even took a course at The University of New Mexico to learn how to set up the business - which was a fantastic experience.
If you’ve been reading me for a while, you might remember when this publication was called Hearth Talks and Hearth Writes.
I’ve decided to put The Hearth Network on hold, at least for now. I’ve also put Women Writers in the Wild on hiatus, which was part of the network. I might bring it back at some point, but with a focus on published authors. That’s a 2027 decision.
My work developing Hearth has led me to create A Writer’s Life. And I can’t talk about it yet, but my favorite concept from the network has started to gain traction. So, Hearth has been a stepping stone to what comes next.
I’ll keep you posted if this concept progresses further.
In Summary
Thank you for sharing my journey. I’m still a work in progress and am honored that you’ve chosen to spend some time with me. I’ll be back in a couple weeks with my regularly scheduled program.
Be true to you. And please feel free to comment or drop a line any time.
I enjoyed reading the self-compassion and realistic goals you're setting for yourself. I'm also taking a huge step back from social media. It's not worth the time it would take to MAYBE get traction there. I'll be hanging out on substack with you 👍