My Goals for 2025

Hello, Reader!

I’m a little late in sharing my goals for the new year but I’m happy to say that I finally completed my long needed website revamp at the end of January! I had started working on a more cohesive look for the site back in October in between my writing time and other responsibilities, and I was close to having it all done at the end of 2024, but our household came down with one of those bugs that hangs around for weeks and my progress slowed to a crawl.

I was ready to migrate the new build to my host mid-January but I ran into a few difficulties that I hadn’t encountered before and ended up having to do a bunch of research to figure out how to fix what was was going wrong. It took a little extra time but I eventually got it sorted out and the new site is finally live and I’m relieved that I can get back to work on more important things.

2024 Recap

2024 was definitely an interesting year for me. Much of what I’d hoped to achieve turned out to be impossible because of the health issue that I mentioned in my last post but I did end the year on much better terms overall. I didn’t finish the current draft of my book but I did get halfway there, which is a lot closer than I had been before October. I also completed my goal of creating new sticker sets each month of 2024, updated my personal planner system, got the rough framework of a writing/publishing plan worked out for 2025, and made time to enjoy the holidays in December. Each week, I made a little more progress than the one before. 

Writing a book is certainly not an easy task during the best of times but the last few years were particularly rough for me and I genuinely wondered if I needed to set aside my dream of publishing because of all the setbacks. No matter what I tried, the health problems just kept coming back and wearing me out more with each resurgence. Thankfully, I never gave up and now I cannot even begin to express how relieved I am to have finally gotten a definitive answer to my troubles. I got the situation corrected in October and am well and truly on the mend. The difference in my quality of life is like night and day.

And though I feel like I’ve started over at Level 1 again, I’m finally able to do most of the things I had to give up on over the past decade and my productivity is exponentially improving. I’m systematically checking off all the things that piled up on my to do list and, while it may take a little bit more time than I’d prefer, I’ve got momentum now and I’m certain I will be back to my former self before long. I’m optimistic about 2025 because the energy shift I’ve had over the last handful of months is palpable and I am more motivated than ever to get my book published.

Major Goals

Obviously, the #1 goal on my list is to publish my book. Once I started feeling better at the end of October, I was able to finally piece together the missing elements that kept tripping me up during edits, and I rewrote my chapter outlines in time for the Rough Draft Challenge in November. I finished half of the revisions in the weeks leading up to Christmas and have been working on the second half whenever I’ve had free time in January. Once I’m done with this draft, my manuscript will go to my beta readers for feedback. There will likely be small changes after that but I anticipate the rest of the process to be much easier to complete.

Goal #2 is to continue improving my health by exercising and getting out of the house more. Though I still have pain in 3 joints, I’m no longer limited as I was before and I’m hopeful that some of the pain will ease the more strength and flexibility I bring back to my muscles. I already eat pretty healthily, so it’s really just moving more/better that I need to work on now that my body isn’t all locked up and exhausted all the time.

My third major goal is to reorganize my house. I want to use up all the craft supplies I’ve been holding onto, clear out anything that no longer serves a purpose, and make sure that everything has a proper place instead of a junk box in the closet. I’ve managed to keep things functional over the last few years but now I have the ability to dig deeper and make the house more open and comfortable. Even if it’s just so my cats have more shelves to snooze on.

Quarter 1 Goals

1) Finish the last of my revisions and do a quick line edit so I can send the manuscript to my beta readers in March.

2) Develop the habit of posting to my blog more regularly. At least once a month but, ideally, twice or more if possible. I want to prioritize finishing my book above everything else.

3) Start reviewing books that I enjoyed again. This will depend on how much time I can set aside for reading but I’d like to review a book a month.

4) Finish crafting my book blurb. I’ve been working on it off and on as long as I’ve been editing but I should be able to finish it once the last of the main revisions are done.

Quarter 2 Goals

1) Collect beta feedback and make any necessary edits in April, and repeat again in May. I’m hoping that 2 rounds will be enough, but I’ll adjust if needed.

2) Do line edits for my book, read it through and make any final notes, and follow up with another round of polishing edits in June.

3) Finish creating the book cover, format the manuscript for print, and order a proof copy from KDP.

4) Spend more time outdoors once the weather warms.

Quarter 3 Goals

1) Proofread my book and make any necessary changes to the text.

2) Finalize the book blurb and make any last minute changes to the cover.

3) Ideally, create a book trailer and upload it to YouTube with a release date announcement.

4) Finish the first draft of Book 2 and make notes for developmental editing.

Quarter 4 Goals

1) Publish Book 1 (hopefully) in October.

2) Create initial outline for Book 3. (I’ll do a full chapter outline once I’m done with Book 2’s revisions.)

3) Begin (and hopefully finish) developmental edits for Book 2 in November.

4) Take a break in December to enjoy the holidays and prepare for 2026.

Final Thoughts

Achieving these goals will depend on how quickly my health improves, but I’m optimistic that I can get most of them done over the course of the year. I will likely add new goals as time goes on, too. I’m not yet as productive as I hope to be, but I expect to be doing a lot better by the end of Q1. I’ll reevaluate at the end of March and see what else I can add to my list. In any case, 2025 holds a lot of promise and I’m determined to make the most of it. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for plenty of time and energy to focus on my goals.

Some things don’t always work out the way we hope they will (as evidenced by the setbacks of the last several years) but the important thing is to always keep your eyes on the prize. If your goal is worthwhile, don’t let anything keep you down. Dreams are worth the effort to see them realized. I had many moments of doubt over the last few years but I always came back to the belief that being an author is part of who I am supposed to be, regardless of how long it’s taken me to get there. I hope that you are just as determined to see your dreams become reality and that 2025 offers you the resources to achieve them.

Do you have a goal that you’ve been struggling to accomplish? If so, drop a comment below and share the ways you keep yourself moving forward. I’d love to hear them!