And my upcoming declaration for the new year. No, not a resolution. At this time of year, I like to make a statement about what I feel for the upcoming year, and declare what I will achieve, what will happen, and so far, I have met that each year.
First, I want to say just how much I appreciate all of my fans, friends, and followers. I love that I can come online between writing and editing, and chat with you all. There are days that things get overwhelming, but being able to hop onto my sites, and check in on social networks to talk with you, laugh with you, and share with you. Well, it just makes things so enjoyable. I am reminded of who I write for. Who I share things for. You deserve lots of hugs and love. I am so appreciative of you. It is people like you who remind me every day how wonderful it is to have a career as a writer. You are intelligent, funny, and supportive among many other things. Who can ask for better people to surround them?
Second, about this time of year, I get a sense of the upcoming year, and what it may bring. Then I make a statement about what I plan to achieve, and my record is going strong on getting that point.
The first time I made one was the year I began publishing. I made my declaration without thinking I would publish books. I simply said that I was going to DO something that year, and things would grow somehow. Then I published my first book, and away I went.
The next time I made that declaration was two years ago when I said that I would grow my fan base, and the people who surrounded me. Did that.
Last year, it was the big name change. I wanted a fresh, new start. I said if people stuck around, they were going to see some great things. And I started my author profile on Facebook, removed everything else, and started from scratch with my site change, email change, and have grown a huge following in the past year. I’m still making those changes stick, but things have been AMAZING.
What will I accomplish this year? My site(s). I plan to take my websites to a whole new level and stop focusing on the social networking as much. Games, articles, new contributors. Those are some of the things that I want to offer you. This year, I will grow my site following, what I share and bring forth for you, from my sites. I want to provide you with a luxurious experience when you read anything from me. My books, my sites, and the people you engage with and that surround me, Ariana [Haley] Browning. So I will focus on building a larger reach with my books, but also with my sites.
I have noticed that I have been reaching more UK readers so I’d love to say hi to all of you, and really hope that you feel comfortable enough to engage me whenever you like. I love to hear from people on what they loved, and didn’t love, about my novels. I honestly value the people who don’t simply suck up to me because then I learn better ways to write my books. Some of the harshest critiques (helpful critiques, but not bad people) that I’ve received, have helped me the most. It’s like something my editor said the other day. As authors, we can stop seeing problems with our work. Having new eyes tell us the problems, can help us to break through and reach new creative places. So I refuse to ever attack someone on a personal opinion, or critique. You aren’t commenting on ME, it’s the story, or the writing. Both are things that can be adjusted. My editor isn’t easy on me. It is why I love her so much. It took me a long time to trust that when I told her to be as hard on me as possible, she would honor that.
So those are the two declarations. Mostly it’s to expand my websites, and build them up further. The secondary is to expand my books reach, and my following for the novels. By the end of 2015 I want to see a thriving community around my websites and my novels.
I will need your help to achieve that. I struggle with asking people for help, but here I am. I’m asking you, the person reading this right now, to help me grow in every way that I’ve mentioned above. Share the posts I write, comment on them, like them, just those tiny things can help me out. Mention my books, my name to people, and why they may want to check out my sites, or the novels. Simple things like that can go so far.
If you enjoy my novels, leave a review, even if short. I make it a point to never read reviews, but if you want to leave me a personal note, you can comment on my sites for them, or you can email me at ariana@arianabrowning.com any time you would like to say hey. I personally return all messages that I can. If you think of something that could help one of the novels that I’ve written be better, or if you notice that I do something that you think I can improve upon, email away. I am open to suggestions at any time. I may not take all suggestions offered but I listen. If I don’t take a suggestion and run with it, it’s not because it’s not a good suggestion. It’s because my gut tells me that if I take that suggestion, it may change the way I want the story read, or it may change my writing style. But I never discount any suggestions. It’s how I improve.
Kimberly Sue Iverson - Author 