Writer, Where is Your Legacy?

I confess, I haven't even looked at my Jan 01 post from last year yet. Traditionally, I reminise on the previous year's goals and how I fared, but this year I find myself thinking about something else.

My Legacy.

 I sound like I think I'm the president of the United States of America. I know, I'm not. But I am an artist. Yes, writers are artists. We make something from nothing, put a cover on it, and sometimes sell it.

And that's where I got off the tracks. Sort of.

I know without looking that I set off in the beginning of 2012 to build a business. A small business selling books penned by me. I had a lot to learn (hello, if I knew then what I know now, but hidy-ho). For one thing, I'd never run  my own business before, and I didn't have a drop of marketing experience.

But I did it. I finished a lot of books I had in the drawer and wrote a couple new ones, bundled them up, made them look pretty and sent them off into the world. And waited with bated breath. Would my babies fly?

Some of them did, but quite by accident, I'd say. Not because I knew what I was doing.

 Here's what I really did:

I published a sequel to Clockwise, a companion and a novelette, and I packed them into a boxed set. I published a middle grade, a  merfolk book, two historical novellas, a science fiction romance and companion short story, and a WW2 novel. (Plus two short stories for two anthologies.)

ESB Publishing (that's me) published one title in 2011 and eleven in 2012 - check out my side bar.

Yes, I was busy. Very, very busy. But was it a good business move?

I don't think so. What I did in 2012 was akin to a painter taking out several unfinished and mostly unrelated sketches, finishing them, painting them and hanging them on the wall.

Am I glad I did it? YES.

And here is the reason why: this is my legacy. This is a part of me I'm leaving behind for my children, my children's children and my children's children's children. Whether or not I make any money on them (and I did) is beside the point. I'm proud of my work. I'm glad to have something to leave behind that says, I was here, or Get to know me a little, or maybe in some small way, I made the world a better place.

If this is all I accomplish in my "career", I still consider myself a success.

Enchanted meets Peter Pan in LOVE, TINK

So what does this mean for 2013? For me it means it's time to build the business. I get it now. (I think.) What the business part of me learned from my 2012 experience is that I need to build a brand, and the best way to do that is with a series.

I'm actually building two brands. Elle Strauss for younger teen readers, and Lee Strauss for older teens/adult readers. This means I'm focusing on two series only (not like the Hodge Podge of books I put out last year.)

Elle Strauss is releasing a novella serial series called LOVE, TINK, a modern twist on the Tinkerbell and Peter Pan story . It will consist of six episodes released once a month.

Release day is TODAY! It will be free on Amazon(link) for  a limited time so make sure you get your copy!

Genetically altered persons are dangerous

Lee Strauss is continuing with the science fiction/romance PERCEPTION Series, with book 2 -  VOLITION releasing in April, book 3 - CONTRITION releasing in September, and the final book - ABOLITION releasing Jan of 2014.

I'm excited to see what streamlining my vision will do for the business side of my venture. I'm working on building my marketing and promotion muscles, and cheering my fellow author friends on as they do the same.

And the best part is, no matter what happens, no matter how ESB Publishing does in the coming year, I'm adding to my legacy and that's a good thing.

How about you? Have you thought about the legacy you're leaving?


PS: okay, I took a peek at my goals for 2012. And I laughed.

1) continue to self-publish the Clockwise series
1b) learn how to better market and publicize myself and my books.

2) self-publish middle grade book, It's a Little Haywire

3) pursue traditional publishing with current wip

4) pursue small press pub with historical YA when its ready

I'll stop there. If I can manage these in the year I'll be happy.

Bwa-ha, ha! So green and naive! :)