Accountability report: I am terrified, but I did it!

I have been struggling with anxiety over this for a year now, but guess what? I’m ready! Today, I launched AbigailBarnette.com. Or, you could look at it as, “I opened the world’s first Abigail Barnette themed online bookstore.”

I’ve been dragging my feet a bit on this one. I had to make a phone call, which was obstacle #1. I kept making excuses like, “Oh, I don’t have time to work on that.” Well, time made itself available to me. I’ve had awful writer’s block for the past few weeks, due in part to stress over my husband’s ongoing medical issue. All I’ve been able to do is proofread, format… and work on deeply repetitive tasks like finishing the set up on a Shopify store. I no longer had any excuse.

Even after a full year of planning and tinkering and researching, amassing inventory, testing and retesting, I’m so afraid. But I’m optimistic. This is a really important step in owning my art. I’ll be able to release special editions exclusively to the shop. I can offer my eBooks directly and release titles a week or two early for readers who decide to shop with me. I’m really excited about this. Currently, orders can only be shipped to the U.S., which I explain on the FAQ there, but take my anxiety level in this post into consideration and you’ll understand.

So, here’s to Abigail Barnette’s new venture. Now, onto the rest of the accountability:

Word Count For 2025: 63086

Her Brother’s Billionaire Best Friend releases February 4 (I wish I could cross this one off, but I can’t until I’m happy with the paperback.)

Heavy, daily promo until release day (I did better with this release than I ever have in the past, promotion wise. I’m pretty happy with what I did.)Send out ARC emailsSearch manuscript one last time for “actually,” “clearly,” and “really”. Eliminate as many as I can stand.Format for Kindle and SmashwordsTable of ContentsFront MatterUpdate Book LinksBack MatterPre-Order link to Her Billionaire BoyfriendUpload manuscript to Smashwords by Jan. 15Upload manuscript to Kindle by Jan. 31Format PaperbackFormatCoverOrder Proof (This has been a continual thing.)Adjustments as needed, if any (Please, no more.) (We should, finally, be done after the next proof.)

Her Billionaire Boyfriend releases May 6

Combine into one file from original proofsStaggered promo with HBBBF from February 14Heavy promo from March 1CoverCover reveal February 14BlurbEstablish Pre-Order LinkFinal proofSend out ARC emails (I didn’t end up doing ARCs for this title)Format for Kindle and SmashwordsTable of ContentsFront MatterUpdate Book LinksBack MatterPre-Order link to Her BillionaireUpload to Kindle, SmashwordsFormat for PaperbackFormatCoverOrder ProofAdjustments as needed, if any

Her Billionaire releases September 30

Final ProofCoverBlurbStaggered promo with HBB from June 1 (Whoops! Better adjust our expectations here!)Heavy promo from July 1Establish pre-order linkFormat for Kindle, SmashwordsTable of ContentsFront MatterUpdate Book LinksBack MatterFormat for Paperback

Alpha Queen Ascending releases April 15

One last read through just in caseCover (In progress) (outsourced)BlurbEstablish pre-orderFormat for Kindle and IngramTable of ContentsFront MatterUpdate Book LinksBack MatterFormat Paperback (outsourced)FormatCoverOrder ProofAdjustments as needed, if any

The Vampire’s Willing Captive releases July 15

Fablemere promo campaign May 2 (Missed this by a mile!)Birthday campaign July 1Heavy promo July 1One last read through just in caseCoverBlurbEstablish pre-order (might not get a chance on this one)Format for Kindle and IngramTable of ContentsFront MatterUpdate Book LinksBack MatterFormat PaperbackFormatCoverOrder ProofAdjustments as needed, if any

Books I Want To Finish This Year:

A Kingdom of Wonder and TerrorThe Business Centaur’s Virgin AssistantUntitled Sophie bookThe BreakawayThe TurningFilthy, Rich

Miscellaneous:

Get Abigail Barnette website upCall web providerLink ShopifyPromote ShopifyAdd ebooksPaperbacks of The Boyfriend and SophieDownload manuscriptsFormatCoverUploadOrder proofAdjustments as needed, if anyAdd to ShopifyLaunch ShopifyBlog postPromote across socialsAdd link to Trout Nation websiteAdd link to Abigail Barnette website (not necessary, integrated to website)