2025: A Year in Review

Greetings, and welcome to my final post of 2025! In this I will again be taking a look at my vending experiences throughout the year (I made no less than 12 this time!), but also just a general look at how things have come along and where they might be headed.

First of all, twelve live appearances was very taxing. Not only for all the travel involved, but also for the many interruptions to my routine they entailed. I found this to be true last year as well, and it demonstrates well a fundamental principle of being a commercially viable author: the more time you spend on marketing, the less time you have for writing and vice versa. Suffice it to say, finding the right balance is key, though doing so will be harder for some than for others. Given the general upheavals for me personally this year, I was not able to find this balance.

As far as vending highlights go, there were few enough. Of the twelve appearances I made, nine were new venues for me while only three were repeats from last year. All factors considered, I would only call four or five anything like successful, of which I would only consider returning to three. The remaining seven were mediocre at best and complete disasters at worst. Four of these are definite no gos for a return. I have once again sunmarized my results in a chart, albeit a much simpler one than last year:

As for non-vending, I had a fairly slow year. I made a little progress across the board, but no major breakthroughs. In the realm of translations, next to nothing was accomplished. Despite this, I did see the publication of my next Knights of Aralia book, with the release of the final two in the works for next year. Perhaps my biggest successes, though, came from the realm of smaller publications, namely the many articles I had accepted for magazines throughout the span of the year. Writing and submitting them has been a consistent but fun challenge to myself as a writer.

As to where I’m headed in the new year, that remains to be seen. I have big plans, of course, as usual. How many of them I actually see through depends very much on my circumstances, although I am confident that 2026 cannot possibly be as chaotic as has been 2025. In part, this is because I plan to prioritize my writing over all else, including travel. While I will still apply for some shows and conventions to sell at here and there, I will not have nearly the itinerary I had in 2024 or 2025, and so will have more time to spend in my new home office!

As for production itself, I have three main goals. First, I would like to pick up my translation efforts in a steadier, more consistent way. I have a large linguistic library and an office to access it now, so there’s really no excuse not to. Secondly, I want to pick up the threads of some projects I’ve had on the back burner for a while, including my research projects and the Sauragia series. It is high time for a revival of both. And finally, I would like to branch out into audiobook production. I have always tended to write my novels with the idea of making them into dramatic screenplays in mind. Dramatic readings would not be a bad place to start.

I have other goals and timelines, of course, but these are the main ones. If I succeed in even half my goals for 2026, it’s possible I could actually get ahead of the production curve for the first time in ages. I think the breathing space will be worth the effort, so long as I’m allowed to simply sit down and concentrate. Easier said than done, but I’m willing to give it a try!