Category Archives: Goals

2026 Writing Goals

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I sat down the other day and wrote a list of things that I want to accomplish this year in my Writing. I ended up with 10 in my writing planner, and another 17 which I wrote up while at work on Saturday. Some of them overlap, so lets have a look and see what we can make of the two lists.

Attend the Riwaka Fair and sell my books (6 books!) This was on the 2nd of January and I sold 6 books. That’s 4 more than last year. And I even made a couple of connections with people who were interested in writing. I love encouraging people, so I like making these connections and sharing information.

Publish Finding Faith in March – ebook and paperback. I’ve also written the start of a prologue, that I will release in February – I just need to finish it.

Publish Gaining Grace in July – ebook and paperback.

Publish Having Hope in November – ebook and paperback, and I need to create an epilogue to show the girls in the future – not sure how far yet.

Finish writing Quin and Stef – I want to get this done by the end of March2026

Finish writing Revelations I also want to finish this by the end of March

Write and complete Modern Cinderella by August 2026. I already have this outlined, so it shouldn’t take much to write it up.

Write and complete Redemption by September – this is the last of the Angel books, so I can edit and publish them for 2027.

Start writing Simon and Mel starting in October / November.

Edit Quin and Stef (for publication 2027)

Edit Modern Cinderella (for publication 2027)

Edit Resurrection (for publication 2027)

Edit Redemption (for publication 2027)

Earn $500 from my books (Jan to Dec 26)

Establish Alli Harris – create a website, facebook and instagram page for my darker writing (more fantasy and science fiction romance.)

Create an audio book of Cursed Love – This is one thing I want to achieve this year, in my learning a new skill, is recording and editing Cursed Love. I’m actually keen to video me reading it and releasing it on Youtube – but I need to get a bit more confident in front of the camera.

Have 500 people on my Catherine Mede facebook author page, and 500 people in my newsletter list. Currently I have 210 and 310 respectively, so I don’t think 500 is too big an ask.

I think that just about captures everything. That’s seventeen items all up, so I will keep you posted on updates, probably once a quarter, so that we all know where I am at, and you guys can kick my butt if I don’t get things done on time. Nothing like a bit of accountability.

How did I do in 2025?

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At this time of the year, I like to look back over the previous 12 months and determine whether I achieved any of my goals or not. While I didn’t manage to get a lot of my own personal goals (weight loss), I have started on a very determined regime that is working towards that. But we’re not here to discuss how heavy or light I am…you want to know the writing successes I had this year.

I wanted to write 3, maybe 4 books this year. I have written two, and if you count the two half books, I have written three books. I wrote the last of my Racing Hearts series, (Having Hope) and started writing my Tuivale series – Men in Kilts. I am over halfway through Quin and Stef’s story, but I tell you what, they keep giving me headaches those two.

I also wrote Resurrection, the first in my angel story I’m also a third of the way through Revelation. And I’ll start Redemption next year. I’ll be releasing this series under Alli Harris. This story gave me a migraine until November when I really sat down, looked at what I had written, and reworked my plot, so I have a definite idea of where I want the story to go. I will finish that next year and start on the last story in the series.

I wanted to publish three books this year, but I only published two.

I published Finding Sam Healey and Carol’s Christmas – mostly to crickets (as in, there was no one there to purchase them). I felt quite disheartened, because I pour so much love and attention into my stories, and I enjoyed writing them, and several people have said that they enjoyed reading them (and I love hearing from those who have read my books). I did consider giving up writing, but to be honest, I have way too many story ideas that I can’t give them up. I need to get them out.

Carol’s Christmas was my ninth book released, and next year I am publishing my Racing Harts series with Finding Faith coming out first, in March 2026. Gaining Grace will be in June or July 2026, and Having Hope will be in October or November 2026. I’m really excited to get these books out there because I’ve loved writing this series. The characters were so much fun to write and their partners – are so dreamy! I especially like Hope’s boyfriend, but you’ll have to wait to meet him.

My last goal was to write full time, and earn $50k a year, so that I didn’t have to go back to work. Of course, I was unemployed at the time, and I could give writing a lot of my time, and I got into a great routine of writing in the morning, and then finding something else to do with my day. I was applying for job’s flat out, because… well We need money to feed us and pay bills, and I was going for all the weird and wonderful jobs – including a DoC ranger, and an office position at JB HiFi. Instead, I got a job, working part time as an administrator at the hospital, and it threw all of my writing plans out the window. The hours were unusual and I work on a fortnightly roster, including weekends, so I found I was doing slightly less writing than I wanted. But I have to admit that I can do writing while at work, and I frequently do, especially in the weekends.

So overall, I achieved my writing and publishing goals, and I would love to extend myself further but I still need to make that elusive $1000. Will that happen this year?

I’ll share my writing goals for 2026 next week.

The year ahead

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The days are ticking down to the inevitable, a time when plans are made, changed, remade, ideas are brought to fruition, then die before the day is out.

Yes, I’m talking about New Years eve. What are you goals for the year?

I have a few in mind this year, not all writing orientated, which makes a change. Normally I don’t make personal resolutions because I know that New Years isn’t the right time to make such things, because tomorrow is another day for a procrastinator, and I often decide to make a goal and start on the track to achieving it straight away.

This year, I’ve started eating healthier, but making Japanese meals when I cook three nights a week, and having smaller portions when my partner or son cook the other four nights.

I got a new job, part time, working 20 hours a week and earning good money from it too. It feels good knowing that I have an income while I wait for my books to start selling.

I learnt Maori at a conversational level, and I love to learn, but what I want to study next could mean a few years not writing, which isn’t really an option for me right now. I will put that on hold for a bit, and see how things progress. I have enjoyed not studying for the last half of the year, the first time in a long time that I haven’t been filling my brain with information. But my job does a good job of doing that, so I’m not really missing out.

I’ve also been going to the gym since pole was cancelled. I could go to another pole studio, but that would mean driving an hour two and from Nelson to do that…and that isn’t economical for me. So instead, I go to the gym three times a week, do a bootcamp once a week, and walk the other three days.

Next year, I will start to see results of my gym going. I have a personal trainer that I’m working with, and I want to lose some weight with it. i think with the regime I’m on now, I should start seeing some results soon enough.

Writing-wise – you all know how I went this year. I’ve been pleased with progress, but getting a new job has kind of put a dampener on things, along with going to the gym, but I think I have a workable solution, which is what I’m all about.

I plan on having a blog post before New Years with my writing goals I’ve achieved this year, and a one the following week with my goals for 2026, so keep an eye out for those.