One of my goals this year is to get myself out of debt as a writer, the biggest expense I have being ongoing payments for commissioned cover art. Since the second half (or the last quarter) of 2010 all the way to – yessireebob – now, I’ve been in the red, cashing my royalty checks only to send them off as payments. It’s been tough, to be honest, especially since I don’t write popular books in my market. But I know that those wonderful illustrations done by Ms. Rosek really helped get some folks’ attention, at least long enough for them to bother reading the books’ blurbs and consider whether or not the books are worth their time and money. For that, I’ll always be grateful.

2012 is a new start for me, though, and the first step toward those goals I’ve set for myself is to complete those commission payments and then save those royalty checks, finally. Just a few moments ago, I sent the final installments, which takes a massive load off my shoulders. My checking account might be unhealthy at the moment, but that’s only temporary, and I can finally turn my attention to other things.

The next step for me is to be a lot more judicious about sending out review copies, more specifically print books. This issue remains a bit of a sore point for me, having gone through one too many bad experiences involving review (print) copies and an increasingly deeper financial hole with nothing to show for it in the end as far as the promised marketing help goes. I need to hold back and reconsider my options, even if it means foregoing the usual places I used to depend on for exposure. I’ve way too many factors working against my favor insofar as market and genre are concerned, which in the end spells: “I’m not made of money!” So, yeah.

Oh, man, what a great feeling it is, though, knowing that my biggest financial obstacle is finally cleared, that the talented artist who did so much work for my book covers is properly compensated.