December is here, which means it’s time for my favorite (and occasionally humbling) year-end ritual: digging through a year’s worth of stats to see what actually happened in my little corner of the publishing world.

This month, I’ll be taking a closer look at:

• Website stats – Who visited? What were they looking for? And how many of them stuck around long enough to click something besides “back”?
• Sales data – The highs, the lows, the “…really? That’s all?” moments.
• Social media growth – Which platforms showed promise, which flatlined, and which ones are still giving me the “why are you like this?” energy.
• Best-performing books – Along with the true cost behind each one: money, time, effort, and the occasional existential crisis.

Basically, I’m pulling everything apart to see what worked, what didn’t, and what I can learn from it all. It’s part archaeology, part analytics, part “oh, that’s why nothing happened in May.”

I’ll be back in January with an update on what I discover and, more importantly, how I plan to move forward in the new year. New strategy? New goals? New chaos? We’ll see.

Here’s to ending the year with clarity and starting the next one with purpose.

Hitting Refresh: Revamping My Author Presence for the Fall 🍂📚

Whew. After a rollercoaster of sales and social media experiments, I’ve realized it’s time for a good old-fashioned author presence refresh. October feels like the perfect month to step back, take inventory, and make sure my online spaces actually reflect where I am as a writer right now and not where I was three years ago.

So, here’s what I’ve been working on (and what’s coming next):

1. Updating My Digital Homes

First up, I’m giving my Amazon author pages, Goodreads, and websites some botox if not serious facelifts.

Fresh bios: It’s funny how fast your author bio gets outdated. I plan to rewrite mine to better reflect my current projects, interests, and focus areas. (Check me out on Amazon as C.E. Flores and Millie Flores)
Latest highlights: Adding updates about my current projects so readers know what I’ve been up to, what’s coming next, and where to dive in first if they’re new to my work. (See my latest adventures at Surviving Mexico.)

2. Making My Book Descriptions Work Harder

While updating my author profiles, I realized some of my book descriptions were… let’s just say they weren’t doing me any favors. So I’ve been going through each one to:

Add stronger hooks that make readers want to click “Buy Now.”
Use keywords that help new readers actually find my books through search.
Inject a little more emotional pull because sometimes a well-placed line about transformation says more than a paragraph of details ever could.

If you haven’t checked your book blurbs in a while, trust me, it’s worth a refresh.

3. Expanding My Reach: Reviews, Reviews, Reviews

Another big focus for this season: getting more eyes on my books. I’m adding another title to BookBub and also over at Muted Muses to gather more honest reviews and reach new audiences. Reviews are still one of the most powerful ways to build trust with readers, and I’ve been missing opportunities by not fully leaning into that. I also had an author reach out to me to review his book on book reviews, so that’s on my to-do list for the month.

Looking Ahead

This refresh feels like a reset button, a chance to polish what’s already out there, make my books easier to find, and reconnect with my readers in a way that feels more current. By tightening up my author presence now, I’m setting myself up for stronger sales and more engaged readers heading into the holidays and the new year.

It’s a lot of work, but honestly? It feels good to get organized and intentional again.

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