I spent this past weekend with family, at soccer games, and celebrating birthdays. I squeezed in a few emails and I read like three blogs, but they made me think.

About writing.

And publishing.

And setting goals.

Though I was busy baking cupcakes and coaching soccer and talking about life, in the back of my mind were questions, ones I’m still thinking about.

We can’t keep living our writing life and career path as if it were 2005. Too much has changed. But even though I already made the incredible decision to self publish last year at about this time, there are still many aspects of my career to evaluate.

Here are some of the posts that got me thinking:

Katie’s or Creepy Query Girl’s on Are blog tours losing their promotional power?  Read the comments too!

Jody Hedlund’s on Is blogging a time suck for writer’s?  Again, read the comments.

Denise Grover Swank’s on A business plan for self published Writers Part one,  two and three.

• Are blog tours really effective? Especially with ten going on every week? Especially with the effort it takes in organizing it?
• How important is brand these days? Will branching out and trying something different spark my career in a new direction? Help me to grow as a writer?
• How important are production schedules and planning years in advance?
• What about blogging in general? The only thing that seems to sell a book is the book and word of mouth. Where does social media fit in? How do I use it effectively?
• How am I spending my work time? How can I be more productive while growing in craft?
• How can I push myself in the area of craft?
• What about five year plans and adjusting for aspects of this business I can’t control?

I’ve come to my conclusions about some of these questions, and others I’m still thinking about. When have you taken the time to really evaluate your path and your decisions? Are they still from five years ago? Or even last year?

Let me know! I’d love to hear from you.