Welcome back to a quick chat about my 2025 goals and progress … February edition. If you joined us last month you know January was INCREDIBLY productive. It was a return to using actual writing goals with a BANG.

Can we continue that into February? Let’s find out …

First up, the actual goals. 

This is what they looked like when 2025 started. 

In order to make this GIANT list of things happen, I have to give myself micro-focuses for each month. In February those were:

1. Complete the second round of edits for the Slasher Project.
2. Get betas started on the Slasher Project. 
3. Spend some time idea journaling to come up with new ideas.

I also needed to read/review 9 books from the official 2025 TBR in order to make that MASSIVE goal happen (I allowed myself to make February the short month, since it’s the shortest month. Smart, right?) and post to the blog three times (one of which needed to be a poem).

So, did I do it?

The short answer is SORT OF. 

The longer answer is:

1. I started the second round of edits for the Slasher project. But, since I was a bit ahead of the game and already had betas on it, there was already some work done on that front that was never really recorded. In other words, I’d already second round edited Chapters 1 through 14 with beta feedback. SOOO I started second round editing a chunk and then going back and proofreading that same chunk. This led to a sort of confusion wherein I’m really doing BOTH. I got about halfway through the second round edits (for February) and about halfway through the proofreading I had planned for March. So … sort of a win, I guess. 

2. The betas are all working on the story now. I have periodic check-ins with them as they go. They’re all in different spots (which is perfect) and all on track to be done by the end of March, as planned. I’m working with 3 this time, which should give me a nice variety of feedback. 
3. I idea-journaled in February in an attempt to decide on the next WIP for drafting. I have narrowed it down to two ideas at this point, but I haven’t officially picked one yet. I think I’m waiting for that final inspiration to strike in the form of a chapter I can’t wait to write or an outline that practically starts writing itself. 
4. I managed to read/review 12 books in February, all of which were on the official 2025 TBR. I was actually planning on February being my slowest month, since it has less days than any other. This is the ONE MONTH I allowed myself 9 titles … and I blew that away. So heading into March I’m AHEAD on my lofty and questionably crazy goal by 4 books. More on the specifics of that reading goal in a bit.
5. I posted to the blog 3 times: with the wrap up of January, the poetry challenge for February, and with my new WIP ideas from the idea journal. 

Here’s what that 2025 Progress looked like at the end of February.

Here’s some fun stats for you related to writing and my projects:

• 8,821 words written across all projects and platforms
  • 3,605 of those were book reviews
  • 2,732 were blog posts
  • 404 added to the Slasher WIP
  • That means 2,080 were in the idea journal
• 52 Chapters Edited
  • That’s 26 chapters each edited twice. This project wants what this project wants, I guess. I’ve learned not to fight the process but just go with it. It works best that way.

Now, Reading. 

Remember, a LOT more information can be found over on alltherightreads.com where I’m a part of the review team. But, here’s the basics for you. 

The Graphic:

I read 12 books in February and, unlike in January, all 12 were actually on the official TBR. So 12 books, 4562 pages (about 158 pages per day). 17% of those were independently published. 

The Reading Journal:

The Stats:

Where did I get them all?

• 5 Borrowed from the library (my library would say I borrowed 7 but, as you probably remember, I only count it as a half if I’m also flipping back and forth from some other format that I own in some other way). 
• 3 ARC or Review copies provided by authors or publishers (those are the three listed at the top of the first page)
• 3 ½ purchased (I actually purchased 5 but, again, I only count it as a half if I borrowed it from the library in another format)
  • 2 purchased used from Goodwill 
  • 3 purchased used from a local independent store
• ½ giveaway win or gift. In this case, gift. I counted it as a half because, you guessed it, I also borrowed another format from the library. 

What formats were they all:

• 3 ebooks
• 5 audiobooks (7 in some form or another, you’re getting the idea behind halves by now)
• 2 paperbacks (3 in some form or another)
• 2 hardcovers (3 in some form or another)

Star Ratings:

• 0 1-star books. That makes sense because this is RARE for me. At alltherightreads we say a book has to be one we cannot recommend to get this rating. 
• 2 2-star books. These are books that were problematic, for some reason. The full reviews would lay out why. Safe to say that something about them rubbed me the wrong way. 
• 8 3-star books. This is probably my most common rating. For me, these books are GOOD but they’re NICHE for some reason. I’d have to find out if you were in that particular niche before I’d recommend them to you. Sometimes it’s because of content warnings, sometimes it’s because they’re just for a really specific reader. If you happen to be in this niche, however, these could be your absolute favorite books!
• 1 4-star books. These are books that I’d recommend just based on the fact that you say you read this genre. They’re just GREAT examples of their genre. For this month those were:
  • You Like It Darker is a short story collection of darker stories. These range from thrillers to paranormal to horror. If you’re a fan of short stories these are good ones!
• 1 5-star book. These books are ones that CROSS GENRES. I’d recommend them to almost any reader but definitely to readers of at least 2 genres. Crossing genres can be difficult for any author because you have to do both well. These books do that. This month that rating went to:
  • Butcher & Blackbird is an adult Romance Thriller. If you had asked me BEFORE reading this book if I thought those were two genres that could be combined well, I would’ve said no. Yet this one managed to tackle BOTH in a balanced way that will please readers of both. HOWEVER, this book has some serious trigger warnings. Check them before proceeding. If you like DARK romance or DARK thrillers, this is your book. 

So, that’s February. 

TLDR: Adjusted my goals a little as soon as the month started because the creative process is a fickle thing … managed to make enough progress to be happy even if it’s not an official goal met sort of situation. Still on track for the year. Don’t hate myself. That’s a win.

Back to the grind we go. See you again soon!