2024 was a transformative year for Barnard Publishing; let’s talk about it!
So, I didn’t start the year the way I wanted; saying goodbye to 2023 in November started a four-month unintentional hiatus that left me a little undermarketed for Alys Hall’s second publication, The Air We Breathe. We had a great livestream on launch day and I always love chatting with Alys!
From April, I worked on changing up the social media content – some things stuck, others didn’t – whilst I worked on Arabella Emms’ debut poetry collection, Empty Vessels. We were all really looking forward to having this project out in the world. We didn’t have a publication date until much later in the publishing process – in our interview (I promise, it’s coming!), Arabella talks about her experience of writing whilst having a chronic illness, so leaving the end date open gave everyone more space to exist.
Everything ramped up toward the end of the year, with two publications being launched in the last 3 months. My smallest publication drew up at the end this year, and I had a laugh chatting about Why Is Everybody Acting So Weird (Except For Me)? with Ben Fitzsimons on another livestream. I gained some assistance with my social media posts (and hopefully you can tell!) and have tried to post something everyday for the past few months. I want to keep that going into 2025, which leads me nicely onto…
Goals for 2025!
I recently updated the business plan for 2025, and part of that development was producing new 12 month, 3 year, and 5 year goals. In 2024, the financial situation has been a little too tense for comfort, so increasing my revenue (and hopefully turning a profit!) is at the top of my list. Part of that is understanding more about the finances (I am a words person, not a numbers person), and balancing prices to reflect the market.
Another part of my financial goal is increasing the frontlist! I am aiming to launch 6 books in 2025, which is a huge step up from the 3 books I launched this year. I will give each project the same amount of care and consideration I have for all our previous publications, and I am excited for everyone to see the new projects I’m working on!
Aside from building finances, I want to build community, which I started this year with the proofreader discord (let me know if you want to join up!). I’m also hoping to join the committee of the SYP Wales branch (fingers crossed), which will bring me closer to other publishing hopefuls in Wales! Attending more events and markets will give me more opportunity to network and build community too. A lot of bookish events are London-based and a little pricey, and local markets already feel like a huge step! If there are any events you want to see me at, or that you want me to document, leave a comment!
I have a lot of plans and am really keen to bring you along with me. Thank you so much for all the support I’ve received this year, for buying the books my authors and I have created for your enjoyment, for joining the livestreams and interacting with my social media posts! I’m really proud of how well Barnard Publishing has done this year, but I still need your support in my future projects – some really exciting books are on their way in 2025 and I want to give them the welcome they deserve. I’m going to try out some new processes in the new year like Kickstaters and Ko-fi (which I already have set up!), so if there is anything you’d like to see, let me know!