2026 Bookish Goals
Hey everyone! I hope y’all got sufficient time to recover from all the festivities. The end of the year always evoke a sense of “what if” and “what could’ve been” for me, and I often find my mind swirling with regrets of what I missed that year but soon after, hopes and dreams fill the pockets of disappointment. I forget where I first heard it—maybe it was a passing IG reel or a street convo— but this really stuck with me: “I don’t want to ‘wish.’ I want to ‘do.’" I was stunned by the simple statement. Since then, I realized that it was exactly what I was doing for most of 2025. Wishing. I wished I could write better. I wished I was great at social media. I wished I was more successful. You get the idea. Don’t get me wrong, wishing isn’t an entirely bad thing. It puts your aspirations into focus. But more often than not, the wishing mentality lays the groundwork for a melancholic thinking path. For example, saying “I wish I could write better” is basically saying “This is where my writing skill stops at.” Not very encouraging.
All this is to say that one of my goals for the new year is to change my frame of thinking and language. Instead of “wish,” I’ll look for words that are more proactive. “I will write more” or “I will spend time to study social media marketing.” Now, my wishes are actionable.
Anyway, back to the purpose of this blog post which is sharing with you my 2026 goals! I wanted to preface the blog with that little train of thought because I know how daunting New Years resolutions can feel and wanted to share some encouragement. :) Don’t be hard on yourself and set small meaningful goals. You got this!
Goals:
Uplift BIPOC authors
Did you know only a very small percentage (around 10%) in traditional romance publishing consists of BIPOC authors according to The Ripped Bodice’s report: The State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing? That’s literally insane! Love is so diverse and so should be the romance novels that get published. As a romance editor and person of color, it is my duty to uplift BIPOC voices, especially in a genre such as this. My goal for this year is to discover more romances written by BIPOC authors and share them with my friends and followers as a way to bring attention to the larger conversation surrounding the publishing industry. Not limited to the romance genre of course, but I think Romance is a good starting point.
Reading through my personal library
I’m sure you’ve seen countless memes of choosing between your TBR and a book you’ve seen online three seconds ago. The struggle is real. Who doesn’t love getting into books that is in the current bookish zeitgeist and joining in on book discussions? The other day I was migrating my bookshelf to a different room, and seeing the stacks and stacks of books that needed to be re-shelved, I was hit with major guilt; I’d gotten these books AGES ago and have never gotten around to them and instead of reading books I already have, I buy new and shiny books on autopilot instead. This year, I will start rectifying my book hoarding. One thought that helps me refocus on the books I have is this: Imagine there’s a house fire and it gets to your collection. How many of those book would’ve been read before they’re a pile of ash? Depressing I know but it emphasizes the point. Don’t let your books go to waste. Aside from reading from my collection and borrowing from my local library, I’m officially placing a book-buying ban on myself. Wish me luck.
Write LOTS
I didn’t get to post as much blogs as I’d wanted to for 2025, so this year I’m looking forward to setting aside more time to write about editing, book reviews, and bookish updates. In tandem to that, I want give myself time every week to push through my Contemporary Romance. Originally, this goal was “Writer better!” which was way too nebulous and intimidating. I sat down with my morning coffee one blustery day and mulled this over. Ok, that’s the end product. How can I reasonably achieve that? The answer is mileage. At least for me, that’s what I currently need. And I know during this time I mustn’t be critical of my writing style and level. It’s a work in progress, and as with any craft, I’m gonna sit back and enjoy the journey I’m super psyched for.
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What 2026 resolutions are you looking forward to the most? Is it finally finishing the first draft of your novel? Hitting a new reading goal? Participating in more book community events? Share down below in the comments! Let’s support each other in our 2026 goals!
