2025: My Biggest Year as an Author

2025 was a big year for me. Not only was I busy releasing books and stories, I also completely changed how I publish and manage my writing business.

The biggest happening for me this year was the release of the first two Puzzling Escapes books with Parragon Books, my first foray into traditional publishing. I also leaned into short stories, held my first few single-author events, and shifted my ebook store to reflect how readers currently find and buy books. Oh, and somewhere in there, I dyed my hair magenta.

The Year of Puzzling Escapes

For eight years, I was entirely self-published. However, when contacted in late 2023 about a possible partnership for a line of puzzle books with an established publisher, I was absolutely interested. After many talks, a little negotiation, and loads of hard work, the first and second Puzzling Escapes books were released in their beautiful new format with gorgeous, custom illustrations.

Read More: Puzzles Reimagined: Exciting Updates for Puzzling Escapes

The first book, Puzzling Escapes: The Haunted House Mystery came out on July 1, and a couple of weeks later, I held a huge signing event at my local Barnes & Noble. Loads of friends and family came out to support me and my work, and it was an amazing day!

Read More: My First Author-Signing: A Tell All

I was even more excited about the second book release since it’s my favorite title of the series (so far). A number of local independent bookstores were excited about Puzzling Escapes: Trapped in the Bookstore since it’s set in a small independent bookstore. Queen Takes Books graciously hosted the launch event, asking me to talk about the books and sign copies.

Starships Implode

While impatiently waiting for the release of the first Puzzling Escapes adventure, I busied myself with a particularly beloved project: a new Starship Blunder shared-universe anthology. I wrote a story reintroducing the crew from the first ship, unveiling a new starship, and setting the stage for interplanetary mishaps. For the next several months, I solicited stories, picked the best ones, wrote another short myself, edited the heck out of all the stories, and pulled them together for a late-November book release.

In addition to writing for the new Starship Blunder anthology, a number of other short stories I wrote came out as well. I released my stories “The Party Guest” and “A Delicate Deception” as ebook singles. Also, my story “Limited Vision” was published in the anthology Enigma Station, and another story I wrote, “The Giant Romance Fan” will be in an anthology titled Star-Crossed, which should come out on Valentine’s Day next year.

Events: Stepping Out From Behind the Keyboard

I’m no stranger to comic cons and craft fairs, and I attended a handful this past year. I also tabled at a couple book fairs, both of which were amazing! I definitely have plans to attend the Kensington Day of the Book Festival and the Fredericksburg Independent Book Festival again next year.

Although I was nervous as anything about doing a single-author event, I pulled myself together and did a number of them in 2025. They definitely have some advantages—I love getting treated like a VIP and not having to haul books or handle sales transactions. Perhaps one day I’ll have enough notoriety to demand an appearance fee as well. A girl can dream!

New Ebook Store

Behind the scenes, 2025 was also a year of big business shifts. Back when I first started publishing, Amazon was a great platform that gave independent books visibility. There were straightforward and affordable strategies that ensured your work reached the right readers. As time has passed, Amazon has made many changes to its marketplace, making it harder and harder to get eyes on indie books.

Read more: Leaving the Amazon Behind

Instead of chasing the Amazon algorithms and spending all my money on Amazon ads, I’ve decided to pivot and set up my own ebook store. This has been a fun endeavor, and I’m really proud of my online storefront.

Check out the Beth Martin ebook store

Life Beyond the Books

While books have been consuming my professional life, my personal life has been going well. Although most of my friends are fellow writers, I’ve also spent a lot of time playing Dungeons & Dragons with my husband and some new friends, which I’ve been really enjoying.

My husband and I are getting along great and actually like each other most days, which I count as a win. We both celebrated our 40th birthdays this year—his with a big party and mine with a beach vacation. I’m loving my 40s so far and am looking forward to a great decade.

My two kids are doing well and are both getting ready to start new schools next year—middle school for my daughter and high school for my son. They get along with each other (parenting win!) and still like spending time with me, which I love! They’re growing up so fast, and I’m incredibly proud of both of them.

In other news, the whole family somehow weathered the prolonged government shutdown, which added a fun layer of stress to everything. Unfortunately, the shutdown profoundly affected all of us in various ways. I won’t get into details or get political here, but we made it to the other side mostly unscathed.

Happy Holidays

Looking ahead, I’m excited for what’s on the horizon. My bookish pursuits are moving full steam ahead, and I’m hopeful for another great and productive year.

I want to say a big thank you to everyone who helped support me this year: my family and friends for always being there and having my back. The writing community, including my novel group, writing Discord, and writing coffee club, who inspire me, help me polish my work, and love talking craft. My professional partners at Parragon Books, the bookseller who hosted my author events, and wonderful clients who all strive to celebrate and embrace beautiful books. And of course, my readers and loyal fans who enjoy my work: I do it all for you!

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Whatever you’re celebrating, I hope the end of 2025 brings you peace, love, and a really good book. Here’s to more adventures—on and off the page—in 2026!