My “year in review” posts have become a tradition since I started this website back in 2016. If you’re feeling ambitious and want to relive the journey over the years, you can read my annual review posts from 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017.
This past year was definitely an uphill battle, but I survived and climbed even higher in the third year of managing my business full-time. I had new (and bigger) events, new artwork and products, major updates to my booth display, a completed first draft of the next manuscript in my award-winning fantasy series, and lots more…
2024 Timeline of News & Events
Sunday, January 07, 2024
I finally launched my ecommerce website on Square!
This HUGE milestone enabled me to sell autographed copies of my books online instead of directing fans to third-party retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, which, of course, take a large cut of my profits (not to mention those books aren’t signed).
I launched the site as a soft rollout featuring a handful of products:
– Autographed hardcovers and paperbacks of the Chronicles of Avilésor books
– Kit and Rayven authentic Amínyte pendants (created as a collaboration with the Gaming Geeks)
– Die-cut vinyl stickers
– Postcards
– Mouse pads
Monday, January 08, 2024
Top Patreon subscribers got an early sneak peek at the first chapter of Lab Rat (Book IV in the Chronicles of Avilésor)!
Friday, January 26, 2024 – Saturday, January 27, 2024
Event #1: Hometown Winter Market in Crown Point, IN
Saturday, January 13, 2024
The shop page here on my primary website got a major facelift to reflect the new ecommerce site. Updated graphics direct consumers to the appropriate website to browse specific products:
- My new ecommerce site for autographed novels, art prints, and book merch
- The Ghost Realm candle by Old Soul Artisan
- Links to the audiobook, ebooks, and novels on third-party retail websites
- Chronicles of Avilésor and book-inspired apparel I designed (produced by Spring)
- Patreon
- Hic Sunt Dracones, the creator of my book dragons Clover and Thistle who guard my tip jar at events (I get a lot of people who want to buy them from me!)
Monday, January 15, 2024
I added two new products to my ecommerce website:
- Notecard packs featuring my art prints and photography
- Chronicles of Avilésor buttons designed for each book release
I also started offering electronic gift cards on my ecommerce site. I created seven different designs so people could choose between art and Chronicles of Avilésor themes.
Gift cards can be purchased for a single recipient or multiple people, or a group gift card can be created by pooling money from multiple contributors.
Saturday, February 03, 2024
Event #2: PopiCon! Game Convention in South Bend, IN
Thursday, February 08, 2024
Happy first book birthday to Blood of the Enemy, published on 02.08.23!
Saturday, February 10, 2024
Event #3: NWI Comic-Con in Crown Point, IN
At this event, I debuted my new build-a-bookmark station featuring my artwork and character sketches printed on real pages from A Fallen Hero. This is an event-exclusive item that is not available on my website.
It turned out to be a popular addition to my display! How it works: choose two designs (front and back) that go inside a protective sleeve, and then select a colored tassel.
Saturday, February 17, 2024 – Sunday, February 18, 2024
Event #4: Shipshewana On The Road in Kalamazoo, MI
Friday, February 23, 2024
Laminated bookmarks joined my product lineup on my website.
Like the build-a-bookmark station, these are created by printing my artwork directly onto real pages from AFH. However, they’re smaller, don’t have a tassel, and the two sides are already predetermined.
Sunday, February 25, 2024
Acrylic keychains became available on my website! Since the product launch, the keychains have been divided into three groups:
- Book-inspired graphic designs for bibliophiles
- Chronicles of Avilésor designs
- Art prints
Saturday, March 09, 2024 – Sunday, March 10, 2024
Event #5: Shipshewana On The Road in Elkhart, IN
Thursday, March 14, 2024
I finally finished the first draft of Book IV! This conclusion came after a very difficult decision about whether or not to divide the manuscript into two separate books… and if so, where to make that cut.
Prior to the division, the manuscript was a whopping 219,109 words, which was already 15k more than Book III (the largest in the series so far). I knew that I had at least one more big scene to write, plus there were some important scenes at the end that needed attention, and I was concerned that trying to restrain my word count could end up meaning those scenes didn’t get as much detail as they deserved.
After the split, Lab Rat‘s first draft was 147,889 words with 32 chapters and a prologue and epilogue. That’s a little shorter than Book I (154k).
Thursday, March 21, 2024
I received official copyright permission to include song lyrics from “You Are My Sunshine” in Book IV.
Previously, I had to seek this permission for A Fallen Hero and Phantom’s Mask but NOT Blood of the Enemy since no lyrics were quoted in Book III even though the title of the song was mentioned.
Saturday, March 16, 2024 – Sunday, March 17, 2024
Event #6: Shipshewana On The Road in Valparaiso, IN
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Sip Coffee House in Crown Point, IN started carrying autographed paperbacks of the Chronicles of Avilésor series. Patrons can read the books while lounging in the quaint little coffee shop (and purchase them to take home).
Saturday, March 30, 2024
Event #7: The Collective Artisan Market in Westville, IN
Tuesday, April 02, 2024
On social media, I shared the first time the first four books in the Chronicles of Avilésor series had ever been together.
Saturday, April 06, 2024 – Sunday, April 07, 2024
Event #8: Shipshewana On The Road in Fort Wayne, IN
Saturday, April 13, 2024
Event #9: Region Con in Merrillville, IN
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
I visited my alma mater to chat with the student book club of La Porte High School. We had some great discussions about the series and writing/publishing books, and I was so honored to receive gifts from students including bookmarks, character stat cards, a short story, and a lovely little hand-drawn portrait.
This visit inspired me to start working on a nonfiction book of advice and inspiration for writers, tentatively titled Inked.
Friday, April 26, 2024
The batch of photographs I submitted to Shutterstock was officially accepted and uploaded to Shutterstock’s database, making the rights to my photography available for creators and companies to purchase. My Shutterstock portfolio is available here: https://www.shutterstock.com/g/sara-a-noe
Friday, April 26, 2024 – Sunday, April 28, 2024
Event #10: PopCon Indy in Indianapolis, IN
Saturday, May 04, 2024 – Sunday, May 05, 2024
Event #11: Shipshewana On The Road in Crown Point, IN
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Event #12: Halfway to Halloween Macabre Market in Valparaiso, IN
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Event #13: Chesterton European Market in Chesterton, IN
Monday, May 20, 2024
I migrated my monthly newsletter to a new platform. (Read more about the switch in my blog post.) The shift from MailChimp to Substack brought some changes to the newsletter’s layout and resulted in a more user-friendly archive of past newsletters.
Saturday, May 25, 2024
Event #14: Chesterton European Market in Chesterton, IN
June 2024
I started organizing my poems, photographs, and art for another side project: a collage-style poetry/art book tentatively titled Cobblestones. However, with my primary focus being on Lab Rat, this project didn’t get much traction this year.
Saturday, June 01, 2024
Event #15: Greenwood Pride in Greenwood, IN
Wednesday, June 05, 2024
Hometown Living featured A Fallen Hero, “The Raven,” and “Snowy Flight” on a live video segment about REBEL Art Fest.
The video is available to watch here.
Friday, June 07, 2024 – Saturday, June 08, 2024
Event #16: Strawberry Festival in North Liberty, IN
Sunday, June 09, 2024
Event #17: Rebel Art Fest in South Bend, IN
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Event #18: Pride Fest in Michigan City, IN
Saturday, June 22, 2024
Event #19: Twin Cities PrideFest in Benton Harbor, MI
Saturday, June 29, 2024
Event #20: Independence Day Celebration in Mishawaka, IN
At this event, I introduced a new option for my notecards, offering them as both packs of five or individual notecards for the first time.
Saturday, July 06, 2024
Event #21: Kogan Con in Grand Haven, MI
Monday, July 08, 2024
Happy 4th book birthday to Phantom’s Mask, published on 07.08.20!
Saturday, July 13, 2024
Event #22: Chesterton European Market in Chesterton, IN
Saturday, July 20, 2024
Event #23: Chesterton European Market in Chesterton, IN
Sunday, July 21, 2024
Event #24: PAWS for Pride in Valparaiso, IN
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Special order! Upon request, I had “Bow” printed on a 16×20 framed canvas for a customer. The comparison photo shows how much larger the canvas print is than the typical 8×10 artboard I sell at events.
Below is a photo the customer sent me to show 16×20 “Bow” and 8×10 “Dandy Bee” in their new home:
Friday, July 26, 2024 – Sunday, July 28, 2024
Event #25: Hometown Days in New Carlisle, IN
Friday, August 02, 2024
Boba Kit was unveiled! Not only did she make her appearance on Discord (where you can find all of the Kit emojis I designed), but she also joined my inventory as a sticker and later a keychain.
She also set up shop at HotSpot Café as the only Kit emoji for sale at an established brick-and-mortar location!
Summer Kit arrived to replace Springtime Kit as the newest seasonal emoji. I also received stickers of Winter Kit… but she didn’t make her debut until later in the year.
On this day, I also introduced several of my art prints to my sticker collection, including:
- Death by Venom
- Decay
- Lunos
- Rosebush Rabbit
- Valdenar’s Bow (Dark)
Saturday, August 03, 2024
Event #26: Chesterton European Market in Chesterton, IN
Wednesday, August 07, 2024
Happy 6th book birthday to A Fallen Hero, published on 08.07.18!
Thursday, August 08, 2024
I finally completed the first round of edits for Lab Rat in between a busy event schedule. Part of the editing/revision process included adding a new chapter that wasn’t originally in the first draft.
On this day, I also completed another special order for two 16×20 framed canvas prints. A fan had liked the custom order for “Bow” so much that she wanted one for herself in addition to “Yule Stag.”
Friday, August 09, 2024
New keychains arrived! In addition to restocking some favorites that were almost or completely out of stock, I added new designs to my collection:
- Boba Kit
- Summer Kit
- Winter Kit (to be revealed later)
- Yule Stag
- Scrabble: Read Banned Books
Saturday, August 10, 2024
Event #27: Art Beat in South Bend, IN
Friday, August 16, 2024
I introduced new artboard sizes to my inventory as a test run.
Previously, I had carried 8×10 exclusively. With this new order, many of prints became available on a range of sizes, including 8×8, 8×10, 10×10, and 11×14.
Saturday, August 17, 2024
Event #28: OUTFest in Lafayette, IN
Saturday, August 24, 2024 – Sunday, August 25, 2024
Event #29: Michiana Ren Fest in South Bend, IN
At this event, I introduced my forest tapestry backdrop for the first time!
Monday, August 26, 2024
After almost a month of voting, I announced the winner of a poll to name a new character in Book IV.
In July, Alpha-level patrons were invited to submit names for the poll. I picked my favorites and opened voting up to the public on Substack, Discord, Instagram, and Facebook, but after a near tie, I sent the top contenders back to Patreon for a final tiebreaking vote.
The winner was Faer (pronounced FAY-er)! Keep an eye out for this character to be introduced in Book IV with a bigger role in Book V.
Friday, August 30, 2024 – Monday, September 02, 2024
Event #30: Blueberry Festival in Plymouth, IN
Saturday, September 07, 2024
Event #31: Popcorn Festival in Valparaiso, IN
Saturday, September 14, 2024
Event #32: Chesterton European Market in Chesterton, IN
I introduced several new display updates at this event! I also added the fifteen Elemental Guild symbols from the map of Avilésor to my collection of handmade necklaces and brooches.
Sunday, September 15, 2024
I announced a new collaboration with a local artisan! Freer Woodcrafts built some of my brooches into his handcrafted wooden bottle stoppers. We started with a small batch that included:
- “Sunflower Swallowtail”
- “Valdenar’s Bow” (Dark)
- “Yule Stag”
- “Snowy Flight”
- “Lunos”
These custom products are not for sale online (yet). The only way to get one is to visit the Freer Woodcrafts booth at local events like the Chesterton European Market.
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Event #33: Sunflower Fair in La Porte, IN
Saturday, September 28, 2024
Event #34: Bizarre Bazaar in Valparaiso, IN
Saturday, October 05, 2024
Event #35: Wolf Hollow Witches Market in Belvidere, IL
Wednesday, October 09, 2024
Two new friends arrived to help guard my booth at events! I invited fans on Patreon and social media to submit name ideas for my crows. I received a lot of great suggestions (and got a particular chuckle from the cleverness of “Edgar and Allen Crow”) but ultimately went with Onyx and Shadow. Onyx was a name that resonated with me immediately, and Shadow felt incredibly fitting since my first fantasy novel was titled Shadow Rider.
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Event #35: Under the Harvest Moon Festival in Dowagiac, MI
(Onyx and Shadow’s first time guarding the booth!)
Saturday, October 19, 2024
Event #36: Comic & Collector’s Con in South Bend, IN
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Beta readers received their copy of Book IV!
After months of work reading, editing, and revising the first draft, I finally finished updating the manuscript and sent digital copies to half of the beta readers. The other half received printed hard copies that were delivered over the next few days.
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Event #37: Mighty Con in Lafayette, IN
I introduced new pinback buttons at this event: the fifteen Elemental Guild symbols, inverted paw print, and rainbow Amínyte symbol.
And I brought along something else new! I added lucky pocket companions, which are a great kid-friendly item at my booth. They’re also perfect for mystery boxes and prizes!
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Level 2 and 3 Patreon subscribers got the very first look at Book IV’s cover in progress.
Saturday, November 02, 2024 – Sunday, November 03, 2024
Event #38: Lodge Con in Peotone, IL
I tested out a new vertical display for my sticker collection at this event.
Saturday, November 16, 2024 – Sunday, November 17, 2024
New! I added a “Mystery Item” bonus on my website for customers who like a little intrigue in life. When you select this $5 add-on, I’ll pick out one or more small items valued at $5-$10 to include in your order.
Saturday, November 16, 2024 – Sunday, November 17, 2024
Event #39: Fall Artisan Market in South Bend, IN
Saturday, November 23, 2024 – Sunday, November 24, 2024
Event #40: Valpo Holidaze in Valparaiso, IN
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
I partnered with HotSpot Café in La Porte to have the shop serve as a brick-and-mortar pickup location for website orders. This new option allows locals to avoid shipping costs and pick up their order from HotSpot during normal business hours after I’ve fulfilled it.
Thank you for supporting both of our small businesses!
Friday, November 29, 2024
Magnets and large buttons arrived! I was excited to have new products in stock for the last few events of the year.
The 3.5″ x 2.5″ magnets feature my art prints. Since I have so many art prints now, I’m incrementally adding more to the collection in small batches.
The 2.25″ buttons feature my own book-themed graphic designs and are larger than the small 1.25″ Chronicles of Avilésor designs I already carried. I introduced several new designs (Dark World, Certified Bookworm, and Magic Portals) in addition my existing Banned Books (rainbow and black/white) and the Scrabble: Read Banned Books designs. I have more designs waiting to be ordered!
I also launched three new designs on my apparel shop. (Patreon subscribers got early access plus an exclusive holiday sale that lasted all through December and the first few days of January!)
“Broken” and “Dark World” joined the general collection, while the Lab Rat specialty hoodie launched as a private listing while the sleeve upgrades were pending.
Saturday, November 30, 2024
Event #41: Hometown Holiday Market in Chesterton, IN
Winter Kit finally made her official debut when she sent Boo and Spooky Kit back into the vault until next fall.
Friday, December 06, 2024 – Saturday, December 07, 2024
Event #42: Indoor Santa Market in Crown Point, IN
Sunday, December 08, 2024
Event #43: Christmas at the Civic in La Porte, IN
Friday, December 12, 2024
New keychains arrived JUST in time for the last event of 2024! The batch included a mix of art prints and graphic designs, including:
- Broken
- Full Moon
- Sunflower Swallowtail
- Certified Bookworm
- Dark World
- Magic Portals
Saturday, December 13, 2024 – Sunday, December 14, 2024
Event #44: Kris Kringle Market in Whiting, IN
I introduced a new test product at this event: a small pocket journal featuring “Looking Back” on the front and back. I had only three of these journals in stock (the minimum quantity I could order from my supplier) to check the quality and gauge consumer perception. To my surprise, I sold all three at this event! I’ll be adding the journals to my inventory next year, but I need some time to format my artwork for production.
Reflecting on My Accomplishments of 2024 & Goals for 2025
Full transparency… 2024 was a rough year for me. Despite hitting my goals, events were tough and sales were down. Most vendors swear that election years are weird and revenue is usually down 20-30%, but I always brushed that off as superstition since my personal spending habits never change just because of an election.
Well, now that I’ve survived my first election year as an entrepreneur, I’m now a believer. Time-proven events that have been successful for me two or three years in a row were down by 50% year over year in some cases. One regular festival was down a jaw-dropping 85% YOY!!!
Those drops, along with some unexpected car repairs, really hurt me and made it difficult to reinvest in my business while staying afloat with personal bills. I struggled to pay the higher vendor fees to lock down a booth at bigger events even though I wanted to scale up and avoid doing the tiny (yet free/cheap) artisan pop-ups and craft shows that had drained my time and energy when I first started my business. I also had a hard time paying the upfront inventory costs to add new products like the magnets, buttons, et cetera, not to mention placing book orders for events.
Looking back, I had three big goals for 2024:
- Work on Book IV – Check! I completed the manuscript and had it sent out to beta readers before the end of the year.
- Reduce my number of events by prioritizing quality over quantity – Check. Although I still did more events than I would have liked and many of them didn’t perform as well as I wanted, I did meet this goal.
It felt good to hit all of my goals! For 2025, my goals look very similar:
- Publish Book IV – I’m on track to release Lab Rat this year, although I still don’t have an official publication date yet. I’m moving into the final editing phase and will be sending the manuscript to the line editor in a couple of weeks. The cover is coming along nicely, and I have a rough concept of the new map that I’m planning to include in the book along with a character list and pronunciation guide.
- Reduce my number of events by prioritizing quality over quantity – This is same goal I had last year, and it will likely continue to be an annual goal. Every year, I aim to be more strategic with my event schedule. I would LOVE to not have to stress so much about filling almost every single weekend with an event. Now that my website is live and I have periodic online orders coming in, this is a more realistic possibility.
How am I feeling about 2025? Well… I’m incredibly nervous about the potential market instability and how the proposed upcoming tariffs will impact my business costs. The decreased revenue in 2024 meant I couldn’t save up as much money as I would have liked to get through my off season, which means it will be tough to regain my momentum and pay vendor fees early in the year… which means I might face a real struggle to cover the upfront costs of publishing Book IV. I still have to pay the line editor for her hard work, not to mention order proof copies and pay for the first print run to be produced.
I will try very hard to not let financial struggles delay publication, but the cold hard truth is that I don’t know how everything will fall into place. I hope that promoting preorders on my website will help alleviate the financial pressure a bit by having fans pay for their books before I order them.
On that note, I am incredibly grateful to my top fans who support me on Patreon! Even at the lowest $5/month membership tier, those subscriptions add up and help me cover business costs so I can keep publishing books and making art. I would love to see that community grow even more as I continue to move forward while sharing exclusive behind-the-scenes content with my patrons.
No matter what happens, I’m excited to share Lab Rat with you (whenever it comes out)! I think it’s my favorite book of the series, and I sincerely hope fans enjoy it. But be warned… it will take you deep into the darkness that destroyed Cato and reformed him from a hero into a traumatized test subject…
Artwork
Every month, I draw a new piece of art and share a Patreon-exclusive timelapse video of my process from start to finish. Here are the sketches I drew this past year:
Blog Posts
- New Website! Purchase Directly from Author & Artist Sara A. Noë
- Amínyte Pendants: Collaboration with The Gaming Geeks
- Q&A Interview with Russ Hapke from The Gaming Geeks
- Sara A. Noë Photography on Shutterstock
- My Newsletter Has Migrated from MailChimp to Substack! Here’s Why
- Best Liability Insurance for Authors & Artists (ACT vs. Next)
- Mindful Blogging: Prioritizing Quality Over Quantity
- My Thoughts on AI as a Writer, Photographer, & Artist
- Should Fiction Authors Have a Blog? 5 Benefits of Blogging
- Q&A: Is It Better To Buy Books Directly from the Author?
- 60+ Quality Blog Post Topics and Ideas for Fiction Authors
- Author Tip: How to Perfect Your Elevator Pitch
- BOOK IV: LAB RAT Updates & Chapter List
- Information About Being a Chronicles of Avilésor Beta Reader
- Author Tip: How Amazon Book Reviews Unlock Marketing Benefits
Top 5 Most Popular Posts of 2024
- DIY: Best Way to Glue a Cabochon in a Bezel Setting
- The “Theory of Omission” in Writing | Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory
- Entrepreneur’s Perspective: Are Square Loans Worth It For Your Small Business?
- 2024 Literary and Book-Themed Holidays for Your Calendar
Newsletters
I wish everyone a happy, healthy, positive 2025!
I'm an award-winning fantasy author, artist, and photographer from La Porte, Indiana. My poetry, short fiction, and memoir works have been featured in various anthologies and journals since 2005, and several of my poems are available in the Indiana Poetry Archives. The first three novels in my Chronicles of Avilésor: War of the Realms series have received awards from Literary Titan.
After some time working as a freelance writer, I was shocked by how many website articles are actually written by paid "ghost writers" but published under the byline of a different author. It was a jolt seeing my articles presented as if they were written by a high-profile CEO or an industry expert with decades of experience. I'll be honest; it felt slimy and dishonest. I had none of the credentials readers assumed the author of the article actually had. Ghost writing is a perfectly legal, astonishingly common practice, and now, AI has entered the playing field to further muddy the waters. It's hard to trust who (or what) actually wrote the content you'll read online these days.
That's not the case here at On The Cobblestone Road. I do not and never will pay a ghost writer, then slap my name on their work as if I'd written it. This website is 100% authentic. No outsourcing. No ghost writing. No AI-generated content. It's just me... as it should be.
If you would like to support my work, check out the Support The Creator page for more information. Thank you for finding my website! 🖤