The first thing I note in this supposed PLAN of mine is how pathetically unplanned it was compared to prior years. Maybe THIS is why I felt like my wheels spun much of the year. If anyone is curious, they are here, assessment of 2013 and plans for 2014 all in one...
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| Well... even before Christmas, really... |
Fitness plans? I SUCKED. I had a bad year on that front. I really tried twice, but I have reached that age where I need to really REALLY try and maybe get a bit of formal help. I will call this a big fat fail. And I mean that literally. Okay, maybe a D. And I am only not failing myself totally because I DID have about 4 months of real effort in there... It just didn't help. At all.
Family Stuff... hmmm... it went okay, not fabulous, but not horrible... I will give this a B.
Reading: I read 22 out of 26 letters for my goal with Escape with Dollycas... I got sidetracked with rereading Song of Ice and Fire and Harry Potter, which I do occasionally, and there are some letters with very few books (I was missing Q, X, Y and Z)—here at the end the Library failed me on a couple. My Q book never came in. Had I been more diligent up front I would have made it, but I left the hard letters to the end and I just couldn't quite pull it out. I DID read probably 30 books (in addition to all the rereads of my own as part of editing rounds) but there were letters missing from the goal. I give it a B-.''
And the Writing...
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| The real trouble is building the darned boat... |
That detour cost me in terms of some of my other goals, too. The one that I regret is not putting in the time I needed for releasing Keeping Mum. I have not been invited for a fourth in my series and I suspect it is because I have not been the go-getter marketer they needed me to be. Reviews for it were the best of all the books, but I just couldn't seem to do all the things to create the buzz and get more reviews and I suspect that was because I was trying to do too much (and substantially burned out).
In addition to finishing A Shot in the Light this year I wrote about 2/3 of the first book in my Undoing series and the first in the Corset Cop Series: Teddy Trouble. Both are very first drafty. I revised What Ales Me substantially and Ellen has it once again. And I am almost done with first revisions of Also Appearing which will be my ABNA Entry this year.
I am not sure how to grade my writing year... I did a lot of work, but a lot of it was maybe in the wrong direction and caused distractions to what is going to progress my career. I'd probably give it a B because those were lessons I needed to learn, but I consider the year a bit of a setback on my path.
The next few days I will work out my goals for 2015... Probably non-writing tomorrow and writing on Wednesday.
7 comments:
Re-read of Song of Ice and Fire and Harry Potter? That sounds wonderful, and throw in all the Tolkien books as well and I'm set! Procrastination here I come!
The fact that you've learned a lot of what to do and not to do means that your year was definitely a success overall. :)
Hart ~ You're awesome! As an outsider looking at your goals, I'd say you did great. The fact that you made any kind of effort toward health is always good. As writers, it seems like for a lot of us our health is the first thing to go.
Having a career (or in your case TWO careers) and being a mother is so freaking tough. I know that my kids are proud of the fact that I'm doing what I love and making it work. BUT spending more time with the Kidlets is my 2015 goal.
As for your writing, I would rate it an A for sure. Yes, it's difficult self publishing and especially this past year. Like we could talk for hours about all that happened over the past year in the publishing world and how it affected self published authors specifically. It's definitely not 2012 anymore. Without the past year, you wouldn't know what's best for YOU. You did what you thought was right and you did it to the best of your ability.
Hart my dear, do you sleep? From what you write here I'd say you're a super achiever who works 24/7. You accomplished so much! And in a way I'm kinda angry that your publisher didn't ask for another cozy in the series because (you believe) you weren't an aggressive enough marketer. It used to be the publishers did all the marketing; now even this task has been handed off to writers.
Personally, I think you're splendid. If you messed up here and there in 2014, then in 2015 you'll do far better because, unlike me, you learn from your mistakes.
Here's to fun, health and success in 2015.
Wishing you a very happy & Prosperous New Year ..Thanks for all the support! Keep writing! Keep lighting!…BEST PRAYERS FOR FUTURE!!
I think you earned a higher grade on your writing. Things may have not gone like you expected but you still accomplished TONS!
I love rereading some of my favorites, too, I just can't resist. I think you did an excellent job on your goals for this year. I wish you the best on your goals for next year.
Happy New Year!!!! :)
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