2017 In Review

Maybe you've realized it (and maybe you haven't), but I have not been very social on social media in 2017.

I have not blogged.

I have not Facebooked.

I have not tweeted.

Well, some of that is technically not true.  I had 4 (yes, just four!) blog posts in 2017 (and that includes this post).  I kept up with my title milestone listings and occasionally checked my professional Facebook feed. I have several tweets set up to automatically repeat, so those have gone out.

But really, I have not been social on social media.  I had plans to be.  I had spreadsheets of ideas to write about, resources to share, and I wanted to spread the love for my authors. But alas, those plans did not come to pass.

Part of that is because I was busy. So very busy. With all good stuff, I swear. Like the 6.7 MILLION words I read for work this year. Like the God knows how many books for fun I read this year. A trip to Colorado to soak in the hot springs and see our son. A trip to Bermuda for a beautiful wedding. Some church projects (like my annual Basket Bonanza and other leadership roles). Like volunteering for my community as we build our library (it's currently in the basement of our town hall). Like coordinating chapter meetings for the editorial association I belong to, the EFA.

But as 2017 winds down, it's time to think ahead.  I'm going to try to up my game on the social media front - maybe it won't be as much as it was three or four years ago, but it needs to be more than it was in 2017. Another ambitious goal for 2018 is to update my website again.  I've got tons of new covers to put up, and it's always fun to give it a facelift! I'm thinking of joining RWA as an associate member and checking out their convention (okay, it doesn't hurt that it's in Denver so I'll get a chance to hang out with my son a bit more!).

What are you planning in 2018?

Year End Review/2017 goals

I've watched a few of these MarieTV spots on YouTube, but I really liked this one for a year-end review process:

So here are my answers to her 3 questions:


1) What did I do, create, or experience this year that I'm really proud of: I am picking experiences here. I am proud of my continued dedication to my swim lessons.  Now, this may seem peculiar, but if you factor in how afraid of water - much less actual swimming - I had been in the past, you can see how sticking to the lessons for a year and a half now is quite the achievement. I really look forward to my lessons: the time in the pool, learning a new skill (I'm currently struggling with the dolphin move) and fine-tuning it until it's just about perfect, and frankly, doing something I thought I'd never do.

The other experience I'm proud of is my attendance at the EFA National Conference.  Again, it might seem weird to you outgoing types, but for this introvert to go into (what I perceived, anyway) a large group of strangers and make it a point to talk to new people - well, it was a big deal.

Dinner out in NYC

Cool book walls at the resturant

Me and Mary Norris, of The New Yorker

2) What mistakes did I make that taught me something?  What lessons did I learn that I can leverage? I'm not sure what I'd consider a mistake in 2016; I'm sure there was something I did wrong at least once. So I think I'm going to say my mistake (and not one isolated to 2016) is my tendency to think I can't do something...that I don't have the skills or the talent or the innate quality to be successful at whatever that particular "thing" is. But the truth is I can do things I think I can't (see above re:swimming).  I'm learning all the time...I just have to realize I can and I am, and feel confident that I even if I am a beginner or novice, every expert started just like me.

3) What am I willing to let go of? This one is a bit harder. I don't like to let go of things (just ask my husband!). But maybe I can let go of my disappointments (I really don't have to dwell on them, especially in the middle of the night!) when things don't go quite my way...or the way they have always gone. I need to let go of that negative attitude, that negative mindset, when it sneaks up on me.

So what about you? Can you take a few minutes an answer these 3 questions? Share in the comments (if you dare!).

Getting My Ducks in a Row

So, I've actually got a workday where I have no work to do...but yes, there is work to do!  I've just spent the last hour or so adding tags to all of my blog posts.  I had some in there, but I really let that part of blogging go (not that any other part of my blogging has been a shining example of good blogging, but whatever).

And it was fun to revisit some of those older blog posts and remember some of what prompted them.  It was kind of like reading my work diary over the past few years.

Anyway, back to work... Part of the reasoning to get the blog posts properly tagged/labeled was to make it easier to search and to jump-start some ideas for my 2017 blogging.  (After all, if I've already talked about something, do I need to keep harping and harping on it? Maybe...) So I am setting up a spreadsheet with ideas, categories, and a calendar so I can be a bit more organized for blogging in 2017 (see goal #4 here).  I am thinking I might ask anyone who has done an Author Interview to do an updated one - although I haven't figured out what new questions I'd ask.  But I think it would be cool to see how authors have changed (if at all) and what their writing career looks like now - sort of a "Where Are They Now" thing.

But I am really going to try to get my ducks in a row to give me a good start to 2017 and beyond. Not that 2016 was horrible or anything, but I feel like I need to be more prepared for things, not just go at them willy-nilly. Or get distracted by squirrels - that's Dudley's job!

(And aren't you impressed about this second blog post in under a week?)

Am I Crazy or What?

Yes, yes, I know it's been several (okay, almost six) months since I last wrote. It's just been so busy - in so many great ways.  My last post was just after my summer vacation, and after that wonderful, restful time...it was back to work! And more work! And volunteer work! And some house projects (okay, I didn't really do any real work...I was just there to see all the work get done and make sure no one melted away in the oppressive August heat).

And The Boy and The Girlfriend visited at the end of October.  It was nice to visit with them...and have him take my car on adventures as they went to Boston for a friend's wedding. Some things never change...kids always want the keys to the car.

Now Thanksgiving is over (let us give thanks!) and Christmas and New Years is staring us in the face.  And I suspect 2017 is going to be just as busy, crazy, eventful, happy, sad, interesting, terrifying, and uplifting as 2016.

But I have a few changes in store for 2017, so I'm working on my goals early this year.  And by early, I just mean not on Dec. 31. I'm going to take some time over the next few weeks (even if it's just 5 minutes before I go to sleep) to really think about the things I want to accomplish for 2017.  Here's my preliminary list, in no particular order:

1) 2017 is a "go to a writer's conference" year (2016 was my EFA conference, which apparently I only blogged about in my dreams).  I had thought it'd be Romantic Times in Atlanta, but I don't see many (actually, I think there was only 1) of my authors signed up to go.  So I'm thinking I might go to RWA Nationals in Orlando instead.

2) That leads into the probability of joining RWA, and maybe an online chapter.  There are a few chapters in my state, but I'm not sure I have the actual time to go to an actual meeting.  And that's because...

3) In addition to everything else I'm doing already, I've decided to head up the CT Chapter of the Editorial Freelancers Association. Our previous leader got a full-time job editing, and doesn't have the time to continue.  I really liked our meetings, even when they were just networking/talking with other editors, so if I wanted them to continue, either I had to wait for someone to take the position or do it myself...otherwise the chapter would have been dissolved. So, yeah, after waiting a few weeks and checking in, no one else had expressed any interest in heading up the chapter.  So...there you go.

It probably seems a bit crazy for me to take on this additional responsibility. After all, I can't even keep up with a blog on any kind of regular basis, right? Which leads to...

4) I am going to write out a schedule of blogging.  It won't be much - maybe twice a month - but I need to get back in the habit.  I often use my blog posts to illustrate a point to my authors (how many of you have seen a link in the manuscript comments to a post I'd done in the past?), so it's a useful tool for me to have.  And if I had a plan of some sort, I could either follow it (Gasp! Follow a plan!?!) or ignore it for something I felt needed to be touched on.

How about you? Are you thinking ahead to 2017? Do you have ideas about what you'd like to accomplish?

Find Your Peeps

Yes, I know it's been awhile since I last posted (but hey, not quite a month...just really, really close to it).  I've had some ideas and thoughts to share, but not necessarily the time to get them down intelligently (although that's not a prerequisite for any blog, but I at least like to try...)


Anyway, let's talk about peeps.

Okay, despite the fact that Peeps are my mother's favorite Easter candy and I have actually made a Peep-like marshmallow myself, that isn't what I meant by peeps.  What I meant was more along the lines of friends, like-minded people you know (or get to know).

Last night was a meeting of my local chapter of the Editorial Freelancers Association (not to be confused with the American Honky-Tonk Bar Association).  It was a small group last night, but we had a great time and closed down the library (yup, that's how we roll).

After I left, I was really energized and realized how much that simple act of getting together with other editors can offer so much: tips on tools, business ideas, the comradeship of people who get what I do. etc. Even though there were editors of all types, for all kinds of clients, we were the same - editors.

So if you get a chance, or if you've been on the fence about joining a writer's group, or a critique group, or going to a writer's conference - take a deep breath, and just do it!  Go find your peeps!

Welcome to 2014, Year of the Horse

So, fifteen days in to the New Year, and this is my first post.  It's been a crazy time since the holidays (especially if you go back to Thanksgiving!) and it feels like I've barely had time to breathe, much less do all the holiday cheer!  You wonderful authors have given me such great manuscripts in 2013 and I'm looking forward to 2014!

Just to give you an idea of how busy you guys have kept me, in the last three months of 2013, I read over 1.4 MILLION words.  You guys know how to write! And then write some more...

I finished up the 2013 contest of Your Favorite Goof and the voting for the second half of the year ended on the 14th.  I'll be tabulating the results and announcing the winner in the next few days. 

I started the 2014 contest for the Mystery Phrase, and I've already had one show up in a manuscript.

One of my major goals for 2014 is to update my website.  I've been playing around with some programs to see what I like and what I don't; hopefully I'll make up my mind and get cracking on that project soon.

Here's to a happy, healthy, successful 2014!

It's That Time Again

We are wrapping up Christmas presents and wrapping up the end of the year.  So that means it's that time again - time to review our past year and think about the next.

I wrote before about goal setting.  I made some simple goals for myself for 2013, and I'm happy to say that I followed through on all of my goals.  I made sure they were simple, even though they might have been things outside of my comfort zone.  I made sure they were measurable, quantifying how many of this and the timing of that.  And they were things I wanted to do for myself, professionally and personally.

Do you set goals for yourself, either for your personal life or your writing life?  Or have you never written down your goals?

Check out these articles on successful goal-setting and see if you are inspired to get going on your 2014 goals.

General Goal Setting Advice:
Really Simple Goal Setting

Beginner's Guide to Goal Setting

An Online App for Goal Setting: Lifetick

Goal Setting for Writers:
Setting Effective Writing Goals

Goal Setting for Writers

No Excuses: 15-Minute Goal Setting for Authors 

Goal Setting for Authors Who Don't Set Goals

Video:
Watch this twenty-minute video.  It might be a bit "out there" for someone looking for traditional goal-setting advice, but here's a line they talk about: Match your soul to your goals.   If you are looking for something a bit more spiritual, this might speak to you.