Goodbye 2019. Hello 2020
I can’t believe it’s already 2020. The last two years have just disappeared in the blink of an eye. Or at least it seems that way to me. While I’ve accomplished a lot in the last two years, it hasn’t been nearly as much as I had hoped. We’ve had a lot of setbacks concerning the move. There are days when it feels like we’re never going to get out of here. I’ve also had some setbacks with my publishing plans, mainly due to the move. But I’m still writing and doing my best to remain optimistic. Which is really all we can do sometimes. I’ve found that things rarely go the way I plan or hope. I just try to make the best out of what I have. It’s not always easy but the more I try to focus on the good things the easier it become.
I’ve gotten quite a bit of writing done this year. Finished a few things, started several more. I’m not sure of my total word count for 2019 since I don’t really track stuff like that. Although, I do plan to in 2020—whether I actually do is another story. I have an app called Word Keeper that makes it easy to keep track of that stuff so I’m going to try to get into the habit of using it. Although word count isn’t as important to me as it is to some writers. Still I think it would be nice to be able to look back and say, “I wrote this many words last year.”
My goal for this year is to finish writing one series and write at least two books in another one. Ideally I would like to have the complete series written before releasing book one. Or, if not the entire series, at least three books. It’s risky since I will be putting a lot of time and money into writing and publishing a series that might not sell, but as a reader I know how frustrating it is to start reading a series only to learn it was never finished for whatever reason. I never want to do that to my readers. Even if only one person reads the series and enjoys it then it will be worth it to me. I might never make back what was invested in those books but that could very well be true for any book released. There are no guarantees in life and even less in publishing.
I’m choosing to start 2020 with optimism. Each year is a chance to be better, try new things, change the things that didn’t work, and be brave enough to take risks.
So here’s to 2020—the year of taking risks and being brave.