It's that time of year when people typically talk about how they want to start the year off right, be different than before, or conquer old demons. Well, for me, it's a little different because I like to make a list of achievable goals of various sizes, broken into smaller ones so that practically everything I set out to do, I do. That being said, there are a few things I don't end up finishing. But I learned a long time ago that that doesn't matter - it's about trying, and still keeping at it, and not giving up that counts. So guess what? Any goals I didn't finish last year get added to this year's list of achievables, so that I continue where I left off. That's it. Surprisingly, it's alleviated so much pressure for me in doing it that way, and I have to say, I've done A LOT in just a few short years - since 2014, to be exact. Accordingly, I freed up my mind so that I went forth and:
*De-cluttered my house (albeit on an on-going basis)
*Cleaned out and organized our garage (anyone who knows us knows how much of a challenge that was!!!!)
*Developed new cooking skills (as well as new recipes our family enjoys)
*Made new friends and contacts
*Gained proficiency in a few foreign languages
*Discovered new authors to read
*Took steps to be healthier (another on-going process, but that's life, right???)
*Wrote and published my first novel
With that last and probably the most obvious achievement that you'd expect to read from my list, you'd be surprised to know that that was a long-term dream of mine. At the time I put it out there, I had tried several times to finish my manuscript for The Ellises and got frustrated over the years with my inability to do so. Honestly, it was a last-ditch effort to hold myself accountable ONE LAST TIME so that I could prove to myself that I could do it and finally put that story "to rest" (not really, but at least get it on paper) so that I could move on from there. I thought, well, if I could break down the rest of my goals into achievable ones, why not my book? Not knowing what my future would hold, I sat down and thought about it.
Life has a funny way of giving me ideas from all sides when I take the time to listen. First was to not stop doing everything else I was already doing - which was to keep writing articles, keep reading, keep in touch with my friends, and keep making new ones. One thing led to another, and I was writing for a couple of clients, making some money on the side to supplement my day job. Not too shabby, and I had a reason to dust off my writing bio. Then, a surprising thing happened: I was put in touch with an honest-to-goodness editor of a publishing company! When that happened, I also had a brainwave in approaching a dear friend about bouncing back ideas to keep me motivated in writing my novel. Thus, between promptings from the publisher, and my friend's help, I DID IT! And let me tell you, it was not as romantic or as easy as you would think. There was so many ups, downs, and inconveniences along the way that some days I questioned my sanity. I was exhausted, mentally tortured, and irritable. Even though the advice from my publisher was to write as long as it was "fun" for me, you'd think I was a sadist or something, because I was driven to still do the task even with all the pitfalls. Perhaps the even bigger struggle was in knowing that I would have to do it all over again to write another one. And...gulp...ANOTHER. Well...
Here's the thing. The stories we authors write are complete in of themselves, BUT they have elements that can be expanded on when you keep reading. And as much as I was "done" with my first novel, it wasn't the end of that dratted voice in my head that still had more 's'plaining to do for the next novel I'm currently writing for the series. Woe is me, right??? Not only do I have to continue the story, but I also have to make the new book its own. I am, and at least the writing is going faster than the first time, but I do have some different challenges to conquer with it. The biggest deal is that my publisher announced late 2017 that she is going to shut down at the end of this June! Which means I'd either have to find another publisher or become an indie author...so after much debate, I settled on the latter.
I'll soon be getting back my rights to The Ellises #1 A Place to Call Home, and when I do, I will be re-releasing it as a self-published title, along with book #2 Worth Hoping For. In the meantime, I've experimented with a series of journals I self-published (2 so far, with a final one I plan to release next month or so). They are:
Gratitude Journal: Tracking Your Prosperity and Abundance
And I Love You: Journaling for the Romantic at Heart
Not only do both of those journals have space for penning your thoughts, but I also included some poems I've written, as well as some little quips I've been known to say over the years, and some self-help thrown in thanks to my years of writing non-fiction articles, blogs, and study guides. Overall, I was pleased with the efficiency and speed of the self-publishing process. So that in of itself has given me encouragement for when I tackle publishing novels on that platform from here on out.
However, my other HUGE challenge is what's currently happening on Amazon with The Ellises #1 A Place to Call Home. If you've ordered a copy this fall, and perhaps for Christmas, you may have received a weird printed version, devoid of pagination, and other formatting mishaps. If so, I urge you to return your copy if you can and complain to Amazon for an exchange! I did revise the book one last time so that once and for all there are no typos in it, BUT somehow there was a technical glitch with the file and what Amazon has to do to print it on demand. It just so happened I ordered a copy during this time frame, as did people I know, which is how I came to know there was a problem occurring! It bothered me greatly, because that should have been caught by whoever prints the book and flagged for correction. Unfortunately, it was not - even after bringing it to Amazon's attention. Now, I don't know if it was because the company was back-logged with Christmas orders (non-book related) that they let it slide, or what, but I can tell you that once I was in touch with them, it wasn't a happy process. It was down-right brutal, and took FOREVER to resolve. Even as of now, the book has some strange thing with the text size being slightly smaller than I'd like, and the headings were slightly different in wording, and in bold font. So, I have to rely on my publisher to iron it out while she's dealing with trying to dissolve her company. But the version is still GOOD and certainly the Kindle version will be unaffected, so by all means, please don't get discouraged from ordering! Just know that in the coming months and possibly weeks, I will be eventually taking the reins and re-publishing it as a slightly different title, so its link on Amazon will change. Of course, when that occurs, I will make the necessary changes so that all mention of the title will point to the new link for ordering.
As if all that isn't enough, my other challenge is in not having the same level of writer's block help than I did for book #1 of The Ellises. Not only because of my schedule with my day job I now have, but also with the schedules for the others who are helping me. So, I'm in the middle of trying to get past a certain point, but at the same time, I'm encouraged by how much easier the plot is still flowing. It's all good.
One final thing I wanted to mention in this blog is that I also have started delving into my earlier writings, and have so many other projects planned for this year! God-willing, I will be debuting a YA novel series that's been on my heart forever, and hopefully will get to have some of my work available in local stores AND bookstores, since as an indie author with Amazon, wholesale distribution will be possible! 2018 is going to have all good things happening, but it's just all going to take a little bit of work and time. I hope you, dear reader, will come along for ride! And as always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me on my Facebook page, Twitter, here, or by dropping me a line. In fact, I hope you do share your thoughts with me, because I'd love to hear what some of you have planned for the new year, too!!!!
Here's to a great year where resolutions are within the reach of us all!
-Natasha-
