I never used to create new year resolutions for myself. Somehow, it always seemed nonsensical. However as I get older, juggle my life as a mom, a wife and a small business owner (oh yes! Creating fantastical characters and incredible words for readers is a serious business. Just ask J. K. Rowling. It made her the richest woman in the UK in 2017!), I realize it’s essential to come up with a plan.
Oddly enough, it’s just like plotting out a story. Sure, I don’t have to create complex scenes where I highlight conflict between my characters. But just as I have to dive into my character’s fears, goals, needs and wants, I also have to do that for me.
And that’s the scary part. Having to confront your failures and successes isn’t always easy. You can’t dwell on one without sinking your teeth into the other.
In my case, I’d aimed to write 7-8 books in 2018. Instead, I wrote and published 4 books and contributed one short story to an anthology. So, technically, I added 5 new books to my catalog. Not bad, right?
Another goal was to make more than I did in 2017. I achieved that. Unfortunately, I didn’t earn more than I’d aimed for. So, this was a bit of a fail.
One thing I did manage to do is improve my story telling skills and writing. That took hours of reading fiction novels, books on the art of writing, watching movies and scripted programming (with a pen and notebook) and annoying everyone when I got a random aha moment and needed to capture it immediately. (Love you, guys!)
For 2019, I’m hoping to
- create a schedule that avoids creative burnout;
- increase personal health time;
- increase personal wellness time;
- create time for loved ones;
- build and market my author business; and
- expand my business beyond what it does now.All while staying sane.
And, I’d like to do all of these lovely things while staying sane!
So, as I ready to enter November, I’m going to focus on the goals listed above and figure out how to achieve them. I’ve already had a few conversations with some of my ‘champions’ – people in my life who always have great advice and offer excellent support. They’ve shared wisdom and it’s my turn to transform that into action plans that will make sure my author business and I do better in 2019 than 2018.
So, what about you? Have you started thinking about 2019? What plans do you have? Know how you’ll achieve them? Let me know.
PS: I’ve read about 53 books this year and plan to read another 7 before the year is out. Fingers crossed! Check out what I’m reading here!
F. F. JOHN 