There are only a few days left in 2013, a year that started on a wild roller coaster that I’m still trying to find the eject button for. The thought of 2014 around the corner fills me with dread and…joy. 2013 was tough, full of hard work, and many highs and lows. There were many successes, but there were also some awesome face plants.
Yes. I’m better for it. Doesn’t mean I liked the process though. lol.
I was suppose to take more down time, more walks in the woods, more time to meditate on life and where I’m going and what I’m doing…but…yeah, I didn’t make those goals. I had plans…big plans…at the beginning of 2013. And they were derailed right in the first couple of months as I started doing audio books and realized each book needed to be edited for voice. I had 13 books signed up an produced in audio this year, 10 are done and live and the last three are in various states of development. Who’d have thought it could take so long! Not me. Not at the beginning and not now even after a year.
But I didn’t have control and that made it more difficult. I had to stand back and watch and observe and bite my nails. Lol. However, we are almost at the end of this road. I doubt I will do more audio books unless I can an account on my own with ACX.com and upload directly. At this point, even though they are owned by Amazon, they aren’t open to working directly with Canadians. So after 13 audio books, the rest will be shelved until I can revisit the issue.
I did no anthologies in 2012 but seemed to have jumped into a mess of them in 2013. Four to be exact. Three of those are full of free books and one was on for es although the latest one is at 99 cents on Amazon while we wait for the price match.
Those were the easy projects. Lol. The harder issues this year included trying to work the timing of my releases. Which I failed at miserably. They were bunched up to two major periods with 3 releases at each time. I released 3 YA/adult crossover books and 3 adult books this year – basically at two times in the year. Spring and late summer. I’d hoped to release every 2 months.Yeah, that didn’t work out so well. Lol. Even this latest anthology I’d hoped to release as a January 2014 release to start the new year, but it went live already! Although it will eventually be free (we hope) it is only 1.99 now.
New anthology!
Life was one crazy ride this year. But I found myself battling depression, fatigue (yeah they go together) and a wish to toss my laptop into the garbage and never write another word. That actually happened many times. Each time I talked myself back into picking up a pen – hard not to when my muse was forever dumping the nook and crannies of my brain with characters and plot lines. I worked harder this year than I thought possible. I wrote and released 6 books, 2 short stories, 4 anthologies and almost all of them in print and digital form. I also wrote 2 others still to revise and release early in 2014. Plus I have 2 others to edit and release that I’ve been trying to get to without much success this past year.
However, all that hard work paid off in ways I hadn’t imagined. And made it all worthwhile. My sales and thus my income was more than I expected, the fan letters came in daily and were full of wonderful messages. The reviews on my books have poured in – over 580 on Tuesday’s Child alone. And I’ve joined up with several teams of writers to produce these anthologies that have widened my friend group in so many wonderful ways. All of this restored my faith in myself, my writing and my crazy lifestyle!
It’s been a wild ride – and a worthwhile one. Here’s hoping 2014 is a little calmer, less stressful, and a whole lot more fun!
Happy 2014 everyone!