Post 2011 - Who am I? Where am I going in 2012?

This blog post is 10 days later than it usually is. My non-alcoholic NYE celebrations allow me to be up bright an early on the 1st January to reflect on the year gone by, aim high for the year to come and to wish you all a prosperous new year. A belated Happy New Years by the way :-)

Last year I wrote:

Broken New Years Resolutions

To find a publisher for Life's A Ball - I have to finish it first.

To start writing and submitting my short stories for publication.

To keep on top of my blog entries and social networking and Internet marketing. They're important.

To find more readers and get more feedback for my work.

New Year's resolutions 2011

See above!

Well, I did finish Life's A Ball. I put it in a drawer and re read it found a few problems, re drafted it. Put it back in the drawer. I've been waiting to have it professionally edited.Short stories... well, I didn't think I was a short story writer until I knocked out 600 words at 2am for a university task and the feedback was 'easily the strongest task showing originality and flair in style of writing'. The introduction of university life has meant I haven't been able to keep on top of blogging or social networking, or finding more readers or getting more feedback on my work.

New Years Resolutions for 2012...

This year is different, there has been a monumental shift in my prospective brought on by a couple of life changing events. Firstly, yes I'm sorry I have to say the forbidden M word. migraines. They're here to stay. Between June and October I was suffering the most I have ever before including an over zealous doctor who thought maybe one migraine had caused permanent brain damage and sent me to see the stroke team. Now I have a tremor in my right hand from the recurrent loss of sensation down my right side. But the new meds are working fantastically and apart from the side affects and the occasional migraine I feel like my old self from pre migraine 2010 once again.

Secondly, my decision to go to university and pursue something that really interests me, my back up plan has really interfered with my writing life. I'm a student, but I'm also a responsible adult with bills and a mortgage. I have to work. And therefore I'm an employee. Writing is being pushed further down my list of priorities.... whoa! Stop right there! This should not be happening. How do I make it stop?

I've read a couple of really interesting posts this week that have really made me think about who I am and where I want to go in 2012.

Dean Wesley Smith wrote about writers vs authors. 12 months ago I was an author. Even though Life's A Ball? was one of five novels in The Pink Ribbon Collection. My focus was and has really only ever been about Life's A Ball? In the past four weeks alone I have had more ideas for novels than I've known what to do with. I've simply had to open a new folder on my desktop, jot a brief outline of idea down before returning to my current work in progress, Valentina Secrets: When In Vegas. I have planned three novels in the Valentina Secrets series and I have redrafted the plans for the three novels in the Devine Intervention Series and added a fourth. Not to mention I have the four remaining novels of the Pink Ribbon Collection, The four Starlight novels, single titles Finding Holly and Tinsel and Tiaras, and now I have fourteen other ideas currently waiting further development in my ideas folder. In Dean Wesley Smith terms I am definitely a writer. So in 2012 I need to remain focused on finishing one project before moving on to the next.

Kimberly Kinrade wrote about getting published. Is this the year I get published? I certainly hope so, or I fail one of my personal goals to be published before the big 30. This post didn't tell me anything I didn't already know but it cemented the fundamentals of being successful in publishing whether you self-publish or go mainstream. Its good to be reminded of whats important every now and again... there maybe things you neglect... like a certain website left half transformed due to the forbidden m word... mentioning no www-dots (erincawood.co.uk) LOL. So in 2012 I must remember the fundamentals to success in getting published.

India Drummond wrote about her choice to move away from mainstream and the success she's had with indie publishing. It wasn't the success that inspired me, but the planning and the targeting and the thinking beyond year one. Another author friend of mine Patti Larsen wrote about planning back in September during the To Be or Not To Be discussions, but I guess maybe I wasn't ready to listen, or to busy to hear what she was saying. But in 2012 and beyond planning is the key.

So who am I? and where am I going in 2012?

I'm a writer with a fascination for digital communication and web design driven to become a mature student and trapped in the world of paid employment. As the new semester begins and asphyxiates my free time I must plan my days wisely and ensure my writing life not only survives but flourishes. The steps I take today will change what I do tomorrow, next week, next month, and even next year. With this in mind I my aim is to write a plan not for this year but for the next three years. No more writing resolutions. The countdown to my personal goal has begun.

Erin

www.erincawood.co.uk