Wednesday, January 2, 2019

IWSG Happy New Year! 2019 Goals and Giveaway


It's a new year. Although it may seem cliche to set goals, this is a good time to evaluate current paths and make any tweaks and course corrections necessary. My goals aren't new by any means, but they are drifting in a new direction.

First, a recap of 2018. My goals were simple--get back to being a writer and publish three stories. I feel I accomplished this. I published two stories as River Ford (Landscape Love and Christmas Magic) and have one coming out next month as Charity Bradford (The Hand of Atua--previously known as Eleena's Tale). The plan had been to release THoA for Christmas but it needed a deeper edit before setting it free. Most of my current insecurities are tied up with these final edits. Things are moving along but so is time.

I'll get there. 

The greatest accomplishment of 2018 was getting the author ball rolling again. It wasn't easy. There were days I really struggled, but I feel the momentum is finally picking up. I'm excited to see what 2019 will bring. 

In order to continue moving forward, I'm keeping my goals simple:
  • Continue learning and implementing better marketing skills through kindleprenuer and the many Indie Author podcasts I've discovered
  • Write Monday through Friday (Saturday when my family allows) and attend writer's group Wednesday nights
  • Finish Teacher's Crush, Dancer's Heart, Demon Rising, and several short romances for an anthology
  • Live author events I plan to attend: World Building Panel at Roger's Public Library as a presenter, AAIM as a presenter, Flea In the Park, and possibly the Christmas Bazaar if my hubby does it with me
Did some of your goals carry over from 2018 and what's new for 2019?

Oh, and there are lots of giveaways going on right now. You can read the first 10 chapters of THE HAND OF ATUA in a preview in the following giveaway. I believe there are over 200 books to choose from. Check it out!




Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

The awesome co-hosts for the January 2nd posting of the IWSG are: Patricia Lynne, Lisa Buie-Collard, Kim Lajevardi, and Fundy Blue.

The Question of the month is: What are your favorite and least favorite questions people ask you about your writing?

Any question about my stories, characters, or author journey are always fun to talk about. Just be willing to tell me when to stop!

I don't think I have a least favorite question, but I don't care for when people tell me what I should write to make money. Just because I'm a writer doesn't mean I will enjoy writing everything. If I could make myself write strictly for a paycheck I would have done so years ago, but I write for myself. 

27 comments:

  1. I'm getting the ball rolling with my own writing. It's easy to fall out of the habit, isn't it?

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  2. Great goals. Half my goals have been transferred over to 2019. I tend to keep a lot on my plate. Happy New Year, and Happy IWSG Day!

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    1. Hopefully keeping a lot going works for you. Have a great New Year, Adrienne!

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  3. Goals are good! I'll commit to helping with the Christmas Bazaar if you'll have me--you go girl!

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  4. Happy New Year, Charity. Glad to see you are forging forward with your writing goals.

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    1. Michael! It's always good to see you. I hope everything is going well for you too.

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  5. Congrats on getting the writing ball rolling and good luck with your goals for the year.

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  6. Charity -- As an IWSG newbie it feels like you have put your finger on a major cause of my Writer's Insecurity, though that was probably not your intention.

    The litany of writing goals you list is enough to either inspire, or discourage. At my age, and given the stories I want to tell, I have chosen to concentrate on my storytelling. If there was an easy was to market the results, when they are worth marketing, I might give that a try. But, of course, that's what makes our affliction so challenging.

    Instead, I have settled for being Secure in my Insecurity, with 20 paperbacks on my bookshelf, while I leave the extracurriculars to more worthy and ambitious writers like you.

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    1. Sorry Gil! If it helps, you can rewind a couple of years when I was a new writer and check out my wallowing. Although I tend to put a positive spin on things even when I'm crying at my laptop. Don't give up, keep pushing forward and you'll get wherever it is you want to go. I'm stubborn and have been hacking through the jungle ten years now and I'm barely starting to see some positive results. Please don't let that discourage you because turns out I'm slow! LOL.

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    2. Thanks for the reply, Charity. But there is no reason to be sorry. My 20 books have taken thirteen years to create, and there will be more. I haven't 'given up' on anything. t's just that at 83 I've long ago decided to set my bar a bit lower than most of our IWSG friends. That works just fine for me.

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    3. :D Okay then! I'm glad to hear you're still writing at 83. That actually gives me hope.

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  7. Well done on getting yourself back into gear, Charity, and for setting goals for this year. I'm useless at marketing too. I have made a note of Kindlepreneur and Indie Author.

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    1. Good luck Rosemary. Maybe we'll figure it out eventually.

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  8. Good for you getting unstuck. That's a major accomplishment. Looks like you have a lot on your plate for this year.

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  9. Congrats on everything you accomplished last year!! That is amazing. And I feel you on the edits. I struggle each time with that phase, mainly because I hate it so and it's a real chore to get through.

    Best of luck in the coming year.

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    1. This one is hard because I really wanted to hire someone but it was going to be over $1000. Would have been worth it if I had it. :(

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  10. So glad you got the writing ball rolling again. I have 2 goals from 2018 that are carried over--finishing 2 WIPs. Life is like that. What we don't finish, we carry over. Best wishes to you for a productive month.

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  11. What a novel concept- Writing for yourself instead of money. This is a theme I can get behind.

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    1. :D It's brought a lot of peace for the most part. I still have crazy moments, but you know.

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  12. Great news about getting back to writing. May 2019 see a lot of words on your pages.

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  13. I love that one of your goals is about learning. I think that sometimes I set goals only around production (words written, number of books published etc.) and forget about the other goals that support one's author journey, like learning new things about writing craft, marketing, publishing etc.

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