IWSG – 2020 A Year In Review

Holy moly it’s December. 2020 has been the longest damn year. I missed the last two months posting because time is a mess and genuinely didn’t realize it was the beginning of the month until middle of the day. I made a point to not miss this one, set a reminder and everything. 

I’ve been doing the look back/look ahead posts as one, but decided I wanted to break it up this year because I wanted to have a 100% fresh start in Jan. 2020 because let’s face it, 2020 was/is a shit show. And breaking up the posts allows me more room to discuss my wins/losses for this year and I can (hopefully) delve into a more solid outlook for 2021.

What were my goals for this year?

As you can see I kept them simple, because that’s how I roll. I need to not have too much pressure on myself, but at the same time hold myself accountable. It’s a tricky balance. 

Goal 1: Establish a marketing plan FAILED 

• I’m not a planner and I’m even worse at marketing. Not only did I fail to make a plan, I basically failed at any real marketing. Sure I’d throw up some graphics on social media occasionally, but it was haphazard at best. No forethought or expectations of success. I did the same as I’ve always done and as a result got out of it what I put into it.

Goal 2: Publish 2 indie titles SUCCEEDED

•  While the year has been a mess, I managed to be productive thanks to the support of my regular squad and the addition of the Wordmakers group I joined in May. In October I published Being Cordial. It was the next book in the Desert Rose Hook-ups series. Just last Friday (11/27) I published Being Merry a novella I had no idea I would write, but thanks to the Wordmakers and the 20k in 5 days challenge the idea was born to put out my first holiday story. It was my fastest turn around to date finishing draft one in 3 weeks. I actually had a third story also published. A short that was part of an anthology for charity.  

Goal 3: Establish writing days/hours SUCCEEDED

•  As mentioned before, in May I joined the 20K in 5 days challenged started by Tasha L. Harrison. The group morphed into what is now The Wordmakers and it has been excellent for my accountability. There are Zoom write-ins Monday-Friday. So now I know that at 11am (est) I am showing up to work. I may not always work on a book project, but I still show up and get stuff done. It’s how I’ve managed to write three short stories, a novella, one full and working on a second full. I don’t know if I would have been as productive as I have since May without the group.

Goal 4: Submit to a publisher SUCCEEDED

•  The stories weren’t fulls or even novellas, but shorts. However the goal was still met. I submitted two shorts to the same publisher, but for two different anthologies they will be releasing in 2021. I’ve heard back on one, but not the other. I’d had plans to submit the series I’m working on to a publisher, but by the time I got to the end of draft one for the first book I made the decision to keep it indie. I would love to have the relief in costs for editing and covers, but I wasn’t sure the trade off of giving up control was worth it. That doesn’t mean I won’t sub again, just not with the upcoming three books I have planned.

So that’s it. I think I had a decent year despite the world burning around us. All big strides happened after May but I learned that having daily accountability is something I thrive under. I still do baby steps and handle things in my way, but I’m getting it done little by little. 

Another big accomplishment for the year that wasn’t even an original goal was I had my first audiobook produced. That was a big step in my indie career. I’m still in the hole cost wise LOL so I don’t see myself doing another one anytime soon, but it’s all a part of the process.

Anyway that’s it for me. I’ll be looking ahead to my plans for 2021 and hope to make more strides in the coming months.

I wish you and yours a safe and happy holiday season. See you next year.

Until next time

~Meka

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a home for writers in all stages; from unpublished to bestsellers. Our goal is to offer assistance and guidance. We want to help writers overcome their insecurities, and by offering encouragement we are creating a community of support.

The awesome co-hosts for the December 2 posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, Sylvia Ney, Liesbet @ Roaming About, Cathrina Constantine, and Natalie Aguirre!