Looking Back Before Moving Forward

We’re finally here…the completion of the year that must not be named! Jokes aside, I’m glad we can put this year behind us and move on to another New Year. What that New Year has in store for us obviously remains to be seen, so rather than expect too much from the unknown, I’ll focus on what I expect from myself as I share my year end review and last quarterly update for the year.

Look back before moving forward…

Before moving forward though, I have to look back. A review on whether I met my goals and for any I didn’t reach, determine reasons as to why, so I can move forward doing what works and avoid making the same mistakes as I strive to do better.

When we were about to embark on the journey from 2019 into a new decade, I found myself conducting a decade review. The accomplishments I made and the hurdles I crossed during that decade gave me pause and much to reflect on, and then I moved forward with optimism often created by the blank slate of a New Year.

For me, this year gave me much to look forward to after the first couple of months were filled with positive movement. I met with a new book club group, had my first breakfast date with a new author I met at a conference last year (with plans to meet regularly to talk shop), presented about writing at a speaker series, interviewed for an author podcast, was in the process of promoting and prepping for another speaking event scheduled in March and looking forward to a larger event tentatively scheduled during the summer.

And then chaos occurred…

Everything was shut down, put on hold, or cancelled. Meetings, get-togethers and conferences were a no-no. Spending time at home should have meant more time to write, but the muse was often buried by the uncertainty wrapped around feelings about a new normal that felt anything but normal. It was difficult to write some days, so I gained a new perspective and decided to take a step back to focus on what I could do to be prepared when life got busy again.

By the middle of the year when I shared my next update, after only a few months under the health crisis, it became apparent things weren’t going back to normal as soon as I hoped. I had already tried to find ways to beat the quarantine blues as I managed a sidelined routine and stunted creativity. I turned to journaling when I couldn’t write, which helped me work out my thoughts and uncertainty about the crisis and chaos around me.

Alas, all was not lost…

The world in chaos may have actually facilitated my ability to focus more on my young adult novel, Born or Bred, which is a dystopian novel. I was able to publish that novel in September and because it’s a story that’s been in the works for quite awhile, I was thrilled to finally be able to share it with readers.

When I shared my third quarterly update in October, I’d begun to work on an idea that had been nudging me for a bit. There are a number of goals I have in mind for next year…write and publish more often to include a new series I’ve been working on, grow my email list, more sales…the obvious goals. But there’s one project in particular I decided I needed to make drastic changes to or I might let it flop entirely. And that project would be this blog. Writing blog posts takes away from writing books and there are times when I genuinely have no idea what I want to share, which gives me no incentive to write a post.

But many authors don’t have blogs…

Which is true; they aren’t entirely necessary. But for current fans who ask “when’s the next Jorja novel coming out?” and if I wish to find, keep and entertain new readers between books, my blog needs to give them something to look forward to between releases. On the business side of things, my site needs to generate more traffic, and that includes sharing posts that can continue to be relevant months or years from now so that I can continue to bring traffic, and ultimately new readers, back to my website.

So, what could I offer that would entertain readers, but also make the task of regular posting enjoyable for myself?

After I spent time brainstorming what it would take to have fun with my blog again, creativity grabbed the wheel and I’ve mapped out an editorial calendar of content that has me excited about posting regularly again. In addition to updates about my writing and books, I’ll be sharing new monthly content that will allow you to spend more time with my characters, and will entertain you with content in the legal field I believe you might find interesting.

Remember, before I began the Jorja Matthews mystery series, I was a private investigator for 15 years and a legal assistant for another 15+ years, sometimes both at the same time. While I love writing, I do miss working on cases and being involved with the legal field. The stories and investigating I share in the Jorja Matthews novels have helped me miss my past life less, but my new series posts will allow me to dip my toe back in those waters and share content with you I hope you’ll find interesting.

I’ll be sharing more about the new series posts in my yearly goals post next week, so stay tuned…

This past year has definitely been a memorable year, in its own right, and it’s one I hope will never be repeated (hear that 2021??), but with the bad I’ll admit there was some good. So, I’ll accept the bad, learn from any failings I can’t blame on 2020, and appreciate the good as we near the light at the end of this very long tunnel before heading into 2021 with a positive mindset.

I look forward to sharing my new blog content with you next month and I hope you look forward to checking it out.

Until then, take care and have a Happy New Year!