Do you ever look back on your year and think you totally failed? I felt that way this year…I hadn’t been blogging, I went back to school, life interrupted, I couldn’t get on a set schedule, NaNoWriMo was a failure, and my serial didn’t release on time. Additionally, there were cover artist flake outs, editorial scheduling conflicts, and a lack of funding thanks to a publisher’s “deal with it and don’t complain, we’ll pay you when we’re ready” rant. So yeah, I was in a bad place. I’d failed you guys, failed my readers, failed my own expectations, and I had nothing to show for it.
Or did I?
I was hanging out in the Romance Divas forum because a great writer I admire was talking about her new goals for 2016. She went through 2015 and compared it to an average of the three years prior to that one. Other ladies and gents in the Divas forum had done the same. So I decided…why not? And here is what I found:
From 2007-2014 I averaged 3.5 book releases a year.
2015: 10 releases: 1 novel, 1 4-episode serial, 2 novellas in boxed sets (new to the set, and one of them was for a charity!), two short stories under a new penname (successful launch, I’ll be exploring her side a little more in 2016) and one heavily revised re-release of a holiday favorite.
My first novel released in 2012 and I’ve averaged about one a year so 2015 is on par.
Did my quality suffer during 2015? No. I actually wrote less words (by half) than the average of previous years, but almost every word went toward publishable content. Reviews are still solid on all my new works, and I haven’t been slaughtered by my readers yet, so I think I’m still doing okay.
Did my sales suffer during 2015? Yes. My promotional machine was running on empty so the word didn’t get out as much as I’d like. The foray into some new genres probably had something to do with it as well. Also, when I’m behind on my writing goals, I tend to disappear off social media and websites. It’s a defense mechanism. I’m already down on myself so I have this paranoid fear of thinking other people are down on me too. On the other hand, I had people waiting for the serial to finish so they could buy them all at once. That is totally cool! ❤
The first four months I started college (May through August) were zero for productivity as were two weeks in the middle and end of the semester because of intense projects that had to be turned in (not to mention exams!).
Things I learned from checking the facts:
- It’s always worse in my own head.
- I fell back in love with writing again this year and almost derailed it with my self-doubt
- School was far better than I imagined for my creativity
HOUSE OF HORRORS, Episode 4 of the VOODOO CARNIVAL serial has finally released!
Welcome to the thrilling conclusion of the Voodoo Carnival serial!
NOTE: HOUSE OF HORRORS is Part Four of a Four Part Serial entitled Voodoo Carnival, and is not a standalone story.
Jules and I are in trouble. Not everyone believes in the ability to bring people back from the dead.
My name is Erica Marks. For the past decade, I was just a statistic: a miracle survivor of a serial killer’s rampage, one of those sad blips of a story you read on your newsfeed over breakfast.
Until recently, the only ghosts I came in contact with were the ones in my nightmares. Now, I’m fighting an enemy that should be dead while facing living corpses and their earth-bound spirits. Not exactly my idea of a fun time.
Did I mention that the only way to put an end to this may lie in the House of Horrors, the very place I’d fought and survived all those years ago?
With my Cajun companion and a trick or two up our sleeves, we’ll have to face down the worst enemy yet. Will we survive the night to see what tomorrow may bring?
The Write Way, My Way 