Friday, December 31, 2010

2010...it's a wrap

2010 was an amazing year for me. I became published for one, realizing a dream, even if it was a fairly new one :). I gained a tremendous amount of experience with the craft of writing as well as understanding how the publishing industry works. Sort of LOL. And I made wonderful friends, some I've never even met in person!

So...2010, what did you teach me?
  • Writers are just so friendly & supportive towards other writers. It really is an amazing community to be a part of.
  • I really can tell people that I write hot & steamy romance and the sky won't fall in. Really :).
  • I'm a bit lazy. Yep, I can term it being a perfectionist, I can call it procrastinating, but I have a tendency to be lazy if I can get away with it. There. I said it. The first step is recognizing the problem, right LOL?
  • I actually like blogging and social networking. Who would ever have guessed that?
  • Publishing is a changing and evolving industry and it doesn't look like that's going to stop anytime soon.
  • Marketing and promotion is a bit of a crap shoot. You never really know what works or doesn't. You kinda make the best educated choices you can and hope for the best!
  • Sadly, the romance genre is still looked down on by people in the 'literary world' and the public in general, despite the incredible sales figures.
  • Writing is hard and it's work and it's solitary. Even though I love it and intellectually I knew it was hard, I think you have to live it to really get that on an emotional and spiritual level. It's not for everyone.
  • Being published feels just as amazing as I thought it would.
I haven't firmed up all of my goals for 2011 yet, but thought I'd share the highlights of my thinking for the coming year:
  • Read more! My reading has really dropped off lately and I feel like it could have an impact longer term. I'd like to get back to my favorite authors. I've missed them. The good news is that there is a huge backlog waiting for me.
  • Attend the RWA Nationals conference in NY, possibly RT and probably RomantiCon. There's nothing quite like networking (aka partying) with other romance authors.
  • Turn in 4 - 5 ebooks - hot & steamy contemporaries!!
  • Finish 2 category length manuscripts that are in progress.
  • Flesh out the outline for my first paranormal series and draft the first book. This story just won't give me any peace, so I have no choice.
  • Revamp the look & feel of my website and blog. It's long overdue, right?
  • Add new segments on my blog. Stay tuned!
  • Query agents.
  • Stop dicking around so much on the Internet :).
  • Become Twitter Queen. Well, perhaps not queen, but at least use it more effectively. See point above ;).
Happy New Year to everyone!! Wishing you a year filled with good health and happiness and much reading--romance, of course!

9 comments:

  1. Happy New Year, Kaily! So glad we got to meet at RomantiCon.

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  2. Awesome post, Kaily! Hope you rock 2011.

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  3. Wow, Kaily! You make my head spin with all your goals in 2011!

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  4. Awesome post, Kaily! Awesome accomplishments and goals :). Happy New Year and heartfelt wishes for an even more awesome 2011!!!

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  5. Me too, Amber. Happy New Year to you!

    Sasha, thanks!!

    Cara, well, I originally had "take over the universe", but I deleted it. Gotta leave something for 2012, right?

    Happy New Year to you, Rula and best wishes for a wonderful, productive, successful & happy 2011!!!

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  6. Happy (belated) New Year! If I may ask, why paranormal? There's just so much of it right now and it's aggravating.

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  7. Lacey, Happy New Year to you!

    Hey Dreama, hope you had a wonderful New Year's!! Best wishes for 2011. OK, why paranormal? I've always been fascinated by the paranormal, ever since I was a kid. I even made up my own 'unexplained' kids club, with patches and everything LOL. I like to have an open mind and think that anything's possible. I've had these stories in my head for a long time. They are romance first and foremost, grounded in emotion and in a contemproary setting. AND you won't find any vampires, shifters or other things that have been done to death. I have something different in mind :). I'll still always write hot & steamy contemporaries though. I love those stories too much not to :).

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