Icy Falls in the Cascades
Of all the holidays we Americans typically celebrate, I love New Year’s the most. I know it’s arbitrary, but it’s nice to have a date when I can reset my expectations. Somehow, at midnight on December 31, I can celebrate the victories for the past year, let go of disappointments, and grab onto renewed hopes for the new year. It feels as though all things are possible again.
In the north where I live, the fact that we have passed the shortest day of the year and can now look forward to more sunshine every day for the next six months doesn’t hurt, either. For me, that means more light to hike, snowshoe, cross-country ski, and kayak. More light to enjoy the landscapes, watch the birds, and search for other animals. Wahoo!
I never get tired of hiking.
I always count my accomplishments for the year before letting it go at midnight. 2011 has been both frustrating and fantastic. Frustrating because the economy continues to be lousy and good-paying work is still scarce; fantastic because this year I published my romantic suspense SHAKEN and my mystery THE ONLY WITNESS. Also, on December 6, ENDANGERED, the first mystery in my new Summer Westin outdoor mystery series, hit the shelves in bookstores and online stores around the globe. I’m finally starting to feel like a “real” author, although like most real authors, I’m not yet living on that yacht in the Caribbean. Maybe next year; sales are building each month for all my books.
Signing books at Seattle Mystery Bookshop
Publishing will probably continue to be both frustrating and fantastic for years to come as ebooks rise in popularity and self-publishing gets easier and easier. But I want publishers and print books and brick-and-mortar bookstores to thrive as well as the good ebooks, so I’m pursuing both traditional and indie publishing routes. Each path has its frustrations and joys. It’s hard to know when to celebrate with a traditional publishing contract: do you open the champagne when the contract is signed, or when the book finally sees the light of day, typically more than a year later? The time delay is agonizing.
On the other hand, self-published ebooks appear online quickly, but if you’re not a whiz at self-promotion, you may be the only one who knows they even exist. Being an author means practicing both dedication and deferred gratification to extreme degrees.
So I’m still a contract writer/editor as well as a private investigator as well as an author, although I hope to dedicate more time to creative writing in 2012; because that’s where my heart is. I may teach a few writing workshops, too. So my multiple personality disorder continues, but eventually I plan to integrate all my personas into one named AUTHOR. I hope you have reason to celebrate the New Year, too. Chant along with me at the end of the year:
11:59 pm – Ready … Celebrate the Wins … Forget the Disappointments
12:00 am – Reset… Embrace your Family and Friends
12:01 am 2012 – Go!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Great sentiments. Here’s hoping the new year brings lots of good luck and happiness.