I’ve never really written a year in review reflection before. 2021 was certainly a year. Somehow, an awful lot and not much at all happened.
I had been querying my book a couple months by the time it started, (queried all the way through, and still no interest. I’ve not given up) but going back to last January is hard. I have ADHD, and time is not something I process well. What happened in January? Or February? Did anything happen before May?
I was homeschooling my then five-year-old little boy for kindergarten. That… was an adventure, and we made it through. I’m proud of that. I’m not sure I remember much else from that first half. I did finish the first draft of my second novel, so that’s something. It’s still resting before revisions. Novels are big things.
Somewhere around May I decided to focus on short stories for a while. I needed more practice writing; I thought maybe getting published, if I could, might help the querying process.
We took the kids to Disney World, my oldest daughter had a major scout adventure.
I polished 9 existing drafts, I wrote 8 short stories and the first draft of a novella, submitted a total of 71 times, trunked 6, put 2 on hold, and sold 1. I have queried (since Nov 2020) 72 agents and received 55 rejections without so much as a single partial request. However, I did sell a story, and write 8, plus draft a novel and a novella, so I’m considering it a win.
I also started a Bible study blog, finished a family Advent project that I then queried 10 times and has only been rejected 6, so that’s out there as well. I have no idea how to market… anything, so the blog is… well, it’s only a month old, but it’s traffic is minimal. I don’t know what to do about that as every time I even look at marketing I literally get a headache. But it’s there. We’ll see where the year takes us.
My health is… I can’t really say deteriorating since it’s still much much better than it was while I was carrying my youngest three years ago, but the chronic migraines have been joined by chronic joint/body pain. At least they seem to take turns flaring up. The house might have spent as much time tidy as it has looking like a shaken snowglobe, with considerable more time somewhere in the middle, so I’ll take that as a win as well. It’s certainly an improvement.
It’s been a difficult year, but I think it’s also been a good one. I’d like 22 to have… a bit more forward momentum. I’d love for my husband to find a job he actually likes, to get some answers about my health, and to manage everyone’s ADHD just a little better, not to mention the writing/publishing goals. However, pretty much all of those desires are largely out of my control. There are things I can do, and I’ll do them, but external factors will determine much of my/our progress.
However, I have faith. 21 was better than 20. I have faith that 22 will be better than 21. I will celebrate my wins, which are many, and I will continue to be grateful for the support of my friends and family. I enter 22 with gratitude and hope and more than a little joy.
