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rainwaterspark2024 was...a blah year for me. It started off exciting, with my finishing drafting Novel #5, and then I once again fell into the black hole of traditional publishing.
2023 was the first year, I think, when my stress and anxiety over traditional publishing started to become unbearable. I was hoping things would get better this year, but with how poorly I did in the querying trenches, that ended up not being the case.
While it ended up being a better reading year than 2023 in terms of number of books I read, I didn't love most of the books I read, so I also didn't feel very inspired or optimistic about the publishing industry. (Anecdotally, I can tell that some SFF publishers I used to love are pivoting hard toward romantasy/cozy fantasy/white-authored fantasy. Orbit has seemingly scaled back on the number of diverse authors they publish, Tor seems to be focusing more in their romantasy imprint Bramble, and Del Rey I've been told basically no longer publishes epic fantasy from debut authors and has completely shifted to romantasy. So, that's depressing.)
*
And now that it's almost 2025, so that means time for some new goals...
1. Finish revising and query Novel #4, and if that dies in the query trenches, take a break from pursuing traditional publishing.
My goal is to finish revising Novel #4 by the end of this holiday break, but if I don't, I'll try to wrap it up early in the new year.
Novel #5 is still out to a few agents, and I plan to submit it to two open submission calls if all agents reject it, but if nothing comes from that or querying Novel #4...it's time to take a break. My mental health has been garbage in 2023 and 2024 because of traditional publishing, and honestly, I can't go on living in this constant state of anxiety.
2. If Novel #5 gets no bites from traditional publishing, start the process to self-publish it.
I think it might help to feel like I have control over something again. Plus, I have a dream cover artist in mind for Novel #5 and some ideas of the target audience for the book.
3. Find a skincare product that actually improves my skin.
I guess this is aspirational, but I have a few skin issues that I'd like to resolve next year (namely, milia, uneven skin tone, and hyperpigmentation spots), and I haven't yet found a skincare product that has addressed them, so there are a couple more I want to try.
4. Generally improve my mental and physical health?
I ended up gaining a bunch of weight this year without being sure how. I've tried to cut down on my diet and managed to lose some of that weight, which I'm happy about, but I'd like to lose another pound or two. (My biggest nemesis is my lack of self-control when it comes to buying snacks from Trader Joe's. :( )
And, like I said above, my anxiety has been quite out of control for a while now. While I'm sure publishing is a major culprit, I'd like to see what else I can do to try to improve things.
*
I know New Year's resolutions are the thing at the end of the year, but I guess listing what I'm looking forward to is even more exciting. Here is the list:
- Books: I know I mentioned in a recent post that I've been disappointed so many times this year by my most anticipated reads, so I'm trying to keep my expectations low, but I hope I can find some good reads next year.
- Video games: I'm considering replaying Xenoblade Chronicles X when it gets ported to the Switch. And rumors of the Switch 2 have been flying around forever now...so we'll see what Nintendo announces next year. There are also games I'm excited to watch on YouTube rather than play myself (because I don't have the console); namely, the video games coming from China—Lost Soul Aside, Wuchang Fallen Feathers, and I reeeally hope Phantom Blade 0 gets released next year.
- Movies: I'm behind on watching movies. On my bucket list: Wicked and Sonic 3 (Shadow fan for life!!!).
2023 was the first year, I think, when my stress and anxiety over traditional publishing started to become unbearable. I was hoping things would get better this year, but with how poorly I did in the querying trenches, that ended up not being the case.
While it ended up being a better reading year than 2023 in terms of number of books I read, I didn't love most of the books I read, so I also didn't feel very inspired or optimistic about the publishing industry. (Anecdotally, I can tell that some SFF publishers I used to love are pivoting hard toward romantasy/cozy fantasy/white-authored fantasy. Orbit has seemingly scaled back on the number of diverse authors they publish, Tor seems to be focusing more in their romantasy imprint Bramble, and Del Rey I've been told basically no longer publishes epic fantasy from debut authors and has completely shifted to romantasy. So, that's depressing.)
*
And now that it's almost 2025, so that means time for some new goals...
1. Finish revising and query Novel #4, and if that dies in the query trenches, take a break from pursuing traditional publishing.
My goal is to finish revising Novel #4 by the end of this holiday break, but if I don't, I'll try to wrap it up early in the new year.
Novel #5 is still out to a few agents, and I plan to submit it to two open submission calls if all agents reject it, but if nothing comes from that or querying Novel #4...it's time to take a break. My mental health has been garbage in 2023 and 2024 because of traditional publishing, and honestly, I can't go on living in this constant state of anxiety.
2. If Novel #5 gets no bites from traditional publishing, start the process to self-publish it.
I think it might help to feel like I have control over something again. Plus, I have a dream cover artist in mind for Novel #5 and some ideas of the target audience for the book.
3. Find a skincare product that actually improves my skin.
I guess this is aspirational, but I have a few skin issues that I'd like to resolve next year (namely, milia, uneven skin tone, and hyperpigmentation spots), and I haven't yet found a skincare product that has addressed them, so there are a couple more I want to try.
4. Generally improve my mental and physical health?
I ended up gaining a bunch of weight this year without being sure how. I've tried to cut down on my diet and managed to lose some of that weight, which I'm happy about, but I'd like to lose another pound or two. (My biggest nemesis is my lack of self-control when it comes to buying snacks from Trader Joe's. :( )
And, like I said above, my anxiety has been quite out of control for a while now. While I'm sure publishing is a major culprit, I'd like to see what else I can do to try to improve things.
*
I know New Year's resolutions are the thing at the end of the year, but I guess listing what I'm looking forward to is even more exciting. Here is the list:
- Books: I know I mentioned in a recent post that I've been disappointed so many times this year by my most anticipated reads, so I'm trying to keep my expectations low, but I hope I can find some good reads next year.
- Video games: I'm considering replaying Xenoblade Chronicles X when it gets ported to the Switch. And rumors of the Switch 2 have been flying around forever now...so we'll see what Nintendo announces next year. There are also games I'm excited to watch on YouTube rather than play myself (because I don't have the console); namely, the video games coming from China—Lost Soul Aside, Wuchang Fallen Feathers, and I reeeally hope Phantom Blade 0 gets released next year.
- Movies: I'm behind on watching movies. On my bucket list: Wicked and Sonic 3 (Shadow fan for life!!!).
