2018 Year-in-Review and Q1 2019 Goals #ROW80

So here I am with my end-of-year review and a new goals post. I have switched to quarterly planning, which works so much better for me than yearly goals. Thank you, Sarra Cannon, for showing me the way!

This year was HUGE for my virtual assisting/freelance editing business. I landed several new clients in very quick succession which was absolutely awesome. My workload increased a lot, which required adjustments and better planning. However, I am ecstatic that I was able to make this happen. That was my biggest goal: increasing my client base and by extension bringing in more money.

I have also learned so much from my clients, stuff that I can apply to my own publishing efforts. So it’s a win-win.

Health wise…ugh, a lot of stuff went wrong this year. Not going to get into it, but suffice to say it was tough and stressful. However, I’ve survived it and I am looking forward to a new slate.

Since it’s my intention to jump back into ROW80 again, I figured I would put everything into one, handy-dandy simple post.

But first, let’s look at what I did (or didn’t do) this year:

~2nd round of edits/release secret project (early 2018) – DONE. Except it was delayed by unavoidable issues until 12/7. Very happy to have it finally out in the world! 
~Revise and release Fireborn – DONE. Released August 1st.
~Get serious about exercise and DO SOMETHING – Nope. I remain a couch potato. 😦 
~Take pictures regularly (once a month, 1 a day for x amount of days, etc) – Nope, and I really wish I could have.
~Get moving with dictation again – DONE. Not dictating currently, but I did purchase the latest version of Dragon Naturally Speaking and I also bought a digital recorder for transcription. Just need to actually start doing it.
~Progress on Covenant – DONE. I don’t have the exact figures handy, but I think I got it up to around 25k.
~Progress on When She Sleeps – This has been put on hold.
~Start Survivor Rewrite for reals this time – Nope, but one of my goals for Q1 is to JUST DO IT.
~Do something with Death Dancer/Pirouette – Nope. But as soon as I can, I’ll start working on this. I have Plans. 
~Get better with planning – My mom bought me a planner for Christmas last year, so I used that for deadlines/appointments/modified bullet journal. It worked great, so 
I asked for another one. And got it. Also, Sarra Cannon’s quarterly planning system worked wonderfully as well. I believe this planning system is the only reason why I was able to release the secret project this year. I was focused in a way I haven’t been in awhile. Being that I am a head planner (that is, I do all my planning in my head), this is a HUGE accomplishment.
~Start writing every day again, even if it’s 100 words – Nope. Time seems to get away from me sometimes.
~Figure out Reaper Girl #3, Faeborn – DONE. I have a premise. And apparently I’d forgotten that I’d called it Faeborn. Oops.

As for how many words I wrote this year: 75,000, which was my modest goal. I was hoping to write more, but given how busy I was and how awful my health was at times, I’ll take it. 🙂

Alrighty, so what’s on tap for Q1 and #ROW80? I’m glad you asked.

~Loosely plot Immortal Faeborn
~Book ads for Gain with Pain, Reaper Girl, and Fey Touched. Put together a tracking system.
~Start manifestation journal (first entry: 1/5/19)
~Put together modified Kanban board for Q1
~Purchase Energy Oracle deck. Start pulling cards daily and journaling.
~Progress on Oubliette or finish
~Do All The Things related to TDP Anthology (to be released sometime in Q1)
~Begin rewrite of Survivor. Continue working on it on Sundays.
~Catch up up on ARCs
~Take Sundays off work when possible
~Start back on MyFitnessPal. Log food 5x a week minimum.
~Water 5x a week

I think that’s it for now. 🙂

Links to the books:

Gain with Pain on Amazon
Fireborn on Amazon 

The secret project is here!

Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud and excited to reveal my secret project! Finally. After two years, I have finally been able to publish this.

It’s called Gain with Pain: Chronic Illness Productivity Hacks. I wrote this book to help people live their very best lives with chronic illness. I wanted to give them hope, comfort, and actionable steps to take to start the process right now.

Mostly, I wanted to show that having a chronic illness (or two) does not mean your life is over. It’s changed. But it’s still there, ready for you to grab it.

Here’s the info:

Sometimes life gets complicated.

Your doctor has informed you that you have cancer. Or fibromyalgia. Or perhaps lupus. When you receive a serious health diagnosis, you can do one of three things: act as if nothing happened and try unsuccessfully to muddle through, shut down completely…or find your new normal.

In Gain with Pain: Chronic Illness Productivity Hacks, Erin Zarro shares her daily struggles with multiple serious health conditions, and how she found her new normal. She gives you exercises to do to mentally prepare yourself for the day, shares how to plan activities so you don’t completely exhaust yourself or worsen your condition, and suggests ways you can get past the grief of your diagnosis and move on with your life.

Even if you don’t have serious health problems, you can use the list-making techniques outlined in this book to help organize your time so that the rigors of a busy schedule no longer get in the way of your productivity and happiness. To allow you the kind of time to enjoy friends, family, and the life you deserve.

Gain with Pain: Chronic Illness Productivity Hacks is Erin’s first self-help book about coping with the daily struggles of chronic illness. You may also enjoy Life as a Moving Target, a poetry chapbook that explores what life with a chronic illness is really like.

Buy links:

• Amazon
• Nook
• Apple Books
• Kobo
• Print edition — forthcoming.

 

I also have a website/blog set up for chronic illness warriors called Gain with Pain and also a Facebook community. They are both a bit sparse at the moment, but soon I’ll have some great content to supplement the book.

Where have I been?

Dang, it was August when I last posted. Fireborn’s release.

Usually I’d be in #ROW80 and posting away, but these past few months have been crazy. I want to jump back in, but there hasn’t been enough time. I hope to get back into it in the new year, or later this quarter if things slow down a bit.

Oh my God, check out what I’ve got on tap:

Writing: Been trying to carve out time to finish the 2nd round edits of my secret project. I have it on this quarter’s schedule. Just need to, um, do it. I also have Oubliette’s final 15k (if I can hold myself to it) and Reaper Girl #3, tentatively titled Immortal. I am also writing a short story for an anthology, due on the 15th. I’m about 3k in.

Freelance stuff: I just got 2 new clients. I am having a blast. I am doing work that I enjoy, and I work with such wonderful people. I am truly blessed. I have been very busy with work and am still trying to figure out a good routine. I am so glad I decided to go this route for a career. Being home has taken off a lot of the pressure I was under before, and I can plan my time and my day the way I want it. And I’m making money, and I’m happy, and I’m so glad I kept the faith. 🙂

I am trying out a new system of planning. It’s a quarterly system. Writer Sarra Cannon recently opened up a 3-day bootcamp to learn her methods. And wow, even though I’m a bit behind, this is already doing me so much good! I can’t even believe it. I will continue to do this in the new year for sure!

Well, that’s my little update for now.

TL;DR I’m still alive, just busy!

 

#ROW80 Final Check-in 3/18/18

Round 1 of #ROW80 officially ends on March 22nd, but because I will be busy on that day, I am ending a bit early.

This round went pretty well for the most part. There are things I couldn’t do due to things beyond my control. I also had a ton of freelance work, and that was wonderful, but not so good for other things. All in all, I did okay and I am happy with my progress.

I will be participating in Round 2 for sure.

So here is my final rundown:

~2nd round edits on secret project. ~Final update: still waiting for betas, but did start editing it. Finished 37 pages.
~Revisions on Fireborn ~ Update: I should be receiving them on April 1st. So nothing done this round.
~Covenant words ~Don’t have wordcounts handy at the moment. Maybe 1,000 new words? I’ve stopped working on this book due to being stuck. I am working on an older novel, Oubliette, and it’s up to 25k now.
NEW GOAL ADDED: Get to halfway point on Oubliette ~I’m at 31.9k right now; 37k would be halfway.
NEW GOAL ADDED: Get to 50k by the end of the round  ~Update: up to 57k!
~Survivor Sundays (Survivor my book, not the TV show) Have not started yet. 
~Poke at Fireborn cover?~Yes, although it’s not working as well as I’d hoped.

Non-writing stuffs:

~Read 1 book a week ~Finished Blood Fury by J.R. Ward. Finished Painless by Marty Thornley. Final update: Did this mostly, but missed a few weeks here and there.
~Water 5x a week
~Print out test roll pics in darkroom Nope. But have been pondering this.
~Poetry, maybe? Nope. 
~Housewalking 3x a week Nope. 
~And everyone’s favorite, chocolate consumption reports YES! Final report: Dark chocolate bar, mini Kitkats, and hot chocolate!

How did you do this round?

#ROW80 Check-in 3/4/18

I have been swamped with freelance work, which is a good thing. However, I haven’t had any time to post till now!

I’m doing okay. I’m still amazed that it’s March already, and my birthday is coming too! (March 27th).

Here’s where I am at:

~2nd round edits on secret project. ~Update: still have not received the last two betas, which is fine. I still hope to release it sometime this year. Releasing it this month is not going to happen.
~Revisions on Fireborn ~ Update: I should be receiving them on April 1st.
~Covenant words ~Don’t have wordcounts handy at the moment. Maybe 1,000 new words? I’ve stopped working on this book due to being stuck. I am working on an older novel, Oubliette, and it’s up to 25k now.
NEW GOAL ADDED: Get to halfway point on Oubliette ~I’m at 31.9k right now; 37k would be halfway.
NEW GOAL ADDED: Get to 50k by the end of the round ~Update: up to 55k!
~Survivor Sundays (Survivor my book, not the TV show) Have not started yet. 
~Poke at Fireborn cover?~Yes, although it’s not working as well as I’d hoped.

Non-writing stuffs:

~Read 1 book a week ~Finished Blood Fury by J.R. Ward. Now reading Painless by Marty Thornley
~Water 5x a week
~Print out test roll pics in darkroom Nope. But have been pondering this.
~Poetry, maybe? Nope. 
~Housewalking 3x a week Nope. 
~And everyone’s favorite, chocolate consumption reports ~ Hot chocolate, KitKat minis,  and Hersey’s chocolate kisses!

#ROW80 Check-in 2/11/18

Not a whole lot of progress this week. I think all the snow we’ve gotten is making me want to hibernate.

~2nd round edits on secret project (I am contemplating releasing it around my birthday in March. We will see how things go). ~I’ve received another beta, and (due to the fact that I can’t count), I  haven’t received the last TWO betas yet. One betaer did give me some preliminary comments, though, which I am pondering. Would like to start poking at it soon.
~Revisions on Fireborn ~Haven’t received my edits back, either.
~Covenant words ~Don’t have wordcounts handy at the moment. Maybe 1,000 new words? I’ve stopped working on this book due to being stuck. I am working on an older novel, Oubliette, and it’s up to 25k now.
NEW GOAL ADDED: Get to halfway point on Oubliette ~I’m at 31.9k right now; 37k would be halfway.
NEW GOAL ADDED: Get to 50k by the end of the round ~Up to 45k. Slowing down a bit.
~Survivor Sundays (Survivor my book, not the TV show) Have not started yet. 
~Poke at Fireborn cover?~Yes, although it’s not working as well as I’d hoped.

Non-writing stuffs:

~Read 1 book a week ~Still working on Blood Fury by J.R. Ward.
~Water 5x a week
~Print out test roll pics in darkroom Nope. But have been pondering this.
~Poetry, maybe? Nope. 
~Housewalking 3x a week Nope. 
~And everyone’s favorite, chocolate consumption reports ~ Hot chocolate and Junior Mints.

#ROW80 Check-in 2/4/18

Here we are again with ROW80! I’ve been doing okay on the writing front. I just discovered Guild Wars 2 so I’ve been a bit distracted. 😉

~2nd round edits on secret project (I am contemplating releasing it around my birthday in March. We will see how things go). ~I’ve received another beta, and (due to the fact that I can’t count), I  haven’t received the last TWO betas yet. One betaer did give me some preliminary comments, though, which I am pondering.
~Revisions on Fireborn ~Haven’t received my edits back, either.
~Covenant words ~Don’t have wordcounts handy at the moment. Maybe 1,000 new words? I’ve stopped working on this book due to being stuck. I am working on an older novel, Oubliette, and it’s up to 25k now.
NEW GOAL ADDED: Get to halfway point on Oubliette ~I’m at 31.9k right now; 37k would be halfway.
NEW GOAL ADDED: Get to 50k by the end of the round ~Up to 41k now
~Survivor Sundays (Survivor my book, not the TV show) Have not started yet. 
~Poke at Fireborn cover?~Yes, although it’s not working as well as I’d hoped.

Non-writing stuffs:

~Read 1 book a week ~Finished  Nashville boxed set by Inglath Cooper. Back to Blood Fury by J.R. Ward.

~Water 5x a week
~Print out test roll pics in darkroom Nope. 
~Poetry, maybe? Nope. 
~Housewalking 3x a week Nope. 
~And everyone’s favorite, chocolate consumption reports ~ Hot chocolate and KitKat minis. 

#ROW80 Check-in 1/28/18

I am still having TN pain, so that slowed me down a bit. Although I have been able to do a lot of writing.

Hubby and I saw The Shape of Water yesterday. It was an amazing movie and I cried like a baby at the end. I may post a review sometime soon.

~2nd round edits on secret project (I am contemplating releasing it around my birthday in March. We will see how things go). ~I’ve received another beta, and (due to the fact that I can’t count), I  haven’t received the last TWO betas yet.
~Revisions on Fireborn ~Haven’t received my edits back, either.
~Covenant words ~Don’t have wordcounts handy at the moment. Maybe 1,000 new words? I’ve stopped working on this book due to being stuck. I am working on an older novel, Oubliette, and it’s up to 25k now.
NEW GOAL ADDED: Get to halfway point on Oubliette ~I’m at 31.9k right now; 37k would be halfway.
NEW GOAL ADDED: Get to 50k by the end of the round
~Survivor Sundays (Survivor my book, not the TV show) Have not started yet. 
~Poke at Fireborn cover?~Yes, although it’s not working as well as I’d hoped.

Non-writing stuffs:

~Read 1 book a week ~Still working on Nashville boxed set by Inglath Cooper.

~Water 5x a week
~Print out test roll pics in darkroom Nope. 
~Poetry, maybe? Nope. 
~Housewalking 3x a week Nope. 
~And everyone’s favorite, chocolate consumption reports ~Kitkat minis and Lindt choclate truffles. That’s it.

#ROW80 Check-in Jan. 10th

I can finally do my first post of Round 1! Been busy, and struggling with TN pain. I recently had to have dental work done (prep for a crown) and that was miserable. I am glad the hard part is done, though.

Here’s the rundown:

~2nd round edits on secret project (I am contemplating releasing it around my birthday in March. We will see how things go). ~I  haven’t received the last two betas yet.
~Revisions on Fireborn ~Haven’t received my edits back, either.
~Covenant words ~Don’t have wordcounts handy at the moment. Maybe 1,000 new words?
~Survivor Sundays (Survivor my book, not the TV show) Have not started yet.
~Poke at Fireborn cover? ~Waiting to finish Cover Workshop I am taking

Non-writing stuffs:

~Read 1 book a week Finished both Midnight Rain by Kate Aeon and Die for Me by Dan Rix (ARC).
~Water 5x a week
~Print out test roll pics in darkroom Nope.
~Poetry, maybe? Nope.
~Housewalking 3x a week Nope.
~And everyone’s favorite, chocolate consumption reports 1 whole bag of Hersey’s Kisses (not in one sitting, though!) and lots of hot chocolate. Chocolate minis, too!

2017 Year-End Review and 2018 Goals

Time has been flying! Holy cow! It’s almost 2018 already, and and and —

Okay, I’m a bit early. I don’t expect much to change drastically in 3 days, so here we are.

So how did I do?

~Release 1 book (besides Ever Touched) ~NOT DONE, although I got a new cover for In Flames and put Reaper Girl into KDP Select. 
~Publish Ever Touched (set for May release)~DONE! 
~Start revision of Pirouette/Death Dancer ~NOT DONE, but had an interesting idea the other day about Alisia’s lineage. 
~Finish Covenant ~NOT DONE, but it’s at 24k now. Wanted to hit 30k before the new year, but I’m not sure that’s possible now. 😦 
~Start Elysium ~NOT DONE. At all.
~Finish and release Fireborn ~DONE. Rewrote it and submitted it to TDP for publication next year.
~Outline book #1 in Fey Touched spin-off series ~NOT DONE. May toy with this next year.
~Get on a consistent, simple exercise plan and STICK WITH IT ~NOPE. 
~Eat healthier/Gluten-free ~NOT DONE.  😦 Well, made the attempt, anyway…
~Get back into darkroom when hands are better ~NOT DONE.
~Add in a second writing session twice a week (8 minutes)~NOT DONE. Have been fighting pain and exhaustion.
~Try to write more short fiction ~DONE! Fireborn (55k) and When She Sleeps (projected 60k) 
~Continue with FYFB class (so behind right now!)~NOPE. Downloaded everything that’s available that I haven’t gotten to.
~Start working on Survivor Rewrite outline again ~DONE! Not finished due to wrist issues.

This year has been roughly for me physically. I have been exhausted more, and the trigeminal neuralgia flared up again so we’ve been trying to find the right combination of meds to control the pain. So far, we haven’t been very successful.

I was also laid off from my job in August, so there’s been some upheaval there. I have been working on my freelancing/virtual assistant business to try to bring in more money. Things are kind of up in the air, and it has been wreaking havoc on my productivity.

I have decided to buckle down and make things happen in 2018!

Goals:

~2nd round of edits/release secret project (early 2018)
~Revise and release Fireborn
~Get serious about exercise and DO SOMETHING
~Take pictures regularly (once a month, 1 a day for x amount of days, etc)
~Get moving with dictation again
~Progress on Covenant
~Progress on When She Sleeps
~Start Survivor Rewrite for reals this time
~Do something with Death Dancer/Pirouette
~Get better with planning
~Start writing every day again, even if it’s 100 words
~Figure out Reaper Girl #3, Faeborn

I’ve written roughly 80k this year, which is down from last year. Would like to hit 100k and more in 2018.