2012 is almost done. And we’re all still here.
This didn’t happen
Last year, as I said in my previous end-of-year review, I landed a full-time, permanent job, which I am still in and I work for a great company with nice coworkers. In non-writing life, that gave me some much-needed stability. I was able to travel more this year, and I went to London a few times, Edinburgh, Chicago, home to San Francisco, and right now I’m in the Czech Republic and will go to Germany in a few days. I also made some lasting friendships, and though I definitely had some obstacles, non-writing life was pretty good.
Writing-wise, last year was a big deal for me because I started sharing my work with others. 2012 continued that trajectory in a very big way.
At the end of 2011 I had a rewrite request with Strange Chemistry and was working on revisions for Pantomime. I was a little over halfway, I think, and had no idea if my new version would land me an agent and a book deal. I finished the rewrite at the end of February. By the end of March I had both an agent a book deal, and had my own path to publication.
2012 was a year of firsts. First book deal, first ISBN numbers, first professional edit, first cover, first ARC that I held in my hands, first book reviews (and oh my word, it took some time to get used to the fact that people were actually reading my book. I felt so oddly exposed), first everything. Every small step was a milestone.
Definitely a milestone
2012 was also the year where I wrote almost every day. I edited Pantomime several times, wrote the first draft of the sequel, and the rough 1/3 of another project, plus a few short stories. I also had to start marketing and doing interviews and guest posts, plus trying to keep this blog active. It was hard to balance with full-time work and other obligations, but I managed, more or less.
Now, at the end of 2012, my baby book is all grown up and edited and has almost 100 ratings on Goodreads, mainly from strangers. I feel like I’m holding my breath a little now at the tail end of 2012. Just 36 to 38 days into next year, my book will be out on the shelves and it’ll be the moment of truth: how will it be received? I’ll be on the other side, able to walk into a bookstore and see my book on the shelves, something I’ve dreamed about since I was fourteen.
So, 2013: time for us to dance.
