This will be my last post of 2017; next Monday is Christmas Day, the Monday after that will be Jan 1st, 2018.
It’s that time of year when we all look back and try to make sense of everything that went on over the last twelve months. I’m no different; I said that I would do a lot of things in 2017. How did I measure up?
Firstly, I told myself that I would write 500,000 words in 2017. And the amazing thing is that I managed to do it. In fact, the milestone was reached in compiling this post. I think that could be the first New Year Resolution that I’ve actually managed to keep. And I completed NaNoWriMo as well, the third time I have done so.
So what were all those words about? Well, I finished some exciting projects, started a few new ones and wrote a lot of short stories. They mainly came as a result of research and the background work that every novel requires. I end up with so much information and sub-plot that doesn’t fit into the story that it always seems a shame not to do something with it.
I published five books in total in 2017, four novels and a collection of short stories.
In March, Myra, the prequel to Freefall was published
and in June, after a lot of persuasion and encouragement, Andorra Pett made her first appearance in the Oort Cloud Café.
Then in October the sequel to my steampunk tale The Rocks of Aserol, titled A New Life in Ventis was launched at the Bampton Charter fair.
One of the first copies was bought by a 92-year-old man, who saw the cover, read the sample and said that it reminded him of his childhood. In the end, he purchased both books and I really hope that he enjoyed them.
Those three were both paperback and eBooks; I also released the sequel to Ribbonworld, called Jungle Green, plus a collection of Steampunk short stories called Tales from Norlandia as eBooks. If sales of them are good, I will add paperbacks in due course.
I got some good reviews for all my work, I don’t want to mention them all here but I was pleased to see that (in general) people like what I’ve written.
I had two old titles that I wanted to revamp and re-issue, I managed to get one sorted, the other one will be done this year, fingers crossed. To do that, I had to part company with my publisher and became fully self-published. It was a big step and one that I agonised over, but it also gave me the opportunity to redesign all the back matter in my books, updating it all with links to my new work and extra information.
I’ve also expanded the social side of my writing, joining the Exeter Authors Association, a lively group that meets monthly and is getting me and the other members involved in events. I’ve given talks at libraries and societies, attended pop-up shops and next year will start exhibiting at Sci-fi conventions. Starting off at Devcon Exeter in February.
I have three completed novels ready for editing; the first will enter the production process in January. If all goes well, it will be published around the end of April.
As for the others, I have plans for them. They have both been entered in several competitions and open submissions, so we will have to wait and see what reaction they get before I decide what their fate will be. Even if they attract no attention from the literary world, rest assured that they will be published, because I like them, as do my select group of beta readers.
Which all leaves me with a problem. Which project shall I work on next? I also want to improve my social media presence, complete my world-building course, and finish my half completed novels. I don’t intend to formally commit myself to writing a set number of words next year, I’ll just see how it goes.
And that’s it for the year from me, I will be back with a new format to my posts after the holiday.
So, it only remains to wish you all a happy Christmas, or whatever you wish to call it. And of course, all the best for 2018.
