A look back at 2019…

…and ahead to 2020.

2019 has been an astonishing year in terms of achieving, and surpassing, my writing goals. 2015 was the Year of the Submission, 2016 was the Year of Rejections, 2017 was definitely the Year of the No (the no’s came in swathes), 2018 was the Year of the Yes. And finally, 2019 was the Year of Publication when my debut novel The Sins of the Sire came out in March and was followed by books 1 to 3 in my Regency series the London Libertines. I was hoping to have two of my historical romance books out in 2019 and an offer for a third, so I’m thrilled to have gone beyond that.

Looking back

So, what have I learned from this year? My seven lessons from 2019 are…

1 Take time for yourself
With writing you can easily get swallowed up in plots, drafts and edits. So many writers have day jobs and started writing for fun, at evenings and weekends. When my publisher was talking about a 10-day turnaround, I forgot that they actually meant two weeks. We all need time to ourselves – not only to recharge, but to help the creative ideas flow again. I find taking the dog for a long walk in the woods is great for this – and it gets me out of the house.

2 Don’t forget your health!
I had a spell of ill health over the summer which made me sit back and think about what was important in life. Healthy food (I’ve developed a thing for courgettes/zucchini), lots of sleep and the support of friends and family can make a huge difference. It’s often difficult to remember that when you’re working a day job and writing as well.

3 Writing buddies are the best
Writing can be so lonely sometimes! Luckily I have a great bunch of writer buddies on social media. We’re there to share each other’s ups and downs – and to give and receive feedback on each other’s drafts, pitches and query letters.

4 Writing retreats are even better!
I don’t mean a formal, organised writing retreat which, to me, is a bit like going back to school – I mean hideaways with a close writing friend where we hole up with pizza, dips, crisps and wine for a couple of days and do nothing but write and eat. I went on a retreat in May with a close friend and cannot believe the amount of work I managed to achieve – full structural edits on one novel and a significant portion of line edits on a second.

5 Promotion can be fun!
I don’t mean full-on pushy sales and endless “buy my book” tweets and Facebook posts. Yuk to those. I mean playing around with graphics, posting snippets and extracts to engage with the rest of the world. I had a lot of fun this year being interviewed with the fabulous Worrier Writer, (aka Sarah painter), on her podcast. You can listen to it here. I also started my newsletter, something I’d been planning to do for months, and I am working on a free novella exclusively for subscribers which I hope to publish early 2020. You can subscribe to my newsletter here.

6 Keep at it!
After over three years of nothing but rejections, it all came together in 2019 with four books coming out, all historical romance. Waiting to hear back from publishers could have been soul-destroying, but instead I spent the time writing more books. One book does not make a writing career.

7 The ideas don’t stop flowing
I always used to worry that I had a finite number of stories in my head. With any creative process, there’s always an element of “where did that idea come from?” – but they do, especially if you’re writing a series. Secondary characters will always come to the fore with their own stories, which is what happened with Roderick’s Widow, book 3 the London Libertines series. Alice, the heroine of Book 3, was just a secondary character from Book 2, but she had to have her own story!

Looking forward

OK, that’s 2019 almost done, time to set my goals for 2020. I like to set “stretchy” goals. So here’s my goals for 2020…

1 Write and publish Books 4, 5 and 6 in my Regency series
I’m cheating a bit here as they’re plotted out and the first draft of Book 4 should hopefully, be finished before the end of 2019.

2 Finish my free novella for newsletter subscribers
The story, another historical romance, is sketched out, and will feature some of the characters from the London Libertines series.

3 Complete my second Highlander novel
A dark, steamy read, the first draft is almost done.

4 Publish a new medieval series
I have three sexy medieval drafts and would like to publish those as part of my overall plan to become a hybrid author.

5 Draft at least one secret project
I have plans for some very naughty, dark contemporary stories, including a trilogy – and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into these as a bit of a diversion from historical romance.

6 Write a Christmas story
I didn’t get round to writing one this year but I can see several of the secondary characters from my Regency series who would be ideal for indulging in a little bit of Christmas love.

7 Go on a writing retreat
After the success of this year’s writing retreat, I’m planning to go on at least one in 2020. I think this will be my easiest goal!

Wishing you Happy Holidays!
Em xx