The holiday post or how I'm jingling into Christmas with equal parts good cheer and Bah-humbug vibes

Santa is looking kinda raggedy and I can relate. There's a lot of fun stuff going on this time of year but also a lot of stress stuff. Like a recent meme said, "it's time to upgrade from my everyday anxiety to my limited edition holiday anxiety." Ha-ha! But every time I think I've got problems and too much stuff to do I talk to someone else and guess what? Most people have waaaaay more problems AND stuff to do than me so I cancel my lil' pity party and get on with it.

This year I joined with my local writing group and we put together an anthology of short holiday stories based in our area, the Space Coast of Florida. That was a first for our group and we're pleased with the results. But that's all I've published for the year and I wanted more. Other people published way more than that. What's wrong with me? I know, I know, comparison is the thief of joy. I'm mostly proud of myself for what I have done and I'm not taking that joyless road of envy that leads to excessive consumption of wine and whining on social media. Sure, I wander down the path of jealousy once in awhile but I don't stay long.

Soooo, what have I done? I've worked the day job that I'm lucky to have, I still enjoy, and it pays the bills. Ups and downs with that and this year is ending on a fabulous high note that I created through hard work, positive thinking, and help from the Universe. Go me! The not-so-evil day job does, however, take up hours and hours and hours of my day. In spite of that, I'm proud to say I completed a 70,500 word book in a new series and decided to find an agent. So far I've sent queries to 137 agents and my OCD will make me round that up to an even 140 by the end of the year. I've been rejected by 67, not counting automatic rejects because they "timed out" but I'd love 3 more actual letters to keep things tidy.

This took up SO MUCH of my time. It's necessary and now I know a lot more about agents and querying than I did before. My next querying adventure will go a lot faster and I'll be better organized. (see previous post about spreadsheet meltdown.)

The level of non-interest from agents in my completed book tells me it's time to move on to something different. I know it's super-hard to get an agent but I've had zero requests for full or even partial manuscripts. A few writer buddies have encouraged me to continue with this book and series and self publish like I've done before but my theory is that agents know what's selling out there in bookland. If they're not interested, readers won't be either. I'll keep submitting this book to agents because I think it's a great story and YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT WILL BE THE NEXT BIG THING. I repeat, NO ONE knows FOR SURE what will be popular, even agents agree with that. But rather than spend my free time on book two in the series, I'm off on another adventure and so far I'm enjoying the shit out of writing this one! 

Time is so precious. We can't get it back and it seems like there's never enough. To quote from my favorite quote calendar, "You get to pick what your life has time for. Be discerning." ~ Taylor Swift.  I'd love to work on all the writing projects but that's not what I can do at this point in life so I had to make a choice. Put away book two in that series and move in another direction. My heart gave a small sigh of relief when I finally made that decision and my brain has enthusiastically embraced the new direction by humming along nicely and spitting out great story ideas. 

Speaking of time, I need to continue to get ready for my Christmas company. I'd like to write one more post before the end of the year but if that doesn't work out another one will come soon. Onward and upward!