This seems to be the time of the year when I reevaluate my writing journey, so here I go.

I am enjoying my life, and writing is a part of that. It may not be as important as I intended when I began this journey a few years ago, but I still have many goals. I still wonder if a part-time writer can become a very good writer. I guess I’ll find out.

I enjoy my blog and plan to write more often as long as it doesn’t interfere with writing for publication. I love the interaction with other bloggers and followers.

As far as publication, I did release my grandmother’s poetry earlier in the year. The work was 95% hers, but doing the editing, layout and formatting for Kindle enhanced my skills in those areas.

I think it’s important to publish at least once a year so I will be expanding two of the articles I’ve written on this blog into e-books during the next year. More about the first one will come soon.

The novel that I’ve referred to several times on this blog is 75% complete. I’m talking about the first draft so it will still be a while before it sits on a bookshelf anywhere. I am planning to self-publish with Balboa Press because I am so aligned with Hay House in my thinking and the types of spiritual things I write about. Besides, it doesn’t hurt that Hay House takes a look at the books coming through Balboa to find selections they may want to publish.

When I get to the point where I am ready to send it to Balboa I will talk more about the topic. At this point, I will say that it was inspired by a true story and has a very spiritual theme – that of reincarnation and the love that travels through many lifetimes and never dies.

Last, but not least, it’s important I that I continue to learn about writing so I take a course or attend a conference every year. This year I am taking an online course – James Patterson’s MasterClass. It’s reasonably priced, and I am getting a lot of great tips from a best-selling author. Applying some of them to my own work is slowing me down, but I am trying to avoid my tendency to overthink and stay focused on what’s most important to the novel.

How are things going with those of you who publish your work or aspire to? I can’t be inspirational and say to do something I don’t do myself, like write everyday. What I can say is… if you have a goal in mind, don’t give up until you reach it. The journey may not be what you expect, but it will be worthwhile and in some ways may become more important than the goal.

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