Some people wind down toward the end of the year, as the days get shorter and darker and colder. I’d love that…but I’ve always found December to be more like a sprint to the finish line.
(This is even more true now that I’m a parent. What does this hectic month need, on top of work deadlines and gift-buying and various festive responsibilities? A first-grade pancake breakfast, obviously.)
I may have mentioned this a time or two, but I have a book releasing next month. The Thirteenth Circle will be my sixth published book, and it’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. So, on top of attempting to get tons of work done before the holidays so that I can actually have a holiday break, I’m in major book-promo-mode. My “author” hat is firmly stuck to the top of my head, and will be for the foreseeable future.
Maybe it’s the pre-book-launch anxiety talking, but recently, I’ve been dwelling on everything that I thought would have happened by the end of this year, but hasn’t—and at this point, isn’t going to. Some of those things are somewhat within my control; my epic to-do list has been a bit too epic lately, and a few tasks have necessarily been bumped to January. Other “didn’t happens” are things over which I had little to no power. They’re things I hoped for, anticipated, even expected, but that still remain out of reach or up in the air.
I don’t like ending a year with a lot of loose ends untied. And yet…that’s 2023.
This week, I’m trying to shift my mindset.
In his newsletter last week, Dan Blank encouraged creators to stop dwelling on what didn’t happen over the past twelve months, and instead catalog everything that did get accomplished or checked-off. His words really resonated with me. I started thinking back to how much I actually achieved this year—and it was a lot!
I wrote and revised, from zero-draft to copyedits, two new middle-grade novels.
I revised an older middle-grade manuscript and sent it to my agent.
MarcyKate and I have done a ton of prep and promo work for The Thirteenth Circle’s release on 1/30/24.
We also wrote a proposal and sample chapters for sequels to The Thirteenth Circle and sent that package to our publishing team.
I reported and wrote ten freelance dance articles.
I did six in-person author school visits (and dozens of virtual author visits).
I co-presented two in-person workshops at a writing conference in the spring, as well as presenting a virtual writing workshop earlier in the year.
I kept up with my weekly newsletter, officially launching this Substack in the fall.
I co-chaired the Visiting Author Committee at my daughter’s elementary school, helping to bring guest authors in to speak to each grade.
Those are just the highlights! I look at that list, and I’m honestly really proud.
And I can’t help but think about everything else that was going on in my life this year. The illnesses and injuries (remember when my retina detached, back in February, and I had to have emergency laser eye surgery?!). The school dropoffs/pickups. The kindergarten concerts and first-grade luncheons. The dance classes (mine and my kiddo’s). The meal prepping and grocery shopping and laundry. The travel.
The everything.
Instead of being disappointed that so many things didn’t happen, I’m starting to feel astonished that so much did.
I don’t write this to brag, or to shame you if you didn’t, for example, write two new books from scratch this past year. I’m writing this because, up until a few days ago, I really was feeling down about going into a new year with so much left undone.
I was counting failures instead of successes.
Dan’s post helped me turn the corner. Go read it—maybe it will do the same for you!
And then do what I did: start cataloguing your accomplishments from 2023. Start with the big, memorable things, and then get smaller and more granular. If you’re anything like me, the more you write down, the more things you’ll think of to add to the list. (“Oh, yeah, that was this year, too!”)
A year is a long time, actually. So much can happen in 365 days.
Reply or comment with something you’re proud of that you accomplished this year! Let’s celebrate each other’s wins, so we can go into 2024 feeling ready to tackle whatever comes next.
~Kathryn
Have you preordered The Thirteenth Circle yet?! There’s no time like the present! In fact, if you’re lucky enough to get a bookish gift card for the holidays, you can use your present to preorder!
Here’s this week’s teaser, introducing Dani Williams, the character I wrote in The Thirteenth Circle. (MarcyKate took charge of the other character, Cat Mulvaney, and you’ll get a teaser from Cat’s point of view soon!) Dani is the Scully of the story—the skeptic. Her goal is to win the science fair and to prove to everyone (herself included) that she has what it takes to become a real scientist one day. If only she hadn’t been partnered with the “designated school weirdo”…
Together, Dani and Cat become “Science and Strange.” Are you on #TeamScience or #TeamStrange? Get the whole story on January 30th!
Congratulations on all you accomplished this year!!! And thank you for the kind mention.
I didn't complete ANYTHING, but I also didn't give up on writing yet, so I'll take that as a win