Wow. I was stunned to see a reminder that in two days, I’ll be celebrating the anniversary of my first blog. June 6, 2011. Eight years. How did that happen?
In that time, I’ve published sixteen novels, three novellas, and a dozen novelettes, short stories, and non-fiction works. I’ve also unpublished ten of those stories. One was just a little too personal and will never see the light of day again. One is on hold until I get more books in the series written. The rest are going to be rebranded to better fit their genre. I’ve also got several books in various stages of completion that need to be finished.
I’ve also pushed myself to the point of burnout a few times. In this business, I think it’s more common than we know. Some authors are great at getting through it, or at least pretending it’s not much of an issue. Unfortunately, I’m not good at pretending and honestly, sometimes I worried that this time, it would never end. But like all of the others, there is finally a light at the end of a long, long tunnel. It’s taken more than two years to get here though. 🙂
There have been other changes in my life. Some good, some bad. Some still in the process of becoming reality. But all in all, life is fantastic. It always has been. And it’s getting better.
My plan is to dive back into writing. Not like I did before. Sixteen-hour days that included writing, social media, blogging, editing, plotting, outlining, creating characters that weren’t like any of the others I’d created, and trying to find time for life – for nearly five years – is what set this all off. That being the case, I’m only going (to try!) and work six days a week, with one day to relax and have fun. And I’m not going to devote most of my waking hours to my career. I will spend enough time working at it though.
Because I’ve missed writing. But I’ve missed me too. So, I’ll be searching for that sweet spot. One that will allow me to succeed at my career goals while finding a balance that’s been missing since the get-go.
I’m also going to start listening to more music again. For some reason, I haven’t done as much of that the past couple of years. I don’t know why. Especially since it makes me so happy. Those of you who have followed my blog since the beginning know I used to share videos that expressed whatever it was I wrote about. It’s time to start doing that again. If for no other reason than it’s an excuse to watch a bunch of videos.
Tonight, I thought about taking the easy way out and choosing Rachel Platten’s Fight Song for probably the tenth time. It’s one of my favorites, and one of the most motivational songs ever written. But there’s another that fits this situation at least as well. The second addresses the reason it’s important to make writing a priority again. Every year, the days speed by faster and faster. And if I don’t beat the burnout into submission in a hurry, I have a lot of stories that will never be told.
So I’m back. For good this time.
I can’t tell you how much I want to tack ‘I hope’ to the end of that last sentence. But I’m going believe that the burnout monster has been beaten into submission – permanently. 🙂
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