Tag Archives: 2018

January 21, 2019 · 12:10 am

Moving forward…making changes

I ended 2018 exhausted.

How’s that for an opening line, eh?

But it’s true. From November 4th until December 12th I had three brand new books released and was so wrapped up in promoting them, doing book tours, and fulfilling all my blog obligations to myself and other authors, that I had no time to truly enjoy the releases as I’d done with past  ones. The circumstances that led to 3 books at one time ( plus my inclusion in a Holiday Anthology) was a perfect storm of creativity, publisher time schedules, and the season-specific stories I wrote.

That this all came to fruition around the busiest time – typically – of the year for me was another factor in my fatigue- both mental and physical. I can probably even add spiritual. By the time January 1 rolled around I wanted a redo on the previous month.

 

Well, since I don’t have a time machine, we all know that wasn’t gonna happen.

With 2019, I decided to switch things up a little bit for me, career-wise. I currently have no books on the publishing schedule for 2019. I know that’s gonna change at least once, as soon as I finish book 2 in my bridal series, but that’s it. And that’s horrible. The reason I’ve got nothing going into production is because I spread myself too thin and too wide in 2018. I blogged 5-6 times per week, plus did numerous blog tours for all my books. In addition  I attended 5 conferences and all the travel that went along with them and amped up my Netgalley reviews. The daily social media promotion that went along with all those books – because you gotta sell ’em – also wore me down. In the long run, all of that etched away at my personal writing time.

Before 2018 I used to write a minimum of 1000 words every morning before I did the adulting stuff that needed tending to like laundry, exercise, etc. I stopped doing that in 2018 and started letting life and business and other things intrude on that writing goal. Not anymore.

With the New Year comes a new attitude and desire to get myself back to doing what I love more than anything: write.

Simply, write.

So. Now, there have been a few changes made:

  1. I’m only blogging 2-3 times per week MAX! Promise
  2. I’m cutting down on my netgalley “asks” and trying to get just one book per week read and reviewed.
  3. I’ve gone back to that 1000 word minimum before I leave the house.
  4. I write all my blogs on Sunday now ( just like I am right now) so all I have to do is schedule them and let them fly.
  5. I’m attending 2 conference this year instead of 5 – RWA in NYC in July and Fall In Love in New England in October.

I’m not abandoning my writing sistahs in all this. If they have a new book releasing or a sale going on, I will continue to promote them because I fully believe our strength lies in our commitment to one another, so no worries there.

But, I’m taking Peggy writing time seriously. Like, wicked seriously.

 

Find your bliss today, peeps, and let your beauty shine.

And you know I’m always here, so no worries on that front, either:

Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// BookMe // Monkey me //Watch me

and here’s the link to my TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DAMN BOOK podcast interview, just in case you missed it: TMAYDB

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December 28, 2018 · 9:01 am

A look back….

As I’ve gotten older, I find myself in a reflective mood this time of year. The current year is drawing to a close, the New Year is just over the horizon. Since I’m such a lesson-oriented person with a mix of goal-making obsession thrown in, I wanted to look back on this year at the highs – and lows – and see what I can learn to guide me into 2019 with a brighter, enthusiastic mindset.

Since being positive is such a good thing, let’s start with the good things that happened this year.

  1. I had 4 – FOUR!!! – books published through 2 publishing houses. Okay, so 3 of them came out into the world within 6 weeks of one another and I almost had a nervous breakdown from the promo aspect of all that… but 4 books!!!
  2. I traveled to some new places-to-me: Iceland,  Denver, and Bermuda. Can you find more diverse weather and cultural  locales, peeps?
  3. I was featured in the HEA column of USA today – a writer’s dream come true, believe me!
  4. I was  the featured author in a wickedly popular You-Tube podcast titled TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DAMN BOOK.
  5. I met one of my heroes, Jack Canfield.
  6. I met some of my writing idols at RWA 2018.
  7. I celebrated my 58th birthday and my 31st wedding anniversary.
  8. I reconnected with my mother.
  9. My darling daughter got engaged to the perfect man for her! ( and I swear I’m gonna use this picture on the cover of my next book!

 

And of course, there were things that weren’t so great that happened that need to be listed.

  1. I was dropped by one of my publishing houses after submitting 3 book proposals that they passed on.
  2. I received some not very flattering reviews for a few of my books ( and yes, they were outnumbered in droves by the positive ones, but the negative ones are the ones you ALWAYS remember)
  3.  My darling mother-in-law died after a long, long illness.
  4. I gained another 19 pounds after being hypnotized to lose weight. Yeah…I can’t figure that one, either.
  5. The world around us is very dark and scary right now with the way things are being run in this country. I am trying to be hopeful for the future, but it’s hard.

I am happy and hopeful to see that there were more good things listed above than bad things.

So, I look forward to starting 2019 renewed, recharged, and delighted with the potential happiness the year will bring.

Happy New Year, peeps  ~ Peg

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December 31, 2017 · 11:46 am

One year ends, another begins…..

Making a New Year’s resolution is something a lot of people do once that clock strikes midnight on 12.31

Lose weight, exercise more, be present and not preoccupied, put down those devices and engage personally. Those are just a few of the ones my friends have told me they are going to resolve to make in 2018. They, like about 85 percent of the population, make resolutions and then don’t follow through for the entire year. The reasons? Varied, but ranging from boredom to maybe making resolutions that were unattainable, or too hard, or not specific enough.

Why am I talking about this, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you.

I’ve stopped making resolutions because I fall into that 85 percent. I start the year all gung-ho, losing weight, writing more, not getting so preoccupied. By about January 15th I’m already tired of it all. It’s too much work, too mind draining, I’ve got other things to do. These are all the excuses I give myself as an “out” for the resolutions. Besides, I still haven’t gotten into the habit of writing the new year date instead of the previous one on checks!

So last year I stopped making resolutions and began making goals. Calling my new behaviors goals instead seems to make me want to stick to them more, and even propels me to do so.

Last years’ goals were to write 5 times per week on this blog, finish 4 novels and get to the gym 5-6 times per week and to learn to compromise when asked to do something instead of giving a knee-jerk “no.’

1, 2, and 4 I did. #3 I had a little trouble with due to injuries and my arthritis flaring up.

This year’s goals are:

  1. Finish my current WIP by the end of January and submit.
  2. Write 2 more books and 1 novella by December 31, 2018
  3. write this blog 2-3 times per week and my menopause blog once a week.
  4. get FIT!!! I have to go on a cruise in the summer and I swear I am not going looking like I do right now. So it’s off to the nutritionist and the gym for me.
  5. Bump up the social media posts. I haven’t been on SM this week due to a death in the family and I’ve already lost 15 Twitter followers.
  6. Be present and engaged more. You know I’m a hermit in the winter. I vow not to be one this year. Still haven’t figured out how, though!

So, check back with me periodically in 2018 to see how those goals are going for me and if I needed to revise, revamp or even renege on a few of them!

Be well, Happy New Year and I’ll see you in 2018!

in 2018 look for me here: Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// Book Me

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