#WIPWednesday #YearInReview

Season's Greetings, Happy Hanukkah, and Merry Christmas!

For this final #WIPWednesday of the year, my 2019 retrospective #YearInReview.


Books

As you can tell by the title of this blog, there was a time when I thought I'd never write a book. The reasons varied through the years, but the bottom line remained the same.

Nearly two years ago, I thought, "Well, maybe I will," but I proceeded to jump from project to project, never able to see one through to completion.

So, it was with a great sense of progress and accomplishment that my collection of poetry and prose, tumbling: poetic thoughts from an anxious mind, was published by Lasting Impact Press in late-November. Its launch was more successful than I could have hoped, with both the e-book and paperback reaching #1 in New Releases for a short time in a single category each on Amazon. And it is continuing to receive good reviews.

Earlier this year, I had a poem published in Sea Glass Hearts, a poetry anthology by Stormy Island Publishing.

I also had a short story accepted into At Death's Door, an anthology which is due to be published in the near future by Pixie Forest Publishing.

I have not abandoned any of my previous WIPs, and, in fact, hope to resume work on one of them early in the new year.


Essays, Articles & Short Stories

Last year, 2018, was an incredible year for me as an essayist. Going into this year, I could only hope to not loose too much of that momentum.

I am grateful to say, I did not.

I became a contributor to 8 more publications, making my contributor badge collection now more extensive than I ever imagined it would be.

This year, I was featured on InspireMore, Medium (including SNAPSHOTS, P.S. I Love You, Hopes and Dreams for Our Future, and Invisible Illness), The Good Men Project, TODAY Parents, Filter Free Parents, The Mighty, Yahoo! Lifestyle, Love What Matters, Her View From Home, Twiniversity, Sammiches & Psych Meds, Scary Mommy, Thought Catalog, Reality Moms, and For Every Mom.

My essay, My Husband and I Never Say "I Love You, Too," became my highest earning piece of writing ever, surpassing my first piece in income (though not in views).

I don't have access to pageview data for each of the sites that published my work (though that would be the best metric to measure each piece's success), but I use a combination of the stats I do have to estimate how each of my pieces performs.

My first essay continues to be my top performing piece, but spots 2 and 3 were taken over by new essays this year!

My Top 3 Essays To Date:
(estimated based on page stats and/or social media reactions)

121,551 - 5 Reasons I’m Going To Continue Being A SAHM Even After My Kids Are In School: originally published on Scary Mommy; syndicated on That's Inappropriate (now Filter Free Parents), & Her View From Home

9,649 - When Anxiety Makes You Feel Like You Are in Danger Every Day of Your Life: originally published on Invisible Illness; syndicated on Thought Catalog, The Mighty, Yahoo! Lifestyle, & InspireMore

7,192 - My Husband and I Never Say “I Love You, Too”: originally published on P.S. I Love You; syndicated on InspireMore, TODAY Parents, The Good Men Project, & Filter Free Parents


Online Presence & Mailing List

Early this year, I decided to start a quarterly newsletter. I'm happy to report that I managed to get each of the newsletters delivered right on time and I was able to grow my mailing list, slowly but consistently, throughout the year. Success all around!

The other biggest addition this year is that I now have an Amazon Author Page (and Goodreads & BookBub author pages, too)!

I was incredibly happy and relieved when my Facebook page name change was finally granted in January after nearly 10 months stuck in limbo!

When it comes to social media, going into 2019, my goal was to organically grow my Facebook page to 500 followers by my birthday in February. Thanks to some fantastic support, I met that goal and, as likes have continued to trickle in since then, have now exceeded it with my Facebook page currently sitting at more than 630 follows.

I continue to have social media profiles on all the major platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Though, I do not try to maintain an active presence on all of them. I have continued with my original goal to post on Facebook once a day, the rest only when I have new work to share or time I am able to spend supporting others with my interactions.


Looking to 2020
The past two years have far exceeded my expectations for my writing career. I fear I won't be able to keep up this pace. So, my only goal in 2020 is to finish another WIP – to not give up on it all out of anxiety, fear, and overwhelm, to keep going at my own pace.

#WIPWednesday

This week I continued working to promote the book. Slow and steady.

As I've been promoting, I've realized how my being so open about my mental health has caused some people to distance themselves. It hurts. But (thanks to therapy) I realize it is not my responsibility to make everyone else comfortable. That is actually a major reoccurring issue we've been working on all year.

I believe in the importance of normalizing the conversation around mental health and I will continue to work for that. I need to be true to myself, my story, and my goals. If some people need space from the topics I discuss – from me – I have to accept that. I can't let myself dwell on the few who grew more distant while ignoring the others who moved in closer. The ones who've reached out to say they can relate, that they appreciate my openness, need to carry at least as much weight as those who've remained silent, if not more.

So, that rumination lead to a new meme.

I also made some new header images for my Facebook page and a silly meme for Friday the 13th, which, to be honest, is more than I expected to get done as we head towards the holidays.

#WIPWednesday

Well, as of tomorrow, tumbling: poetic thoughts from an anxious mind is no longer a "New Release" – at least according to Amazon's algorithms. Which means it looses the little bit of visibility boost that came with that tag. But, the book is continuing to do well and slowly gain traction.

It received another favorable review on Goodreads and was added to someone's "Want To Read" list.

An acquaintance told me she requested the book at her local library – and they ordered it! Then, someone else checked it out before she could!

And the book is now also available online at Barnes & Noble and Walmart.

Having not written any new essays for a while, I decided to syndicate a piece from last year on Medium.

I'll likely not have anything new, or even send out any more syndication queries, until after the holidays.

So, it was an extra pleasant surprise when I was contacted by the editorial assistant of For Every Mom about syndicating my "You Don't Have To Do It All" holiday piece! So, I've gladly added another contributor badge to my collection.

#WIPWednesday

If you've followed along with me from the beginnings of this blog and my journey into a writing career – well, first,THANK YOU – but, also, you probably know by now that I have multiple anxiety disorders and you probably also noticed that often manifests in me struggling to finish and follow through with ideas which I start with enthusiasm. Every WIP still waiting to be finished stands as evidence to this.

So, please permit me to be proud of my progress as I not only finished and published a book two weeks ago (the first project to move off the WIP list) but I also just completed the full year of quarterly newsletters!

Sending a quarterly newsletter was an idea I hatched early this year – and is most certainly the sort of idea I could easily find myself struggling to maintain. But I am happy to report the 4th quarter newsletter was delivered this morning, and in it, I announced winner of a signed copy of my book.

Also this week, I syndicated my piece about how It Is Absolutely OK to NOT Want Anything for Christmas on Medium. And I was pleasantly surprised by NBC's TODAY Show featuring my holiday piece from last year again this year!

#WIPWednesday

Well. The book has been officially out for a week now! The paperback hit #1 New Release in one category for a short time (just as the e-book did during pre-orders)!

And the reviews have started slowing rolling in!

 

It's been a whirlwind. But, I do feel like it is all coming to an end now. I know marketing never ends but it very much feels like releasing the book was just that, releasing it out of my hands. It is out in the world now and I can only hope the response continues to be kind.

I am incredibly grateful to all who have supported me throughout this project.

Today, I announced a GIVEAWAY 🎉

I’m giving away a signed paperback copy of my book to one of my mailing list subscribers in my next newsletter!

Everyone on my mailing list will be entered. If you are not yet signed up to receive my quarterly newsletter, opt-in at http://eepurl.com/ghqMuP.

The winner will be announced in my next newsletter on December 4th.

In non-book news, I also somehow managed to have three essays syndicated this week! Many thanks to Scary Mommy, InspireMore, and Sammiches & Psych Meds!

#WIPWednesday

TODAY IS BOOK LAUNCH DAY!

What a rollercoaster it's been to get here!

Putting this book out into the world has left me feeling far more vulnerable than any of my personal essays has to date. I'm trying to prepare myself for negative reviews. But I sincerely hope that those who read it find it insightful or even relatable if they also struggle with anxiety.

And I know I am not alone. My essay, "When Anxiety Makes You Feel Like You Are in Danger Every Day of Your Life," ran on The Mighty last week and received hundreds of shares on Facebook and thousands of hearts on The Mighty, it was also picked up by Yahoo! Lifestyle. The piece now has over 8,000 social media reactions, in total!

Also this week, Reality Moms syndicated my holiday piece from last year.

Truthfully, I haven't thought much about the holidays yet this year, but I am grateful for the timing of my book being released before the season is in full swing!

#WIPWednesday

It has been an incredible week!

First, we launched e-book pre-orders.

And I woke the next day to this!

Now, I do realize this is not a huge accomplishment. Amazon has so many categories and refreshes the list hourly; tumbling enjoyed only a brief stint at #1 New Release in Women's Poetry. But, it was still exciting!

I also received the 1st paperback proof this week, made some minor formatting edits, and received my final proof.

All proofs have now been approved to be submitted for publishing, where they will undergo one final inspection.

I continued working on making sure the book is visible on a variety of platforms.

And even managed to surprise myself be reaching out to offer a few promotional copies! Who am I?!?

I also submitted my piece about anxiety for syndication on The Mighty, which was accepted and published yesterday. I did that in hopes that readers who relate to that essay will take a look at my bio and notice my new book.

But, while I was at it, I remembered that I had a couple of holiday pieces from last year I was planning on trying to syndicate this year and I was able to submit one of them for consideration to two outlets.

The next couple weeks should be quite a ride!

#WIPWednesday

Last week, before the excitement of signing a publishing agreement for my book, I submitted my latest essay for syndication on The Good Men Project. I'm pleased to share that it was accepted and featured it on social media this week.

I spent the bulk of this week working on a pre-publishing checklist – ordering a paperback proof, reviewing the e-book proof, writing the book's description, ordering some writer swag, and planning today's cover reveal!

#WIPWednesday

I am thrilled to announce I've signed an agreement with Lasting Impact Press, an imprint of Connection Victory Publishing Company, for the publication of tumbling: poetic thoughts from an anxious mind in paperback and e-book formats!

I finished. I saw the project through to the final draft. And it will be published before the end of the year!

Can you believe it!?!

Stay tuned over the coming weeks for pre-order information, the cover reveal, and more!

#WIPWednesday

I'm excited about how much progress I made this week on tumbling: poetic thoughts from an anxious mind. I'm currently going through beta reader notes on my 3rd draft and working on the final edits. It is so close to being done!

In other exciting news, Twiniversity ran my essay this week. This was one of the pieces I completed over the summer which was being held.

#WIPWednesday

My kids had a 5-day weekend, aka: Fall Break, from Friday through Tuesday. We took the opportunity to make the rounds visiting several family members and friends over the course of a more than 900-mile loop. It went very well until an incident in the last couple hours which prompted my latest essay. I was thrilled to have it accepted on  P.S. I Love You and selected for curation in two Medium topics.

Before we left on our road trip, I finished my 1st draft of tumbling: poetic thoughts from an anxious mind! I sent it off to my wonderful beta readers and am looking forward to getting to work on the 2nd draft after I receive their feedback.

#WIPWednesday

I've been hoping that a couple of things I finished and submitted over the summer would be published soon to help fill in this gap while I am working on my bigger project and have had nothing new to share for weeks on end. The timing of those projects is out of my control, but I did follow up on them this week.

The anthology in which I will have a short story published does not yet have a release date, though the goal is still this month.

The essay I wrote on a deadline had the deadline pushed and then suspended. I'd already completed the essay and submitted it over the summer but it's been in holding since then.

The essay I submitted in May for an anthology is still pending, no update on the progress of that project.

So, while I have new works out there, I still had nothing new to share. We are halfway through the quarter and I've been getting nervous that I'll have nothing to put in my next newsletter.

So, I decide to publish a new poem, fitting of the season, just to have something to new to share this week.

I hope these projects fall into place over the next several weeks but, either way, I need to just keep working on my own project and not get too distracted worrying that I haven't written a new essay or queried for syndications.

If all goes well, this finished project will be accomplishment enough to share in my next newsletter.

#WIPWednesday

I was thrilled to see Sea Glass Hearts on the shelf during my visit to our local library this week! I mean, I wasn't surprised – since I donated the copy. But I was excited to see it there on the shelf and ready to be checked out.

Once again, this week, I did not spend any of my writing time on querying old pieces for syndication nor on writing any new essays – to most, it probably seems like I haven't been doing much.

While I have had less time than I'd like to spend on writing lately because of some other things going on, I have been using what time I do have to work on my latest project, tumbling: poetic thoughts from an anxious mind. And it is coming along quite nicely!

#WIPWednesday

Two steps forward, one step back.

That's the natural flow of things.

So, I should be ecstatic when I manage several steps forward before the setback. And, I am learning to recognize when that happens.

In personal matters, this has been more challenging, especially as of late. But, as far as my writing career goes, I'm improving.

As I mentioned last week, I was grateful to have another piece picked up by Scary Mommy – but their new website redesign failed to display my bio, so I didn't get the "exposure" which is the main reason for syndicating. The editor was kind and apologetic and offered a work-around but I gained zero new page views.

I also had less writing time this week and I didn't send a single query, but I was pleasantly surprised when TODAY Parents featured a piece of mine from the end of August.

I did gain a few new Facebook page followers over the past couple days, thanks to a meme – then promptly lost one with this morning's post. Typically, I'd overlook the new follows and obsess over why that one chose to unfollow. But, today, I'm doing a much better job of rolling with it and of giving proper weight to those who have stayed.

I've spent nearly all my writing time excitedly working on my latest project, only to run into some technical difficulties with layout, but I'm not letting it sidetrack me too much.

I just keep moving forward.

#WIPWednesday

I've continued passionately working on my latest project and I have a draft of the cover, the introduction, and basic book outline to show for it – which is super exciting. I've also researched formatting and explored publication options. I'm feeling really good about finishing this project, maybe even before the end of the year!

I didn't spend much writing time on other things this week, but I did send one syndication query and was grateful to have it accepted by Scary Mommy.

#WIPWednesday

I hesitate to even share this because it seems like speaking of my projects is a death blow to my motivation to finish them. Believe me, I know how many projects I've started, excitedly announced, and then quietly all-but-abandoned (I have not actually abandoned any of my projects, I just haven't finished them.. yet).

Still, I found myself passionately engrossed in a new project this week. And it is one I feel hopeful I will see through to completion in a timely manner.

tumbling: poetic thoughts from an anxious mind will be a short collection of my poetry (and possibly some prose) centered on the theme of anxiety and mental health. Obviously, most of the writing is already completed in previous works of mine, both published and unpublished, so I've spent time this week working on layout and design.

Beyond working on this new project, I also completed a second round of edits for my short story set to be published in At Death's Door next month, submitted an essay for syndication consideration, and I made a few images for social media.

I also began to feel extremely disheartened at just how rampant and widespread plagiarism and improper crediting are on social media as I saw several examples this week of huge pages blatantly stealing words for their own use without mentioning the original creator OR crediting someone who had already stolen it from the original creator. Ugh.

If you like a meme, image, or story don't crop out the person who created it. If you want to use those words to make something of your own, you need to clearly credit the original creator. It isn't that hard. It should not be such a problem.

#WIPWednesday

September is my favorite month of the year – the change in weather, crisp cool air, the anticipation and beginning of my favorite season, the settling back into routine, and the calm before the crazy. After the unfettered schedules of summer, September is the breath of fresh air before we plunge into the holiday season and, for me, personally, before the stress of all my annual exams and follow-up appointments.

It is also the start of a new quarter. Yesterday, my 3rd quarterly newsletter was delivered. I have a blank slate to fill in with new works and publications over the next 3 months.

Best get started.

#WIPWednesday

I'm wrapping up this quarter with a strong showing of syndications, this week.

Love What Matters featured the story of my son's traumatic birth. My essay on not missing my kids being little is now up on TODAY Parents. And Thought Catalog syndicated my piece on the sober curious movement.

I still have a couple of new pieces out for consideration but I wrote nothing new this week.

I did reach out to an artist about what could be a very cool collaboration opportunity, but I'm sure I am up against hundreds of others so I'm not getting my hopes up.

The poem I mentioned submitting to a contest a couple weeks ago did not win. I currently have a few unpublished poems which are not out for consideration; I'm thinking about self-publishing one or two soon.

And I'm finishing up drafting my 3rd quarterly newsletter. It should hit inboxes the first week of September!

#WIPWednesday

Yesterday was Book Release Day for Sea Glass Hearts, Stormy Island Publishing's poetry anthology which features my poem, "In My Dreams." It even reached #1 New Release in Poetry Anthologies!

I don't yet have my hands on a paperback copy, but I will soon!

Also this week, I continued to tweek my bio and header, neither is a strong suit of mine but I feel like each revision is a step in the right direction.

I didn't write anything new this week but I did submit a piece for syndication consideration and I still have a couple outstanding queries.

And, I started working on my next quarterly newsletter, due to be delivered in early September.

#WIPWednesday

I'm not even going to try to play it cool – I'm excited about this! I now have an Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/elizabeth_joyce! This is a major milestone in my writing career.

I qualified to create an Amazon Author Page thanks to Sea Glass Hearts now being available for e-book pre-orders; paperbacks will be available on the 20th.

My poem in this anthology will be the first time in my adult life that my writing will be published in print. But, I am also excited about my short story pending publication this Fall, which will add another book to my Author Page.

I've started to update my bios and links accordingly.

In other news, I wrote a new poem and submitted it to a contest and, after months of waiting (and starting to get my hopes up) I received a rejection for a collection of poems I submitted to a magazine.

Because I didn't write or query as much over the summer, I now only have a couple submissions outstanding. With my kids getting back to school yesterday, I'm hoping to remedy that in the coming weeks.

#WIPWednesday

We are in the final days of our Summer Break. It's a whirlwind of fitting in the final bits of summer fun and doing all the things to get ready for a new school year.

I submitted my piece about the conversations we have as part of our Back-to-School prep each year to TODAY Parents, this week.

I also wrote new piece about my thoughts on the Sober Curious movement and published it on Medium. I was having mixed feelings about this piece and sat on it for a while before I decided to publish it. So, I was especially excited to see it was selected by Medium's curators to be featured in two topics!

And, this week, Stormy Island Publishing announced release date for their poetry anthology, Sea Glass Hearts. I'm looking forward to seeing my poem in print on August 20th!

As exhausting as it is to be in this transitional time, summer is ending with some good momentum and an energizing excitement about the coming months.

#WIPWednesday

My mind has continued to be aflutter with travel thoughts – reminiscing about past adventures and daydreaming about future destinations. I used that energy to write a post for our just-for-fun family travel blog,  which I then submitted for syndication and it was picked up by HADFOF on Medium.

Also this week, my piece about how our back-to-school prep is about more than buying school supplies was syndicated on Scary Mommy. It's that time, for us. School starts back up in less than 2 weeks. I picked up those books on our last trip to the library, conversations are ongoing and, of course, we're trying on new shoes and stockpiling supplies, too.

Things are going to be a bit busier these next few weeks as we try to squeeze some more fun in the last days of summer and also get ourselves ready for a new school year. I am already looking forward to having my quiet writing time back in the routine.

#WIPWednesday

Travel has been on my mind a lot this week. If you happened to read my recap, you know that our most recent trip wasn't my favorite. Considering our time and financial budgets, it was exceptionally disappointing to be on a vacation that I really just wanted to end.

I've been thinking about the quote I have at the top of our just-for-fun travel blog:



And, while this quote has held a special meaning to me through the years, I realized that it still applied, even to this last trip.

I also realized that, I still have a tremendous passion for travel, even after a not-so-great experience.

So, I spent some time the past few days recapturing the joy of travel. I made some updates to our just-for-fun family travel blog and I also started a just-for-fun Instagram to go along with it.

View this post on Instagram

Hello Instagram! I'm a little late in joining you, but I'm happy to be here now. We are just an ordinary family of five with limited vacation days, a tight budget, a passion for history, an appreciation of nature, and a grand desire to see things as they truly are. This account is a place for us to share all of our travel experiences. We are not professional travel bloggers nor social media influencers – none of our travel is comped. Here you'll find our honest experiences as ordinary travelers. We hope you enjoy following along and perhaps find some inspiration for your own family adventures. You can find our itineraries, reviews, and more information at joycefamilytravels.blogspot.com This pic is of the 5 of us at Muir Woods in California last year. It is one of the few pics you'll see with all of us posing and looking at the camera (though, admittedly, it is so far and we are so small, you can hardly see us). I don't share many pics of the kids faces. And, when I do, everyone in the picture needs to approve it to be publically posted. So, since that doesn't happen often, this seemed like my best option for a profile pic. #newaccount #newprofilepic #joycefamilytravels #hiking #muirwoods #california #familytravel

A post shared by Joyce Family Travels (@joycefamilytravels) on Jul 22, 2019 at 8:41am PDT

I did do some writerly things this week, as well.

I submitted another syndication query. I received another rejection. But I also received an acceptance.

I have my first piece up at Reality Moms and was excited to add another contributor badge to my collection.

#WIPWednesday

Summer break is killing my productivity and creativity. I miss my quiet time. So very much.

Though I haven't written anything, I did manage to submit an older piece for syndication to a couple places. I've already received a rejection back from one, still waiting to hear back from the other, as well as a few other outstanding queries.

I also noticed that my piece from February, "My Husband and I Never Say 'I Love You, Too',” had a little surge in activity this week and is now nearing 3k views and 2k claps on Medium. I'm not sure where it was shared recently to have it racking up views again, but I'm happy for it!

#WIPWednesday

Scary Mommy shared my piece about coming to terms with my traumatic birth experience again this week. I always appreciate when they run my essays again and give me some bonus exposure.

I did get a little quality writing time this week, one quiet afternoon alone in the house. Though I was fighting off a sore throat, it was the perfect time to finish up an essay for Twiniversity. I don't yet know when it will be published but I am excited to have my second piece submitted there.

No word on any of my outstanding queries, so I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

#WIPWednesday

Back in February 2018, I sent my first ever manuscript to a publisher for consideration. It was for a children's book I never intended to write – a poem that, as I read it, I very clearly envisioned as a beautifully illustrated picture book. So, I felt the need to give it a chance.

I forged my way through the process of editing, beta readers, revising, formatting, researching publishers, and writing query letters. Over the following year, I pitched the manuscript to 14 publishing companies. Some sent kindly worded rejections, others silently passed on the project with the elapsing of their stated response time.

This week, two more silent rejections were received after 6 months waiting periods, leaving no outstanding queries for the manuscript.

I mentioned, back in April, that I was considering submitting the poem to children's magazines for consideration, instead. As much as I'd love to see it as a children's book, the truth is, I'd really just love to see it illustrated and published in any format.

The poem was timely when I wrote it in February 2018 and remains timely still today. I want to grant it an audience and I am not giving up on finding it a home.

So, this week, I sent off a query to an incredible children's magazine I'd love to work with and began compiling a list of other magazines to query in the near future.

This week, I received a rejection for a set of poems I queried a couple months ago, as well.

I also wrote and published a fun little piece about Harry Potter: Wizards Unite on Medium this week, and syndicated it on InspireMore.

Reality Moms quoted me in a collaboration post.

I made a couple new images for Instagram.

And Filter Free Parents shared my "Through the Lens of Motherhood" micro on their Instagram page.

#WIPWednesday

Between the kids getting out of school for summer, the break I took for our vacation, and then being sick, it had been a month since I'd written anything new or even queried any older pieces for syndication.

I'm happy to have some actual progress to report this #WIPWednesday!

I submitted piece for syndication consideration; it was accepted and is scheduled to run in late July.

I finally shared our trip experience over on my just-for-fun family travel blog and made an IG image to go with it.

And I started drafting another piece I hope to finish up in the next day or two.

I know, it's not much, but after a month of not writing or querying anything, it feels good to be getting back into it.

#WIPWednesday

It's been a rough week.









No progress to report this #WIPWednesday other than I am finally eating solid foods again and feeling about 98% back to normal. Thanks for all your well wishes this week 💛

#WIPWednesday

I enjoyed a phones-turned-off family getaway on a cruise to the Bahamas last week – completely unplugged for a days – and, to be honest, that was the best part.

While our kids' screen time is very intentional, my husband and I find that, in a million different ways – sending a quick text, checking email, scrolling social media, googling information – our phones find their way into most of our daytime hours. Our family does Screen-Free Sunday Mornings as a weekly mini-detox from our dependence on technology but there is a huge difference between a few hours and a few days. It was refreshing.

Before leaving, I did fret a bit about my absence from my public pages, but, sure enough, all was well when I returned.

So, here's what happened since my last #WIPWednesday post a couple weeks ago:

InspireMore syndicated my piece about seeing my children through the lens of motherhood back on the 30th.

I created and shared some new images on Instagram and Facebook.

And my 2nd Quarterly Newsletter was delivered, as scheduled, on the 5th. In it was an announcement I shared there first; I'm thrilled to share it publicly today:



I've signed a contract with Pixie Forest Publishing for my flash fiction story, "If Only," to be included in their upcoming anthology of short stories which will be available in both paperback and eBook formats later this year.

With this opportunity also comes the title of "author" for which I am immensely excited. Technically, I can only call myself a short fiction author (and I've updated my bio accordingly) – I am still an aspiring novelist. But with this author credit, once the book is published, I will be able to create an Amazon Author Page, which will be another fantastic step for my writing career!

Taking a Break

I am currently enjoying a limited-phone-reception, no-computer-access getaway with my family; #WIPWednesday will return next week.

#WIPWednesday

That exciting announcement I mentioned last week will be shared, first, in my upcoming newsletter, scheduled to be delivered on June 5th!

I've had an amazing quarter and I've been busy this week putting together this newsletter – my second ever newsletter – to share it all with you.

I also submitted 4 poems for consideration in a literary journal, completed edits on a flash fiction story, submitted two essays to be considered for syndication, and shared a micro-blog (AKA: short essay or long social media post) inspired by my daughters' birthday to Facebook, Instagram, Medium, and TODAY Parents.

To top all that off, there was the holiday weekend, it is the last week of school, and I've been preparing for our upcoming vacation.

It has been years since we took a trip where we'd have limited internet access via our phones and no computer access. I'll admit that as excited as I am to get away from it all, I struggled a bit with what to do with my social media while we are away. I've put way more energy than I should have into slowly building my page's followers.

At first, I worried that if I simply stopped posting for a week, my accounts would quickly shrivel up and die from inactivity. I seriously toyed around with the idea of just scheduling my one post a day on Facebook and letting it run on autopilot. But, then, I worried about having things post and not being able to check in to make sure there weren't any troll comments, or even having nice comments sit without interaction, and what if there was a major tragedy in the news and my scheduled post would appear insensitive. *sigh*

Have I mentioned I tend to overthink everything?

The solution seemed simple enough but I was struggling with that a bit, too, because I usually steer clear of publicly advertising when we are away from home. I know I'm not the only one who worries about this, though it often feels like I am when nearly all the social media accounts I follow have no hesitations about posting in real-time while they are on vacations.

I am not one to post in real-time anyway. With my anxiety, my usual routine is to plan and schedule the next day or two's posts in advance so that I don't waste an entire day feeling pressure to post something and over-analyzing it. But in this case, with our limited internet access, it wouldn't even work to post real-time. In fact, since we know we won't have much reception, we've decided to take this opportunity to completely detox – we are going to turn our phones off and put them away. We'll even use a stand-alone camera.

So, it came down to whether or not I'd be comfortable announcing that we'd be away.

After way too much back-and-forth, after scheduling, cancelling, rescheduling, and re-cancelling posts, and after talking it over with my husband, I finally decided that I should just be open and authentic and, well, really take the break.

So, I'm planning a post to explain that I'll be away and my social media will be silent for a week. And I'm sure all will be well when I return.

#WIPWednesday

My anxiety, self doubt, and insecurities often tell me that I'm not good enough, that I'm doing it all wrong, that my attempts at furthering my writing career will be fruitless, that I am a fraud and have no business even dipping my quill in the same well as the "real" writers.

Thanks to all of all the work I've been doing to better my mental health, it is becoming much easier for me to recognize why these thoughts manifest and to push back against them.



Scary Mommy ran my first piece again, this week. That brought the social media reactions for that link to 100,370 (according to Muck Rack)! That same piece was syndicated on Her View From Home last month and received over 15,000 page views (5,507 social media reactions), earning me a bonus compensation and throwing this piece back up to my top-earning spot. It also had 5,431 social media reactions from its syndication on That's Inappropriate last year. My first piece is still, by far, my most widely read.

This week, I worked on a composite piece combining a Facebook post and a published poem into an essay which was syndicated on InspireMore.

I also finished the essay I mentioned last week and submitted it for consideration in a book. I likely won't hear back about that until later this summer.

I received a rejection for a poem I submitted back in February.

And I received an exciting acceptance this week which I am not yet at liberty to share publicly – but stay turned for that announcement!

#WIPWednesday

If you found your way to this post from my Facebook post, you already know that things are not going as planned here today.


This sentiment can be applied to so many of my works-in-progress, as well. In fact, it is part of the reason I have so many works-in-progress!

But, still, I will keep trying and trying again.

While I did not work on any of my major projects this week, I did start drafting an essay I plan to submit for consideration in a book.

Also, this week, InspireMore syndicated my piece about celebrating Sarah (our gestational surrogate) and featured it on their Facebook page and in their newsletter.

#WIPWednesday

I am pleased to announce that I've signed a contract with Stormy Island Publishing Company for my poem, "In My Dreams," to be included in their upcoming poetry anthology.

The anthology is a collection of poems relating to the themes of love and the sea. When I saw the call for submissions, this poem of mine immediately came to mind as it touches on both. I am thrilled that it was accepted and I am very much looking forward to its publication.

The anthology will be available in both eBook and paperback formats. Its release date is yet to be announced, but estimated to be late this summer.

Also this week, I submitted a set of poems for consideration with another publisher, worked on a few images for Instagram and shared a micro-blog about our uncharacteristic "last minute" change to our vacation plans for this summer.

#WIPWednesday

I share my truths.

I value honesty above all else – both personally and professionally – but knowing I am sharing my honest truth doesn't prevent me from worrying if, in doing so, I am "too much" for some people or even "not enough" for others.

I need to remind myself, often, that it is only my responsibility to be who I am; how others respond to me is not within my control.

I've also refrained from reading the comments sections of my published pieces, lately. ;)

This week, I had another piece from last year syndicated on Scary Mommy. I've had such a great streak with syndications this past month!

I also had a brand new piece published on Twiniversity! This was actually the piece and the cold pitch I mentioned a few weeks ago; I am thrilled they wanted the piece and, even more so, that they asked me to pitch some more ideas.

#WIPWednesday

It has been another incredible week, in another fabulous month, in what has been an amazing start to 2019, after a 2018 that was better than I dared to hope at the beginning.

I almost lost sight of that this week.

I made the mistake of looking at a few comments when one of my essays was shared on a page with over 2 million followers. I should never read the comments. I know this. Even when there are several wonderful, lovely, supportive comments, just one negative remark will be what takes root in my mind. In this case, there were more negative comments than positive ones (at least in the first few scrolls, before I stopped myself).

On top of that, I have been feeling guilty, flaky, and like a failure for not working on writing one of my books. And, I received another rejection (there are rejections every week), this one for a poetry submission.

It is easy for me to get caught up in the rejections, to dwell on my failures and short-comings.

But, what I need to remember is, while I have missed the mark on many of my goals (especially with my book-writing aspirations), that doesn't diminish the things that I have achieved.

Just as I give more weight to negative comments, I also tend to downplay my successes – I was lucky, fortunate. While that is true, these things didn't just fall into my lap. I worked hard to make them happen. I have weathered every negative comment, stayed afloat in a sea of rejections, and I continue to work hard, reaching for that next success.

So, I am going to allow myself a moment to feel proud.

This week I became a new contributor to two more sites: Sammiches & Psych Meds and Thought Catalog! I can remember looking at fellow writers' collections of contributor badges, when I was first starting out, and feeling like I'd never be that successful. My collection is now just as extensive. If you are a new writer happening upon my page, please know that you can, absolutely, do it, too. It just takes time – and a lot of queries.

I also had other essays syndicated this week on The Good Men Project and TODAY Parents.

In April, alone, I had two new essays published and ten syndications across eight different sites.

Of that – and everything I've accomplished so far – I am proud.

#WIPWednesday

It has been another great week for me as an essayist!

I published a new piece on Medium about cutting cable – a much lighter read than my last few. I actually started this one nearly a year ago, but let it sit in my drafts until this week when the announcement of the cost of Disney's upcoming streaming service and the premiere of the final season of Game of Thrones prompted me to revisit the piece. It was a nice break from the heavily emotional pieces I've been working on this past month. It was syndicated on InspireMore, as well.

My essay about how my husband and I never say, "I love you, too," was syndicated on Filter Free Parents, this week. That piece has now reached over 2K views on Medium.

My recent essay about acknowledging the trauma of my son's birth got a good start on Medium and was then picked up by Scary Mommy. I've had women reaching out to me, letting me know they can relate to my experience, thanking me for sharing my story. It is an incredible experience, as a writer, to have someone reach out to thank you for writing.

This was my third piece on Scary Mommy. It is always a thrill to be up on such a well-known site with an audience of millions.

It used to be that I could count on an influx of Facebook page likes when I had a piece up on a big site like Scary Mommy or Love What Matters.

I've found though, lately, even when I am fortunate enough to have a piece up on a site with millions of followers, I am not seeing many new likes or follows on my social media pages.

I've been getting better at trying not to care about the numbers – to simply do my thing and let whatever happens, happen – but it is so hard not to notice. And it doesn't help that writers are constantly reminded they need a solid social media following and an extensive mailing list to be successful.

It feels like all of social media is in some sort of transitional state – everything is up in the air, floating around, there is no rhyme or reason, nothing to grab on to. I wonder how it will settle.

The decrease in social media interaction also makes it more difficult for me to gauge just how successful a piece is. I mostly rely on Muck Rack to show me how many social media reactions a piece has garnered; however, those numbers are steadily low despite page views being high for some pieces. Unfortunately, I only have access to page view stats on a few of the platforms I work with. So, this week, I created a new spreadsheet to better to visualize and estimate how well my pieces are performing.

I did receive a couple of essay rejections this week from both original and syndication queries. The cold pitch I mentioned a couple weeks ago went unanswered, so I am still querying that piece. And I received an acceptance to have an essay syndicated in the near future on another site I have not yet worked with, which I am excited for.

Beyond essays, I also submitted my latest flash fiction piece for consideration in another anthology. I submitted a poem for consideration in a poetry collection, as well.

And, after all that talk last week, I did add a couple hundred words to my family history memoir this week. I have all the chapters for that book outlined and started, I just need to fill in the story.

#WIPWednesday

I revisited my family history memoir WIP this week. I also thought up a new idea for a collection of biographical short stories based on the lives of my ancestors.

I know.

Believe me, I know.

First, I say I am writing a family history memoir. Then, I end up working on a children's book manuscript. Then, I try to pick up the family history memoir again. Then, I put that on hiatus as I begin drafting a speculative fiction novel. Now, here I am saying I'm revisiting the family history memoir again, and I've come up with yet another idea!

And, in the middle of it all, I am writing personal essays and poems and even throwing in the occasional flash fiction story.

Here's the thing: All of these projects are important to me; each speaks to a different facet of my personality and utilizes a different style of writing.

The family history memoir (as well as the new idea) is creative non-fiction. It is akin to the personal essays I am most comfortable writing but instead of sharing my story, I am trying to share the stories of others. It requires research into actual people, places, and events. It is investigative and highly satisfying to work on when I am in that mind-space.

The children's book was born of a poem. I often have the desire, the urge, to write poetry. This was just the first time I felt the poem had the potential to be something more.

The speculative fiction novel is the most challenging for me. I have the least experience with writing fiction. Unlike my the family history memoir, where I am researching historical facts, unlike my personal essays, where I am sharing my truths and first-hand accounts, and unlike my poetry which flows from my feelings and emotions – with fiction I need to imagine and create every detail of an entire world. I love the world I've drempt up and I want so badly to do it justice and be able to share it one day, but I easily get caught-up in self-doubt. I often find myself not in the right state-of-mind to imagine and instead crave facts.

The longer I am pursuing writing as an occupation, the more I am recognizing my own patterns – my strengths and weaknesses.

While it certainly would be more efficient for me to pick one project and see it through to completion, that style doesn't work for me. Just as I know I could never confine myself to a niche or stick to one genre.

I need the mental breaks. I need the satisfaction of quick turn-around pieces like essays and poems. I need the challenges of research and world-building. And I need them all mixed up so that when one project starts to feel stale, I can have the thrill of switching to another. And I can keep doing this until each project is done.

It will take so much longer this way, but I will enjoy it more. And I am fortunate enough to be able to pursue the writing that I find most enjoyable and satisfying. So, why shouldn't I?

I think this newfound realization and approach will serve me well and free me from some of the guilt I feel when project-hopping.

In other progress this week...

Filter Free Parents syndicated one of my essays this week; it was my first on the new site since Perfection Pending and That's Inappropriate their combined contributor platforms. I'm grateful to have a piece run with them again.

I also had my very first essay syndicated again, this time on Her View From Home. It is my first piece on HVFH and I am happy to be able to add them to the list of sites I've been published on.

I finished that 1,500 word essay I mentioned last week and published it on Medium. It was curated by the Medium editors onto their "Parenting" page, which means it will get much more exposure. Parenting seemed an odd choice, but I believe pregnancy and childbirth must fall under that category.

I queried two more pieces for syndication, this week.

And I received my first paper rejection letter for my children's book manuscript. As well as another silent rejection by way of the stated time window elapsing. I am down to just two pending queries for the manuscript and need to decide to either submit to more children's book publishers or to try children's magazines which feature poetry. I am leaning towards giving magazines a try.

#WIPWednesday

April is National Poetry Month. I've been reading through some of my older poems again, recently. I am sometimes caught by the realization that even though I do not remember exactly what prompted the words I wrote, they still hold context and evoke familiar feelings, even decades later.

Similarly, this week I was reminded, once again, of the weakness of my memory.

A Facebook Memory popped up and prompted me to want to jot down a quick caption to share it. When I realized that had reached 1,000 words, I knew I needed to set it aside to turn into an essay. I started over and did manage an appropriate-length caption to share the memory on my page. But, when I returned to craft those 1,000 words into an essay, I decided I needed to look back into my old personal journals and photographs to make sure I was getting the details correct, as I need to do with most everything. While I was remembering the major points accurately, I was struck, once again, by just how many other details I had completely forgotten.

The essay is now 1,500 words. I believe it will be ready for me to share next week.

I did resubmit the essay I mentioned receiving a rejection for last week. It was a cold pitch to a site I have not yet worked with. It is hard to know how long to give a cold pitch before moving on but I think I'll give it another week, at least. (For those unfamiliar with the lingo, a cold pitch simply means that the site did not have out a call for submissions nor info about how to submit or apply to become a contributor, so the writer emails the editor and hopes for a response.)

I received another rejection for my children's book this week, but of a different variety. This one took the form of an email informing me that the publishing company was closing their business after 23 years. My manuscript is still outstanding with four children's book publishers. I will need to submit it to more soon, though I am toying with the idea of trying it for children's magazines, instead.

This week, I also converted a couple of old Facebook posts into an essay for InspireMore, which was published on the 27th, and I made some more Instagram images, as well.

I have at least one syndicated piece scheduled to go live in the coming days, my first for that site, so I am looking forward to that and hoping it performs well.

#WIPWednesday

Since last Wednesday, my mom had back surgery, my dad visited from out-of-town and stayed three nights with us, and my kids' Spring Break started. So, I'm not at all embarrassed to say I have not written a single thing. I've barely even had my laptop open the past couple days.

Today is the first day we can completely chill and go at whatever pace we please (and, hopefully, I can sneak in a little more work on the laptop besides this post).

Still, even without writing or submitting anything new, a few things did happen this week.

It was announced last Wednesday that I won the drawing for the InspireMore Featured Creators giveaway! Can you believe it?! Totally not my typical luck with drawings. It does not matter how many entries I have, my name is not usually pulled – but it was this time!

To thank everyone who helped me get all those entries and who support me in so many ways, I held giveaway on my page. My very first giveaway. I'll admit, it caused anxiety. I am such a rule-follower and even though so many pages host causal, care-free giveaways, there actually are a lot of rules and regulations that are supposed to be followed. So, I followed them. All the extra disclaimers probably turned some away. I actually lost one page follower during the giveaway, but I did gain a few more newsletter subscriptions, for which I am grateful.

I am feeling more and more certain that building my newsletter mailing list is the most important way to capture my audience. Social media is beyond frustrating. For the giveaway, I finally decided to use the "credit" Facebook is always pushing at me to try "boosting" a post. Even though I disagree with the fact that Facebook requires page owners to pay to reach the people who have chosen to follow the page, I felt the need to play the game (with their offered credit, not my actual money) so that my page followers would actually see the post about the giveaway I was hosting. I chose to use the $15 credit solely on reaching my page followers (yes, that is an option) not on trying to reach anyone new (which, btw, I take no issue with being offered as paid advertising). And guess what?!? That post still was not seen by 192 of my page followers! *sigh*

Overall, the giveaway was a success, though, and it was fun to be able to give something away.

I also had another piece syndicated on InspireMore this week.

And, I received a couple rejections: one for a poem submission from earlier this month and the other for that shorter piece I wrote and queried last week. Rejections are undoubtedly disappointing – and feel even moreso when I haven't been working on anything new – but I appreciate the responses, nonetheless.

Thankfully, it wasn't only rejections this week. I did receive an acceptance for syndication but the piece has not yet been scheduled.

I'm looking forward to that since I am not expecting to get much writing done over the next few days, either. Though I do hope to resubmit these pieces that were rejected.

We will all get back to our routines on Monday. For now, I'm going to try to enjoy some chill and fun Spring Break days.

#WIPWednesday

I always strive to share my truths, but some are harder to share than others.

This week, I went into more detail than I ever had before about what it means when I say I am an "anxiety struggler." I actually started writing this piece in January, but I didn't feel comfortable with it, so it sat unfinished in my drafts folder for several weeks. I revisited it late last week and was able to finish it up at 1700 words and query it for publication in Invisible Illness, a Medium publication focused on mental health. I was excited when it was accepted an published there, but also apprehensive about sharing the piece. Still, I shared it. It was surprisingly well-received and I was comforted by how many reached out to say they could relate. This is exactly why I push myself to share. None of us are alone. It helps so much to know that.

I was on a writing-roll after I finished that piece and cranked out an unrelated 600 word essay early this week, as well! It has been queried to its first publication, but I have a list of possibilities for this one if the first passes on it.

One more update about my piece on P.S. I Love You, it has continued to perform well and has now become my highest earning piece of writing EVER – in any publication – in my whole writing career. That was pretty exciting.

Yesterday, I submitted another piece to InspireMore to consider for syndication. Also, as I mentioned last week, InspireMore held a contest for its Featured Creators and I just have to say THANK YOU! You all really came through for me – I went from zero to 134 hearts in just a few days! The winner will be announced later this morning. *fingers crossed*