This year I learned what I loved doing the very most as a writer – growing.
I told myself at the start of this year that under no circumstance would I end the year the same way I started it. I would need to have evolved even if measured on a small scale. I promised I’d add to my writer’s toolkit and challenge myself to think bigger. I did all of that.
My most valuable lesson I entered this year with was I can do every and anything I want to do if I create a detailed plan from start to finish. I may not do everything I’ve planned, but at the very least, I’d have a blueprint to work off. I reasoned that if I was working a plan, I’d have to make progress because even the smallest step is still a step forward. The quote, “I’m not where I want to be, but I’m not where I used to be,” was the energy I aligned myself with.
With that said, I accomplished a lot this year and ironically, as an author, it was the one year I published the very least. I released only one book in 2021, and it was a novel that shattered my own records and defined my purpose as a writer.
My First, My Last was a story I started writing right as the pandemic hit. It was my dream project, a story that literally came to me in a dream and that I wanted to use as an escape from everything that was happening in 2020. But I couldn’t complete it as hard as I tried… and I didn’t allow myself to be hard on myself about that. I didn’t think about keeping up with the rat race of self-publishing and I ignored any feelings I had that made me believe I needed to rush to get it out. It was the very first project I gave myself grace with. I gave myself permission to practice patience and to spend quality time with my characters and their story, and it was a lesson in creativity I will take with me forever.
I promoted MFML differently. It was the first story I created story-esque book trailers for. I also received the most reviews for it, over all my other previously published books (with the exception of No Fraternizing, Pt. 1 which crossed 100 this year). It gave me insight on how to work a new book campaign, and that insight is gold!
Although I didn’t publish many books in 2021, I did a lot of other things that contributed to my growth as a creative. I launched a website for my readers, studied under one of my favorite authors, Zane, in a bootcamp which was a dream come true, fell in love with a creative outlet, mug printing and designing, and hosted a 12-Day giveaway, one of the longest giveaways I’ve ever managed on my own. I’ve also grown platforms outside of social media for my dedicated readers and that focus in-house helped quiet a lot of the noise and to delight those who truly deserved to be delighted.
What I love most about this year is that I became a student at my craft. I studied the areas in creative writing and graphic design I believed I already knew all so I could master new skills. As a result, I’m more confident in what I create and decided in the direction I’d like to continue my self-publishing journey.
To get to this place in my writing career took a lot of mistakes and learning what works and what needs to be reworked. This year I’ve learned I’m a storyteller more than anything else. My true love as a creative is in telling stories with words, images, audio, and motion picture. The older I get, the surer I am that there needs to be a balance in what I create. I want all facets of intimacy in my writing. I also want all the things that make life, life in it too. I want my writing to continue to be relevant and forward thinking.
And that will show in what I create.
I can honestly say I am happy with where my writing has evolved. I’m aware of the purpose of each story and the space it will take up.
I know also that my work isn’t for everyone, and I can only focus on who it’s for. The need to prove why I am worth taking up the space I take up has left the chat. Because what I am unearthing in my stories is from a place of purity, birthed from imperfection and the underrepresented, and you know what? I am more than okay with this.
Women’s fiction, contemporary black romance, feels like home these days. And I can’t wait for you to see what I do in this space next.
Thank you 2021!
Here’s to 2022 🥂.