December 31st, 2018
🎉 Happy New Year! 🥂

Overview:

• What's New: Baby incoming, Setting reasonable expectations
• Novel Update: Reflections on 2018
• December Reads: An Enchantment of Ravens, 50 Things To Do Before...
• In Case You Missed It
• Et Vous?

1. Baby incoming: My first child is due March 5th! So yes, my life is about to change in all sorts of ways, but I’m determined not to let motherhood eat up my writing aspirations. I want my baby to be my first priority, not my only priority. Say what you will, but I truly believe this is what’s healthiest for our entire family. 💙
    
2. Setting reasonable expectations: All that being said, of course I’ll have to make some adjustments once baby boy is here. This newsletter will still go out monthly, I’ll keep up with my Instagram and pop in on Twitter. If I have my AuthorTube backlog set up by then, great! If not, I’m afraid it will have to wait.
   
   My biggest concern is getting my manuscript in shape to send to beta readers before my baby is born. That means this coming month will be ALL. ABOUT. EDITING. I know my writing may come to a screeching halt for a while after I give birth, so that would be the ideal time to have it in other people’s hands and wait for feedback. I will be able to focus on being a new mom, and keep my creativity sharp by hopefully beta reading myself for some truly incredible indie authors I’ve met on Instagram. I am looking so forward to this beta exchange--I’ll frankly be crushed if I’m not ready in time to participate.

Novel Update

1. Reflections on 2018: 2018 was a great year for me, career-wise. I finished the first complete draft of my novel (the first story I’ve ever finished 😶), officially filed for my own publishing company with the state of New York, launched my author platform (website + newsletter, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, email, P.O. Box), had my husband read and critique my whole book, and started implementing his feedback as well as my own self-edits. I even hosted my first-ever giveaway on Instagram (which taught me how to navigate international shipping 😅). At the tail-end of the year, I met an amazing, welcoming writing tribe and support system on social media--the last place I expected to find one, in all honesty--and they make me want to ugly-cry tears of gratitude on a daily basis (this is perhaps additionally fueled by hormones 🙃).
   
   Personally, I traveled to 4 new countries (Sweden, Spain, Italy & Germany), re-visited Hawaii, went on numerous road trips throughout the summer and fall, celebrated my 5-year wedding anniversary with my husband in September, and of course, in July, I found out I was pregnant with our first child.
   
   AND YET. Despite all of this I sunk into a gaping hole of self-doubt during my autumn hiatus. I’ve been very frank and open about that dark spot in my year in prior newsletters, and the most writer-y way I’ve found to describe it has been like sagging middle syndrome in real life.
   
   You know when you start writing a new book, how it’s almost always most thrilling to write the beginning and end parts, while the middle just seems to...slog? That was my year, and, like with writing, I started to question whether I’d ever be able to get my “story” back on track. I doubted all the content that came before the slump, even though I'd been so proud of it only a few months ago.
   
   That’s why I like to reflect at the end of each year, no matter how discouraged I’m feeling. Inevitably, I always find more to be grateful for and happy with than I thought I would. If you’re struggling with new year’s anxiety, I recommend you review 2018 and pick out all the positives, however small or mundane. They will always be there if you look.
   
                                                            

December Reads

1. An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Finally a book worthy of breaking my 3-star reading streak! If you’re looking for a unique take on the Fae, look no further. For a fairly short novel, the author does a wonderful job painting a variety of immersive Fae and human realms as well as a compelling magic system. The protagonist is strong and independent, but not to the point where she makes me want to bash her head in on behalf of her love interest (a serious pet peeve of mine, heh). My biggest complaint was that I would have liked to spend more time exploring the rich world, the grotesque behind the glamour, and the unique bartering system of human “craft” for Fae enchantments. It’s a fast and whimsical book that reads like a fairytale. I highly recommend it if you’re into that sort of thing. 😍
    
2. 50 Things To Do Before You Deliver: The First-Time Mom's Pregnancy Guide by Jill Krause - ⭐️⭐️⭐️: I don’t really know how to rate a niche nonfiction book like this, to be honest! It’s been helpful and informative, sweet when it needs to be, funny when it needs to be, and all-in-all I’m glad I read it. However none of the information was that novel. For the most part, I already knew many of these tips from my own online research, but it was still nice to have them all consolidated in one space, and I enjoyed reading it.

In Case You Missed It

Et Vous?

What was your proudest accomplishment of 2018? What are your goals for the new year, writing or otherwise? ✍🏼

And of course, if you have any questions or comments related to this email (or anything else), feel free to reply! I’m always happy to clarify or chat.
 

💖Always,
Danielle