The End

This was due to be the 25th’s post, but was shoved to the 26th because not even I am doing a Christmas Day blog, even via the medium of scheduling.

In 2018 an awful lot was learnt. This remains a long and complex journey ahead, but there are some very important takeaways from a year’s worth of listening to other people tell me what to do on Social media. A lot of stuff doesn’t stick, or is simply lost in the miasma of What Happened Before, but that which remains…

Thing #1: Don’t pin success on One Great Hope.

I watch those people lucky enough to have made Long Lists or have manuscripts with publishers and know all too well this is exception and not the rule. If all there was in my arsenal was one novel to throw at the people who pay money to print books, things would get quite depressing pretty quickly. So, this year I chose to diversify, and it got results. This has proven to me that this woman can write not only to a brief, but in a manner that’s compelling enough to get her noticed.

That means that this year, same again, whilst expanding on a portfolio of work.

Thing #2: Yes, YOU ARE ENOUGH.

Everybody and his mother are on the hustle. Getting genuine feedback remains a rarity, compliments are few and far between. When you do receive, hold onto these brilliant moments for all you are worth, because their like may never be seen again. My first review is stuck on the wall, in a frame, reminder that I won this contest because the poem did what was asked of it.

All you can do is write your best, every time, and hope it sticks.

Thing #3: We accept the love we think we deserve.

I’m not very good at listening, even worse at learning. However, slowly but surely, things are getting better. That also goes for accepting compliments, being a good communicator, and making sure that contributions remain fair and constant. Although the temptation remains sometimes to pretend I can’t hear you and nobody is listening, it doesn’t last for very long. Eventually, we all need other people, like it or not. It is time to learn to get on with the world better, and realise that maybe, just maybe, I deserve more than I think.

#Blogmas is done now. We’ll start with the new stuff on the 31st. I promise in advance: NO RESOLUTIONS.