Happy 2013, everyone! I’m so excited that we’re at the start of another new year, another blank slate. Are you?
In mid-December, like I do every year, I sat down to think about how I’d fared in 2012 and what my intentions were for 2013. A few years ago, inspired by people in a writing group I’m a part of, I decided to start declaring each year The Year of <Something>.
There was the Year of Not Being Screwed and the Year of Play, and last year, I declared it the Year of Prosperity.
Years don’t always end the way they begin and even though my intentions have been good, I did get screwed in the year of not being so, and 2011 wasn’t all play. 2012 was a fantastic year overall and while there was a bit of bad news, a few setbacks, that’s just life, isn’t it? I don’t think it ended up being The Year of Prosperity in the way that I’d envisioned it, but if I had to call it something, I’d say it was the Year of Abundance. Of love, of support, of work, but most of all, of dreams.
So as I sat on my couch watching my son play on the floor, I wondered what I’d like 2013 to be like and it hit me: Growth.
I’d like 2013 to be my Year of Growth.
What will I grow?
My income
My income’s been a bit stagnant for the last two years. It was growing steadily, but I’m currently at a plateau, and I know that I need to shift gears if I want to grow further. Newspapers and magazines are slashing their rates across the board, so it’s a much harder way to make a living and I’ve realized that slogging away at my desk writing eight articles a month isn’t the answer. I need to take control of my ability to make money without being entirely dependent on the whims of the marketplace.
My platform
I’ve suddenly become very serious about building my platform, including this blog, Twitter, and Facebook. I’ve made a LOT of social media mistakes in the last ten years, including allowing a 6,000-subscriber mailing list to die, killing off readership of this blog by posting haphazardly and lacking focus, and just not understanding what I wanted to do with Twitter and other social media. I’d really like to get a handle on that this year and translate my work into concrete numbers.
My skills
It’s no secret that I’ve felt burnt out on journalism over the last year or so and I think the reason for that, other than the fact that most freelance writers are doing double the work for half the pay, is that there’s no challenge. When you can write articles in your sleep about issues that should keep you up at night, it’s time to rethink what you’re doing. I’ve started targeting a different style of magazines, but I also do want to go back and see if there’s anything salvageable from the novel I finished writing last year and hopefully write another one (10,000 words done). I’d like to finish writing the rest of my non-fiction title and sell it. I’d like to become a one-woman marketing machine so that I can give my book the best chance it can get in the crowded marketplace. All this requires time and the will to develop new skills.
My network
For me, 2012 was a bit of a whirlwind year. My son was born in January and every minute that I haven’t spent with him has been spent in front of my computer, typing away. It’s been a lot of work and a lot of baby with very little time to socialize, meet new people, or even change out of my pajamas, if we’re being honest. So this year, I’m hoping to restore some balance in my world by growing my network, both personally and professionally.
My rate
Can’t grow your income without growing your rate. But more than that, I realize that if I want to achieve all that I’ve set out for myself this year, it’s going to require a very delicate balance and a whole lot of planning. There are limited number of hours in the day, after all, and I don’t want to spend them all working. So I’m going to have to make sure that I’m only taking the cream of the crop and letting someone else handle the rest.
My options
Even though I’m a freelancer, I’m a very specific sort of freelancer. I’m a writer of articles for newspapers and magazines, especially articles to do with India. I’m a journalist most days, and I think I’d like to change that. I’d like to give myself more options– to be an e-book author, to be a novelist, an entrepreneur, a newsletter publisher, an app creator, and so much more! I need to keep an open mind to the opportunities that present themselves and look at them with a business head rather than with a writer head.
This is also a good time for me to say a big THANK YOU to you all for being here, for supporting me, for reading, for being a part of this tiny community. This blog feels like home base for me and YOU are the reason for that. So thank you!
May 2013 be our best year yet!