❄🎄Second Sundays Yuletide 2024 Edition 🎄❄

Merry Yuletide and Happy Holidays!

Taking a nod from the brilliant Brandon Sanderson, I thought I’d start doing an annual “State of the Tales” at the end of each year, summarizing and reflecting on everything I’ve done in the last 365 days, providing a current status update, and outlining my plans and hopes for the next turn of the wheel. It will be helpful for me to see where I’ve been and where I’m going, and hopefully an insightful and interesting overview for all of you.

So let us begin!

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“State of the Tales” (the First!)

2024 in Summary

Art Stuff

• 4 bookmarks for the Patreon book club (with 2 more still to be fulfilled)

• 2 gifted art pieces for friends

• a second version of Glaurung

• two versions of Smaug (most proud of these!)

• 4 Inktober book dragons

• coloring book collection of all Inktober book dragons to date

• 2 Folktale Week book dragons

• ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas book dragon (currently still in progress but I will have it done before the end of the year)

Writing Stuff

• started a Substack

• began posting rough chapters of my book-in-progress as a monthly serial on Substack and Patreon

• launched the Worldbuilding Workshop

Bookish Things

• read 20 of 25 books (I have 5 more that I want to finish by New Year’s Eve - they’re all short and one is an audiobook, so I think I can do it!)

• completed book journal pages for all 20 books

• became an affiliate with Bookshop.org (woot! one of my favorite things this year!)

The Biz

• updated website

• revamped Etsy shop

• took 6 courses/workshops on creativity, marketing, and book editing (more on this on the 2025 list!)

• opened an Inprnt shop

• grew socials, made a Linktree, and joined Cara and BlueSky

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On the roster for the last days of the year:

Art Stuff

• Finish the reindeer/xmas dragon illustration

• Gather reference for the next folktale week book dragon

Bookish Stuff

• Read 5 more books to reach my 25 book goal

• End of the year book blog (this will post next Sunday, December 29th)

• Choose and announce the January book club pick

• Set a book number goal for 2025

Writing Stuff

• Prep for 2025

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Reflections

The biggest lesson I’ve learned this year is what is not for me, even if I very much wanted it to be.

My creative business, while reaching more people than ever because of the growth I’ve had on social media and here on Substack, has not grown at all financially. It’s at the same dead standstill it’s been in since 2016, and I had to have yet another hard look at what’s been going wrong.

I tell you what. These annual conversations with myself are never easy, they’re downright grueling, but as I said at the beginning, this year’s reflection provided an important new resolution - I need to be very honest about what is not for me, despite my desires and best efforts.

What is not for me: Making money from my art.

Or rather more specifically, making art my financial priority.

For years I’ve believed my artwork was the key to everything because it would provide me with the most immediate returns. I can finish drawings far faster than I can write and publish a book, therefore art is where I need to put my business priorities. I’ve been clinging to this hope that I would be able to use my artwork to support my writing (and eventually myself entirely).

The unfortunate result at the end of every year though is that I have neglected my writing nearly altogether, sacrificed a good many other things like my time and mental health, and never achieved the financial results I’m trying to attain. I end up with marketing and social media burnout, and a false belief that I will never get anywhere with any of this, followed by another false belief of “well if I just try harder/try a different approach/learn new skills.” And so the cycle repeats.

Definition of insanity anyone?

But this year, my reflection turned out a different result - that I keep trying to force something that clearly isn’t for me. No matter how much I want it to be. And oh boy, how I’ve desperately wanted this. Surprisingly, though, turns out acknowledging this wasn’t as hard on me emotionally as it could have been. In fact, while there was some sadness, I mostly felt immense relief, which tells me I have discovered something very right. Something that is for me.

What is for me: Detaching financial gain from my artwork.

Now this doesn’t mean I’m giving up art - far from it. Or that I’m dismantling my Etsy and Inprnt shops. Not at all. I will still offer prints and coloring books and other things that strike my fancy, but that’s exactly the point. I’ll be creating products from my art simply because I want to, because it brings me joy to offer those things, and not because I'm financially desperate. (No matter how true that last bit is.)

I need a much healthier attachment to my art, or I’ll never be able to grow.

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2025 Plans

So taking the above reflections into account, I’m going to pivot hard next year to bring myself back into alignment not just with what I love but what I need.

Personal Projects

I’m putting these first because I really need to get better at taking time for frivolous joys

• revive Dungeons & Dragons campaign: my friend and I were running a campaign long-distance online mostly through a website she made for us and Google Docs, and I really miss it. It was so good for both of us creatively and just to have some fun!

• Goblin Guides: the same friend and I made a habit of forest bathing in 2024 and the idea of collaborating on these whimsical little guidebooks came to her. I have rough notes and doodles for two of them, so I’d really like to do my bit of it for her next year

Conventions

A wishlist of the ones I’d like to go to next year, time and funds depending:

• book festivals

• Renaissance Fair

• Celtic Festival

• Phoenix Fan Fusion

• San Diego Comicon

• Lightbox Expo

• Dragonsteel Nexus

Writing Stuff

• write/revise 12 more chapters of The Belt of Souls: I’ll also continue to share the rough chapters monthly here on Substack and on Patreon with paid subscribers getting 1 month early access.

• monthly World of Quaison posts on Substack and Patreon: I want to share much more of the world of my book, so these will be public posts of anything from field guide pages, bestiaries, songs, poems, and short stories

• finish the Worldbuilding Workshop worksheets and assemble the workbook

Bookish Stuff

• read Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere: So far I’ve read Elantris and 3 of the Secret Project books (though only 2 are actually Cosmere) and I love Sanderson’s writing, so it is time to go all out! I’ve compiled my own list of the order to read them in, which I’ll share in the new year. While I’d like to try to read all of it, I also acknowledge that life happens and even though I’m a fast reader, it might take longer than a year to finish.

• read more Tolkien: I haven’t read the Histories yet, and I also want to delve into his non-Middle-Earth works such as Beowulf, Sigurd, and On Fairy Stories. I also want to listen to all of the Andy Serkis audiobooks.

• do more in-depth book reviews, possibly some in video format: I don’t like being on camera, but I’m toying with the idea of doing videos with my voiceover or maybe even a podcast?

• read 12 books with the Cup of Tea Book Club: a few Sanderson and Tolkien books may end up on the list, but I primarily want to focus on standalones and first in series so anyone can jump in at any time and not feel lost. Plus it keeps the selection fresh and gives me a break from Sanderson and Tolkien if I need it.

Art Stuff

• finish the Folktale Week book dragons: I have 5 more prompts to do and I’m determined to finish!

• finish Patreon book club 2024 bookmarks: I swear it will be done!

• focus on Quaison with the occasional Tolkien or other book-inspired art thrown in

• potential art challenges: MerMay, Journey June, Inktober, and Folktale Week

• challenge myself with style and tools through studies: I’m still getting used to Procreate, steadily shifting my style, and have a lot of gaps in my skills that I want to improve on. I’ve picked 3 subjects to start with that I think will accomplish all of these things - waterfalls, trees, and wolves.

• learn Blender: I’m so intrigued by what 3D modeling can do, and this would be particularly useful for the World of Quaison

Biz Stuff

• continue updating website - I’m pretty behind on the book blog backlog and I also want to figure out how to set up a shop so that I can eventually move away from Etsy (it’s the fees that really get you)

• launch editorial services - that’s right! In 2025 I’ll be offering Manuscript Reviews and Developmental Editing in addition to the Worldbuilding Workshop. Details to come!

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There it is! If you’d like to support me and what I do, please consider subscribing to my Patreon or Substack, following me on my socials, or making a purchase from one of my shops; all of which can be accessed through my Linktree.

Linktree

A heartfelt THANK YOU to all of my followers and subscribers. You guys help me keep my creative flame going, and I’m looking forward to all of the adventures and stories we’re going to share in 2025!