2023 Annual Review

The Year of Ritual

It’s my favorite post of the year, reflecting on the successes and failures of my 2023 goal-setting and sharing lofty plans for the upcoming year. This annual review has become more than tradition, more than ritual. It is how I track the changes in my career, my life, and the world around us. I enjoy sharing it with you, but this is really for me, so forgive me in advance those of you who are new to this process. It’s a long post, with a ton of metrics. I’ve been doing this for 14 years now, and if you’d like to see the previous years posts, I have them all under the navigation header Annual Reviews. I originally modeled these after Chris Guillebeau’s Annual Review from his blog, The Art of Non-Conformity, but they’ve morphed into what I need and want to measure. Here’s to rational goal-setting!

Looking back on 2023, The Year of Ritual

With perpetual changes to my publishing schedule, changes in the industry, and changes to my personal ethos, I’ve lost many of my daily, monthly, and annual rituals over the past few years. This year, I intend to reclaim the valuable rituals that helped me build my career and kept me laser-focused over the past decade. This includes daily goals, project-specific deadlines, and a reinvigorated creative flow. I have plans, people. So many plans. I also have a new bellwether: will it matter in five years? If the answer is no, I ain’t doing it. There is great freedom in this question. You should ask yourself the same.

How Did I Do?

I’m going to give myself a solid B+ on this. Because of circumstances beyond my control, my quarterly plan for the year went out the window at the 4-month mark, and it was pretty much balls to the wall work and travel from that moment on. Which was fabulous, and a good distraction, and allowed me to get some new experiences and ideas under my belt. It also meant I had to make the most of the downtime I did have, and in that, the rituals I fell back on were an absolute necessity. I just executed them in places beyond my office instead. I swapped the planned quiet of Q3 and Q4 for a heavy travel schedule, and made Q2 and most of Q3 my dedicated writing period. It worked—as you’ll see, my total fiction word count is 25% higher than goal. A total win there. And I did reclaim my valuable creative energy by making several major changes to my business, which has given me a measure of freedom, and a reliable annual schedule again.

What Went Right

Let’s start with the vitals: I had nine releases in 2023—four novels, and five short stories across two pen names. (I should stop right here. That’s my own personal annual review mic drop. Nothing else matters. And yet...)

The other brilliant 2023 news was signing a new contract for two more standalone thrillers with a brand new publisher! The first book is done, and I’m busily plotting the second, which I’ll start writing in earnest by the end of January. I’ve been so impressed with Thomas & Mercer’s professionalism and efficiency, my editor Liz’s enthusiasm for my work, and the whole team’s author-centric business model. I can’t wait to nurture this relationship throughout the upcoming year and into the future. Moving houses after so long was a big, hard decision, but one made with great deliberation to align my creative needs with my professional ones. So far, a big yay!

A Word on Words Season 8 was nominated for an EMMY! The awards ceremony is in February, a glitzy black-tie affair here in Nashville. Can’t wait! It’s such an honor to be nominated again, and I’m looking forward to the great fun of getting dressed up for the ceremony and having a chance to celebrate the incredible work of our team. Hosting this show continues to bring me such joy, and to be able to work with such great friends and professionals always leaves me shaking my head at my luck.

This space—THE CREATIVE EDGE—has bloomed into a wonderful community, and Substack in general has become the focus of my social media energies. I love the depth that goes into this work. It’s helped me limit my time on other social media because I’d rather come here and think deep thoughts than scroll endless posts of people’s awesome balayage (my high-stress alleviating go-to. There is something very meditative about haircuts and coloring.)

IT’S ONE OF US was well-received into the world, staying on the Canadian bestseller lists for weeks, as well as gaining an incredible new readership. For an intensely personal story turned thriller, I couldn’t have been more pleased with its reception.

THE WOLVES COME AT NIGHT was also well-received, and I had such fun returning to Taylor Jackson’s world, not to mention finally building the long-anticipated bridge to take her into the future. I have plans for our girl (and for Sam, and Skye, and Angelie, and Robin. More on that later this year.)

The Joss Walker books are going strong. There are two more novels in the series, then I’ll probably take a break from the pen name for a bit. I have the seeds of an epic fantasy story germinating in a quiet space, but I also have four (five?) JT books and another novella I want to write, so I need to step back for a year or so to get those done. The series was always planned to be 6 books, and I have known the end since the beginning, so we’ll see what happens when I get there.

In September, Randy and I went to Amsterdam, London, and all over Ireland with our dear friends, and it was a perfect trip. Let me tell you, between the charm of our chosen city, standing in gale-force winds on the side of a massive cliff, and the Library at Trinity College in Dublin, my very DNA has been altered. Do not be surprised to see many Irish elements in upcoming tales.

I also went to Italy with my family in November, and getting the elder statesmen together (my dad and my uncle) and seeing my cousins again was really fantastic. We went out to Scottsdale a couple of times to see Barbara and Rob and our Poisoned Pen family, which was great fun. Also, New York twice, Austin, the usual pilgrimages to Colorado and Florida, plus the amazing IOOU tour that took me to Seattle, Greenville, Houston, Scottsdale again, Pawley’s Island, and beyond. Frequent flier miles are a good thing, but really, this was a bit much. 😜

Despite the number below, in Q4, I walked away from almost all social media, choosing instead to focus on my Instagram community, my Literati group on Facebook, and my Friday Reads on the main FB page, and of course, TCE. I’ve bailed on TwitterX, I get zero traction there, so I’ve taken it off my devices. Threads was fun for a minute, and Blue Sky, but turned into TwitterX redux so fast I walked. I know many people who’ve left Instagram too, but it still sparks joy for me, so I won’t be following suit right now. I do have time limits set so I’m not endlessly scrolling, and my algorithm is set to show me beautiful things that inspire me. I will never forget what happened after Jamie left us, and I finally could face the feed again. Every post was gentle, kind, and beautiful—landscapes and gardens and sunsets and meaningful quotes. It was a remarkable gift, and I’ve allowed it to continue.

What Went Wrong

I’m staying on a micro level here, naturally, as I share in the world’s despair of the happenings of 2023. Honestly, everything was overshadowed by Jameson’s passing. There is still a hole, a sense of being incomplete, that I doubt will ever go away. Coupled with my dad’s heart surgeries (he came through with flying colors 🙏, my mom’s bad fall (she, too, is fine now), Randy’s unbelievable workload, and my own physical issues, 2023 was a really rough year for us. We added 22 trips on top of it, which has completely worn me down. Going at warp speed for 12 months saddled with grief means I am genuinely tired, and I want to spend 2024 restoring myself.

I made some staffing changes, which is always disruptive, but by taking control of things myself, my stress levels plummeted. Am I always on time with my deliverables on social media? No. No, I am not. Is that a bad thing? No. No it is not. If anything, my focus away from the metrics and directing others to the meaningful connections I’ve managed the second half of the year has made everything better, not worse. I’ve gotten damn good at Canva, and there’s a cohesiveness to being both the writer and designer. Leading into the fall Joss release, I brought on a new admin for some backup, and to help format the newsletters, and she’s worked out perfectly. (Hi Paige!) And Holly is still making amazing Reels for Instagram. Her talent is evident, and I try to stay out of her way as much as possible.

I’m going to put my own health issues in this section, though I am much better than I was at this time last year, having mostly recovered, with medication and lifestyle changes, from my long COVID heart issues. Because of Rebecca Yarros and FOURTH WING, I recognized similar symptoms to our wonderful Violet and, as such, was diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder, hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos, hEDS. This is very new, and I’ll have more to say after I get a handle on it, starting with a physical therapy regime and other treatments. One never wants to be diagnosed with an incurable syndrome, but...as it gives answers to pretty much every strange physical and emotional ailment I’ve been plagued with my whole life, from celiac to infertility to my junky joints, it is a huge relief to learn about, especially because there are things I can do to help make things better. And knowing it before I tried a joint replacement is definitely going to change my path forward and save me from years of trouble. So yeah, it’s a bad that’s also a good.

We are blessed, in so many ways. I know this, and try not to linger too much on this section of the review. Nothing that’s happened can be changed or undone, especially the loss of our sweet girl, so I want to look forward instead.

All in all, it was an amazing year. Focusing on the concept of “will it matter in five years” has rewired my brain for the better. I read 75 books, wrote 260,000 words, traveled the world—twice—taped a slew of shows for AWOW, got a new deal, released a ton of work, started the non-fiction project I’ve dreamed of for years, have wonderful friends and family, and a happy, healthy marriage. I really can’t ask for more.

NITTY GRITTY: AKA NERDOLOGY

2023 Total Words: 585,520
Fiction Total: 262,200
Non-Fiction Total: 143,320*
Fiction Percentage: 55%
Books Read: 75
Creative Projects as J.T. Ellison: 9
Creative Projects as Joss Walker: 5

*(Excludes Email and Trello, which total ~180,000)

MAJOR PROJECTS WORKED ON:

JT Novels:

• IT’S ONE OF US Released

• THE WOLVES COME AT NIGHT (Taylor Jackson #9) Released

• A VERY BAD THING (2024 Standalone) Wrote and Submitted

• HLN (2025 Standalone) Writing Started

• BS (2026 Standalone) Research Gathering

JT Short Stories:

• These Cold Strangers Released

• X House Released

• Louche 49 Released

• O Murder Night (Edge House) (written and submitted)

Joss Walker Novels:

• THE KEEPER OF FLAMES (Jayne #3) revised and released

• THE PROPHECY OF WIND (Jayne #4) rewrote and released

• THE BOOK OF SPIRITS (Jayne #5) outlined and started

Joss Walker Short Stories:

• Guardians of Fury (rewrote and released)

• Guardians of Power (rewrote and released)

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2024: The Year of Balance

I’ve waffled about my word of the year for weeks. I am going to have to pull back, turn inward, and handle my sh*t, as it were, so for a time, I was thinking of Self. But that felt too ego-driven, for some reason, so I moved to Cozy. My agent wondered aloud if I was changing careers (ha!) so I nixed that in favor of Nest. Then I moved to Restore. Then Focus. Then Finish. Then back to Restore. (Are you sensing a theme? Me, too.) 2024 is the year that I have to say “thank you, no” to pretty much everything that isn’t already on my calendar, outside of AWOW and my new book release. I spent this entire review working with the word Restore, which is right, but not quite. And as I wrote the summary of my goals below* I found the word I’ve been trying to find for weeks now: Balance.

My operating system has been hacked and it’s time to restore to the base version, deleting all the bugs. I have been off-kilter for a few years, and 2024 is the year I bring myself back into balance. Respecting my time, admitting when I’ve done too much and need to rest, saying no to everything that doesn’t spark immediate excitement and joy, and focusing on my creative health as well as physical health will hopefully allow me to slow down a bit. Minimizing distractions and blocking out my time more effectively should allow me to meet my fiction and nonfiction goals, and relearning how to work out without hurting myself will allow my physical being to grow stronger. I want to write more, read more, and get smarter, improving my creative health. Allowing the balance of my time to be focused on my needs will give me the depth I’ve been searching for.

Balance has a number of sub-facets I plan to work on:

• Physical

• Mental

• Emotional

• Creative

• Home

I won’t bore you with the subgoals here because they aren’t a checklist but a life management system, and I don’t have all of the tools to make the decisions just yet. But some of the ways I plan to achieve this full system reboot is to eliminate distractions, turn inward, focus on making my physical self better through physical therapy, yoga, exercise, and diet, and allow myself the room to build true creative expression. I want to read darker, and read more, so I will be putting a reading block into my daily work schedule. I want to let go of some of the fears that have been holding me back creatively, which will help lower my anxiety, and give me that truly necessary but sometimes elusive thing: Balance. (Oh no. I think that I may have hit upon  another word for the year.*) I’m so excited to see how this shakes out because I have to make it work, much more so than any previous year’s theme. The actions of 2024 will set my future, so it’s time to buckle down and rock it.

2024 Creative Goals

• 200,000 fiction words

• Finish 2024 standalone HLN

• Continue the 22 Steps writing series following the development and writing of HLN

• Expand the Edge House universe into a full-blown novella

• BS (2025) Research and Outline

• Taylor and Skye #1

• Sam #5

• Finish and publish Jayne #5 & #6

• Participate in Simon Haisell’s Slow Read of Hilary Mantel’s books

• Read 80 Books

• Tape 8 episodes of AWOW

• Less scroll, more read

JT New Releases:

• A VERY BAD THING (September 3, 2024)

• O Murder Night (Edge House) short story (October 2024)

• IT’S ONE OF US paperback (March 19, 2024)

Joss New Releases:

• THE PROPHECY OF WIND audio (February 13, 2024)

• THE BOOK OF SPIRITS (Jayne #5) (Spring 2024)

• THE SCROLLS OF TIME (Jayne #6) (Winter 2024)

Travel/Events:

• Bouchercon (Guest of Honor) (September)

• Thrillerfest (July)

• Readers Take Denver (April)

That’s more than enough, don’t you think? It’s going to be a lovely, quiet, cozy year, with much more time spent reading and writing, going deep into this life. I am ready!

DEETS: