Dear Me 2023

Dear Me,

Well, it’s 2023. The last time I wrote a “Dear Me” letter was 2020. I had such high hopes for that year, but sadly the Writing Jungle had other ideas. I was sidetracked, delayed, and when the dust bunnies caught up to me, I sneezed my butt off.

The Writing Jungle:
complete with hummingbirds...

Well, it’s a new year. Heck it’s 2023. The dust bunnies are never far behind, and the Writing Jungle is before me. That said, here are my goals for 2023: Reading, Writing, Writing for WDC and Arithmetic. Well, maybe not arithmetic – more like Marketing.

I glanced behind me. No Dust Bunnies. In 2022 I accomplished:

Reading:

A Hypnotist’s Journey to Atlantis (a holistic/new age book about Atlantis)
Matthew Perry’s “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.”
San Fransicko by Michael Schellenberger (a look at the medical industrial complex in San Francisco)
Sadly, I didn’t read any romance and honestly, I could have used a good escape.

I wrote for WDC:

STATIC

Lenore  (13+) A man is haunted by his wife's last words. #2277215 by StephBee

STATIC

Darlene  (E) A fortune teller doesn't believe in magic. #2279273 by StephBee

STATIC

Numb  (E) A creeping sensation #2285043 by StephBee

I also wrote the Romance/Love newsletter, which I enjoy. I just checked the archives and discovered I’ve been writing the Romance/Love newsletter since March 2010. Wow, how time flies!

I wrote for publication:

I started two projects that were previously published, working on an update/editing: “A Polish Heart,” and “The Wolf’s Torment.”

Sadly, I didn’t finish anything for publication. I did manage to write the 2022 Burkhart Family letter for my Christmas cards.

Now that 2023 is here, I need goals to avoid the dust bunnies and hack my way through the Writing Jungle.

Personally speaking, setting writing/reading goals is like setting New Year’s resolutions. I fail miserably when it comes to time lines. I start off with a bang, but trust me, dust bunnies are always in the rear review mirror, just waiting for their opportunity to catch up to me and sabotage my best laid plans.

Here’s my reading list for 2023:
Currently reading:
Kellyanne Conway’s “Here’s the Deal”
A Hypnotist’s Journey to the Sphinx

Wanting to read:
Anything by Shana Galen (because I gotta bring back the romance)
Herman Wouk’s “Winds of War”
“The Thorn Birds”

Writing Goals for WDC:

I definitely want to enter more contests. 2022’s “Lenore” and “Darlene” were written for 2 contests here on WDC. My goal is to up the ante and submit 3 contest entries this year. As for the contests, I’m easy, it can be the official monthly contest hosted by WDC or an author’s contest. Genre is generally not an issue, but I gravitate toward the following: mainstream, romance, drama, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, adventure. Wish me luck.

My goal is to continue writing the Romance/Love newsletter and continue to touch on topics that are interesting and inspiring for romance writers and readers.

I definitely want to continue to host & judge the Bard’s Hall with Ẃeβ࿚ẂỉԎḈĥmas . The Bard’s Hall is one of the oldest Contests on WDC. My favorite month to judge, well, gosh… that’s tough, but I’d say Cupid Slam. Still, every month I have to fight off the dust bunnies with the machetes, because it’s not easy carving out time to write the newsletter or judge the Bard’s Hall entries with my job. Heck, I can’t even find time to do dishes and laundry with my schedule!!

Writing Goals for publication:

In 2018, two of my small press publishers went out of business. Victory Tales Press published my short stories in anthologies. The stories were mainly romance and varied from sweet to sensual to smoldering. 2 of my stories found a home with a new small press (Mr. Christmas Elf and Journey of the Heart),

ASIN: B07K6QT51S	Product Type:
	Amazon's Price: Price N/A Not currently available.

which I’m grateful for, but going forward, the best option for me is to self-publish. Since 2018, I’ve self-published “Young Witchcraft” and “Christmas in Bayeux” using Amazon’s KDP Unlimited. Mind you, every story re-published, I’ve been going through editing, updating the story, etc.

All last year, I’ve been focusing on updating and expanding my previously published short story, “A Polish Heart.” I’m probably half way done, so my goal is to finish this year and get it up on Amazon.

I’ve also been updating my novels. Currently I’m working “The Wolf’s Torment,” which was previously published with Desert Breeze Publishing. I’m half way done with this endeavor as well.

Mind you, being a self-publisher, I’ve found it takes time. First you must have the product, so I’ve got to make sure my stories are solid and edited well. Then comes the cover. Once I’ve settle on that, then comes obtaining my copyrights and ISBN’s. Then I send my stories out to the formatter. Then I coordinate with the formatter to get the stories up on Amazon. I’m pooped and the dust bunnies have feasted.

Marketing for 2023:

I currently use Fussy Librarian and Free Kindle Books and Tips newsletters to market my stories. Both are affordable and I have sales when I market, but I’d like to find at least one more affordable marketing newsletter to expand my audience.

While my goals my seem ambitious, trust me they’ll consume 2023. Those dust bunnies are always gonna’ be on my ass, giving my machete plenty of opportunities to chop down the big lefty leaves that get in the way and slow me down in the Writing Jungle.

Please, no feeding the dust bunnies.

2023 here I come!

Sighed,
with love and adventure,
Steph Bee

Word Count: 897