Goals for the New Year
First of all before you say “oh God she’s already beginning with the new year’s resolution crap”. We’re not starting that. No leave it at front door before you click on this blog post.
This is not a post where I talk about making New Year’s Resolutions. No, but it is a blog post where I talk about preparing for 2018. Yes I’m putting on my armor, 2018 is soon to come crashing in. Frankly I would be rather upset if my hair caught on fire in the process. Ah needless to say, we need to prepare because coming to 2018 is the see ya and the bye ya to procrastination and negativity. It’s all in good thought, because I know some habits are a never ending battle to break. BUT, I’m not the type to give up.
So we’re going to grab onto 2018 with our resting bitch face, and hold on as it drags us through stress, new experiences ,and lots of other muck. By the end, maybe a smile will be permanently stuck on. Ah who knows.
2018 is as quickly approaching as 2017 is to be ending. 2017 has not been a good year. I know for myself it’s been a bad enough year that I don’t need to repeat it. I’ve got to work my butt off to make sure that 2017 stays in the past.
I know they say it’s bad to tell people your goals, but this is a judgement free zone. I know that stating my goals forces me to uphold them.
My goal for 2018 are normal and a little weird. First off I want to get healthy. I have not been myself, and that needs to change. I want to get on a more positive attitude, and try not to procrastinate as much. The next thing that I would like to do is publish at least two books. I have a book hopefully coming out around in March. After that, don’t ask me. I would like to continue to build my author brand more and see where I can take my book sales.
I don’t have a lot for 2018 as I am doing this thing where I stop talking and actually get work done.
Enough said.
To prepare for 2018, I am grabbing my computer, planner, and favorite boots.
I’m going into 2018 prepared, with all words flying.
Life Stories
So I’ve been thinking lately. It’s the holidays, it’s cold out and I need a healthy dose of humor.
Therefore, I’m starting up another theme-esque exercise. Except it’s entirely different. Though I will get back to theme. Eventually.
This new post happiness comes with a disclaimer. Nobody panic.
DISCLAIMER: This is not an exercise that involves me running around town in a Disney Costume, singing at the top of my lungs. That would be well, a bit excessive.
If you were looking forward to that possibility, I have just crushed your dreams. But you’re still going to get some humor!
What I am going to do is document my day to day life. I’m entirely sarcastic but it’s okay.
Anyway I will be throwing my “life stories” at ya’ll (me mocking my twang that lately people have told me is there).
Stress Management
Oh dear, where do I begin?
This was my thought as I sat in my bed at 3 AM stuffing my face with ice cream.
After two five page papers and two presentations, this scaredy cat is tapped out. College sucks, but you know I’m surviving.
So I’ve been pondering a question for a while. How do I manage my own stress?
The answer: Writing.
Then ask myself, doesn’t writing stress you out? Because the book you threw at your computer in frustration last night is still on your computer.
Me managing my stress is going outside finding some quiet place in the woods to just sit.
Us sensitive souls need an escape from humanity.
The woods is the only place that is untouched from stress. Its devoid of any humans, I am free to think the way that I want.
That solitude is entirely mind restoring. 20 minutes that’s all I need.
Traveler
All I have ever wanted to do is see the world.
To live life, always going one hundred miles per hour. Never stopping to get caught up in all the bullshit that accumulates within our lives.
The other day someone said to me, “I think that’s everyone’s goal. To travel the world. To forget their responsibilities. To live the fairy tale that was shoved down their throat as a kid.”
I don’t disagree. I look at people who travel all over the world. Some are happy and carefree, they have this air to a lack of responsibility. You think Gosh I wish I was them.
Whereas if you know a few travelers some are so enamored by their “occupation” that they compel this almost sort of arrogance. But some, they are repulsed. They don’t see going to other places an exhilarating experience. It’s like traveling is a festering sore to them. Each time they go, that sore is expected to pop.
Every person is different. Some are the born traveler and some are not. Everyone has a different view and that’s okay.
I have wanted to be a traveler because like in my writing, exploring a new place is like magic. You never forget the first time you go to a new place. It’s not the same a second time.
I think that is what being a traveler is, feeling the thrill in exploration, like the thrill of imagination.
My mind is spontaneous, and I have always wanted traveling to be that way. Maybe it’s time I get out of the house. Run to the mountains or something.
Going for the Gold
“Tonight is the night!” I exclaim.
I finally got my writer head together. I’ve been in a weird mind set for a while. I don’t know how long. Four maybe five years. For this long time I’ve been trying to find myself again.
After a solid week of focusing on myself, I think I’ve finally met that personal goal. It’s not even December and I’m making resolutions for the new year. I know who I am now and I know what I am meant to do.
I think every writer/creative individual goes through this phase, but I am tired of going through this phase. It’s time I get it together and go for the gold.
Life is life. It can be crappy yeah, but without the right mindset. It can wreck your dreams before you ever realize it.
Don’t start tomorrow, don’t start a week from now. Start tonight. Forget your inhibitions. Erase your insecurities. Push out all the people who keep dragging you back to the place you don’t want to be.
It’s hard to drop everything and move on, but this is the only life you have to live. Time passes quickly. When tomorrow comes, you’ll wish you had changed your life yesterday. So I’m telling you as I have told myself. Start right now.
The road to unhappiness is paved by all the things in life you fear. Stop fearing, get up. Finish that novel, go on an adventure, sell your house, move across the country. Go back to school. Do what makes you happy.
The things we want most in life, are often the hardest to reach.
Author Branding
Being an author is not easy work.
A lot of people say to me, “Oh you’re an author, that’s cute.”
Cute? Writing an 80,000 word book and shoving it out there for the world to ridicule is cute?
*Inwardly screams in frustration
Being an author is so much more than that. It is a lifestyle and a career. Most importantly it is a lot of work. Writing the book was the easy part.
I enjoy what I am doing. I really do. I’ve met a lot of kind people, and I’m beginning to learn who I am as a person and who I don’t want to be. It’s all because I am building my author brand.
There are some days that I honestly feel like am getting nowhere. But at the end of the day I realize that I have gotten farther than I ever could have dreamed I would have.
My mind 24 hours a day is thinking about my author brand. It does not matter what I am doing.
Building your author brand begins with getting yourself out there. That means social media. Now don’t go crazy but be you. As I tell myself Building a brand around a fake you is not building a brand around you. Likely what I’m meaning is don’t let some mongrel wreck your self-esteem.
For example I’m on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube under Author Brooke Myers/ brookemyersauthor.
Instead of using a personal account I use these to express my own unique personality through my author brand.
The next thing to do is find something to identify with. Something that makes people think of you. For example I write about monsters, but I have purpose. Monsters are the object that sort of shows what my brand is. It’s how people identify me as an author. I’m the girl who writes about monsters.
As an author you need to continue to create new books to keep your readers happy but you also need to create content to keep people engaged.
On YouTube I talk about my writing experience and I also do makeup videos. It’s an easy way to make your content “real”. People want to know you are an actual person.
Another thing about building your brand is to be consistent and come up with new content. Also show gratitude. You may like to be rude in real life, BUT a simple thank you goes a long way. It tells your followers that they are important to you and without them you would not be where you are.
Now there are some things to avoid. Don’t waste people’s time. If someone asks you about your book, you need to be ready. Have a pitch and show them that you are serious and that you know your book. I mean you did write it!
Don’t get discouraged. Rome or anywhere wasn’t built in a day. It all takes time. It’s frustrating to feel like it all is going at a snail’s pace. But building an author brand can take years upon years. It’s about dedication. If you truly love what you are doing, you won’t give up, no matter how much you want to.
If you would like to check out my social media, feel free.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brookemyersauthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brookemyersauthor/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHPVU7wZAH3V6LB7YVnp7aw
The Devil’s Retreat Book Buy Links:
https://www.books2read.com/u/m2oKLo
Flooding
I have so many thoughts going through my head right now.
First of all my dog is standing on the kitchen table. She’s not doing anything. She’s just. Standing there.
As much as would love to tell all 90 pounds of her to get off the table, that would be a battle that I just don’t want to fight right now.
Needless to say, I can’t sleep. Well I can sleep, it’s just I’m not actually sleeping. My mind is so full of thoughts I can’t shut down. On top of that I have 40 alarms set to make sure I don’t over sleep.
I’m currently experiencing overload.
Between college, being neck deep in author promotions, working, and trying to survive the Holidays. It’s rational to say that I’m overwhelmed.
I don’t even like the Holidays. Well I can’t say that I don’t it’s just the enjoyment has been sucked out of me due to Modern day society.
I love Christmas. I really do. It’s not that I don’t have time for, it’s just I can’t deal with it this year. So I’m taking a Holiday break this year. I’m going to hide at home while everyone is out shoving Christmas down each other’s throats. I will be very happy sitting on my computer writing, and drinking coffee until the Holidays are over.
Why?
Because I have excepted the fact that I am human, and I need to unwind every once in a while. If I’m doing what I love, does it really matter?
Hey everyone I’m the Grinch. I think people lose site of the fact that the Holidays are not a happy time for some people. There are people out there who just want to spend the time to rest, for some it’s a traumatic time. Too often people don’t realize that not everyone wants to be yipper skipper during the holidays. And no, I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT HOLIDAY SHOPPING.
Okay, I’m stopping this to say, since when did Modern Society make getting in a fight at Walmart Thanksgiving night a Holiday tradition?
Oh what has happened people? People has happened.
Time Flies
It’s been a long 2017. It feels longer than usual for a year. Though maybe that’s just because of all the things that have happened.
Thanksgiving is in two days. I haven’t said what I am thankful for yet.
I’m going to say this, I am thankful for 2017. It’s been the best and worst year of my life.
Time is flying now.
Back in August I self-published my first book. What a wild ride that was. I had to learn so much. I will forever be thankful for the lessons that experience taught me.
I thought I made my dream come true. I thought getting published was simply enough. Now I know, it wasn’t going to be enough until I did everything the right way.
But I made a decision. I figured if I want to be a writer I needed to get it together. The night I made my choice, I took my book off all markets. Got online and found the publisher that had remarked how interesting my book looked when I met her at a Convention.
I submitted my manuscript directly to her and after consideration, she accepted it. It’s been a wild ride going through cover design and having the help of an editor who showed me the things I should have shown myself years ago.
Last night my book came out on all eBook markets. Next week my paperback comes out. It’s been a long haul to the finish line, but it’s right in my grasp.
My head is straight, and my focus is right where it should be.
Time flies, but has brought me to the place where my dreams reside.
Where I’m at now I am living the dream that I have had since age five. I’m not without regret, but I’m a hell of a lot more thankful.
