I don’t know about any of you, but I find it helpful to celebrate the wins in order to keep moving forward. And despite there being all sorts of setbacks this year (because that’s life, they happen) everyone had at least something good happen.

I’m sitting here typing as an expectant mother, so I have a lot to look forward to already. Having another baby to add to our family is always exciting. Preparing mentally, physically, and spiritually for another homebirth and all that entails takes a lot of work. But I’m used to it.

I like to work and this year proves it. Not only am I a dedicated homeschooling mother (who started teaching at our local co-op for the first time), in going through my fancy spreadsheets I found that I had 557 articles, essays, books, and pieces of writing published in 2022. Not bad for an unagented author who doesn’t self publish. This is, of course, not including all my blog posts (I never count those). The 557 are all works published by professional news outlets, companies, and so on.

I’m looking at that number and just so confused. It seems like so much for a single year. The most I’ve even had published. Especially looking back to when I got my start and was lucky if 10 works found a home each year.

It’s been a lucrative year despite the obvious recession and without my writing money I don’t know how we would’ve survived. I’m so grateful to be a working writer and hopeful for the new prospects ahead.

This all proves that hard work and perseverance pay off. Especially in publishing. It takes time to build up the credits I have and I still have so much left to write.

I don’t care if you’ve only written one book this year, or just a single article/short story, take the win and use it to give you momentum. You will hit some hurdles. I know this year has been stressful enough on my end.

But how we handle the stress and frustrations directs where our work will go. And for all the non-writers out there I hope you take some time to glance at your accomplishments and give yourself the credit you deserve.