A 2025 Retrospective
Back in 2014, I quit my full-time job to try to make a go at writing full time. It’s been a journey, which I’ve chatted about here and there, but 2025 felt like a pivot year for me.
I was having coffee with my good friend Lydia M. Hawke (we tend to do so weekly), and I told her I felt like I had crossed a threshold. Turns out there are endless thresholds in artistic careers, but this was a big threshold. 2025 felt like a level up year for my finances, output, and everything else creatively.
Lots of things nudged the needle for me, but I tried to pull a few together. Maybe you’ll find something that’ll help you nudge the needle, too!
I had a clear goal in mind
I wanted to have a five-figure month from writing from just my indie titles. Did I make it? No, but I did get much closer than ever before. Having such a clear goal helped me focus my decisions. I needed more writing time, and to focus on (limited and strategic) marketing efforts, so I could reach that five-figure month. I streamlined many processes and didn’t give myself time to waffle or dilly dally (I love dilly dallying!).
Things that I took on had to somehow support that overall goal. That helped me a lot.
I was ready to let go of stuff
Not just clients that weren’t serving me anymore, but also things that surrounded me every day. Things that “might be useful someday” (ha). Some things that worked for me ten years ago just didn’t anymore. Kinda like cleaning out your closet, except business style. I cleared out my office supplies, my notebook stash, my pens…anything that no longer served me or worked for me went to find other homes.
My desk now only holds things I actually use, making everything easier and more fun.
I did not forget fun
In this “work hard, get it done” kind of world, especially in so-called “hustle culture,” fun is often sacrificed for productivity. I do not run well without fun, and enjoy joy, and also stickers (kinda the same thing as joy, really). So I acquired a few sticker subscriptions (so. Much. Joy.) and also made sure to have game nights with friends and read books. That saved my mental health, because the whole year felt like either doing caretaking or work, or feeling guilty about sitting there and relaxing.
But if I burn out, I can’t help anyone else, so fun is on the menu, and it will get consumed, damn it.
Bullet journaling!
I know, I know, I was totally intimidated by it, too. Here’s a fun (?) fact about me: When I’m stressed or overwhelmed, I watch productivity videos. They soothe my colour-code loving soul. So of course the algorithms decided I should be into bullet journaling, which I was really not.
The spreads intimidated me. The lines. The boxes. The all of it.
Then I discovered washi tape and decided I needed to drill down my week to-do’s into a daily to-do list, since, again, overwhelm.
I ignored every video I watched (which were many). I am not artistic. I do not have pretty handwriting (my penmanship resembles a roller coaster stuck in loops. You can kinda hear the screams drifting from it the longer you stare at it). I do not function well with preset boxes and streak tracking and all that productivity stuff. They make my brain go “can’t make me, no I won’t.” (Real mature, brain.)
But every morning I select a day theme, add washi tape and stickers, put some to-dos that I can check off when done, and that starts my day on a shiny and happy note, and works very well for me.
The trick with productivity is to make it your own. Trust me on this. I’m an expert: I watch lots of videos! :P
Three paths
Further to letting stuff go, I also wanted to focus my paths. My plan was to dedicate the whole year to focusing on three paths to living as a creative and then choose the winner at the end. The three paths were:
Indie publishing (with new pen name focusing on hot genre (aka smut))
IP and game writing
Traditional publishing
This was basically Survivor for career paths: They either worked, or I’d let them go for at least a year while I focused on the one that brought in more money (writers gotta eat).
I got out of my own way and gave each path its best shot. I stopped being “Oh, I couldn’t,” or “I really shouldn’t,” and I emailed folk I wanted to work with, pitched like I’d never pitched before, and started a new indie nom de plume and wrote words like they were going out of style (which they most certainly are not).
In the end, the clear winner was… all of them. Because I got out of my way and just got it done, because I only had a year to prove they could work, they all took off. The pen name has grossed me 20K+ since September. The IP writing is so busy and fulfilling that I’ve said no to a few inquiries (banking me similar numbers as the new pen name). For traditional publishing, I managed to shake virtual hands with my dream agent, Sara Megibow of Megibow Literary Agency.
Worst attempt at elimination ever.
I’m keeping all three routes (including my own indie books, don’t worry! Those were never on the “you gotta make me money” hit list). Next year, I’m targeting working more on my own words and taking fewer IP gigs (keeping existing clients since they’re all awesome, while keeping room in my schedule in case Star Trek or She-Ra call. What? A girl can dream).
The lesson here was that with a deadline, the three paths worked, because there was no time to hesitate or over-analyze. I had to do it now or let it go.
And wow did that ever work.
I accepted my mortality
“Holy shit, she’s talking about sparkly stickers and suddenly it’s about death? WTF, I’ve been had!”
Seriously, this made a huge difference. This year, we lost Kerri’s beloved auntie, and we had a front row seat to not only treatments, but to everything that came after. I don’t want to make my death any harder than it needs to be on my loved ones, because losing someone is hard enough already.
With that in mind, I made a will and then looked hard at my finances, and focused on paying off what remains of my consumer debt. I’m targeting getting that paid off in 2026 so I can start savings. Because otherwise my loved ones have to deal with money on top of all the death stuff, and it’s a lot to deal with (trust me on this).
I also started exercising more. Eating better (all of this in no small part thanks to Kerri – get a partner who is willing to look at mortality, too). I took mental health more seriously.
I’m only 47. I’d like to live longer, and live well.
Still so many books to write, you know?
I learned that I love what I do
2025 was a disbalanced year for me. From one parent who needed extra care to suddenly the second one needing care as well, my whole life narrowed down to two things: Getting things done for work, and getting things done for them.
These things strangely balanced themselves out: caretaking is extremely draining (for me), but my work? Generally energizing. Not in the “omg I get to write weeeee” way every day (though definitely some days!), but in the “wow, this is my life. This is freaking awesome” way. When my schedule gets torn asunder by caretaking, I miss my routine.
I’ve never been a routine girl, generally being a chaos bunny, but when everything is so very chaotic and out of control, the days when I go to my basement office, turn on all my sparkly lights, sit down with my flavoured coffee and start the day by bullet journaling? Sheer heaven. Bliss. I feel relaxed just thinking about it, and I’m in my office right now.
What a world.
When I started writing, I gave myself permission to quit if ever I stopped loving it. No questions asked. I quit office jobs because they were draining the glitter out of me, and if writing did the same, it would get kicked to the curb just as effectively.
At this point in my life, I think I love writing more. I wrote so much this year. For the new pen name. For my name! For amazing IP! I clocked over a million words, and they’ve made me fall in love with story more deeply than ever before.
I’m grateful that I get to do this. It’s been a hard road, and there are so many thresholds left to cross, but this year was about focus. Letting go what no longer served. And accepting that time marches on for all of us, and we’re not guaranteed tomorrow.
So I did the work because all I had was today, and my stories, and the tales I want to share before my time on this wonderful (if, er, at times questionable) world is over.
That was 2025 for me. And I can’t wait for 2026 and all that it will bring. <3
