I think most people would agree that 2020 has been an odd year. With lockdowns around the world, job uncertainty and, of course, the fear of catching "Covid 19", everyone was on edge all year, unsure of what would happen next.
I started off 2020 with two new contracts (for Romance Fate and Tales Fiction) and a long list of goals, all which can be seen in my blog post: here
But to reflect, let's see how I went:
2020 Episode goals:
Publish (and complete) Unaccounted For (my Chapters story which I'm bringing to Episode) - FAILED. I published Unaccounted For, but it remains incomplete with 22 chapters.
Revamp Cyberstalk (1&2) in Limelight with all new missions, more mini-games and much better directing - FAILED
Enter a contest - FAILED
2020 Other writing goals:
To have both my new stories do well in their beta tests and get purchased for the full seasons - 50% PASSED. One story did well, was purchased for the full season and is now complete. The other is still sitting in beta and will likely need some revisions.
To have at least one of these apps sign me on for a second story and/or to get approached by another app to work on another story (essentially, I'd like to have outside-Episode projects all year) - PASSED. I am currently working on a new story with Romance Fate, have other projects with them in the pipeline AND am working alongside 3 brand new apps (all that started in 2020).
Finish off "The Witness" on Chapters TapTales and write a short story (15-ish chapters) to keep my TapTales presence up - FAILED however, I sold The Witness to another app and no longer have time for Chapters. I will no longer be writing there.
Overall, while I failed to meet most of my goals, I'd say it was a successful year writing wise. I actually quit my full-time non-writing job in around April, which seemed completely stupid since that's when lockdowns started, but so far, it's worked out well. I have so much planned for 2021 that I've actually had to turn down potential opportunities as I just don't have the time. I'm still writing for Romance Fate (which is my main app), I still have my beta story on Tales Fiction and I have three brand new stories that have all been started and will hopefully be released very soon. Unfortunately, some of them may not be able to be shared, but I've still enjoyed writing them. I've written mostly romance this year, however I've been talking to another company about a brand new project that sounds completely up my alley and I'm super excited to hopefully start that in late January.
That all being said, here are my "goals" for this year:
To complete Unaccounted For on Episode.
To continue to write full-time and have ongoing work all year.
To have any project I start get completed (or at least contracted to be completed) and keep some good ongoing working relationships.
That's it. Short and simple. I feel like there's no point coming up with a huge list of detailed goals because I've realised that as a freelancer, things can change all the time and I need to adapt.
So I'm looking forward to 2021 and hopefully a productive writing year! I hope I can share my work with you all soon.
- Elise