Welcome to Colby’s “Year in Review”! I do an assessment of my creative achievements and growth every year so that I can stay on track and see how close I’ve come to my ultimate goals.
This year was an interesting one, specifically because my life turned down a road I hadn’t expected at ALL. I became a mom! And this obviously presented its own challenges in addition to changing my life forever. Still, my plans to become a prolific novelist, screenwriter, and TV producer are still on and poppin’, so it’s time to look at what I actually got done this year so that I can enter 2015 with a BANG!
Here goes!
1. Moved to California! It was a really exciting, treacherous, challenging, and exhilarating two weeks, but my boyfriend and I finally made it. Originally, we planned to move to Los Angeles, but we adored Long Beach and decided on that instead! No worries, though, it’s still only 30 minutes from L.A., there’s a train that goes from Long Beach right INTO L.A., and we’re still living in L.A. County. Plus, we’re three blocks from the beach and oceanfront, so no complaints from me!
2. Released the PRINT version of Ghosts of Koa! Which was a huge challenge due to spotty internet access, being on a super tight budget, and being technically homeless for two weeks (was totally living at a campsite ::CRICKET::). Feel free to pick up your copy today though at Amazon! Also, it’s “matched” with the Kindle version, and you’ll get the Kindle version for FREE if you pick up the paperback!
3. Produced and RELEASED the Ghosts of Koa AUDIOBOOK! With the amazing talents of Michael T Bradley on my side, Ghosts of Koa has now come to aural life! Check it out at AMAZON, ITUNES, or AUDIBLE!
4. Produced and RELEASED The Fantasy Portal Book Bundle! With the combined powers and prowess of Rasheedah Prioleau, DaVaun Sanders, Brandon Hill, and myself, we produced a four-novel fantasy bundle powerhouse at only 99c. The bundle gives you a taste of four different fantasy genres: paranormal romance, epic fantasy, paranormal mystery, and urban fantasy, for one ridiculously low price. In fact, don’t forget to get your copy NOW before we retire the box set on January 1!
KX Cotch, resident sociopath and assassin for the Alchemic Order… and he’s getting his own novel series!
5. Began working on the novel spin-off series to The Books of Ezekiel saga! So clearly, while there are many main characters in The Books of Ezekiel saga, Ezekiel is the star (hence the title). I wanted readers to spend more time with the other main characters, time that was unrelated to Zeika and her journey. And so, here it is! All of the main characters that I LOVE– Caleb, Cotch, Manja, and many others– will have their own novel series that chronicle their paths through the world of alchemy. Caleb’s full season will be released in 2015. Stay tuned for the others, which will be released as the main Books of Ezekiel saga progresses!
Rebel Ragdoll’s growing one step at a time!
6. Solidified my creative project development slate and created a solid production schedule. Super excited about this one! Despite the fact that I was going through a transition this year, that didn’t stop the old noggin’ from bubbling over with ideas! So I did some work on honing my creative concepts, and there are officially over 40 different projects on my slate in three media: prose / novels / novellas, scripts (TV & feature), and video games. I’ve been following the production schedule as of December, and things are actually going pretty well thus far. Starting projects isn’t enough though! Writers must also finish projects too! So I’m going to keep the fire lit for 2015 and push, push, push on! Wish me luck. 🙂
7. Stepped more firmly into my career as an independent creative entrepreneur! In addition to starting a ton of projects, I kept up with my blogging (as promised, for the most part, lol), and I actually started a monthly newsletter. I’m still trying to get a solid hold of my freelancing hustle (as a writer and teacher), but we’ll see how 2015 turns out on this front.
8. Started volunteering for the Scriptwriter’s Network and the Writer’s Guild Foundation, AND I even made the board of the Scriptwriter’s Network!! You gotta start somewhere, right? And the best way to start is by giving back. I was thrilled to become a part of SWN as the Membership Coordinator, and I hope to work at my maximum capacity for 2015.
9. Made some AWESOME changes to my website, including adding info pages for my books and upcoming projects, opening my own online bookstore, rebooting my Rebel Ragdoll Podcast, opening up my website to author features and blog themes, kicking off a bunch of awesome giveaways and a free stuff page, starting a newsletter, starting the reboot of my About Me section, and much more! Colby’s Cove will continue to evolve as I evolve, and I hope you guys will continue to be here for the ride!
10. And last, but certainly not least… raising and hanging out with my baby boo! In the past three months that she’s been here, my sweet daughter has taught me so much about balance, acceptance, hustling, success / progress, and living in the present. I’ve loved her since the day she was born, but even so, I struggled with my own changing identity and with my old ideas of success and progress. Today, I can safely say that mommy-Colby and career-Colby are about 85% synchronized– FINALLY, lol. I wrote a separate post about the intense challenges of meeting motherhood head on as a “selfish” career-oriented chick (and no, I do NOT mean selfish in a bad way) HERE.
That post is for you ladies, mommies, and mommies-to-be, out here who are finding motherhood difficult and are looking for a sympathetic ear and shoulder. Being a mom isn’t easy, but being a mom with unshakeable dreams that exist “outside” of house, home, and family is a special challenge. So I encourage you to check out the post and see how you like it!
And for those of you who are wondering, YES, you CAN have a career as a creative in addition to being a mother, and I mean to show you how. Men do it all the time, so why can’t we? 😉
SO there it is, folks, my 2014 Creative Achievement wrap up . I would have loved to knock way more balls out of the park like I did in 2013, but after some soul-searching, I feel really good about my emotional growth and my career moves. This transition year has set the stage for both the momentum I hope to gain and the inertia I want to sustain regarding my career, family, and future in 2015.
So how about you? What does your 2014 wrap up look like? Did you achieve everything you wanted, or are there some deficits you plan to rectify in 2015? 😉 Leave your thoughts below!
Thanks for hanging with me for so long, and if you’re new to my blog, then welcome! We’re looking forward to an awesome, productive, and fruitful 2015, and we’ll be counting down to it tonight! But of course, in the meantime…
Keep it indie, and Happy New Year!
<3 Colby