by Elaina Lyons

It’s hard to believe 2023 is over. Here we are, with a whole new year ahead of us, and it seems crazy that time is passing as fast as it is.

2023 was a great writing year for me. I finished my second book, and made a lot of progress marketing my first.

And though I’m not usually one for resolutions (they tend to be very inflexible), I don’t think there’s anything wrong with setting some intentions. So, with that said, here are some intentions I think any writer can use in the coming year.

1. Take reviews with a grain of salt. Let’s be clear: Bad reviews suck. But, it’s super important to remember that everything is subjective, and no two people will read the same work and have the same opinion of it. Your book could reach someone at a time in their life during which their triggers overpower their objectivity. And their review of your writing could be negative because of it. Or, your book might just not be their cup of tea. It’s OK. Take the good with the bad and try to appreciate both.
2. Give yourself grace with deadlines. For most of us, writing is a part-time job rather than a full-time one (even though we’d like for it to be our main gigs). So if life and work responsibilities take over, don’t beat yourself up for missing some writing sessions. Just try to get back to it as quickly as you can. It’s OK.
3. Don’t get in your own way. It can be hard to give your writing baby over to others for beta reading, editing, etc. But you really can’t do all the things by yourself. Love your work enough to make it as good as it possibly can be. Outsource what you need to in order to create the best possible version of your writing.

I hope these intentions help you just a bit.

Happy New Year…and happy writing!

Grab your copy of “The Love You Know” here.

Pre-order “The Love You Have” on Amazon Kindle here.

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