Usually at this time of year there are thousands of wrap-up the year blogs and articles. Maybe it’s me, but this year I’m just not seeing so many. Is it because, like me, so many have been caught off-guard by the fact that the year is already over? Or are people just tired of writing (and reading) the same thing every year?

Whatever the reason, I’m not eager to buck the trend. Instead, I’m just here to remind you of two things:

1) the importance of looking back over the previous year and making note of all of your accomplishments. (Yes, there will be failures too, but unless you can look at them in a positive light as a learning experience, I’d say to analyze them some other time)

2) Don’t forget to take a few minutes to do some planning for the coming year. How much do you want to write and publish? One book, two? Maybe you write fast and can get five or six books done in a year. Now would also be a great time to write a list of what you want to write. It doesn’t have to be a full synopsis, it could just be Book# 2 and 3 of current series. But the more detail you can put in there the better. Oh, and don’t forget to write this down someplace where you’ll find it later—in your paper planner if you keep one, otherwise I’d suggest putting it on the first of the month when you think you’ll be able to start writing.

It’s also at this time of year that I begin thinking about writing up my business plan for the coming year. This is different from the list of books I want to write in that I also include marketing, any courses I might be teaching or taking, and a budget for about how much I’m hoping to earn each month and how much I think I’ll need to spend on both finishing a book (editing, cover design, formatting) and marketing.

And speaking of marketing, now would be a great time to go back and see if you can’t figure out how well your marketing did last year—that way you can plan to do the successful marketing again, and come up with new ideas to replace those that didn’t work so well.

If this all sounds like a lot to do, give yourself the month of January to get it done. Good luck, and happy new year!