Writer's Wednesday: 2025 Wrap-up

The end of 2025 is here--time for my year-end wrap-up! I'm not talking about the wider world--that's too depressing. I'm talking about my writer self, and my traveler self.

As a writer, 2025 was about average for productivity. I edited and published a novel, and I drafted a novel. I joined a couple of organizations and started selling books at local events. I didn't do much with short fiction, despite my best intentions.

Novels: 

I did pretty well in this area, though as always everything was harder and took longer than expected. I edited and published Book 3 in the Seffi Wardwell mystery series--Edited Out.

 That came out at the end of August, and I started drafting Book 5 (I leapfrog--I'll be editing #4, Logged Off, starting about now) in November. That ended up being a hot mess, but I think I have something I can work with when I am ready to start edits.

Short stories: 

I had big ambitions about sending stuff out over and over until it sold, not to mention writing more. I was looking pretty good at least with the submissions until the end of March, then the travel season started and the novel stuff was all I could keep up with. I managed 8 submissions in 2025 (mostly in March), with one acceptance, one cancelled call for stories, one with no response yet (I'm taking that as a no), and 5 clear nos, two with helpful feedback that I'm going to work on... starting ASAP. To me, that means that when I focused on  short fiction I did pretty well, but it's hard for me to do both that and novels. When I'm working on a project, that's what I'm working on.

Marketing:

I've done some things here. I have created my "Buy Me a Coffee" page and set up a store there so that I can sell ebooks directly (way better returns for me). In January, I joined the Northwest Independent Writers Association, in hopes of using that as a means of getting access to more direct sales events. It worked, to a point--the group is based in Portland, OR, and I'm in Seattle. The distance makes it too hard; I did a couple of events and made back costs, but won't be continuing with that group.

Through them, however, I discovered the Artist's Events Network (AEN), a Seattle-based group that offers similar opportunities, and participated in one sale in early November. That went okay and I'm signed up for a bunch more in 2026. Events like this can really improve my bottom line, as well as connecting me with other writers and with readers.

 

Life:

I didn't travel quite as much in 2025 as I did in 2024 (it would be hard to travel as much as I did in 2024), but I did manage a few trips.

Travel included an escape to the light in January (AZ), a February trip to CA to move my daughter into her new house, and my usual trip to the Southwest (Utah) in the spring; that was mostly a car-camping trip with a 2-night backpack in the middle. In July I spent 5 days kayaking the San Juan Islands with a couple of friends, and in August did a 7-day backpack in the Beartooth Wilderness in Montana and Wyoming (photo posts still to come), followed by my trip to Iceland. Somewhere in there I did a couple of 1-night backpacks with different friends. Since getting back from Iceland, I've driven to CA twice, once to do some work on my son's house and again for Thanksgiving. I'm happy to say the kids came here for Xmas and I got to stay home!

I think that pretty much covers it. I didn't get as many trail nights as I'd like--I think this year it was only about 20 (that includes kayak camping and huts in Iceland). I need more backpacking time in 2026, especially solo time! (Note: I may be a little obsessed, but it keeps me sane. Unless, of course, backpacking is in itself a type of insanity, in which case I'm happy to stay crazy). This helps explain why I can only write one book a year, and never seem to manage my big plans for short fiction!  

P.S. I'm sitting here at my computer with warm feet for once, thanks to the lovely heated footrest the kids gave me for Xmas!  

Random camp scene. Sometimes I actually work in these settings. Mostly, not.

☕Buy me coffee--or get my ebooks

 

 ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2025 

As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated.


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