My 2024 word is: Appreciate and what this means for my writing and self-publishing...
And yes, I'm quoting the musical Hamilton in this post. Also don't forget DMARC...
Dear Diary,
The Chemical Engineer and I chose the word “Appreciate” as our “Word of the Year”. In case you’re wondering what that means, as I was looking for a source, this from AARP showed up:
If resolutions are rigid rules to accomplish a goal, choosing a word of the year can be a guide for decisions and a gentle reminder to stay the course. But that doesn’t necessarily mean progress with a word of the year is easier or simpler than sticking to a resolution.
“So many things pull us in other directions, and most of the time our best intention is not the easiest path,” says Seth J. Gillihan, a clinical psychologist in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
(…)
That said, a signature word may be more palatable to work with. Think of it this way: While resolutions often seem to have a judgmental quality to them, a personal word of the year often is about a value. (Think honesty, openness, patience.)
(…)
“It’s more of a direction than a destination,” he [Gillihan] says.
Source: AARP - Picking a word for the year
If any of you reading this is looking for inspiration to find a word…. here’s a list that can be helpful.
Before I go into what “Appreciate” means for my writing and self-publishing, here are the ups and downs for the past two weeks and some important info about DMARC for your newsletter deliverability.
I GOT A BOOKBUB!!!! In December, I mentioned as one of my “downs” of the week that # Sweets For Love had gotten rejected for a BookBub. Well, I waited for 30 days and resubmitted # Sweets For Love and I GOT IT!
It is scheduled to run on Thursday, January 25th in the romcom category and it is in US and International. And I AM SO EXCITED. I stacked two other promos. A Freebooksy in steamy contemporary romance on January 24th and a FussyLibrarian on January 26th. I’ll keep you updated on the results.
My Vella Bonus doubled in December. Just got the amount on my KDP dashboard yesterday. Again, I try not to count on bonuses as a steady income because, well, it’s a bonus with everything that word implies and it could be changed. But…. still, I definitely appreciate it (see what I did there? :-))
I figured out DMARC for my newsletter. If you do not know what DMARC is, Google explains it that way:
DMARC is a standard email authentication method. DMARC helps mail administrators prevent hackers and other attackers from spoofing their organization and domain. Spoofing is a type of attack in which the From address of an email message is forged. A spoofed message appears to be from the impersonated organization or domain. (Source: Google Workspace Admin Help - Help Prevent Spoofing and Spam with DMARC).
The bulk definition might be a bit confusing: is it more than 5000 emails a day? is it not? Holly Darling mentions in an article that bulk sender definition has changed. When it comes to deliverability and being a marketer in a way, it makes sense to go through the steps needed to make sure your beautiful newsletter lands where it’s supposed to. Both Holly Darling and Tammy Labrecque have very helpful articles/videos. I used Holly’s a couple of days ago as well as Holly’s Facebook group. Tammy has screenshots for several email hosts which might be helpful to some of you too:
- Holly Darling: What the heck is a DMARC and why you should care. (and Holly Darling HQ Facebook group)
- Newsletter Ninja: February 2024 Gmail Bulk Sender Changes (and Newsletter Ninja Author Think Tank Facebook group)
The change happens on February 1st so I wanted to make sure to mention it.
I launched my Ream tiers and so far no one has signed to be a member. My tiers start at $3 a month up to $20 a month.
So, that’s a down. My husband asked if he should (yes, he’s the best) but I told him, no. It’s a slow process. Part of my Ream is to have a more community-feel and be able to do more things for my readers and yes, also having the means to do so and also enabling me to publish more.
Publishing more because my #1 Achiever (for those of you who speak Gallup Strengths) mean that having some achievable steps in the writing of the manuscript help me a lot. And publishing early chapters work very well for me (as publishing episodes) - especially since Miss Me, Miss Me Not has been brewing for so long and I am doing a prequel short story of # Dear Santa With Love on my Ream page because, well, I need to do exactly what happened between my characters before the beginning of # Dear Santa With Love. It will make writing # Dear Santa With Love more real. :-)
Another up? I got seven new newsletter subscribers since the beginning of January and that’s before the BookBub.
Okay, so what does the word “appreciate” mean in terms of writing and self-publishing?
So, Merriam Webster gives this definition for the transitive verb (which is the one we’re focusing on right now ;-)) I’m not talking about adding value.
transitive verb
a: to grasp the nature, worth, quality, or significance ofb : to value or admire highly
c: to judge with heightened perception or understanding : be fully aware of
d : to recognize with gratitude
(…)
Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/appreciate
In terms of writing, for me, it means “take the time to smell the roses” or enjoying making the book boyfriend I’m currently writing even grumpier or funnier or.... I want to really enjoy and immerse myself in the stories I’m writing and not only write them fast, fast, fast.
If you know the musical Hamilton, or if you’ve watched it or listened to it several times like The Chemical Engineer and I, you probably know the words:
How do you write like you’re running out of time? (…) every day you fight like you’re running out of time. Running out of time. Running out of time. How do you write like tomorrow won’t arrive? How do you write like you need it to survive?
So, granted, some of this, for me, might come from the fact that I had cancer. Ok, “might” isn’t the correct auxiliary verb here. There is no “might” here. Part of it does come from some of my medical history and what I’ve been through during treatments.
Part of it comes from my desire to level up.
To get better. Faster.
But also, I want to appreciate the moments it takes to actually get better and maybe even faster. I want to appreciate the moments when I’m deep into the story I’m writing. I want to appreciate the road and not only the destination. Especially because the destination changes and goal posts move.
And when it comes to self-publishing, I want to appreciate those moments of connections more and I want to appreciate the steps I’m taking toward making a career out of it.
So, yes, “Appreciate: is the word for me for 2024.
Thank you so much for reading. Oh, don’t forget to subscribe. I’m going to have some posts just for free subscribers and some data posts for paid subscribers.
And dear Diary, let’s talk soon again.
To all writers out there, happy writing. And to everyone: happy, happy reading.
Elodie
(oh and if you found this post interesting/entertaining: you can click the button below to share it with the world or a friend or two :-))