Let’s look back at all I’ve done this year

Dear Reader,

This is the last update for 2023 and I have written a lot! Aside from packing (a 5 bedroom 2.5 bathroom house), moving, then unpacking, celebrations/holidays, and of course, work 9 to 5, there have also been words. Many, many words. I had some notable milestones this year as well. Setting aside my personal life, I want to take stock for a bit and celebrate the numbers, the highs and the lows, that made up 2023 for me.

BY THE NUMBERS

Measuring success and failure by numbers seems a pretty clear cut thing to do. The numbers don’t lie. They don’t have bias. They are what they are and unless manipulated in some way, they speak in ways I never could to explain exactly how I did this year.

EMAILS

A 100 Word Story [245 emails] – May 1st, 2023 seems like so long ago to me now! I randomly decided to write one story per day and I haven’t looked back. So far there are 214 stories you can read in the Archive and before the year is done, another 31 will be added, rounding out the year with 245 stories.

The First Edition [11 emails] – This year was almost a perfect year. I missed writing and sending a January 1st 2023 email update! Ugh! Otherwise, we’d have a perfect 12 emails sent. Each one capturing as best I could what I was up to at the time.

Editorials [64 emails] – Every Wednesday I had something to say. Most of my emails came from a place of wanting to help and share my journey with writing. To document all my struggles and successes in the hopes that fellow travelers might find needed support along the way. If I did that for at least one person then I consider having written these a success. There are still 4 more of these to come before I change the cycle from weekly to monthly.

Free Writing Fridays [34 emails] – At the same time as my 100 word stories daily I also introduced a way for other writers to join me and write their own 100 word stories with me. This concept has since evolved (as most community driven ideas often do) to include an even more complex challenge to collaborate with me and write 50 words to combine with my own.

Curio Fiction [2 emails] – A bit of an unsung hero here, I did manage to write two short stories for this category in March of 2023. If in 2024 I am able to contribute more to this blossoming idea, all the better.

IN TOTAL I sent at least 356 emails this year! That’s a lot! And I’ve got no plans to slow down in 2024!

DOES A MILESTONE MEAN MORE?

While my output in 2023 is a great set of numbers to reflect upon I also want to take a look at my growth with subscribers this year as I finally crossed a number I’d been trying to hit for as long as I’ve had a newsletter (going back to my Mailchimp days!). But first up, the one milestone I’m even prouder of than growth because I have no control over getting someone to subscribe to me. I do, however, can control my writing:

THE STREAK | These 100 word stories have not been a breeze to write day-to-day. And while they don’t take my entire day, knowing how many of you are reading them is what means the most. As long as I have your continued support I see no reason why I can’t keep this thing going.

THE FIRST ONE THOUSAND | Not to put too fine a point on it, I crossed the threshold of 1,000 subscribers. But I haven’t much time to celebrate this milestone as I must now look to a future where I gain more paid subscribers by hopefully gaining more free ones. How long will it take me to break 2,000? Only consistency and time will tell…

SPECIAL OFFER TO MY SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Every Friday for the next 5 Fridays in December I’m giving away comps to my serial coming in 2024! Here’s how:

Get 3 month comp

Reply to this email with the name of the city where Sleight of Hand takes place.

Get 6 month comp

Fill out this questionnaire of 5 questions:

I want to thank you for participating and hope you decide to continue reading Sleight of Hand even after your comp has ended.

THE DECEMBER 2023 CALENDAR

Get used to these. It’s a calendar I’ve worked on for a while now. I’ve put together the first 6 months of 2024 already and will share them in each month’s First Edition email.

Some things to make note of:

• NEW additions to my main Substack are highlighted in RED.

  • SLEIGHT OF HAND | For December I’m going to give paid subscribers a peek at my outlines. And also introducing a series called “A History” that will give readers a glimpse into a location, time period, or person that is within the universe of Wondermere. This series will be free to everyone.

  • FREE WRITING COLLABORATION | If you are a fiction writer then this might interest you. Every Friday in December I am giving away 3 free months access to my serial (and 100 word stories archive) to anyone who writes 50 words to accompany my 50 words. And if I pick yours as my favorite (announced on Mondays in Substack Notes) the winner will receive a full years worth of access! That’s a $70+ value!

• | If you’ve ever been interested in reading beyond The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the chapters are short (some of the time) and the community (400+) is amazing! The release schedule of chapters are in YELLOW. We are just wrapping up reading Dorothy and the Wizard (Book 4) this month and start reading Book 5, The Road to Oz, in January.

• | In the early days my release schedule of episode reviews were daily. But I’ve since had to scale back considerably. Here’s hoping that 2024 will yield better results as I pre-plan my reviews in BLUE.

How did you do this year? Did you exceed expectations, meet them? Take this time to look back and reflect. It’s never been a better time.

January 1st I’ll share my “Word of the Year” and goals as I plan to take 2024 by storm!