2014 Year In Review

Photo credit: dordirk on Flickr

2014 has been a really incredible year for me.

In the first week of February, I officially signed with my agent Louise Fury and became part of The Bent Agency family.  It’s a decision that, nearly a year later, I honestly could not be happier with. That same month, I also completely changed my diet, which involved a lot of adjusting, including a world without sugar. While that sounded horrible at the time, the difference it has made to my anxiety levels alone has made it all very worth it, to me.

In March, I unexpectedly nabbed an editorial internship with Entangled Publishing—which was an internship I’d been eying since I first started looking for pub job opportunities in 2013.

May was a pretty huge month.

I finally took the plunge and got the pixie cut I’d been lusting after for several months. I also changed my online avatar for the first time since I’d started my online platform, and switched out the stack of books for my actual face (something that would not have been possible without said adjusted anxiety levels). That same month I was also accepted into a new school, and I started a vlog, and I went to RT14, where I met loads of my lovely writer friends as well as my agent and many other wonderful TBA people. I also gave Beth Revis and Tammara Webber a hug, and met Leigh Bardugo, Sarah Maas, Tamora Pierce, Cora Carmack and many other superstars. I kept a really calm and cool persona (riiiiiight) while completely freaking out on the inside.

In June I started up school again (yes, in the summer) and also went on submission with my now-titled novel Beyond the Red.

In July I finished first drafting a NA novel that I immediately put away and declared no one would look at it ever. Immediately thereafter, I began drafting another novel, which I fell in love with instantly.

In September, I finished first drafting said novel and started a full-time school schedule again (summer classes were not full time), while also interning and writing. I also re-read that NA novel I said I wouldn’t look at again, and decided I loved the characters too much to give up on it.

In October, I accepted an offer from Sky Pony Press to publish my YA Sci-Fi debut, Beyond the Red, in hardcover, Spring 2016. That same month, I was also promoted from intern to Assistant Editor at Entangled, and my family moved out of the state I was born in for the first time.

In November, Writability hit 1,000,000 page views and had its biggest giveaway ever.

Now it’s December, and I’m kind of taking a break, at least, for the moment. I have betas looking at that NA, and once I get their feedback, it’ll be one last round of revisions before it goes to my agent. From there, I have two more MSs that have been drafted and are ready for revisions, and plenty of other work to think about.

But for now? I’m letting my brain relax, binge-watching Game of Thrones, and catching up on my TBR pile (or making a teensie dent, at least). And as I look to 2015, I could not be more grateful for this truly amazing year, nor more excited for all the things to come in the next twelve months.

How did 2014 treat you? 

Twitter-sized bite: 

.@Ava_Jae shares her 2014 year in review. Did you make any big changes in 2014? (Click to tweet)