This week we take a pause to consider gratitude. American society has always been a go-getter, hard working society and writers are no different. In Indie Publishing we have found ourselves extremely busy with all the work that goes into creating and selling a book even after it’s written. We’re ll so busy that we forget sometimes to pause for a moment of gratitude. To give thanks for what has gotten done, what did go right or what got set right after it went wrong.
So let’s do that. Let’s start with gratitude.
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Transcript found here:
Kat
Hello, all you creative writers out there and any readers listening as well. This is Kat Caldwell, and today is Thursday, November 17, 2022. And this is for the podcast that will go out November 21, 2022, which is the kick off to the American Thanksgiving weekend holiday. And I say weekend, but I hesitate because Thanksgiving has sort of become a week thing here in America, because of course, we always start making things bigger and bigger and bigger. The biggest thing about Thanksgiving in the States is that it is the official, unofficial kick off to the Christmas holiday season. Now, I say official, unofficial because there’s always those stores that have Christmas decorations out in like September, but we don’t want to talk about those stores. I don’t even want to go in those stores. So I really subscribe to this idea of Christmas starts after Thanksgiving. That’s fine. I like that. I like Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. And I actually don’t care if you set up your Christmas stuff now. I don’t really have that strong of an opinion. It’s just my house. I am in control of my house. And that is when Christmas starts. And guess what else starts the day after Thanksgiving? Hint, hint. It’s a Friday, and for some reason we call it Black. I don’t know why we call it Black Friday. It always reminds me of the day in October 1929 when the stock market crashed. That was called a Black Holiday… I think it was called a Black Friday, or was it a Black Tuesday? Who knows? But I don’t know why we call Black Friday Black Friday. It’s not like anything should be crashing. It shouldn’t be crashing. It should be joyful. It should be called like Golden Friday. But of course, this starts out the week of Black Friday deals. And as writers, you are not left out this week. There are a ton of writing deals out there; writing software, marketing for writers, I guess, deals. A lot of writing coaches and things are putting out deals. I know I have deals scrolling through my social media. I am offering different deals for people who buy my book or who set up a coaching program. And in fact, just for you guys, look down below in the show notes and you will see a special deal for all of my listeners, a percentage off of my shop, where I have my journals and there is a writing prompt book in my shop and then signed copies of my books. And you can also get a percentage off of your coaching, if you want some one-on-one coaching or a developmental critique. So that is only going to be available to my listeners here on the podcast and it’s going to be below, in the show notes below. You can also just head over to KatCaldwell.com and you can use the coupon “PODCAST” in your cart and you will get 20% off. I don’t know why I was going to try to make it a surprise, but hey, there you go. So you get 20% off either my books, or developmental edit, or your first month of coaching, or you know what, you can probably use the code on all of them, because I’m not sure I know how to keep you to one. Take advantage of my inability to run tech properly. So use the code “PODCAST”. Just for you guys! And actually if you share it with people, that’s fine too. Just tell them to listen to the podcast. And as I’m talking about listening to the podcast, wherever you are listening, go ahead and review, or subscribe, or share the podcast. I have to tell you, I have started listening to podcasts on this app, let me find it for you, called Podverse. I really like it. It’s like a black, little square with just blue headphones. Podverse, you can find it on any of the app stores. I like it because it doesn’t have the Spotify ads. If you’re listening to this on Spotify and you’re getting like CVS ads or anything like that, that’s not me. That is Spotify getting money and that is happening more and more. So, you know, if you prefer Spotify because you pay for it, whatever, that’s cool. I guess if you pay for it, you wouldn’t get ads. But okay, if you’re trying to use it free, as my children do, and I refuse to pay for Spotify, just because I have tons of other things I’m paying for, this Podverse is free and it doesn’t have this like, added in ads. Okay? So if those annoy you find this Podverse app, this sounds really clear. It has every single podcast I’ve ever looked for. It has Pencils&Lipstick, I have checked. So there you go, just a little tidbit for you. But please share the podcast. It really helps, we’re in our fourth year now, I’m in. You guys, I always say we are because I just think of you guys as part of this. So we’re in our fourth year and I’m trying to spend more time building up the community around the podcast. I know I’m not doing the greatest job, but you can really support the podcast by sharing it, by letting people know, by subscribing, by giving it a review. And I haven’t done a push for reviews, and so most of the reviews are about a year and a half old. So really wherever you’re listening, if you give a review to it, that would be awesome. And then if you want to support the show, monetarily all of the links that I put in the show notes as sort of the sponsor of the show, those are affiliate links, just FYI, they don’t cost you any more money. But I do get a percentage from any sales that occur. And then if you want to support the show even more and get more discounts and access to all of my digital products, you can click the link below at the buymecoffee.com/pencilslipstick that goes straight to the sponsorship page. Buy Me a Coffee is the same as Patreon. It just doesn’t charge its users as much as Patreon does, because Patreon upped their charges. So I’m trying to build more of a community there. I’m going to be more online. There will probably have some question and answer, or just hang out times there. So at the moment you can get access to different digital PDF things that I have over there, all aimed at writers. You can also see the show. If it’s an interview, you can see the show. If it’s just me talking, you don’t want to see the show. Like right now I’m in my running clothes. I do have makeup on right now though. Anyway, if it is an author interview, you will be able to watch the author interview at buymayacoffee.com/pencilslipstick. They’re always up there for a week and then they go under the sort of if you subscribe link, so they’re hidden unless you’re a subscriber, after a week. So this is Thanksgiving week and it’s going to be a bit of a shorter show just because of different scheduling conflicts and my brain literally not working. Like, I missed three different things this week. Coffee with a friend, which I just looked like I blew off, because I’m ridiculous and I totally forgot, and I had to grovel for her forgiveness and rightly so because that’s such a lame thing to do as a friend and I felt terrible about it. And I also messed up one meeting and showed up and it wasn’t until the next day and then missed another meeting and I was like, I’m so sorry. I don’t know, I don’t know what happened to my brain this week. I started setting alarms on my phone and thank goodness I didn’t miss a little, like, I’m getting rid of my kids stuff and we still have this five-year-old bicycle, like for a five-year-old and I don’t have a five-year-old. So I decided to just give it away and I found someone to take it and I almost forgot to go, except that thankfully I set the timer and now a little girl gets her break. And I don’t feel like a jerk. Yay, for not feeling like a jerk, because it’s Thanksgiving weekend, so we need to be thankful. I really like doing some gratitude checks. I really, really, really enjoy doing that. I used to keep a gratitude journal. I think it’s really important to do that. And so I just wanted to take a check in a moment. What are you grateful for this year? It’s 2022. We’re almost at the end of this year. What are you grateful for? Just take a moment to think. Look around, see what you have, see what you’ve done and accomplished. Don’t think about all the things you wish you would have accomplished, because I know we all have a list a mile-long, that is absolutely impossible to finish. But think of what has happened this year, and has come around, and that you’ve accomplished on your own. Have you written 500 words like, that’s cool. I mean, really, it’s 500 more than you would have had you not written them. Have you written more than 500? Have you gotten a book out, maybe? Have you gotten a short story out? Did you get your Christmas letters written? Because if you did, wow, you’re amazing. Did you walk outside this year? Did you take care of yourself this year? Do you have a house? Do you have a roof over your head? Do you have a kitchen? I always think of Nepal in my walk last year, through the mount Everest region, and this woman showing me her kitchen, and just realizing that I think I could have fit, like, 14 of her kitchens in my kitchen. It was literally smaller than my closet. I’m not kidding. And I don’t have one of those massive, like, southern houses closet things. It was tiny, so it had one counter. And then two men were sitting inside having their tea, and they were sitting on stools, and the kitchen was full. There were no cabinets. There was a two burner, like a hot plate, and then there were a couple of shelves, and they had some plates and cups. And she showed me her house with pride, and I oohed and aahed over her house and her living area, and it was brand new, and she was so proud of her house, and it made me realize how much stuff I have. I remember my first house when I was married. I mean, it was a house, it was an apartment. The kitchen was literally in a closet. Love it, I mean, it was like one of those accordion things, walls that you can pull back and forth. So it didn’t even have a room. It was, like, against the wall, you know? So I just want to be thankful, I want to be grateful. I hate the color of my kitchen, but I have a kitchen, you know? And there’s, like, six burners on this ridiculous stove that they put in every single house in this area. It’s just, every time I move, it’s funny the things that people find important. And America has so many different cultures, so it’s like, oh, well, that’s a really nice stove. Until it breaks, guys, until it breaks. And it broke, like, six weeks into moving in here. Anyway, I’m not going to think about the things I’m not grateful for. I have a stove, and it works now. You know what? I fixed it last year. I have hot water, usually, unless they’re fixing something up there, but I have hot water. I have a real toilet, and I still think about Nepal on that one, too. Plumbing, plumbing is awesome. I have food, I have three girls, who are growing so quickly, but they’re doing so much better in school this year. You know, COVI has completely opened up, like, I mean, it’s not gone, but, you know, we’ve opened up from it. We got to see our family in Spain this summer and spend some time with them. We have a new baby in the family, and she’s so adorable, and I can’t wait to see her. And while we won’t be able to go to Spain, this Christmas, it looks like we will get there soon, and that’s okay. I’m grateful that there are always planes flying and that prices will probably go down. That’s what I’m just going to be hopefully grateful. So what are you guys grateful for? So, you know, I love going through my personal life first. I have friends, I have a car that works, I have a great husband who works so hard and then comes home and loves to play with us and hang out with us, and then you go into just like, your year. Let’s look back on your year. What have you done as a writer? What have you done? Whatever you do in your daytime job? What are you grateful for? Are you grateful that you have a job? Did you get to change a job this year and maybe that’s what you’re grateful for? Did you find time to write this year? Did you learn to wake up earlier to write? Because please tell me your secret, guys. I still don’t know how to do that. Every time I wake up, I’m like, no, this isn’t going to work. I don’t know what I’m thinking about anymore. So, I do not wake up and write. Once the sun is like, up and it’s 10:00 a.m., I wish that I had, but I just can’t at 5:45 a.m.. I just can’t, I just can’t guys. Did you get through class this year? Did you learn about marketing this year? Did you get on social media this year? Did you step out and maybe send a query or pitch during pitch fest? Did you, I don’t know, did you go to a book fair? Did you get out there? Did you get into a book store? What are you grateful for this year? I think this is an important thing to do. We are going to look back on our lives and sometimes we can’t remember what happened each year. But I think if you take the time to pause and look backwards on the year, I think that it will help you, as the years go on, remember which year was which. So I am grateful for Author Accelerator this year. I signed up for their book coaching and I think it’s an impressive book coaching course and class. The community is amazing and I am grateful for the motivation and for the people who worked with me to help me get it done. Because you have to get three different people, three different writers to sort of volunteer and be part of you getting it done, and being part of the work that you do. So I’m grateful for those three, and for the Author Accelerator. And in 2023, I am going to finish off the nonfiction, so I am grateful for that as well. Did you participate in NaNo? Are you surviving? I mean, be grateful for that, whatever happened, right? You’re learning. Are you able to write every day? I don’t know. Writing everyday is a great habit, but it’s not always possible. If you skipped a day and missed it, were you able to forgive yourself? That’s a big deal. I have to say, I missed a day and I was upset about it because I don’t know what personality this is, what your enneagrams all are, but I really like, once I challenge myself, I really hate it when I break the chain, you know, of the days. So I was bit upset with myself. I was like, if you had just written ten words, you would have just said ten words, you know? And I told my newsletter, the other day, yeah, I wrote 299 words on Monday, guys, because I was determined that I wasn’t going to just, like, skip it because the week before I had missed a day. So I was like, I have to write something and I mess up the time, as is happening this week, and I was like, oh, I have time. And then I got to literally 299 words and I looked at the clock and I was like, I don’t have time, I have to leave. I have to go get the kids. And I looked like 299 words, what? What is that? And I was a little bit tempted to just put like, another word somewhere in there to just have 300, because I like round numbers. But I didn’t, I just left it, I hit save. Whatever, it is what it is, it’s okay. And you know what? I’m grateful that at 41, I can finally forgive myself, for not doing all the things that I thought that I could get done that day. So did you learn something? Did you get any writing done? Did you get any marketing done? Did you meet another writer? Did you maybe reach out as an introvert to somebody? Did you learn a lot of things this year? Did you get a lot of reading done this year? Are you grateful for books? I’m grateful for books and for readers. I’m really grateful for everyone who makes these wonderful marketing help softwares because I don’t know where I would be without them. I’m grateful for Publisher Rocket. I’m grateful for all of the newsletter like Author XP and Story Origin App and Book Funnel. I’m so grateful for people who put up just different promotions for books. I’m grateful for readers who want to read books, and I’m grateful for reviewers who like to review books, and I’m grateful for everyone who came on the podcast. I think that I had a lot of wonderful people. I learned a lot, I hope you guys learned a lot. I’m grateful for people who are willing to take an hour out of their time to interview with me. I’m grateful for you guys for taking an hour of your time each week to listen and taking that time to share it with others. I’ve seen the numbers go up, so you guys must be sharing because I know I’m not doing as good a job as I could. I’m grateful for my editor, Kristy, and I’m grateful for Marc, who has been helping me the last few months, get more marketing done on this show, because I do think it brings you guys value, and I see the listener numbers, so somebody out there likes it. So we’re going to keep going. And I’m grateful for him for helping me with that. I’m grateful for my husband who puts up with me. And you know what? Here’s the thing, too. I set a ridiculous goal of writing four books this year. I knew that it was too much, but, you know, I always like to set ridiculous goals. I don’t know, I’m just one of those people. And I will by the end of the year, my goal now is to at least have more or less Crossing Zamora done, which is the name of Daucer’s now, and like, the draft of it done. And Cornered, which is now Tristen, the name of Tristen’s, Outside the Ring is going to be the name of the duology, and Cornered will be his story. That one will be pretty much done, you know, barring, like, edits. So we’ll have to go back to my wonderful developmental editor because I’m adding so many different scenes and sort of twisting it a little bit differently, and then it will have to get edited and it will be able to go out next year. And you know what? I think that’s okay, that’s all right. I’m grateful for the hard work I put into it this year. I’m grateful for the support I got from people. I’m grateful for what I learned. I think the biggest takeaway this year is, it’s great to sit down in the chair and write, but sometimes I need to think, and I think better if I’m doing stuff, which means I should go do stuff to think about the book and to think about where I’m going and to spend more time thinking. Does that make sense? That’s just me. I’m grateful for finding my rhythm, a little bit more in writing. And of course, the rhythm will have to change because 2023, my kids will be one year older and they’ll be doing new things and, you know, so the rhythm is always going to have to change. But every year I get settled into the rhythm faster, I think. And I’m just grateful that some things got done, a lot of things got done. You know what? We’re healthy, we’re happy, we had some sad things happen this year, but we kept going and we got through them. So life happens, but we’re still here, right? You and I are still here. And there’s lots to be thankful for, even in this crazy, crazy world. So let me know what you are grateful for. What are you thankful for this week? Be sure to check out the affiliate links below and be sure to keep listening. I have a great offer for you from Stacy Juba. But first, you guys can let me know what you’re grateful for over on Twitter @PencilsLipstick, or on Instagram @PencilsandLipstick, all spelled out. You can also find me on my website. You guys can sign up there for my newsletter. I’m always looking forward to hearing from you all. I would love to hear about what you’re grateful for, what you got accomplished this year, maybe what you’re reading, what’s your biggest takeaway from this year from 2022? And we’ll talk about goal soon for 2023. For all my American listeners out there, have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, eat lots of pie, take long walks, spend time with your family, maybe get some writing done. And to everyone else out there, have a wonderful week, a wonderful weekend. If you’re celebrating a holiday, I wish you well during those holidays. If it’s just every day as usual, well, maybe you’ll at least get some fun emails from the Americans talking about football and pie. Have a wonderful week, you guys.
Kat
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Find Stacy Juba’s Energize Your Writing Toolkit here and her free resources.