Woman Unresolved

UPDATE: Heading into 2020, and I haven't changed my mind since I posted this three years ago.

I've made pretty much the same five resolutions every New Year's Eve for the past four decades, so I've decided to exit 2016, one of the most craptastic years on record, resolving to remain unresolved. I'm launching 2017 with a single guiding principle: Screw it. I'm just going to be myself.

Top 5 Non-Resolutions for 2017:
#1 Stop using bad words. Yeah, fuck that. I'm a professional. I know which words are appropriate to the occasion.

#2 Lose weight. Based on 45 years of empirical study, I can conclude with some certainty that dieting, self-loathing, guilt and constantly talking about my weight is not going to make me a size 9. I am a size 16. Bam. Weight problem solved.

#3 Work smarter, not harder! "Smarter" too often translates into "what works for other people." I have to do what feels right to me as an artist and works for me as a sole proprietor, and so far, working insanely hard seems to have yielded the most fruit. I am a workaholic woman dedicated to a life in publishing, in the words of JFK, "not because it's easy but because it's hard."

#4 Be a purveyor of shalom. This is a lovely ambition in theory, but sometimes the world needs shit-disturbers, tell-it-like-it-is-ers, boat-rockers and contrarians. For 20 years, the only prayer I've spoken on behalf of my career is "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace." Praying for book deals or for certain people to get syphilis is too narrow-minded for the wide-open possibilities of modern publishing, so I plan to stick with that, but genuine, lasting peace usually comes in the wake of healthy change, so upheaval serves that goal - in personal and professional arenas - far better than denying one's self and placating others.

#5 Be a better mom. Over the years, the specifics ranged from making a daily hot breakfast to chore charts to a total ban on television in our home for two years. God knows what my kids (now fully grown adult folk) will tell their analysts about me, but they are a couple of awesome blossoms, no one's been arrested lately, and we can all go to sleep at night knowing that our family is loaded with love. My role from here on out is to love them, not to finance their foolishness, enable their self-doubt or critique their decisions. The best thing I can do for them is give them permission to be themselves by living the mandate I'm resolving to better embrace:

"To thine own self be true."

Happy New Year, beautiful world. Let's be kind and get through this together.

Dr. Janece O. Hudson Gets Into Your Dreams

Boxing the Octopus Contest/Dream Advice Exclusive: Ask Dr. Hudson a question about your dreams in the comments below or simply post a comment to be entered in a drawing to take place on Friday, August 5th at noon CDT to win a copy of Into Your Dreams! Beginning this afternoon (Monday, 8/1) Dr. Hudson will answer your dream questions on a first-come, first-served basis in the comments section. Please include an e-mail address with your comment or check back at the blog on Friday afternoon so we can reach you if your name is drawn. -------------------- Right around the time I sold my first book, I was fortunate enough to meet Jan Hudson, the author of more than thirty romances and romantic comedies. During a shared meal at a writer's conference, I casually mentioned a vivid, terrifying dream that had repeatedly troubled me for months, something about continually being cut off on my commute to work by tornadoes dropping from the sky. That's when I learned of Jan's ...

Quick Tips from a Tightrope

The other day, I posted this sobering message on my Facebook and Twitter feeds: New writers don't want to hear it, but staying published is the hard part. Like trying to walk a tightrope in lard-slathered socks. The publishing biz had just given me another such reminder, with my former publisher (and holder of my entire in-print backlist) deciding to go all digital, at least in the near future and whittling down its editorial staff to nearly nil in response to dwindling sales. But even in the best of economic times, it's a huge challenge to keep one's career alive long enough to build an audience and prosper, especially for the grand majority of authors, who survive on the mid-list. (Big-time bestsellerdom has its own perils, but that's another post.) Yet somehow, I remain if not wildly optimistic, perpetually hopeful. Over the years, I've seen some very talented authors crash and burn with the fortunes of lousy covers, a line's or publisher's demise, or an ...

#TheStruggleIsReal Why I’m Not Mad That You Didn’t Hire Me (Freelance editor Jerusha Rodgers on a millennial dilemma)

Today we hear from Jerusha Rodgers (aka "The Plot Whisperer") of Rabid Badger Editing in a post prompted by a conversation about agism in publishing, which I see from the perspective of a, um...let's say "experienced" author/book doctor in my 50s and she sees from the perspective of a fresh new face in her mid-20s. Ironically, yes, she had to explain to me about "the struggle is real." Shortly after graduating, a friend of mine posted the greatest Facebook status ever: “I would love to reenact some the of the fantasies in Fifty Shades of Grey, specifically the one where she gets a full-time job straight out of college.” With an economy that clings to safety (read: tradition and money) and a workforce and community that strives for advancement (read: cooler, more accessible stuff), applicants whose limited practical experience is backed up by open minds and inherent expertise in the use of technology often get left out of the running. It’s the st...

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