Happy New Year: Resolutions and Hilights

Happy New Year!

As 2015 has officially come to a close, here we are beginning our New Year's Resolutions. This time, we're going to stick to them! I say it every year, and it still never happens, but this year I am convinced that I will stick to my resolutions.

Keeping this in mind, I got curious about what authors and fellow bloggers would have as their resolutions. So I sent out some emails and tweets, and I got responses. Below, are the resolutions of some names that you may recognize, as well as their hilights of 2015.

I'll start us off with mine, and away we'll go...

New Year's Resolutions and Hilights of 2015

Me!

Resolution: 

To blog more consistently. To work on my personality flaws. To get an agent and start the publishing process. To limit myself to one soda per month until June, and then make it 0. To get my license. And to start my freshman year of college as the person I want to be.

Hilight of 2015:

Meeting my best internet friend at NTTBF (AKA my best freaking friend ever). Best day ever, hands down.

Heather W. Petty

Author of LOCK & MORI

Resolution: 

I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions, but this year I'll be working on balancing things in my life a little better. When your passion becomes a career, it can be really hard to remember to take time away to just be a person for a while. But it's super important. So I'm going to try!

Hilight of 2015:

My hilight of 2015 was definitely going to the bookstore on my release day with my daughter and watching her jump up and down and squee over seeing my book on the shelf. It was a huge moment for me too, but seeing her excitement made it so much more fun!

Stephanie

Blogger @ OhanaReads

Resolution:

I want to start talking to bloggers more! When I say more, I mean I'd like to participate in more discussions and become closer with my blogger friends again. So commenting on blog posts, talking to bloggers on twitter, and more twitter parties are definitely a must.

To start advertising posts! Writing posts are pointless if no one is reading them! So this year I'm going to be trying my best to spread the word, and get more people reading my posts!

More giveaways! I love to spoil people, and promoting books, so why not do more giveaways and do both at the same time? With learning about Book Depository this year, and their free international shipping, I'm going to try to do a giveaway every few months! Whether it's on my blog, or twitter.

Hilight of 2015:

Becoming more known to publishers, for some people might not be a big deal but I've found that with being in Canada, bloggers have a harder time being noticed by the publishing houses. With some of the houses just being American, we don't even have a chance at all. So yes, to me this was an accomplishment and a hilight.

I've kind of adopted my local indie this year. It'a been a blast always visiting them, and always feeling at home with the books and workers there.

In October, my sister and I went to an Author Round Table Dinner for MYRCA, a Manitoba Literacy Choice Awards group for kids in grades 6-8, promoting books from all over Canada. Throughout the night we were seated with three different authors who rotated seats with other tables for each course. I was lucky enough to have been able to sit beside Kelley Armstrong, Larry Verstraeten, and Colleen Nelson, as well as see a family friend Maureen Fergus again. It was such an amazing feeling to have been able to be around so many book living people from Winnipeg, most of the time we don't get bookish events, so it was a pretty amazing experience for me. It was also the first time being around such a large group of book people since YALLFEST 2014. Since the dinner, my local public library system has asked to host me on their teen website as one of their favourite bloggers of 2015, and I've been invited from a local publisher to help promote their books.

Erin Bowman

Author of The Taken trilogy and VENGEANCE ROAD

Resolution:

My New Year's Resolution is to better balance work and family life. (This was my resolution last year, but there's still room for more improvement!) I'd also like to read at least 50 books because BOOKS. No further justification needed. ;)

Hilight of 2015:

My 2015 hilight was watching Baby Bowman morph from baby to a toddler in just twelve months. She keeps surprising me every day, and I can't wait to see what 2016 has in store for our family.

Alana (AKA Ivey) @ The Hopeless Reader

Blogger @ The Hopeless Reader

Resolution:

To make more time to read because school has prevented me from doing so lately.

Hilight of 2015:

Attending YALLfest and meeting some of my favorite authors and booktubers. 

Philip Siegel

Author of THE BREAK UP ARTIST and THE REVENGE ARTIST

Resolution:

To learn to trust my gut.

Hilight of 2015:

Finding out I'm going to be an uncle again!

Kaitlin

Blogger @ Next Page Please!

Resolution:

Manage my time better- I feel like this is a constant struggle with me and with my schedule getting busier soon, I really need to learn how to make the most of my time. Sometimes I end up spending two hours doing nothing productive and I despise that feeling of knowing I basically did nothing, I hate it. I hope to be a more productive person in 2016 and in the next few years!

Don't be so quick to judge- Yeah, I am guilty of judging people based on first glance and making an opinion about them when I hadn't even talked to them before and I really want to stop doing that. I mean, I have two great friends that I judged off of first glance and I don't know what I would do without them now if I didn't bother to be friends with them based on the opinion I made when I didn't even know them. Judging is definitely a flaw I am guilty of and want to get rid of.

Learn how to do hand letter- If you know me, I am a huge font person and have a great love for hand lettering. This year I want to learn how to do modern calligraphy! I know how to do chinese calligraphy but modern calligraphy is definitely different from that. I hope to teach myself hand lettering and you know, the aesthetically pleasing kind!

Hilight of 2015:

I met some awesome people last year! Online and some in real life- Last year, I made a ton of blogging friends and am super excited to meet more in the coming years. Some blogging friends I also got to meet in person! Was super fun meeting them and I am so excited to talk and meet more people. I also got to see sooo many great authors and meet them which is definitely a great experience for people who love books. It's like meeting a celebrity! :D

There were so many great reads this year- As someone who was just slowly getting into the blogging community, I read and found out so many great books. Really happy with all the books I read last year and fairly enjoyed all of them. Fingers crossed that I will be able to read just as great books this year as I did last year.

I started taking blogging seriously- If you didn't know, I moved to a blogger blog around February of last year but before that, I went through a 7 month time period where I was just starting off blogging. Back then though, I didn't take it as seriously as I usually would and in February, I stepped it up and started taking it seriously.

Shows and Netflix came into my life- Around this time actually, I gained access to Netflix and binged the first of the 100, then Friends. Then, in the summer: Arow. Now, I will soon be keeping up with six shows and I honestly love watching shows. They do take a load of your time, BUT THEY ARE SO GOOD OMG. WORTH IT!

Leah Thomas:

Author of BECAUSE YOU'LL NEVER MEET ME

Resolution:

Talk Less, Listen More- I had this one last year as well, and it's something I struggle with. Everyone in my family has that irksome habit of talking over other people, and I'm awful about interrupting people. It's a shame, because I'm genuinely interested in what people say-- I just get way too excited about conversating, I guess.

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others- As a new author, and as a human being, this can only yield nightmarish results. I'm trying to compare myself to myself, and the progress I make, and not to the success of others. I think my characters have this trouble, too! That way lies madness!

Keep On Writing, Keep on Truckin'- I don't drive a truck. But I think a year can be a daunting thing, and you need to keep pushing through the inevitable trials it will present. I want everyone to make the most of a year that will surely throw some stones at us. Use those stones as fuel to keep moving; keep writing (and keep mixing metaphors!)

Hilight of 2015:

For me that has to go to the first email I received from a reader. Of all the wondrous things that happen when you finally get your work out there-- signings and travel and conventions-- the human connection is the most humbling.

Josiah

Blogger @ The Bookish Fanboy

Resolution: 

1. To read more books, 2. To be more active on book blogging, 3. To read the books that I really want to read, and not because of their popularity, 4. I want to be less quiet (Since I am an introverted person lol)

Hilight of 2015:

I've met so many amazing people in the book community (It may be on instagram, twitter, or any other social media platforms) and I'm thankful for that. 2015 was a satisfying one because I know that all of my decisions in my personal life and all the hard work-- it was all worth it!!!

Lauren Gibaldi

Author of THE NIGHT WE SAID YES and the novella MATT'S STORY

Resolution:

At the moment, like so many other, I'm obsessed with the musical Hamilton. A line from it is "Talk less, smile more." Though I obviously don't resolve to do that in the new year, I'm remixing it to be more appropriate. So my New Year's Resolution is: "Tweet less, write more." I wrote both THE NIGHT WE SAID YES and AUTOFOCUS (Which releases June 2016) prior to having a daughter. Now, my time is rather limited, so I really need to make the most of my writing time. But, of course, I can't avoid social media. So this year I vow to avoid it just a little bit so I can finish my next book. And reserve some more time to listen to Hamilton because... priorities.

Hilight of 2015:

The release of THE NIGHT WE SAID YES this past June, and my daughter's first birthday.

Brittany

Blogger @ Please Feed the Bookworm

Resolution:

As for my resolutions, well in my personal life I vow to just get healthy. I don't necessarily want to lose weight (Although that would be a plus) but just to feel better about myself. Stronger with more energy.

In my bookish life I want to be more diligent with my comments. Make time to visit my twitter friends' blogs. I also want to do more discussion type posts. They are always so fun to read. I just joined a challenge for that so it should be a good time!

Hilight of 2015:

So the absolute biggest hilight of my bookish year was attending BEA 2015! I saw all the excitement surrounding BEA 2014 and vowed that I would go and... I did! It was such an amazing and overwhelming experience to see all those bookish people band together. It was also great to hang out with my friend, which is what I will be completely focused on this year!

Bethany Crandell

Author of SUMMER ON THE SHORT BUS

Resolution:

I'm not usually one for resolutions, at least not ON New Year's, but I have been making a conscious effort to SLOW DOWN and BE STILL! Life is busy and there are distractions everywhere. Even though it's important to stay connected and informed, it's also okay to just be quiet and be still. Good things happen when we give our brains a break.

Hilight of 2015:

"Realizing" that unexpected setbacks are the key to growth, and discovering pourable brown sugar! OMG. I didn't think oats and berries could get any better...

Eli

Blogger @ Tweens Read Too and The Silver Words

Resolution:

Eli does not believe in New Year's Resolutions!

Hilight of 2015:

Getting through my first AP class and getting a four, the birth of my twin cousins, going to the Last Bookstore in LA, finishing my manuscript, and meeting Marissa Meyer :D <3

Can you relate to some of these resolutions?

What were your hilights of 2015?

I want to know, so leave a comment!

I hope your 2016's are starting off with a bang, and that you all have a mega fantastic year.

I feel like it's going to be a good one.

Happily, 

Stephanie