And so the year plunges into its crazy conclusion. All dietary restrictions, sleep patterns and pledges to live a clean and healthy lifestyle evaporate momentarily in the haze of celebrations and family and friend gatherings, and all the joy and love that the season of Christmas/New Year brings. I hope your past weeks have been good to you.
 
For me, as a writer, the close of 2024 is also the close of a two-year project to ensure my past publications are out of the shadow of the ignominious label ‘out-of-print’. All sixteen books originally published between 1992-2016 can now be ordered in paper copy through me or via Amazon. I am preparing digital versions in the early part of 2025.
 
It was also enjoyable to bring into existence a new historical romance/semi biographical novel, Girlie, and a poetry anthology, Rearview Mirror.
 
And, so, to the writing resolutions for 2025.
 

1. The blog
   I am moving from a monthly to weekly commitment beginning mid-January 2025, each blog to be created as written and audio/visual content for sharing via social media platforms and each blog to focus on a specific creative writing topic. For example, the first topic will be the writing obsession, the second focussing on forming writing ideas, and so on.
   
   
2. Self-promotion
   I’ve never been much of a salesperson, but I am committing 2025 to a year of self-promotion wherever I can legitimately do so, although mainly via social media. The blog mentioned above is one step, but I’m exploring a variety of avenues. I’ve learned, bitterly, that I am currently a completely unknown writer, except by some family and friends, and I need to change that status.
   
   
3. An agent
   I need an agent to promote my new works to publishers. The industry has changed, and AI makes sorting through original writing by people versus artificial work generated by computers, increasingly difficult to compete against. I will make concerted approaches to potential agents throughout 2025 with the aim of securing publishing deals.
   
   
4. New novels
   While I used 2023-2024 to mainly consolidate my old work, I also drafted an additional twelve new novels now sitting in first draft manuscript format. Seven novels represent two new fantasy series, two novels are science fiction, two are contemporary literary novels, and one is another historical semi-biography. These are the works I need an agent to represent to publishers, and part of my energy in 2025 will be to polish these novels.
   
   
5. A publishing and writing services company
   There are plenty of writers seeking guidance and help through writing services, including various forms of feedback and editing, and I intend to build a small business designed to support these writers. In addition, I’d like to be involved in helping local writers reach publication. I do not believe I am in a position to act as a literary agent, but I can help writers self-publish and I am discussing the exciting notion with a colleague of starting a small publishing company designed to help niche writers and local writers with manuscripts that are good but being rejected in the current industry. Lots for me to learn here.
   
   
6. Self-publishing
   If I can’t attract the interest of an agent or publisher for my new works, I will continue to offer my work through self-publishing avenues.
   
   

It’s a long and demanding list of resolutions, but if I want to have some level of success in this chosen profession I have to commit.
 
Anyway, I hope you have a good new year and that 2025 is prosperous and healthy, and, at the very least, kind to you and your family and friends.
 
Tony Shillitoe