ALYSSA LOST IN SPACE

Happy New Year!

It’s 2022, and I’m sure I’m not alone in the unmitigated optimism I have for this year. It just feels like it’s going to be a good one, you know?

A few days ago we said goodbye to 2021, and I posted a brief recap of my year, and now we look forward, to all the fun things that will be released, and everything we hope to accomplish.

My goals never seem to pan out quite like I hope they will, and I’ve wondered if I shouldn’t bother setting any at all, but I always seem to get swept up in all the joy and ambition that comes with the New Year.

So I’ve set some goals for 2022. I meant to keep them fairly small this year, but somehow I ended up with ten. Some are harder than others, and some are very vague, but I’m pretty confident that I can achieve at least a few of these.

Anyway, here are my ten goals for 2022:

1. Publish my first novel

I know I said in my 2021 recap post that I was stepping away from fiction writing to focus on other things, but I do still want to publish my first book in 2022. I was planning on publishing last year, but I made a lot of changes to how I want to publish, and I’m really excited about the book I’m working on.

The book in question is tentatively titled King’s Mage, and it’s a swashbuckling, epic fantasy standalone story that I hope to publish this summer. The problem will be not letting my fiction overtake my other work as it has been so wont to do in the past.

2. Start a podcast

I’ve wanted to start a podcast for years, but I’ve struggled with what exactly to talk about and how to format it. I don’t want to start yet another writing or blogging podcast, because a lot of people have already done that (and better) and I would just be rehashing the same content. I’ve had a few ideas rattling around, but this year I really hope to commit to something.

3. Stream for a month

I also mentioned in that recap post that I wanted to get back to streaming now that I’ve corrected the issues that stopped my streaming in the first place. Of course, I’m not sure that I want to stream games, at least not all the time. My gaming time is how I relax, and when you’re playing a game on stream, you are an entertainer, and that shift is not something I’m sure I’m comfortable with.

But I did enjoy streaming, and I’ve had an idea for a while now for something new. I want to try it out for at least a month to see how much I enjoy it and how much it interrupts my general workflow, but I’m excited to get back into it.

4. Grow my blog traffic

Despite my reservations about what I was doing with my blog last year, it actually did really well, more than I expected it to, and I hope to continue that this year. I’m not going to go into specific numbers or anything, but I tripled my traffic last year, and I hope to do the same this year. If you want to know what sort of numbers we’re talking about, I do list some specific stats in my 2021 recap post.

5. Establish a workable routine

Even before considering that I might have ADHD, I’ve desperately needed a routine. It’s something I’ve talked about in the past, and it’s something I’ve always struggled to maintain, even though I know in the long run that it would be a lot healthier for me mentally and be a tremendous boon to my productivity.

I don’t expect to have it all figured out in only a year, and that’s not the sort of pressure I want to put on myself when I already have so much I want to do. I don’t need something perfect, but I need something workable. I need routines for my work habits and my lifestyle that will help me create the sort of life I want to live.

6. Read more indie books

This is something I do not do enough of, which is truly a shame because there is a lot of indie fantasy out there, and the industry has really matured. There are tons of well-written, high-quality books that are independently published, and as an aspiring indie author myself, I want to make connecting, supporting and promoting my fellow indie authors more of a priority in 2022.

7. Publish on Medium at least once a month

One thing I have not prioritized is earning money from my writing, and I don’t know that Medium is the best place for that, but I know it’s a great place to start. I want to test the waters and see if any of the niches in which I like to write will have any sort of traction, and maybe build a readership there. My waning confidence in my blog last year bled into my plans to start posting on Medium, so that was, unfortunately, a project left hanging. I want this year to be different.

8. Open an online store

I almost opened an Etsy store a few years ago before the reality of the workload made me give up only weeks before I’d planned to open it. Making jewellery has been a long-time love of mine, and I thought it might be fun to earn some extra money on the side by setting up an Etsy store. But it was confronting how much time I would actually have to invest not only in the store itself, but the time I would actually have to spend making the product. I love making jewellery, but the idea of making the same bracelet ten times made the whole Etsy store idea a lot less appealing.

I did still want to open an online store but I had no idea what to sell, no idea what I wanted to make, and if it was something I could endure making over and over again. I’ve come back to the idea several times, but this year I think I’m ready. I know what I want and I know what products I’m going to sell and I’m excited to get started.

9. Get clients through my website

My blog went through a bit of a makeover the past few months, and If you’ve been a reader for a while you might have noticed that there is now a services page! For the moment, my plan is to work primarily through freelance job sites like Upwork, but I’d love to get jobs through my own website once I get everything set up.

10. Grow my email list

While my email list has steadily grown as my blog traffic has, I’d really like to be more intentional about growing it. I want to create lead magnets, write regular newsletters, and connect with those people who really want to hear from me. I have some numbers in mind, but I’ve never done this before, so I’m going to keep those close to the chest, at least for the time being.

Most Anticipated Books of 2022

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu (January 18): An apocalyptic tale of family and loss after an ancient virus is unearthed in the Arctic. It’s been compared to Station Eleven, a favourite of mine, and features the same jumping between different points in time that is so characteristic of Mandel’s work, so I’m really excited to read this one.

Engines of Empire by Richard S. Ford (January 18): The Hawkspur heirs are scattered across the nation to keep the empire from crumbling in this steampunk epic fantasy. The Goodreads description really reminds me of a Final Fantasy game and Jim Butcher’s The Aeronaut’s Windlass, and I adore both of these things. I have high hopes for this one.

Scorpica by Greer Macallister (February 22): An epic fantasy world of matriarchal Queendoms goes to war and the women who live there struggle to survive as girls stop being born. It’s been touted as Game of Thrones for women, and I’m interested to see just where this book goes.

The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan (February 22): A man who’s role is detective, judge and executioner all rolled into one finds his authority challenged as he tries to investigate a murder. I’ve never read anything from this author before, but I really like interesting takes on power, abuse of power, and how it factors into the politics, so this sounds like it’ll be right up my alley.

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (April 5): I honestly cannot easily summarize this one, and unless you’re familiar with other works of Mandel’s, like Station Eleven, it would be impossible to describe succinctly. All I’ll say is that there are branching storylines, time travel, and metaphysics, and if you haven’t read anything by this author, then you really should change that.

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel (April 26): The only daughter of the king, this is the story of Kaikeyi who harnesses a magic only she can use to transform herself and carve a better world for the women around her after her mother is banished. This is Patel’s debut, and I’m hoping for a lush story of magic and mythology.

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abudullah (May 17): The story of a black market merchant working with jinn who gets entangled with the Sultan’s eldest son in this fantasy epic inspired by One Thousand and One nights. It just sounds really, really good, and I’m excited to read it.

Witch King by Martha Wells (Fall 2022): No cover for this one, sadly and there is no description for this book either, but Martha Wells is an auto-buy author for me. She’s been writing for decades, and the Murderbot series are some of my favourite books of all time. I’m certain this book will be amazing.

Most Anticipated Games

Nightingale

This one intrigues me. I love survival games, and I’m a huge fan of BioWare games, so the fact that this game was made by ex-BioWare staff has me optimistic that this will be a good one.

Breath of the Wild 2

Breath of the Wild, while definitely one of the more controversial Zelda games, is one of my favourite games of all time, so I’m extremely excited to see what happens with what I consider the first true Zelda sequel. Not sure if we’ll get it this year, but a girl can hope.

Triangle Strategy

I picked up Octopath Traveller recently, and I’m really enjoying it. It’s not too complicated, but there are a lot of fun mechanics and the game is absolutely beautiful. The story hasn’t been the deepest, but I’m excited to see what comes next from this developer.

Starfield

I’m ready for an open-world space opera game. Give me that Skyrim in space already. I can’t wait to hoard items as I fly across the solar system.

Tunic

I’ve really been into puzzle games lately, and Tunic delivers that classic Zelda-style dungeon crawling and puzzle-solving in an adorable package.

Let’s Chat!

What are you looking forward to in 2022? What are some of the things you hope to achieve this year? Let me know in the comments below!