I have a thing about New Year’s resolutions… I have to confess that I’ve never really liked them. However, what I do enjoy about this time of year is having the chance to reflect, to consider what went well, and what didn’t go so well in the previous year.
You may or may not know that e.g. Creative Solutions is less than a year old! That’s right, this time last year, I decided that my New Year’s resolution was to become self-employed.
When I made this resolution, I fantasised that somehow it would come true before the year was up, but I didn’t even know what services I could offer! I knew that I loved to write, and draw, so copywriting and illustration seemed like a good place to start, but deep down, I wasn’t sure it could happen. As if by some kind of New Year’s magic, just speaking my dream aloud, my business seemingly took on a life of its own.* By the beginning of March, my website was live, and by April, I had quit my old job and was doing this full-time!
The thing is, I’m ambitious almost every day of the year, and I set pretty wild goals just because it’s a Tuesday, so I didn’t hold any particular stock in my New Year’s resolution last year. But, since last year’s resolution went so well, and I want more of the same in 2023, this year I have decided to set myself another New Year’s resolution.
Like last year, I feel a bit nervous about voicing this resolution (I’m hoping that means it’s another good one) so firstly, let me explain; today is my first day back in the office since I signed off before Christmas! Since then, I’ve done a bit of thinking about where I want to take e.g. Creative Solutions this year.
When I think about the projects that I enjoyed the most last year, it’s the ones where I have had the pleasure of working with incredible clients, building an amazing relationship with them over the duration of the project, and of course, it’s the ones where I have loved doing the work itself!
And those projects are books.
When I started e.g. Creative Solutions, I assumed that I would eventually move mainly into copywriting, and that illustrations would get put on the back burner because, at the time, I didn’t know much about the industry, and I assumed there wouldn’t be enough demand. Thankfully, I was so wrong! In 2022, I contributed to six books! And it turns out that I love illustrating and writing books more than I ever could have imagined, so, this year, my New Year’s resolution is to find an illustration or literary agent to represent me so that I can spend more time doing what I love!
So, if you’re an agent and you’re looking for an illustrator or author, can we please chat?! And, if you’re a self-publishing author, and your New Year’s resolution is to see your book published this year, I would love to help!
*In all honesty, I think making that resolution to be my own boss was simply the first step in having the courage to go after this dream. From there, e.g. Creative Solutions came to life thanks to many hours of hard work in the evenings and weekends, ignoring every distraction and doubt in my head, and most importantly, enormous support from my partner, family, and friends.
It’s easy to look back now at how this became my full-time job so quickly, forget all of the hurdles and late nights, and put it down to some kind of magic, but really, like most resolutions, it became a reality thanks to lots of hard work. Maybe that’s a little less exciting than magic, but it’s a whole lot more satisfying!