2009 Year In Review, Sort Of

December 31, 2009

I'm more inclined to look ahead rather than behind, but I'll see if anything in particular pops into my head in reflecting upon 2009.

--I signed two book contracts. That's a positive thing, I think. For y'all who are struggling to get book contracts, feel free to give me a metaphorical kick in the ass for not being all rosy and ecstatic about it. Reality does not always meet expectations, although sometimes it does exceed them. I'm glad to be back in the novels-being-published game, especially after a number of empty hits in 2008.

--after running out of publication options for a nonfiction book proposal that our agent didn't sell, I dug down, hunted up a handful of publishers, and found my two collaborators and myself a publisher that offered us a contract for a book about medical practice management.

--I'm going to throw this out here because I was delighted about this. As a guy who writes about writing on this blog, I know that the bulk of my readers--which I think of as a community--are aspiring novelists. A couple of you are already novelists and some of you are full-time freelancers and/or both. But I know some of you are struggling to break into the business. So I was particularly pleased--really, really pleased, actually--when one of my readers, Stephen Parrish, got a contract offer for The Tavernier Stones, to be published in May 2010 by Midnight Ink, my former publisher. So congratulations to Stephen. And in 2010 I hope very much to hear of such good news from every other reader here who aspires in that direction. That would make me happy indeed.

--my continued friendship, online and otherwise, with people I've met through this blog and others, and I'm naming just a few because our friendship has gone past our respective blogs to outside e-mails and occasional phone calls: Erica Orloff, John VanZile, Stephen Parrish and Natasha Fondren (who, by weird coincidence, knows my sister-in-law).

--This was a year that an old friend and I decided to try to get together for lunch once a month and we've mostly succeeded. We've known each other literally our whole lives, having grown up across the street from each other and being born 2 weeks apart, but we haven't had much communication in the last 15 years or so except for family funerals. I'm very happy about this, overall.

--the deepening friendship with Gary Ashton, my guitar teacher. He had, I'm sure, a pretty shitty 2009, so I'm hoping he has a great 2010; either way, I value his friendship.

--I'm still making a good living as a freelance writer and editor and novelist and certainly hope I'll continue to do so.

--I've enjoyed my sons, who are growing into interesting, kind, brilliant, creative and talented young men. Kudos to my wife, who gets most of the credit.

--I'm grateful for my regular clients (very).

--I'm grateful for my dog, always.

--I'm oddly grateful for Facebook, which has allowed me to keep in closer touch with my brother, my sister, a couple cousins, and old high school friends, as well as a couple hundred other people I barely know.

--My involvement with the band boosters has not only been enjoyable and enriching, but it's expanded my social life and friends significantly. Since I have long been a traditional homebody with very few close friends and not much of a social life outside my immediate family, I think this is a sign of growth on my part.

--And it's certainly been a pleasurable year of reading, listening to music, taking guitar lessons, exercising, and working, with a little bit of travel thrown in. A fine year indeed, for the most part.

Happy New Year!

Cheers,

Mark Terry