2022 Annual Review

A notebook open on a wooden table with the words 2022 Annual Review

A clean, fresh lined notebook on a wooden table with the words 2022 Annual Review

Welcome to my Annual Review! My year is not complete with giving myself a performance review, examining what went right, what went wrong, how well I lived up to my themes and goals. These reviews have morphed for me, something to do with the pandemic, no doubt, into a more general positive or negative view, examining my level of satisfaction with my performance instead of the nitty gritty quantifiable details that I used to focus on. I’m mellowing in my middle-age, and what used to be important is no longer as vital. It’s interesting to realize and watch this transition through the years. Also, I’ve altered both my approach to new work and my definition of success, and that, too, changes this rumination.

So with those caveats as a guide, let’s do this.

Looking Back on 2022, The Year of Choice

I had two overarching goals that I publicly claimed for 2022.

  • I want to write more.

  • I want to spend less time on things that take me away from that goal.

So how did I do?

Actually, not too bad. I stayed home, skipped all the conferences, and spent the year filling the pipeline. I typed The End on 9 projects that were in various stages of completion. I started 2 that will be wrapped in 2023. I planned 17 more possible projects, across three pen names. Trust me, I certainly won’t write all of these. I just spent an afternoon dumping all my cogent and half-baked ideas into a single file, and that’s the number that emerged. As for the third pen name—I have some stories that don’t fit with my hard-hitting thrillers or my urban fantasy, (romance, speculative fiction) so they slot into a special place. I seriously doubt they will ever happen, but I need to acknowledge them.

This creative mind dump is such a good exercise, and I encourage all creatives to do it at least once a year. The goal is simple:  get every idea in play into a single place. It’s similar to my outlining method, really—plopping every thought, scene, piece of dialogue, and character description into a document before I start a book. Offloading helps me think more clearly.

But I closed the year feeling dissatisfied with my performance. I focused, yes, and got a lot written, a lot finished. But I made several decisions that bit me in the butt and learned a couple of very hard lessons, which makes looking back on this year more frustrating than I’d like. Both personally and creatively, my value structure has changed, and my work needs to reflect that. This is something I’m very excited to explore in 2023 and beyond.

Now, here’s something funny for you. Drafting this review, I was surprised to see my annual word spreadsheet was a bit anemic. As much as I wrote, as much as I finished, the word count was among my lowest in years.

Guess what? I was missing an entire project. A *big* project. So my crappy word count suddenly leaped by over 30,000, I was a little happier with my year-end results. I started to dig deeper and realized my book count was off, too. I’d read twice as many books as I recorded.

Feeling a bit better, I updated my spreadsheets and then had to give this all a lot more thought. First, I’ve put less value on tracking this year, which on the whole, I think is healthy. But no matter what I do, my satisfaction with my work is tied to output. I didn’t hit my goal, but I didn’t fall as short as I thought I did. There was an unreasonable amount of relief in this realization, so clearly I have more work to do on myself to stop attaching so much importance to the data. Speaking of…

NITTY GRITTY: AKA NERDOLOGY

2022 Total Words: 295,896
Fiction Total: 178,300
Non-Fiction Total: 117,596*
Fiction Percentage: 65%
Books Read: 81
Creative Projects as J.T. Ellison: 7
Creative Projects as Joss Walker: 5

*(Excludes Email and Trello, which total 210,000)

Major Projects Worked On:

JT Novels:

IT’S ONE OF US (2023 Standalone)
THE WOLVES COME AT NIGHT (Taylor Jackson #9)
#LEGACY (2024 Standalone)

JT Short Stories:

These Cold Strangers
X House
Louche 49

Joss Walker Novels:

MASTER OF SHADOWS (Jayne #2)
THE KEEPER OF FLAMES (Jayne #3)
DISCOVERY OF MAGIC (Jayne Bundle)

Joss Walker Short Stories:

A Betrayal of Magic
Guardians of Silence

Some other cool things:

  • A WORD ON WORDS was renewed for Season 8, and Season 7 was nominated for an EMMY

  • TOMB OF THE QUEEN won the Silver Falchion for Best Fantasy at Killer Nashville

  • IT’S ONE OF US got a starred Library Journal and some astounding blurbs

  • Appeared on Cal Newport’s podcast, and interviewed some astounding authors myself

Some not cool things:

  • Jameson’s illness continues

  • We got COVID—twice!

  • I have some long-term heart issues post-vaccine and COVID

  • No genuine time off after April, and no social media sabbaticals

But all in all, 2022 was a decent year. Frustrating on many levels, but we’re healthy again, safe, sheltered, and loved, which is really all that matters in the end. R.L. and I are having an awful lot of fun with the Jayne books and stories, I’m totally locked in on the psychological standalones, I’m very pleased with IT’S ONE OF US, and my creative spirit is feeling satisfied, and ready for the next steps.


The Year Ahead: 2023, The Year of Ritual


With perpetual changes to my publishing schedule, changes in the industry, the pandemic shifts, and changes to my personal ethos, I’ve lost many of my daily, monthly, and annual rituals over the past few years. This year, I intend to reclaim the valuable rituals that helped me build my career and kept me laser-focused over the past decade. This includes daily goals, project-specific deadlines, and a reinvigorated creative flow. I have plans, people. So many plans. I also have a new bellwether: will it matter in five years? If the answer is no, I ain’t doing it. There is great freedom in this question. You should ask yourself the same.

The “first word you see” tests abound this time of year, and the one I took on New Year’s Day gave me these three words:

Transformation
Abundance
Confidence

These are exactly the values I want to focus on in 2023. I’d decided on Ritual as my annual word in early December, when we’d canceled our annual holiday party. I just didn’t have the energy to host a shindig of that proportion. But as we got closer to the holidays, I realized that having something important to us to look forward to has to take precedence. This party is our annual ritual, and we had to respect that. (It was epic, by the way.)

That got me thinking about all the things we’ve given up these past few years, the ways our day-to-day and month-to-month lives have altered, shifted, changed, and not always for the better. Boom, Ritual was born.

But ritual is more than daily habits and parties and social media sabbaticals. It’s about travel, togetherness, unplugging completely, and respecting breaks. It is about reclaiming my time, reclaiming my space, reclaiming my creativity, and doing what’s right for me and my little family. It’s about saying “No, thank you” often and with great joy and zero guilt. It is about the transformation that comes from expectation, the abundance that comes from daily work, and the confidence that comes with being older and wiser, knowing that rituals are vital to a happy, healthy life.

I have a lot I want to accomplish in 2023. My top line goals: read 80 books, write 200,000 words, publish a bunch of great stories, tape another season of A Word on Words, stay focused on what matters, and get back on my bike. All while staying healthy, getting plenty of rest and exercise and sunshine and time off, and taking care of my people. All achievable, I think.

In the first quarter, I’m planning to finish drafting the new standalone, taking the Jayne series wide (meaning the books and stories will be available wherever you buy books instead of just at Amazon), editing Jayne #3, plotting Jayne #4 and some stories with R.L, and gearing up for the release of IT’S ONE OF US. I will be on tour for IOOU, too, so be on the lookout for the dates in my newsletter and on the website.

The second quarter will be quieter, with a family trip to the homeland and quick trip to NYC for Thrillerfest. And more writing, naturally. There may be a secret project or two that crop up around this time, and of course, we’ll need to talk about Taylor!

Quarters 3 and 4 are quieter still, with nothing but writing and editing planned, plus a business trip with the hubby. I’ve front loaded the year on purpose, because I absolutely loved how not having engagements in 2022 gave me so much freedom to create. Here’s to more of that!

This is all wonderful for me. But what about you? You, my friends, are about to be bombarded with the abundance of last year’s theme: Choice! I chose to stay home and write, and now you get those stories. Looking at my release schedule, where 2022 was a desert, 2023 is a lush frangipani-laden garden of delights. Here is what I currently have on the schedule:

J.T.

  • These Cold Strangers - Amazon Originals: We Could Be Heroes Collection (February 7, 2023)

  • HER DARK LIES mass market paperback (February 21, 2023)

  • IT'S ONE OF US hardcover (February 21, 2023)

  • THE WOLVES COME AT NIGHT (Taylor Jackson #9) (Spring)

  • Louche 49 - Infinity: A Suspense Magazine Anthology (March 21, 2023)

  • X House - In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology (September 12, 2023)

Joss

  • Guardians of Fury (Guardians Volume 2) (May 23, 2023)

  • THE KEEPER OF FLAMES (Jayne #3) (June 27, 2023)

  • THE PROPHESY OF WIND (Jayne #4) (October 24, 2023)

Think that might hold you for a while???

Yep. 2023 is gonna be a big year! Here’s wishing the best for us all. 🤠


 
 


For the past several years, I’ve been doing annual reviews of my life and work, based on the format from Chris Guillebeau’s wonderful Annual Review on his blog, The Art of Non-Conformity. Chris’s system is exceptionally detailed, more so than I really need, but the gist is there. It’s a great system for those of us who are self-employed and want to do an assessment of our work for the year. Here’s the link to the actual post. Go on over there and take a read. I’ll wait. 

And if you're interested, here are the links to my previous annual reviews for 2009 (Too Damn Much), 2010 (Evolution), 2011 (Depth), 2012 (Simplicity), 2013 (Pencil), 2014 (Making Do), 2015 (No), 2016, (Lent), 2017 (Flow), 2018 (Joy), 2019 (Enough), 2020 (Content) and 2021 (Choice).

J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of thJoss Walkere literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker.

With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards. Her titles have been optioned for television and published in twenty-eight countries.

J.T. lives with her husband and twin kittens in Nashville, where she is hard at work on her next novel.

A New AWOW and The Last Smatterings of 2022

Sunday Smatterings logo on a christmas tree closeup

’Twas the night before…well, Saturday, because it’s Friday evening as I write this. I’m cuddled with the cats in front of the fire; it is genuinely chilly here in Nashvegas. The trees are lit, there is a holiday radio station on the TV (playing The Waitresses, naturally) and I’m going through my ToDo lists making sure everything has been covered before I bid 2022 a fond farewell.

It’s strange how this time of year makes us all flip out. I can’t help feeling compelled to get everything wrapped up, no loose ends or unfinished projects. This year, I am determined to take some time off, and not be worrying about work so I can enjoy the holidays. I have books to read, and cookies to make, and family to enjoy. Its time to put away the Type A personality and chill.

We started early with a quick trip to see bestie Paige and the godbabies in Georgia, which was so deeply soul-nourishing that I am still glowing. Also, Paige’s book launch at Hills and Hamlet was incredible. They have signed copies. You should buy one.

There are a few other things I wanted to share to wrap the year with a tidy bow.

On A WORD ON WORDS this week, I sat down with Gal Beckerman to discuss his fascinating book THE QUIET BEFORE.

If you get the newsletter, you already know about this, but if not, I was delighted to have an extensive, wide-ranging interview with my friend Cal Newport about the realities of becoming a thriller writer.

I made a new friend recently who shares my love of examining the deep life, albeit on her own terms. Lauren Lowrey has a very cool podcast called Amstigator, and her last show of the year discusses the vital nature of allowing ourselves to be fallow over the winter in order to build stronger roots for our creativity. I loved this idea, which is, of course, analogous to the seasonality discussions Cal has been sharing. It seems more and more of us are seeing the value in slowing down instead of grinding it out day after day.

Here’s a quick look at what I’m reading this month, in addition to Paige’s awesome THE LOST WITCH.

And on the Joss side of things, there’s a new short story out today called A BETRAYAL OF MAGIC that you can read for free if you sign up for the newsletter, or grab it on Kindle. A major goal for 2023 - I am taking Jayne’s world wide, so you’ll be able to buy/read from any store you like.

And lo, this brings me to a wonderful moment in time. I am closed for business until January 3!

Mr. E, the kitties, and I wish you a safe, healthy, peaceful, and joyous holiday season. See you in 2023!

J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of thJoss Walkere literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker.

With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards. Her titles have been optioned for television and published in twenty-eight countries.

J.T. lives with her husband and twin kittens in Nashville, where she is hard at work on her next novel.

New Episode of A Word on Words with Ruth Ware

I couldn’t be more excited to share my interview with the brilliant NYT bestselling suspense author Ruth Ware, who, as you all know, is one of my favorite authors. Her new novel, THE IT GIRL, is a top five read of the year, and our conversation opened some creative doors for me, as well as being simply awesome. You can listen to this as a podcast, just subscribe to A WORD ON WORDS in your favorite podcast program, or watch the full version below. Enjoy!

A WORD ON WORDS interview with Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of THE IT GIRL

J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of thJoss Walkere literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker.

With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards. Her titles have been optioned for television and published in twenty-eight countries.

J.T. lives with her husband and twin kittens in Nashville, where she is hard at work on her next novel.

A Word on Words Season 8 Is Here–Now With Full-Length Episodes!

I am very excited to share some pretty cool news— A Word on Words has gone long-form! Not only do you get the usual shorter broadcast airing on your local station, which for Nashville means Sundays and Thursday on Nashville Public Television, for the first time, you will also have access to the entire interview on our YouTube channel! And our full-length podcast is available, too! Subscribe from your favorite podcast outlet.


The first episode of the season introduces my fabulous new co-host, investigative journalist and novelist (and all-around great guy) Jeremy Finley! (You might learn a little about me along the way, too.) We have a stellar lineup this season, featuring some of your faves and some incredible debuts, and everything in between. Our producer Suzy and the rest of the crew has done an outstanding job with all the formats. There’s a little something for everyone now!

➡️ Click here to watch the show ⬅️

We’re so excited to hear what you think about this new format! Personally, I am thrilled you get a longer visit with our guests so you can hear more about their work, their ethos, and their lives as writers. Can’t wait for you to watch!

Stop by www.awordonwords.org to see our past episodes.

And keep reading!

J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of thJoss Walkere literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker.

With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards. Her titles have been optioned for television and published in twenty-eight countries.

J.T. lives with her husband and twin kittens in Nashville, where she is hard at work on her next novel.

Appearance on Sarah Jenkin's Coffee and Words

Need some inspiration today? I had such a lovely chat with Sarah on her show Coffee and Words. Check it out!

J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of thJoss Walkere literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker.

With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards. Her titles have been optioned for television and published in twenty-eight countries.

J.T. lives with her husband and twin kittens in Nashville, where she is hard at work on her next novel.