My 2015 Year in Review Post!

You know what? 2015 has been a hell of a year, on both a personal and a writing/blogging level.

Every year around New Year’s I like to go over some of the major accomplishments I had throughout the year, and I think it’s actually somewhat therapeutic. Our time on Earth is short and reflecting on how wisely we spend it every year helps us better appreciate what we have.

But enough with the sappy stuff. Let’s take a look at 2015!

But first, perhaps the best thing to come out of the year was the birth of our third child, the adorable little Nora Belle. We’re so blessed to have such a healthy little girl and her older brother and sister have been just great to her so far.

Write Good Books

So Write Good Books will turn 1-year-old on January 1. It’s been a terrific first year. While I haven’t hit the traffic or revenue goals I had originally set, I have been very happy with the progress of blog so far. Throughout the year, we received 21,000 page views from nearly 11,000 users. It’s a good start as we build the foundation of the site.

The mission of the site is still the same: To help new and aspiring writers grow in their craft by sharing what I’ve learned in the last six years as a writer. We learn together, and I hope to help other writers avoid making some of the same mistakes I made early on in my writing career.

I’ve got a lot of new things planned for the blog and we’ll talk about some of that tomorrow when I post my 2016 goals!

Theme of Absence

I started Theme of Absence about a year and a half ago. Of all my writing-related projects, the ezine is still the one I enjoy the most. In 2015, we received 22,000 page views from 9,800 users.

I’ve made some great contacts from the site and also gave a handful of writers their first publishing credit, which always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside 🙂

During the year, we brought in the talented author and artist, Betty Rocksteady, to provide original illustrations and we also hosted the first annual Halloween Horror Flash Fiction contest, a semi-pro paying contest which I plan to bring back every year.

The acceptance rate at Theme of Absence has held steady at 27%, so while I continue to receive an abundance of quality submissions, I’m never overwhelmed by the number. I’m proud to say that Theme of Absence remains listed as one of the top 30 sites for personal feedback on Duotrope.

I can’t wait to see what the next year brings for the ezine!

My Own Writing

As for my own writing…this was another great year for me as a writer. I had four short stories published throughout the year in various markets. My submission/acceptance rate for the year was 11%. Not bad, considering I didn’t spend very much time on short stories, with everything else going on this year.

The biggest writing news for me, however, came on the same day Nora was born in the form of a contract with Wings ePress to publish my first novel: Holy Fudgesicles. The publishing experience has been really interesting and I’ve learned a lot from it. I also know I’ve got a lot more to learn, as any author in the small press world will tell you, because promotion and marketing are the most difficult parts of writing.

In other writing news, I joined the Nebraska Writers Guild and attended their two annual fall and spring conferences. I had a great time at both and look forward to getting more involved with the guild in the coming year.

I also did my first convention this year, sitting on panels with several great authors at OS Fest 8 in Omaha. I’m thankful for the opportunity and it was a great experience to sit with so many talented writers and discuss the craft.

Finally, just for fun, I also redesigned my author website, which you should check out at www.JasonBougger.com for publication and event news.

Other stuff

So many other things happened this year. I’ve seen people I’m close to lose loved ones, while others were able to welcome new lives into their families.

We lost Dusty Rhodes and Roddy Piper, two guys who played instrumental roles in what I’ve learned about storytelling and character development as a kid. (Yeah, I know pro-wrestling…) We also saw Star Wars return to take the world by storm and fill the final weeks of the year with awesomeness.

I truly hope 2015 treated you well and that you’re ready to go full steam ahead in 2016. I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at my goals for 2016 and some super exciting news about the Write Good Books blog.

What were some of your biggest accomplishments for the year? Feel free to share!