A Year of Joy - Holly Schindler

In 2023, I did it--I got back into my art. Late in '22, I fell into a network of female commercial artists and graphic designers, and they inspired me to finally take the plunge. In short? It's been incredible. I enrolled in a ton of digital art courses. I upgraded to an iPad pro. I started wrapping my brain around pattern work and font creation. I made my very first sale of anything art related (!) in October. I mean, it was for a greeting card, so I made the grand sum total of $3.32 on it, but it taught me it was possible to sell something I drew. If I made one $3.32, more was certainly on the way.

Really, tough, the main thing that network of commercial artists did, over the course of the year, was change my mindset.

I've heard writers say that they have a hard time figuring out what they want to work on next  after typing THE END. A book takes serious time to write--a year's pretty average, I'd say. And spending that much time with anything changes you. Spending a year with the commercial artists certainly changed me--changed what I thought was possible not just regarding my art, but regarding my writing, too.

This new outlook has brought me an incredible amount of joy. It's funny how seeing one opportunity only makes you see other opportunities until they just pop up everywhere.

In 2024? I'm going to expand my digital art business. Start selling fonts and patterns. Revamp an old picture book. 

I'm also going to expand what I'm doing with my writing. I definitely want to get into audio. I've been outlining a fiction podcast. And thinking about audiobook originals. 

Also, I'm going to be making an announcement in January of 2024--it's an offering that should be of interest to those of you that are working on manuscripts over the holiday season. To get all the details, be sure to subscribe at my Substack.

~

And to everyone who stopped by YAOTL this year--THANK YOU. It's a joy to be part of such a vibrant, passionate group of authors. And it's a joy to write for our readers each month. 

Happy Holidays!

~

Holly Schindler is the author of critically acclaimed books for readers of all ages. Her first book, A Blue So Dark, is available at Bookshop.