2024 Report Card

Another year, another report card. Were there challenges? Lord. Next question, please.

To be honest, it was a very hard year to gauge and maneuver, let alone grade. So many ups and downs. So many curve balls. So many surprises. Yet somehow we made it through.

After some thought, I gave myself an A- though A+ for effort and resilience. So let’s break it down to see why I didn’t give myself a solid A or more…or less. I usually focus on things I got done, but there’s a variety of aspects that deserve a closer look and a proper run down.

Health. Health in your 40s is quite the adventure. I'll tell you that much. You can do everything right, but one strong sneeze or cough or even a bad movement, and your back can quit on you…completely or partially. I was lucky that last year it was only a partial ARGHHHHH versus 2023’s end-of-the-year adventures in feeling my age and having to visit urgent care. For 2024, I was also able to steer clear of burnout for the most part, but just barely. There were three very close calls. But this is a win, because I didn’t land in burnout (or crash, as it were). Luckily, I learned from past experiences and spoke up. Could it have been better? Yes. Oh, definitely yes. But it could have been so much worse. In short, I allowed myself to be human and asked for help, resources, or time and got what I needed for the most part. And when I felt off, I didn’t push through, I took time off. I did notice that my stamina took a hit because I went from more intense workouts to mainly walking, but these walks and yoga helped me in other ways. Was I a bit sluggish surfing at the end of the year? Yes, and we can blame that on the conditions I actually surfed in, or the fact that I was Hanseled to oblivion with foods, desserts, beer, wine, and all sorts of culinary delights from people happy to see me and happier to feed me. But that’s something to address in 2025 and give myself some grace. I was tired and mentally a bit burnt out, sure, but I didn’t go into a full burnout or land in a crisis. And though there’s always tomorrow, for yesterday and the whole of last year, I worked hard and made sure I was as OK as I could be. Anyways, next topic!

Books. You might have heard, but I did a thing. I finished a series. Part of the burnout I mentioned above was due to the effort I put into finishing Beyond Human which finishes the Human Cycle.

This not-so-little book was a not-so-little beast and it took much-more-than-not-so-little to get it edited, proofread, and finalized on time for the Puerto Rico Comic Con. Although I won’t know how well I did until I read the whole series from start to finish, what I can say is that in the reading department, I finished several series and I feel more comfortable with how I did than say, the City of Ember Series or His Dark Materials. “But JD, those are best-selling series!” I’m well aware of that fact. I’m not talking about relevance, reach, or sales. I’m talking about story and craft and although I can’t say I did better than either of those series in general or particularly in regard to their high points (which are VERY high), The Human Cycle was more consistent as a series than both of the ones I mentioned and I would put money on that claim. Book One isn’t the sole driver in a series. Main driver? Yes. Sole driver? No. Books 2 and 3 don’t feel like a major drop in quality. Actually, either quality remains consistent, or it improved. I also worked very hard to make sure most of a hearty list of characters got a proper send-off while also leaving a couple of doors open in case some of these characters want to come back for another adventure. But I didn’t leave any cliffhangers. I left open doors. I also didn’t half-ass explanations or skip BIG chunks of the narrative (Looking at you, City of Ember). I also didn’t put every single idea I had in my head (Looking at you, His Dark Materials). I’m sure once I read it, I will think of things I could have included, tweaked or, dare I say it, “improved”. But I’m at peace knowing I gave my absolute best and that this project is truly and deeply a solo project. No beta readers. No editor. Only me. For better or worse. More than wanted, I needed a project like that. It had to be as human as I could make it and it’s done and so far, reviews are positive, with a lot of people praising the series as a whole. Did I get the sales I wanted? Not really, but I did much better than I’d thought seeing combination of numbers in events, from book sales in Puerto Rico thanks to collaborating with Letras Distribution, and thanks to Amazon. As for awards, I got two honorable mentions in the International Latino Book Awards and though I would have preferred a win, it’s just an invitation to push myself more. Can I do better? We can ALWAYS do better. In sales and in my writing, but I’ll once again choose to focus on the fact that I gave my best and did my best. 

 Writing events and activities. In person, I participated in the Puerto Rico Comic Con to celebrate my tenth anniversary as an author (another reason why I NEEDED to finish the Human Cycle). I kept my end of the bargain and brought a new book for readers. I was very happy to see that readers also kept their part of the bargain and came to say hello, catch up, and I was very happy to see that my book was still a must buy for many people. Actually, this went for several of my books. In addition, it was beautiful to see the author community in PR continue to flourish and I’m so proud of all my writer friends. 

 

Other than that, the other events I attended were as a civilian to scope the land, evaluate the prospect of participating, saying hello to a ton of writer friends, and picking up quite a few new books. Online, I continued to participate in a wide variety of interviews on several channels and that’s always fun. I spoke with friends I hadn’t been in touch with for a while and it was great to chat and catch up. I also gave chats to classrooms in Puerto Rico and Pennsylvania, two writing classes, and I participated in the AuthorTube Writing Conference giving not one but two presentations: a panel on Healthy Writing Habits with Heidi Angell and Joe Compton and a webinar on Collaboratingfor the Perfect Cover. All in all, not bad at all…and I’m ready to do more, so if you are a teacher or would like to round up a group of friends for a class on creativity, then let’s make it happen.  

 

My First Writing Course

Students from Mr. Weimann's class

Me talking about writing to 4th/5th graders

Reading. 44 books was the goal and we got the 44 though I did rush in the last week as if I were in a competition. I was happy with the variety of books, from kids books, to poetry, to whole series, in both English and Spanish, and for the most part reading what I wanted to and enjoying. The main thing is to keep it steady and find a book or two where you really hook into it. I do plan on reading more this year, but I kept my base goal the same because life happens and 44 isn't bad at all.

 

Work. The usual roller coaster asked 2023 to hold its beer and 2024 at times felt like a bull hellbent on bucking me off or goring me. High points include presentations I gave to clients, projects we finished that had everyone involved happy, and participating on a panel for a company-wide event. I was also involved in a film production at the end of the year in Puerto Rico, got to know a program I wasn’t aware of called TechosPa’ Mi Gente (Roofs for my People) and it was a very special experience and I will be sharing more information about this cause soon. That’s the good, the bad was crazy work volume at times and life offering me plenty of lessons and more than one slice of humble pie in regard to situations and dynamics. I did my best to learn from the experiences and speak my truth. Did some things affect me more than I would have liked? Sure, but hey, I’m Only Human. ;) Still, we forged ahead and all I can say is that I gave my best and that’s enough for me because no matter what adversity I faced or unpleasantness I was offered, I kept giving my best regardless. 

 

Friends and Family. I did my best to be in touch, to be present, to make time, and to work around things as best as I could, but I learned that sometimes winging something works endlessly better than planning. This goes for friends, family, and even projects. Making time for something isn’t always easy and sometimes every will work against what you want to do. But on other occasions, a small silly little thing can lead to making true memories. So, here’s to more of that. To those I wasn't able to get to, I'll keep doing my best though feel free to give me a hand so we can make more awesome moments together ;)

Is there more to unpack?

 

Of course, but this gives you a pretty decent idea of the year I had. The grade is because things did affect me that I wish wouldn’t have. But the grade is also because I avoided a full crash and honestly, I got dealt a lot of rough hands and made due and forged ahead. Did I absolutely crush everything? No. I sold less than I wanted. I’m still eons away from author sustainability. Reviews are still not as often as I'd like them. I need to continue to focus on work-life balance. But I did pretty good and the note to see after class is to remind myself that for being indie, for having a high demand job, for being tossed a bunch of challenges and some dirty deeds, I did good and was stubborn for the good things. I didn’t push things. I stayed true to who and how I am. I was human. And that deserves praise, even if the extra credit doesn’t get me the full A.

 

Still, there’s always next year. Thanks for joining me for the recap and til next we meet in words.

 

Peace, love, and maki rolls.