My 2024 Writing Wrap-Up
From finishing a new book to attending my first writing workshop and GETTING A BOOK DEAL, 2024 was a huge year for me with many highs - and a few lows.
In the beginning of 2024, I was still querying Once Upon A Song, my Gothic Snow Queen retelling, and although I had received a few requests after changing the beginning of the book, I no longer truly believed it would be picked up – at this point, I had queried close to 100 agents/small presses over the span of 1,5 years and so I focused on a different project: Epoch, my epic fantasy with a time-travel twist. I had originally written this story years ago but it stayed with me all this time so I wanted to give it another shot.
In February, while rewriting Epoch, I received the email that changed everything: a book deal offer for Once Upon A Song. I still can’t fully describe the range of emotions I felt when I realized that this whimsical, dark and romantic story which holds such a special place in my heart was going to be a real book. In March, I officially accepted the offer and announced the big news: Once Upon A Song will be released in early 2026 by Quill & Crow Publishing House.
Once I had dried all those tears of joy, I got back to working on Epoch but it was a struggle. After finishing the rewrite and sending out my first batch of queries, I needed to combat writer’s block by diving into a new project. I had always dreamed about writing a book in epistolary format and I wanted to expand my skills in the Gothic genre, so I started working on The Muse of Moor’s End, a Gothic horror/romance novella.
In May, I finished the first draft of The Muse of Moor’s End and decided to let it sit for a while. In the meantime, some query responses for Epoch had come in. When I received one very detailed rejection, I paused querying and got started on another round of revisions. Again, I struggled a lot with this project. After tinkering with it for so long, it felt tedious rather than fun and creative.
In June, I picked The Muse of Moor’s End back up and completed its second draft which I sent out to my wonderful beta readers. While waiting for their feedback, I continued editing Epoch. I also set up my author’s website, wrote my first blog article and started compiling an online tool for other writers where they can find small presses to submit to.
I barely got any writing done in July and August. My partner and I visited our families back in Germany so my writing time got cut short – which is okay. Not every month can be productive, although I do miss writing when I spend more than a few days away from it.
In September, it was back to fighting through my edit of Epoch. Despite my love for this book and the characters, I was ready to be done with it after what seemed like ages of writing and rewriting.
In October, I attended the Futurescapes Fall Workshop which was such a fun experience. From working with talented other writers and agents like Jenissa Graham and Eric Smith to a keynote speech by one of my favorite authors, Fonda Lee, I had a blast. I workshopped my query letter, synopsis and first 6,500 words for Epoch. After the workshop, I finally wrapped up the project and jumped into the query trenches again.
By the time I completed Epoch, all the feedback from my beta readers had arrived and I started the third draft of The Muse of Moor’s End. I honestly have so much love for this book which originally began as a little side project. Throughout the entire year, it helped me refill my creative well and it allowed me to try new things and challenge myself as a writer.
In December, just a couple of days before flying home for the holidays, I finished the third draft of The Muse of Moor’s End. I sent it out to one more reader and my plan for the new year (spoiler alert!) is to hopefully find a home for this book that honestly made my writing year 2024 so fun and special.
Overall, I am so proud of what I achieved this year. While my book deal obviously stands out as the main event, I was also able to push through an edit I struggled with as well as venture into a new project which led me to grow immensely. I feel like I changed completely as a writer in these past 12 months (in a good way) and I look forward to challenging myself again next year. I would also like to say a huge thank you to all the amazing people who supported me this year. I’m so grateful to be part of this wonderful writing community!
