On what we can control
Resolutions, or the lack thereof
I’m not big on resolutions because I always forget I made them by the end of the first week of January, and besides, making a resolution for publishing is an exercise in futility.
But when I thought about how I wanted to approach 2026 when it came to publishing, I kept coming back to one word:
Control.
I learned early on that there’s very little in this industry you can control, starting from back when I was in the query trenches. I couldn’t control what kind of books agents wanted, or when they would read my query, or what time they would reject me, or when they would offer, or what the market was looking for. All I could control was writing the best book possible and putting it out there when I thought it was ready, rinse and repeat.
In the same vein, now that I have an agent and am on sub, I know that saying my goal or resolution for 2026 is to get a book deal would be shortsighted at best, or set me up for massive disappointment at worst. And, after having a book die on submission, I’ve reexamined my expectations and how I want to approach this whole adventure.
It’s simply not in my hands.
However, I keep coming back to the word control, because there are things I can control, even when it’s complete chaos around me, and I’m resisting the urge to annoy my agent by asking for updates and refreshing my email every ten minutes. I am, after all, only human.
Focusing on what’s in my power is a much better mindset to have.
So here’s what I can control.
I can control my craft
There are still plenty of craft books to read, podcasts to listen to, and feedback to take from other writers. I’m very lucky to be surrounded by amazing writers, both online and in person, both at my job (where I write, but in a slightly different way) and in my personal life.
Zeroing in on craft, taking constructive criticism from those around me, and improving my writing can only be a good thing.
I can control what I write
Did you know there are no rules for what you can write? You can just sit down and bang out whatever you want, in whatever genre (no promises your agent will sub it, however). I started two new projects in new genres in 2025, and I’m hoping to complete one of them in 2026, and I’m already cooking up some new ideas.
I have a decent backlist, so adding more to the files certainly won’t hurt anything. In publishing, there’s an advantage to being able to pivot, and I’ve found that challenging myself to write in new genres and try new things keeps my skills fresh in an industry that often changes what it wants on a dime is a great asset. I love romance, and I will always write romance, but I can see the advantage of having other tricks up my sleeve as well.
I can control how I show up for my friends
2026 is a big year for a lot of writers I know. Since I started querying in late 2023, a lot of my friends have books coming out in 2026. Some of them have their second(!) books coming out. Some of them are self-publishing books this year. Some are announcing deals. There’s no shortage of good news to shout about, and trust me when I say I am ready to yell about it at the top of my lungs.
And there are so many ways to do this! You can preorder their books, you can add them to your “want to read” lists on Goodreads and Storygraph, you can share their content on social media (tag their publisher), you can request that your library and local bookstores carry their book, and you can tell all your friends to read their book. It’s easy, it’s so appreciated, and these are things that can make a difference, especially for debut authors. And also, it’s fun to celebrate successes.
My friends are also very talented, so it’s not like it’s hard to talk about how good their books are.
It costs me nothing to cheer on my friends, nor does it take anything away from anything I might achieve in the future.
Happy 2026, everyone.
