By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

Evaluating successes and challenges in 2016 for our writing careers means taking an honest look at how we progressed. Reaching goals doesn’t happen overnight and never happens without thought and prayer. We all experienced victories and moments of defeat: moments when we laughed and times when we cried; days when we love our calling and nights when we wanted to quit. What’s important to each one of us is the learning process.

The following are 10 ways I am excited about my writing career in 2017. Perhaps you can find yourself grabbing a pen and paper to create your own list. A writer is always strengthening her craft and increasing brand awareness.

1.  Research one writer conference that turns my craft challenges into strengths. Register and attend!

2.  Write a more compelling story with incredible characters who live on in the minds and hearts of my readers       unlike anything I’ve written in the past.

3.  Open my eyes to sales numbers. No matter what they are, they can grow. What can I do differently to ensure the numbers rise?

4.  Teach serious writers at a conference where I haven’t taught before.

5.  Evaluate my methods of marketing and promotion. Am I reaching current readers and drawing more into my fold?

6.  Adhere to my budget. Do I need to add or delete from my list of where I currently advertise?

7.  Provide interesting, worthwhile, and humorous information to my blog while remaining transparent.

8.  Create book proposals that stretch me as a writer and a lover of story.

9.  Delete the word “mediocre” and “midlist” from my personal dictionary.

10. Speak to an audience that forces me to delve deep into myself in a way that helps others.

Thank God for every victory and every challenge as a blessing. God doesn’t waste anything. Our paths have a purpose.

Now it’s your turn. Share with us one way your writing career will explode in 2017. If we all work as a team and encourage each other, how can we fail?

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Suspense Sister, and International Thriller Writers. She is co-director of The Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference and The Author Roadmap with social media specialist Edie Melson. She teaches writing workshops around the country. DiAnn is active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.