Happy New Year! Relax and Take Stock.

If you can’t tell from my picture, I am not ready for 2016! Unfortunately, we don’t get much choice in the matter, and 2016 has arrived and with it, my term as your friendly and not-at-all-murderous chapter president!

You’ll hear from me in the Noose (you all read your Noose, right?), but in case you miss that, do feel free to contact me if there’s something the chapter could be doing that it’s not. Taking over from Richie means I am stepping into big shoes, and I’ll need your help to do the best job!

That goes for this blog, too. Is there a topic you’d like us to address here? Right now, the blog is curated by the chapter board, but it’s here for you. Is there something you’d like to write for it? An area of expertise you have that would help other chapter members? We’d love to know.

For the moment, I’ll start with one of the things I hear from people most frequently: too much is expected of authors these days. Authors—even traditionally-published ones—have to be publicists, marketers, social media experts… you name it. So if you’re feeling frazzled, you’re not alone.

Relax.

One of the most frustrating things about the publishing industry in general is the inability to properly calculate ROI (return on investment). Have a look at what you did last year to either promote what you have out there for sale or to finish your current work in progress. Ask yourself how much energy and money each took versus how successful it appeared to you.

The most expensive things I do in terms of both energy and money are conferences. (If you didn’t know it, we maintain a list of conferences and festivals for members, and we’d love to hear from you if you have one to add!) ROI on a conference is impossible to determine. I come back simultaneously exhausted and energized and while I can’t say that I learn much in terms of technique from the craft sessions, they motivate me and help to “refill the well.” Sometimes, I meet industry professionals who turn out to be helpful years down the line, which is why figuring out whether a particular conference was a good investment is so difficult.

But usually, you can trust your gut. Did the conference feel useful? When you got home, did you sit down and get to work because you felt the spark? Did talking to other authors and/or fans relieve some of the tension of the lonely work you usually do? All that has value.

Before you barrel into another year of doing the same things you tried last year, ask your gut what it thinks about those things, too. If you’re sitting here thinking “oh, no, another year of Facebook ads and Twitter tweets and Pinterest pins and Tumblr pictures and blog posts, none of which do anything for me but take time away from my writing,” then stop. If you feel as if none of those things actually worked for you, chances are you’re right.

And you know what Einstein said about insanity — doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

So, yeah. Don’t do those same things.

I don’t mean don’t do Twitter or Facebook or blog posts, I mean consider how you do them. Cut back. Calm down. Do one thing and do it well rather than spreading yourself so thin you can’t track what you’re doing where. Remember that social media is above all social. It’s not a billboard or email blast. People go there to chat with you, to hear from you. Do you prefer long-form communication or would you rather keep it to 140 characters? Do you do a lot of research for your books that could lead to interesting blog posts? Do you have a hobby that you incorporate into your books that might make for a great Tumblr?

It’s a new year. Leave behind the ashes of all the stuff you tried before that didn’t work and start a new fire. Every one of you is a phoenix.