Lori, I agree with being accountable. Heck, accountability is one of the reasons Weight Watchers worked for me
Like most of the posts here, December was slow. However, November was unusually productive so I’m ahead of the game (just a tad) for January.

Goals for 2014: Build back into my work week the reasons why I decided to write full-time and not feel guilty for pursuing them. Those include spending time on completing creative writing projects, getting back to running every day, and staying healthy.

Since December was slow, I used the time to nurture clients that I haven’t been in touch with for a while and to get organized for the New Year.

For this month, existing clients are already contacting me for work so next week should be a good start after this holiday week.

I’m hoping to generate new clients this year, so I’m just now penciling out goals. One of them also includes powering-up my social media efforts. To date, LinkedIn has been the front runner.

And I too agree that this is the best job on the planet. Thanks Lori!

Thank you, John. I appreciate being part of the post!

And thanks also for the shout-out for my goals post!

December was an odd month for me. The first few says I spent catching up from my Thanksgiving trip before heading to Chicago for a huge assignment that demanded the bulk of my focus until I turned it in on Dec 31. (Let's just say you may be shocked when I'm able to reveal where I was and who I met!) I also spent the better part of a week my sister's house for Christmas.

Queries/LOIs: None.

Existing Clients: Perhaps my magazine clients are rare, but my Favorite Editors spent December assigning like crazy. I was already working on the big assignment for them, and they assigned me four more stories all due by the first week of February. I'm also working on a pair of web articles for another long-time client. The holidays got in the way of wrapping those interviews. I wrote some executive bios for another client, who told me to keep some time open in February for another batch of bios. I turned down an offer of three low-paying articles due January 6. Even if I weren't fully booked, I wouldn't accept assignments over the holidays that require any interviews – unless they paid $2/word.

New Clients: An executive my sister referred my way asked if I had time for a few small projects in December. I didn't, but she said she'll have more work for me in 2014. Fingers crossed I didn't blow it, but I knew I was already over-extended.

Earnings were dismal, but fortunately I took in enough payments in October and November to cover my December and January bills…and the amount Favorite Editor will pay me for that big feature by mid-January will cover all of February's bills.

On paper December wasn't a productive month, but the piece I focused on will result in a clip I should get some great mileage from throughout the next year or so. (Even the top-dog editor I almost never hear from congratulated me on my big "get" for the magazine!)

I love going into the new year with projects lined up and more in the offing. I've got a good feeling about 2014!