This year, the traditional article
about new resolutions may be less interesting than usual. In fact, I only
half-finished or nearly half-finished several things I intended to do, while I
forgot about others along the way. However, I am experiencing this end of the
year more peacefully than the previous one. I feel generally more satisfied
with what I’ve done in the last twelve months, although I’m not sure exactly
why.
I suspect that the recent holiday
in Malaga (in November), the positive results of the Italian tennis
during this year (these two things are related, as you can read in one of my latest articles) and the fact that in this last month
I have been doing physical activity consistently are among the main reasons
of this sense of satisfaction.
In general, regardless of the
results, what satisfies me the most is being able to always do what I set out
to do, crossing out with a red line every day all the items on my to-do list.
And for some time now I’ve been managing to do so.
But I admit that, as soon as I
started rereading last year’s article, I almost felt guilty: in this 2024 I
achieved much less than in 2023 (in which I published and promoted two
books in English) in the publishing field and I did not complete the very few
resolutions I had listed.
And yet, thinking about it, I say to
myself: does it matter?
What did I end up doing in 2024?
In the publishing field, I have
finally completed and put online the new version of my website (in Italian):
www.anakina.net.
I’d been working on it for many
months and I really like how it turned out, both because it is much more usable
on all devices and because, thanks to the slightly more logical way in
which I structured it, it is now easier for me to keep it updated and possibly
expand it with other sections, if there was the need.
I also managed to create the new
version of the mini-site of “Deserto rosso e il Ciclo dell’Aurora”: www.desertorosso.net.
I am particularly proud of the
result, both from an aesthetic and usability point of view.
Instead, I haven’t yet started
working on the English version of my site. I know it will be quite simple,
since I can start from the Italian one and adapt it, without having to
structure it from scratch, but so far I haven’t done it, partly because I don’t
fancy to, partly because I don’t think it makes sense to dedicate time to it
until I have finished the revision of all the books in English.
And here we come to another thing I
did: I completed the revision of the third book of Red Desert, namely “Invisible
Enemy”, which is online with a new version. So I got to work on the fourth,
“Back Home”, but alas I haven’t finished it yet. I’m going very slowly,
dedicating about an hour a week to it, when things go well. I’ve reached the
penultimate chapter anyway. Well, I’m starting to see the light at the end of
the tunnel.
Still on the subject of writing, you
may have noticed that I have become more active here on the blog,
especially in the last few months. I’ve decided to use what I write (or wrote
in the past) on my Facebook page to create new articles in which I talk about
the things I like, from books (although this year has perhaps registered my
worst negative record in terms of books read) to TV series, from films to
music, obviously passing through tennis.
From my Facebook posts, articles are
created that end up on my Italian blog and that then, after having translated
them, I publish them in English on Medium,
then on Substack (where I manage
one of my mailing lists in English, so you can get them directly in your inbox)
and finally on this blog. And everything gets reshared on other social
networks.
Additionally, I’ve added two more
articles to the Self-publishinglab blog (in Italian). I would like to write more, but I struggle to
find any interesting and original topics to explore further, that is, not
something everyone is already talking about.
I have also written a short
series of articles in English on a publication available on Medium,
called Babel, relating to my
work as a professional translator, in which I talk about how I became one (Why
I Am a Translator) and how it works (What is Translation? and Use
of Translation Software).
If you want to read them, you can find them here, here and here,
if you are a paid Medium user, or here,
here,
and here,
if you aren’t.
And, speaking of my work as a
freelance translator, I have also updated the website of my sole
proprietorship, Anakina Web: www.anakina.net/translations.
As you can see, it is still a
subsite of my main domain.
It was something else I had to do,
and I managed to get it done.
By the way, this year I had quite
a bit more work than the previous one. I suspect that this is also one of
the reasons for my satisfaction at the end of the year and, at the same time,
why I achieved less in the publishing field.
After all, days are 24 hours long
for everyone and in any case it’s not so bad when a good number of those hours
correspond to a certain economic return, don’t you think? Especially when there
is a close correlation between the amount of work done (specifically, the
number of words I translate) and this economic return. Let’s say that we face
them with a completely different attitude!
And, staying on the subject of
languages, during the year I continued to constantly brush up on my German,
adding to the review of an old De Agostini course and the reading of two books,
also an advanced course by Assimil. I try to dedicate at least half an hour a day
to it and, as time goes by, my understanding is getting better and better, as
is the hope of bringing it back to the level it was at about twenty years ago.
On a personal level, there are
several things I am satisfied with.
I’m doing physical activity more
consistently. In this month of December, when for a few years now I find
myself having more time than usual, I managed to do 20 one-hour training
sessions. I already know that in January I will have to cut this number
probably in half, but that’s okay.
This year I managed to take three
short holidays. In April, my partner and I spent a few days in Naples,
while in May we visited Nuremberg. Finally, in November, as already
mentioned, we went to Malaga. We had already visited the city during a
cruise 15 years ago, but this time we were there for something else, namely the
final of the Billie Jean King Cup (I took the risk of buying tickets
hoping that the girls would reach the final, and I was lucky!) and the quarter-finals
of the Davis Cup, Italy-Argentina.
And, still speaking of tennis, in
addition to this experience in Spain, we replicated that of the ATP Challenger
175 in Cagliari, the Sardegna Open.
Well!
Now that I have taken a look again
at my few resolutions shared a year ago, I realise that I partially
completed the first, that is, I updated my Italian sites. Unfortunately, I
haven’t done the same for the English ones, except for the minisites dedicated
to individual books or series (like www.reddesert.net,
www.anakina.net/ericshaw and www.anakina.net/kindred), but all in
all I can’t complain, because most of the work is done.
I am consistently pursuing my second
resolution, that of doing physical activity and brushing up on my German.
As for the third, that is, finding myself in a situation where all the
pending commitments were wrapped up, and I could ask myself what I would do
next, well, we’re not there yet at all!
If I go back and look at my famous
to-do list, which I mentioned last year, I notice that the deleted items
have gone from 18 to 22. It’s not a great improvement, but it’s better than
nothing.
Instead, what are my resolutions for
2025?
Aside from continuing to train my
body and mind (with German and other foreign languages, but possibly also with
other topics), here they are:
1. Finishing the review of “Red Desert – Back Home”. I’m almost there.
2. Updating the English version of my website with the new design.
3. Updating “Self-publishing lab. Il mestiere dell’autoeditore” with the latest news from the self-publishing market.
The previous update was in May 2023, so it’s time to revisit it. This isn’t a
very demanding job, since I already have a list of changes to make. I just need
to put some time into it.
4. Moving on to another big item on that famous list. If I complete points 1 and 2, I will indeed be forced
to do so. I already have a clear idea of what it will be, but I prefer not to
anticipate anything.
Also, next year, I should write
something new or, alternatively, translate into English some other of my books
(probably “Per caso”, which will
become “By Chance”).
My choice will depend on an external
event totally unrelated to my publishing activity. It’s a bit of a way to avoid
having to make that decision.
Writing, however, does not mean
publishing. I don’t want to put that kind of
pressure on myself. If I write, it will be a way to see if I still have the
desire to try something longer than a series of articles, whatever comes of it.
It will help me understand where to direct my future efforts and where not to.
There are also a number of other
things I would like to do in 2025, even if they are not real resolutions.
As you know, I am a biologist, but I
have not practised the profession for many years. My interest in biology has
never disappeared and here and there it has popped up in my books, both in
thrillers (forensic science) and especially in science fiction novels.
While I was writing the latter, I
found myself delving into astrobiology (that is, the branch of biology
that studies the emergence of life and the possibilities of life outside of
Earth), also because one of the main characters in my books, Anna Persson, is
in fact an astrobiologist/exobiologist (the two terms are essentially
synonymous).
In 2014, I also followed a MOOC on
the topic, held by prof. Charles Cockell of the UK Centre for Astrobiology
(based in Edinburgh). Since I received as a gift for Christmas, among other
things, two books on astrobiology, including one by Cockell based on his
university course, I want to take this opportunity to delve into the subject in
a more detailed way.
Another thing I would like to do is listen
to more music.
I have always been passionate about
music. For a period of my life, in the 2000s, I also dedicated myself to
singing. For a few years now, however, I’ve limited myself to putting it in the
background while I do something else. I hear it, but I don’t listen to it. I’d
like to get back into the habit of occasionally taking some time to listen to
an album from start to finish.
Finally, I want to take care of
not only my physical health, but also my mental health. I no longer have
the patience or desire to put all my energy into a single project. I need to
diversify.
I made myself a new program on how
to make the most of my work days without stressing myself out.
Being a self-employed person
means having to find new ways to maintain some discipline, and that’s difficult to do when you
feel under pressure. The fact that I have been in this situation for twenty
years now, in reality, does not make it any easier, since my mind resists the
infinite repeating of certain routines. It doesn’t matter if they seem to work
at first: at some point something breaks, and you have to come up with new
methods to trick your mind and avoid a stalemate.
My goal is to try to eliminate or at
least mitigate the sense of anxiety with which I wake up every day at the
thought of the to-do list (regardless of the number of items), which ultimately
affects my productivity and does not allow me to live the day peacefully, even
when this depends only on commitments over which I have control.
Maintaining this peace of mind and
minimising the causes of self-inflicted anxiety is essential, so that I am
ready to welcome any interesting opportunities that may present themselves to
me.
I don’t know if I’ll write another
one of these articles at the end of 2025, that’s why I indicated in the title
that it’s the last time. It’s one of
those superfluous commitments that I find myself with in the last days
of the year, when I have so many other things to do. In short, it’s another one
of those causes of anxiety that isn’t necessary at all. But I will certainly
continue to tell you in these pages what I do throughout the year.
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I conclude by thanking you once
again from the bottom of my heart for your support. I hope 2025 gives you
everything you wish for.
As usual, I would be happy to read
your 2024 analysis and your resolutions for this new year. If you like, leave a
comment here or on my profile/page on various social networks.
Have a good end and a good
beginning!
All photos are © 2024 Rita Carla Francesca: 1) me in Nuremberg; 2) me in Sardinia (my land); 3) Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner during Davis Cup in Malaga; 4) me at the same event; 5) me on Christmas day.
