So. I’ve nailed down my anime & manga resolutions for the year ahead, but what about writing? What about reviews?
Well, I’ve got an answer for you.
In November, I revamped the structure of my ko-fi: now that I’m in a better place mentally, I can dedicate more time on my weekends to writing. This means two things:
- I can write 1-2 articles a month (outside of my decision to do four articles for AniFem in 2023)
- I can start posting micro-reviews
There’s also the chance that I can even finally start my podcast about Restaurant to Another World and food, though that also intersects with my day job since I work at Seven Seas currently. That might get tabled, and instead, I might just focus on guesting on shows and doing Chatty Af as much as I can.
Also also, there’s the chance that I’ll be able to up my ko-fi articles to 3-4 a month, but…that’s gonna be dependent on donations. I can manage one or two a month, but more (without a source of income, which my ko-fi will officially become in 2023), isn’t feasible due to my chronic fatigue and mental health. Hopefully, that’ll change.
But for now, let’s talk about concrete goals!
Article Backlog/Article Writing
So, like I said, I want to do 1-2 articles a month. These will take the form of…
- Perspective pieces that don’t fit on AniFem
- Manga, Light Novel, and Anime reviews
- Video Game pieces
- Commentary on episodes I’m watching for my anime resolutions
- Commentary on what I’m reading for my manga & LN resolutions
These will cap out at 2.5k (2,500) for my own benefit since any longer gets a bit unwieldy. They’ll also be posted in this order:
- Ko-Fi (For Subscribers who are the Early Access tier)
- Medium and my Blog
- Twitter (via a link)
This way I can actually do anyone who subscribes to my Ko-Fi right and also, get in the habit of posting multiple places. These are also–say it with me–realistic and feasible: I can make a calendar that’ll help me stick to these, and I can re-run articles when life, inevitably, becomes a bit much for your boi.
Micro Reviews
Now, this is something I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time, especially now that I’m not reviewing weekly at ANN: micro reviews of 500 words or less for anime series I’m watching. It’s a good challenge for me, as I’m trying to get tighter and tighter word counts for my reviews on AnimeFeminist, but it’s not limiting: you can say a lot in 500 words. And in fact, I’m trying to get my AniFem season premieres down to 600-750, so…consider this my way of spending 52 weeks training myself to do that better and better.
There’s times where I like reviewing: I love doing premieres at AniFem, but…I currently don’t review beyond that because while the money is nice, it’s a bit too rigorous for me to cover multiple shows past week one of ‘em. However, I found myself longing to review one show this season: Akiba Maid War, which I covered on AniFem. I’ll be chiming in with end of the year thoughts on my Tumblr, Twitter, and here on the blog, but…I don’t have anything longer form.
My goal, basically, is this: pick one show a season to dedicate an hour a week to watching it, taking notes, and writing a review for this blog, which will also go live on my Ko-Fi. It makes sure I’m watching something each season for the sake of Chatty AF and AniFem, but also… it’s content for this blog, which I’m actively trying to use more and more these days. It’s also good practice for me to keep up my journalism–plus, I get to dig my heels in on feminist praxis in a way my work at ANN doesn’t/didn’t necessarily allow me to do.
So yeah: some straightforward, simple goals for 2023. I’m already excited to put them in place, though I’ll be doing some planning over the holiday. For now…back to work: I’m so close to the end of my work day!
Backlit Pixels 