Is it just me, or was 2021 even weirder than 2020? There’s been a ton of magic for sure, but the continual drip, drip, drip of global uncertainty has been pretty darn exhausting.
Although it’s tempting to skip straight to 2022, I’m taking some time to reflect on the past 12 months. And I’m sharing the process, as it might just spark something off for you too. So, let’s wind back the clock to the beginning of the year…
New year, new country
January found me adjusting back to life in the UK. Mr H and I had moved back from Rochester, New York the week before Christmas and found ourselves heading straight into lockdown. It was a strange feeling living back in our old house, which we never thought we’d return to. But it definitely felt like this was where we were meant to me.
When we left the States Mr H had retired from his corporate career. This had been a big decision for us, as it meant the income from my business was the only one coming into the household. Fortunately the growth we’d experienced in 2020 at The Unbound Press continued this year and I was able to support both of us. It had been a ‘one day’ intention of mine to support Mr H to leave his job and live unbound, so to be a year into this is a huge ‘Yeeessss!’ moment for me.
Meeting virtually
In February we had our first Author Mastermind Day at The Unbound Press. The intention is definitely to have these in-person in the future (🤞for 2022), but this year it had to be virtual. We have such an incredible group of authors and it was super-powerful to come together, share learnings and vision into the future.
Later in Feb, I also hosted the Magical Portal Writing Retreat virtually. This is an annual retreat for members of the Unbound Writing Mastermind (which is happening again, with a twist in 2022!) Although it had to be online this year, I took myself away to an Airbnb in the New Forest to host it, which made ALL the difference. We had some awesome guest teacher sessions with Louise Semple (my sister) of Vana Life and Rachel Smithbone (which totally blew the power in her village!) and Mastermind member, Pearl Jordan closed the retreat by guiding us through a dance-infused book blessing ceremony. The whole experience proved to me that online CAN be as powerful as in-person.
Collaborative book magic
2021 was the year that collaborative books started to become a big part of what we do at The Unbound Press. We released our first in Feb – #2020VISION: Unbound Perspectives From a Year Like No Other (did we REALLY say ‘a year like no other??’) and this led to working with Sarah Parkes to help birth Awakening Legacy on our 3rd anniversary in November.
The urge to co-create feels strong right now and we have (at least!) four more collaborative books lined up for 2022, including Soul Shine which we’re inviting applications for now.
Gathering in person
This has been a year to relish being able to meet up in person again (eventually!) Attending Sarah Lloyd’s Connecting The Dots retreat in Glastonbury was life-changing – no agenda, simple connection and LOTS of laughs. And I got to have plenty of gatherings with The Unbound Press authors in the second half of 2021. More please!
We also got to be part of two wellbeing events – Wellbeing by the Lakes in September and RestFest in October. We hosted author panels on how to write your first book at both of these and the response was incredible. Most of my clients and authors at The Unbound Press come through referrals and personal connections, so this was a great way to meet new people. We’ll definitely be looking to be at more events in 2022.
In September Mr H and I took a road trip to Wales and the South West to celebrate his 50th birthday and explore some places we might possibly want to relocate to. We got to visit unbound author, Brier Heart and another soul sister, Rachel Smithbone – the magic of being in person again! When we came back to the UK, we thought we’d probably move away from Southampton within the first year, but we’re still here. Nowhere is calling to us right now, so let’s see what unfolds in 2022.
Experiments, milestones and unmet goals…
This year I experimented with running the 5-day Unbound Writing Challenge more than once. We usually run it in November to celebrate the anniversary of The Unbound Press, but this year we also ran it at the end of August/first week in September. It was super-powerful and many of those involved journeyed on into the first ever Unbound Book Incubator, but I feel like the Challenge in this form is only meant to happen in November. So, look out for some new online community events happening next year.
We passed a couple of huge milestones towards the end of 2021 – registering for VAT and hiring our first salaried employee. It all feels very grown-up now, which is pretty fitting as I celebrate my 50th birthday on December 30. I’m excited to cross the threshold into what I see as a real power decade.
There were definitely goals I didn’t reach this year. I’d planned to create an Unbound journal, but only got as far as the first few pages and although the idea for my next book dropped in, it hasn’t really progressed beyond that. I’m okay with this – I trust the timing of creative projects and it feels like 2022 is going to be the year, certainly for the next book. To be continued, unbound one!
Numbers for the year:
New authors signed to The Unbound Press: 20
Books released: 14
Sales to date: £104,638
Podcast episodes: 44
Invested in:
High level support from my accountant (She acts as a freelance CFO and her guidance has been invaluable this year)
Virtual brand photo shoot with Becky Wright (Highly recommended!)
Tribe with Stu McLaren (I’ve had my eye on this for the past couple of years and decided to do it in 2021, as I thought I might want to start a new membership. In fact, it helped me to create and launch the Unbound Book Incubator)
P-School with Julia Wells (I did Mama Gena’s Mastery program back in 2018 and felt like I wanted to anchor back into my pleasure practice this year. I love Julia’s approach and enjoyed being part of the P-School community. The program is pretty foundational – like a pussified version of B-School – but I received some golden nuggets from it).
Half-VIP Day with Sam Bearfoot (I’ve followed Sam for years and when she made this offer, I jumped in to get her eyes on my personal Insta account. We’ve only had an hour together so far, but my engagement is already up by over 200%)
Memberships I’m part of ⬇️
Connecting The Dots with Sarah Lloyd (LOVE being part of this community!)
Self Love Sanctuary with Rachel Smithbone (Her monthly sound ceremonies are non-negotiable for me)
Lead the Liberation with Kathy Bell (Breathwork sessions that blow my mind)
How you can be involved in 2022:
Be part of the Soul Shine collaborative book project
Unbound Book Incubator – 31st January (Early bird pricing available until December 31st)
Unbound Writing Mastermind – doors open again to non-Unbound Press authors in May
Work with me 1:1 – schedule a discovery call to explore this some more
Become an author with The Unbound Press – see the information pack here
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