The Night Ship is out today, marking the end of my fifth year in publishing since my very first little publication. So in honor of that milestone, here's the five most important things I've learned as an artist in that time:

Every new year will be the worst year it's ever been for art (and publishing, and querying, and literature, etc). I'm starting to suspect that was always true, which is great news—because artists, yourself included, persevere anyway. Pride that you are doing so is only natural, and even mandatory.

Making other artist friends and caring about them deeply will be the best thing that ever happens to you. Your support system is your king. Sometimes, the only reason you muster the energy to do something is because you told them you would. And sometimes you can only rest because they're there.

Taking breaks, even long ones, is only seen as a big problem because of social media algos, but the age of the algorithm is over. Be free. Didn't publish a damned thing, not even one drabble, for a year, the sky didn't fall. Longevity, back catalogue, confidence, and energy matter much more.

"If that absolute tin of clown sardines can do it, so can you" is a pretty effective motivator for some of us