To my utter amazement, Vocabbett turned five years old this year! And while it can be easy to lose oneself in the day-to-day, I love pausing over the holidays to look back at big-picture accomplishments.
At the beginning of the year, I likened building a business to tending a field. There are different seasons for planting, growing, and harvesting--and I wanted 2024 to be a year of growth.
My biggest project this year was Vocabbett Classics, where I annotate classic novels, explaining the difficult vocabulary, symbolism, historical references, etc. for today's readers at the bottom of each page.
Glancing at my nightstand the other day, I couldn't help but feel a swell of pride in knowing that none of these editions existed this time last year:
That's right, in 2024, I successfully annotated and published Jane Eyre, The Iliad, The Great Gatsby, The Prince, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (& Other Spooky Stories)!
I haven't spoken much about the back half of this list, but The Prince was actually quite an arduous endeavor. Because I speak Italian, the language in which it was originally written, I found myself doing the same thing I did with The Iliad and writing my own translation, in addition to annotating it!
It's a beautiful little book, and one that's so frequently-referenced that I think everyone should read it, even if they have no intention of following its sinister advice (obviously!).
I've been working on Vocabbett Classics--particularly The Iliad--for years, so it felt wonderful to see those seedlings start to sprout.
There's never a dull moment in my brain, though, so I'm already finalizing my 2025 business ambitions. Next year, my goal is to actually harvest these plants--making some real money off Vocabbett Classics, ideally! I'll get into more detail in the next post.
And if you're a goal-maker, I hope you're crushing your goals and having fun making your next list! : )
-Erica