By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Can you feel it? There is a noticeable shift in our world, and it happens each year after Halloween. Suddenly Christmas music appears on our TV commercials. I’m talking about the days from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. I label these days “the silent days” because it seems like a lot of the publishing world goes quiet.

I understand because when I worked inside a publishing company, there were no publication board or editorial meetings during these months. Instead, the staff were working on other tasks. As an acquisitions editor, I recall spending a day or two sitting in a conference room with my colleagues. Each of us was personalizing hundreds of Christmas cards to our authors.

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During this holiday season, how can your writing life be productive? In this article, I want to give you some simple actions you can take to build momentum for the New Year when the publishing world gets rolling again.

1. Stick to your schedule. Do you send a newsletter or post regularly on social media or blog? Find the moments to keep those actions going. For example, I blog every week and will continue to write my entries throughout the season. I will follow the same pattern with my weekly newsletter. When blogging was new some professional writers told me that it was a waste of my time—yet I’ve continued to blog and have over 1,800 entries in my blog. To maintain your schedule, you may have to do it early in the morning or late at night but your consistency will pay off in the long run.
2. Capture dialogue and details for personal experience stories. Throughout the holiday season, each of us has unusual personal experiences. Grab a notebook or your phone and make some notes about the dialogue or the details shortly after it happens. Almost every magazine will publish a personal experience story. These notes can become important tools for reaching thousands of people with your writing. There is always a demand for seasonal magazine articles to be published in 2027 and written in 2026.
3. Write short devotions. The Upper Room Devotion has a circulation of six million and a 200 to 300 word count. You can submit to The Upper Room online, but you have to write them first. Take a few minutes during this season and write those ideas.
4. Begin a new marketing skill. For example, a year ago, I joined PodMatch which is connected to a database of over 90,000 podcasts. Using this system, I’ve been a guest or booked over 60 podcasts. It’s a fun and simple way to talk about your latest book project.
5. Make new connections through social media. During this season, write a short post on some Facebook groups. Or connect with some new friends or make new LinkedIN connections. During the holiday season, each of us can expand our publishing connections.
6. Be the exception. Not every publishing professional stop during these silent days. While I don’t have one this year, I’ve often been writing on a book deadline during this period. Also, other editor and agent friends use this quiet season as a time to dig into their unsolicited submissions and look for that diamond in the rough which can become the next bestseller.

Several weeks ago, a couple of my friends, The Book Doctors, sent an email called Rejection, Failure, Persistence. Follow this link to read the payoff for persistence. What steps are you going to take during these months to build momentum and soar into 2026?

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s newest book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com