Goals for 2018
Huzzah, it is 2018! The apocalypse hadn’t happened (yet) and the electricity has stayed on, so let’s keep on writing! I did pretty well with my 2017 goals, though it was awfully stressful through the last quarter of the year. I’m determined for 2018 to be better.
On that note, we went out on January 3rd and adopted three new cats. Only two are home right now, as one had dental surgery scheduled at the shelter, but we look forward to having the full gang soon. Luke (see picture below) and Kylo have already latched onto me and decided my office desk is the Place to Be. It feels good to have companionship as I work again. It was really hard to write with Porom gone.
2018 Goals
1) Write a new novel.
2) Complete all three edit stages for Roar of Sky (edits, copy-edits, and first pass pages).
3) Prepare comprehensive marketing plan for release of Roar of Sky in October. This includes regular updates on my personal blog, scheduling interviews and blog posts for other blogs and sites, and seizing other viable opportunities.
a) Don’t have a mental breakdown.
4) Release Roar of Sky in October.
a) Don’t have a mental breakdown.
5) Write a new story (fiction or nonfiction) every month, if balanced with novel obligations.
6) Participate in the Poem a Day Challenge in April and November, and keep at least 10 poems on submission at all times.
7) Read at least 100 books during 2018 and post reviews for each.
8) Attend several conventions and book festivals throughout the year (see current list on right side of page).
9) Be honest with myself about my stress and personal limits. Don’t hold it all inside. Reach out to writer friends. Let my agent know what is going on. Take time out for my husband, son, cats, and family. Read. Bake. Go thrift store shopping.
10) Don’t give up. I’ve come a long way in the past year and there’s plenty of mountain left to climb. If tired of climbing, use dynamite.
Read MoreGoals for 2017
2017 is here! I did pretty well with my 2016 goals, though I am frustrated with the amount of short fiction that I wrote and kept on submission. I haven’t had so few stories in circulation since I first started writing year-round in 2008. I’ve heard magazine editors lament that this is what happens to authors once they have novel contracts. Even so, I hope to be more prolific in 2017.
Here are my goals for the new year:
1) Write a new novel in the first part of the year.
2) Complete the next two edit stages for Call of Fire (copy-edits and first pass pages).
3) Prepare comprehensive marketing plan for release of Call of Fire in August. This includes regular updates on my personal blog, scheduling interviews and blog posts for other blogs and sites, and seizing other viable opportunities.
a) Don’t have a mental breakdown.
4) Release Call of Fire in August.
a) Don’t have a mental breakdown.
5) Write a new story (fiction or nonfiction) or poem each month, if balanced with novel obligations. Aim to have at least ten works on submission at all times.
6) Read at least 100 books during 2017 and post reviews for each.
7) Attend several conventions and book festivals; at this point, that includes the Tucson Festival of Books (March 12th), Phoenix Comicon (May 25th-27th), and World Fantasy in San Antonio November (2nd-5th).
8) Develop concepts for new novels.
9) Be honest with myself about my stress and personal limits. Don’t hold it all inside. Reach out to writer friends. Let my agent know what is going on. Take time out for my husband, son, cat, and family. Read. Bake. Go thrift store shopping.
10) Don’t give up. I’ve come a long way in the past year and there’s plenty of mountain left to climb. If tired of climbing, use dynamite.
Along the lines of goal #3, my January newsletter will be sent out tomorrow! Sign up to get the previous month’s recipes all in one spot along with the latest book news.
#SFWAPro
Read More
Nebula Award Nominee! Life Goal = Achieved
Wings of Sorrow and Bone is a Nebula finalist. I’m gobsmacked. I’m thrilled. I’m terrified.
Within five years, I’d like to have a story or novel make the shortlist for a Hugo or Nebula. I’d also like to have a poem up for the Rhysling Award.
Then this. The big one. The Nebula nomination. I actually made my goal a year before my deadline. How funny is that?! I guess the next goal should be to actually win a Hugo or Nebula at some point.
Wings of Sorrow and Bone is available at all online retailers for just 99-cents. Check it out–it seems people actually like it!?
Amazon
#SFWAPro
Read MoreGoals for 2016
Like whoa. Where did 2015 go? It passed by weirdly fast. Here are some highlights for the year:
– my second book, Clockwork Crown, was released in June
– cons and festivals! I had a blast and experienced minimal public humiliation!
– sold two stories to forthcoming Baen anthologies
– finally sold my all-time favorite story “The Souls of Horses,” and to an anthology series I have envied and admired for years
My full list of 2015 goals can be read here. I didn’t write a book this year because of the timing on my Breath of Earth edits; I’ll actually start writing on January 1st, 2016. Yes, TODAY. Because nothing says “Happy New Year!” like panic and stress and daily word count goals.
Here are my goals for 2016:
1) Write Call of Fire starting on January 1st. Revise. Revise more. Turn it in on time.
2) Prepare comprehensive marketing plan for release of Breath of Earth in August. This includes regular updates on my personal blog, scheduling interviews and blog posts for other blogs and sites, and seizing other viable opportunities.
a) Don’t have a mental breakdown.
3) Release Breath of Earth in August.
a) Don’t have a mental breakdown.
4) Write a new story (fiction or nonfiction) or poem each month, if balanced with novel obligations. Aim to have at least ten works on submission at all times.
5) Write stories to fulfill invitations to anthologies.
6) Finish up my Harper Voyager Impulse contract. That’s almost done as of the end of 2015; I will be sent the edits on my final story soon.
7) Continue to participate in 50book challenge, LibraryThing, and Goodreads, reading at least 100 books during 2016 and posting reviews for all.
8) Attend several conventions and book festivals; at this point, that includes the Tucson Festival of Books (March 12th), Phoenix Comicon (June 2-4), and, hopefully, Worldcon in Kansas City in August.
9) Be honest with myself about my stress and personal limits. Don’t hold it all inside. Reach out to writer friends. Let my agent know what is going on. Take time out for my husband, son, cat, and family. Read. Bake. Go thrift store shopping.
10) Don’t give up. I’ve come a long way in the past year and there’s plenty of mountain left to climb. If tired of climbing, use dynamite.
Read MoreOver at the SFWA Blog
The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. I first found out about the group as a teenager, and well, joining it was a wistful dream for many years. I talk about that in full detail today over at the SFWA Blog. Check it out!
2015 Goals
2014 was a year of Holy-Crap-My-Dreams-Are-Coming-True. I survived the book release! I have a book! It’s available in libraries in Wellington, New Zealand and Singapore and everywhere in between! Most every Barnes & Noble in America carries it, and about a dozen airport bookshops, too. How crazy is that?
I do wish I had the chance to write more short fiction this year. I’m down to just a couple stories in circulation–one of those nice problems, as it means everything else sold. It still bugs me, though.
My original post for my 2014 goals can be read over on my LiveJournal. I fulfilled everything but #6, as I did not write a second book.
I’m not sure what 2015 will bring. My two-book contract is fulfilled, with my final edits on The Clockwork Crown turned in just before Christmas. I already have a small Secret Project in the works that I can’t quite discuss in public yet, but I really want to write more novels. So let’s cross fingers and offer burnt butter cookie offerings that good stuff will happen!
Here are my goals for 2015:
1) Meet the deadlines for the three parts of my Secret Project. These are spaced out throughout the year.
2) Prepare comprehensive marketing plan for release of Clockwork Crown in June. This includes regular updates on my personal blog, scheduling interviews and blog posts for other blogs and sites, participation in Novelocity, and seizing other viable opportunities.
a) Don’t have a mental breakdown.
3) Release Clockwork Crown in June.
a) Don’t have a mental breakdown.
4) Participate in Write 1 Sub 1’s Light Ray option and write a new story (fiction or nonfiction) or poem each month, if balanced with novel obligations. Aim to have at least ten works on submission at all times.
5) Write stories to fulfill invitations to anthologies; at least four at this time.
6) Write at least one novel.
7) Continue to participate in 50book challenge, LibraryThing, and Goodreads, reading at least 50 books during 2015 and posting reviews for all.
8) Attend several conventions and book festivals; at this point, I am planning on Tucson Book Festival (March 15th), Phoenix Comicon (May 28-30th), and WorldCon/Sasquan in Spokane, though nothing is set yet.
9) Be honest with myself about my stress and personal limits. Don’t hold it all inside. Reach out to writer friends. Let my agent know what is going on. Take time out for my husband, son, cat, and family. Read. Bake. Go thrift store shopping.
10) Don’t give up. I’ve come a long way in the past year and there’s plenty of mountain left to climb. If tired of climbing, use dynamite.
