Sunday, December 30, 2012

Writing Goals for the New Year

As the new year approaches, I've had resolutions on my mind. Or maybe goals is a better word. I thought it would be fun to look back and see what I'd hoped to accomplish this past year. I was pretty sure I'd blogged about it. Here's what I found from my first post in 2012:

All in all, it told me to not bother to make any New Year's Resolutions. Too much can happen in every day life to make the best of plans go awry. Don't get me wrong, I still would like to accomplish certain things in 2012. I'm just not going to put anything definite in stone. Because things change. Often. And a lot. Which I guess is what makes life exciting and unpredictable. So I'm going to go with the flow and see where it takes me...


I kind of laughed. Writing life did take me in a bunch of directions this past year. I submitted a Thanksgiving novella to TRWP and had it published in November. I submitted a query to Harelequin and had a request for the full, which I also sent. I submitted my bull rider novel to TWRP and it's currently in its second set of revisions.

All in all, not too shabby.

But I decided I wanted to be a bit more decisive this year. So, here goes:

I want to submit that bull rider novel to the editor as soon as the Press opens again after the holidays. That's January 2. It's in pretty good shape. It just needs that final (ha ha) read through, which I plan on doing tomorrow.

I want to write a Halloween novella and get it submitted. This one might be trickier. The deadline for Halloween stories is January 28. Can I write a story in twenty-eight days? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I have a somewhat 'crazy' idea for a submission to TWRP. I'm going to polish the idea up and send it off to my regular editor. I'd like to get that done by the end of the week.

I'd like to be a better commentor on Blogs. I tried this over the summer, but my computer wasn't cooperating. Now that I've figured out that glitch, I figured the new year was a great place to start.

Those are my immediate goals. Other than that Halloween one, they seem pretty doable at this point. But I might even surprise myself with that!

In general, over the course of the year. I'd like to be able to devote more time to my writing without sacrificing other things...and without stressing myself out.

Until next time,

Happy Reading and Happy New Year! I wish you and yours many blessings and success in 2013.

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

3 comments:

Morgan Mandel said...

I hope you realize your goals, Debra!
I, too, would like to get more books ready and out. Also, would like to keep my house in better order, but I've learned through experience one doesn't seem to go with the other. I either concentrate on one and neglect the other, or vice versa.

Happy New Year!
Morgan Mandel
http://www.morganmandel.com

Debra St. John said...

That totally sounds about right. I worked all day today on the final read-through of my mss...I didn't think it would take me that long, but it's ready to send out on the 2nd! So I can check that off of my list!

Margot Justes said...

Debra,
Goals are a great start,and it's fun to watch which will materialize. Good luck with them all.
Margot
www.mjustes.com