Dear Me,
This is the fourth year I’ve done this now,
and it has been an interesting process every year. So we shall continue with it….
First up, a look back on 2012 and what
achievements I made… Well, very
few. I wrote a lot of words, some
good, some dreadful. I queried The Boyfriend Plague extensively and got
a wide range of feedback. I wrote The Sidewalk’s Regrets, ¾ of Between Paradise and Nowhere, and as I
write this, about half of my amputee virgin novel I’m calling Ozzy for now.
So my first goal for 2013 is to finish Ozzy. Since my deadline is January 31st, I’d better
move it. But I’m fairly confident I
can get there.
Achieved! Not only did I finish it, I polished it and started querying. As I expected, I've had a few rejections, but at the moment there are 4 fulls out, and due to other things happening, my querying has been very limited to date.
My second goal is to whip my query for Sidewalks into shape and start querying
it. It’s a tough one to write a
query for because the basic story isn’t that unique, but the choices Sacha
makes give it something I haven’t seen in a YA book before. How to get this across in a query,
without giving away too much of the plot, is a challenge.
Achieved this one too. Unfortunately, despite a lot of interest, this wasn't the book that got me an agent. It's not entirely trunked, but it's sitting there, waiting for the right moment to shine.
I’m still trying to decide whether or not
to enter ABNA this year. I don’t
have time to throw together a good pitch for Sidewalks so I have two choices as to what to enter. I could enter Taillights again, but since that already got ditched in round 2
last year, I’m a little wary of doing it.
I could enter The Boyfriend
Plague, but after all the querying and the very mixed responses I got from
the requests, I’ve almost lost confidence in that book. So I’m going to have my entries ready
to go, and decide at the time. I’m
actually going to be away at the beach when the entries open, and unless I take
my computer with me, the chances of there still being slots open by the time I
get home are fairly slim. So,
maybe this year will be ABNA free….
We shall see.
I did enter. In the end I entered The Boyfriend Plague and made the quarter-final round. I got an okay PW review, but nothing glowing or special.
I have a wonderful and expanding group of
writer friends across the world, and I aim to keep supporting, helping and
critiquing for all of them in 2013.
Seriously, the writing community is incredible. I feel so privileged to be a part of
it, and to have met such fantastic writers. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without them and
the support they give me. So my
goal is to be as supportive and helpful to them as they are to me.
Achieved! Several of my CPs had books release this year, so I've added promoting to my list of things I can do for my writer friends. I've also made a lot of new friends in the writing community and look forward to working and writing with them through another year. And to meeting even more incredible writers!
I will finish Paradise, even if it kills me. I’m stubborn like that. Even with the end in sight, I know there is a ton of
revision needed on this one. Whole
chunks need to be sliced out and rewritten. But since this book isn’t a priority, I will work on it when
and if I find time. Ozzy is more important to me and will
take precedence. And I have an
idea for another story I’m playing with too. I’m not sure exactly what form it will take, but I have a
basic idea to expand on. But ‘m
not going to commit to it yet. I
know how often new ideas come up and sledgehammer me. And when that happens, I’ve learned I need to go with it.
Ah... No. Paradise remains largely untouched. I revised the first few chapters, but although I do really like the book, I don't think it's me. Maybe one day I can self-pub under a pseudonym or something.... The new idea turned into the book I'm calling Lana for now (or #juvvielesbian). I'm around 50K in and plan to get back into it and finish after the holiday madness is over.
As usual I will pledge to lose weight, and
as usual, I won’t. But I will
continue going to the gym and will continue to up my weights in all the weights
classes I do. I think being
fit is probably more important than being thin. I like eating and wine too much to be thin.
Well, I did that. I did lose a little weight, but not enough to really count. But I have been going to the gym a lot.
So there we have it. We’ll check back midyear and see how
we’re going. And again at the end
of the year.
Love, Me!
Tune in soon for my 2014 goals and dreams!
How did your 2013 turn out? Did you achieve all the things you wanted to?
You did really well, much better than me :). I think you're very disciplined. Great job and Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteFunny how things turn out. Very few things go to plan. (At least nothing goes to plane for me!) I'm glad you accomplished a lot of your goals for 2013. I know you'll accomplish even more in 2014!! Happy New Year!!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to look back on previous goals... i so need to do this and see what I do achieve. You've done so well, but as always, things always go their own path:) Best of luck in 2014.
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