Dear Me 2016

Yes, it's that time again...  My annual letter to myself about what I hope to achieve in the year.  Let's hope 2016 is the year I actually DO everything on the list.

Dear Me,

I feel a lot like 2015 was spent in a holding pattern.  I did several revisions on old books and only managed to write one new one.  I didn’t even manage to finish revising my 2014 NaNo novel! 

So that’s my number one goal for 2016.  To finish revising My Murder Year, get it critiqued and Beta’d and sent off to my agents.  It’s definitely time for them to see something new from me.

My second goal is to write a new book.  I have an idea that’s been simmering for a while. I had planned to write it during NaNo 2015, but revisions came in at just the wrong time for me to be able to.  So I’ll get that written.  It’s another YA, but definitely for the older end of the spectrum.

During the June 2015 NaNo Camp, I wrote a new book which I haven’t even glanced at since I wrote ‘the end’.  In 2016 I will revise this book.  I don’t have a title for it yet, so it’s currently called Sam and Amy after the two main characters, a trans-gender kid from a traditional Chinese family and a girl who considers herself the town slut.  I’m kind of terrified about how bad it might be after not looking at it for so long, but I always am.

And that’s it for writing goals for now.  The rest are just hopes…  I hope I get a book deal this year.  I hope the new opportunity my agent thinks she may have found for An Unstill Life works out.  I’ve been very frustrated by the fact it’s not available for sale since Musa closed, yet is available on all kinds of pirate sites.  Especially since I get emails from readers all the time, wanting to know where to buy it.

On the work front, I’m feeling good about the new year.  I learned so much last year, I actually feel like I know my job reasonably well, and can go into 2016 much more confidently that I went into 2015.  There will be new challenges and new things to learn, of course, but I feel like I’m in a good starting place to take those new things on.

As usual I will promise to try to be more active with my critique group.  I’m going to try and schedule a night for doing this.  It may mean one less writing night, but at least I won’t be consumed with guilt about not doing the number of critiques I know I should be doing.

And as usual, I will pledge to lose weight (which I won’t) and to go to the gym more often (which I will try to do).

And that’s it from me…  We’ll check in toward the middle of the year to see how I’m getting on.

X Me!