I know. I’m a day early. So shoot me. I have plans for tomorrow, not for wild partying and ringing in the New Year, but for hunkering down at home with the hubby and enjoying a nice meal and bottle of bubbly. And maybe somewhere in there, I will prepare my manuscript for a query spree to begin next week.
Looking back over 2010, I’ve achieved a lot in my journey as a wanna-be published writer. Here is the breakdown, in no particular order:
1. I finished a few edits on Book #2. In fact, I think I’ve edited it a dozen times. I lost count back in November. It is almost, almost ready for a wild round of querying.
2. I submitted my work in a few contests. Placed in a Query Tracker contest back in February. Just submitted into another this month and won’t know until February.
3. Attended the San Francisco Writers Conference, Year Two. Although I belong to Romance Writers of America and also the local RWA chapter, I attend the SFWC because… well, I don’t write romance. My work is women-aimed with romantic elements. There are plenty of romance writing resources during the conference in San Francisco, and I can’t afford two conferences – yet. I like the broad picture, because I have a lot of broad ideas.
4. Took a writing class. Not sure if I learned anything.
5. Queried once.
6. Took out Book #1 and really started going through it. I’m hopeful this will be in querying condition very soon.
Now… for the dreaded resolutions for 2011:
#1 with a bullet. Stay away from the Internet. This includes Twitter and Facebook. Facebook, especially. It’s not because I do any socializing on the dreaded, evil FB, it’s that I am addicted to FB games. I had been giving myself a pass on going online by telling myself I needed the Internet for research. Every once in a while, I would need to look up a map, find a grocery store in Fayetteville, North Carolina, or use the oft-trusty Thesaurus.com. Leaving the Internet wide open is like leaving me in a Godiva store, locking it and throwing away the key. I won’t come out. Not. Ever. Until the chocolate goodies are gone. Let’s face it; I can’t tear myself away from Scramble. I love words too much.
In order to aid my Internet avoidance, I have decided to A. only open Internet Explorer for “research” with tabs already set to where I need to go (instead of using Firefox, which has all my playtime tabs), and 2. go cold turkey on Facebook. Give myself a timer. I give myself 30 minutes a day, that’s it, and I will cut off my own fingers if I should fall off the wagon.
2. Really query more, not just talk about it. I’ve had several people beta read my book – they love it. I don’t think they are telling me this because I’m their friend, their relative, or their boss. One person even wrote a nice email detailing what she liked about it. I think it’s way past time to send my baby out into the world. I have to ready my query letter, let go of my baby, and go for the gold.
3. Resolution #3: Take another class. Signed up. Paid. Done and done.
4. Write more. I’m a basically lazy person, I know that. Plus, I sometimes get sidetracked by family issues, health issues, and Day Job issues. Sometimes I know I should write, but instead I take a detour and make a batch of persimmon cookies. Or, like yesterday, I was finally annoyed enough by the bathroom that I decided to clean it. I COULD HAVE BEEN WRITING!
5. Finally, I need to read more. OMG, my pile of books to read is dangerously high. It might fall over and kill the cat. (Yes, I am Kindle-less, but am thinking of taking the plunge, just so I can clear my bookshelf.) Come to think of it, a Kindle would hide my to-read pile. I’m going to nix that.
Other than the obvious, it’s back to the salt mines. Mining my head for stories.
See you next year.
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