So I generally eschew New Year’s Resolutions (and I’ve recently become a fan of slightlyjillian’s method of taking stock and making resolutions on your birthday). But I also think there’s a lot of value in having a writing plan for the year, and October (when my birthday is) seems like a weird time to create that. So here I am on January 1 thinking about my writing plan for the coming year.
My job is going away in just over a year. The Fortune 100 company where I work is going through a business reorganization that is going to eliminate about 90% of the jobs in my department (Finance) here in Indianapolis. The work will still be done, but it’s going to be done at a shared business services center in Texas near our corporate headquarters. At the moment I’m not planning to move with my job (though that might be an option). Fortunately, the company gave us a lot of warning about this; we’ve known for about a year already that our jobs were going. So I’ve had time to think about what I want to do.
What I’d like to do is start making money off my writing so that when I start looking for a new job, I can look at 30-hours-a-week or less. I have a novel-length manuscript close to being submission-worthy, so my first goal for 2011 is to finish polishing that sucker and get it out there. I’m giving myself at least until August to concentrate on my writing and not worry about finding a new job.
January 2011
– Finish Chloe’s novel (NaNoWriMo 2010 novel).
– Send Chloe’s novel to beta-readers.
– Revise Shaper.
– Identify agents I want to work with.
– Put together new submissions binder with possible markets.
– Write a short story.
February 2011
– Figure out Writers’ Market online.
– Start querying agents about Shaper.
– Identify short stories that are ready for submission and those that need a little work.
– Write a short story.
March 2011
– NaNoEdMo – time to clean up Chloe’s novel!
– Continue querying agents about Shaper.
– Start submitting stories.
April 2011
– Send revised Chloe’s novel to second round of beta.
– Research for the final novel in the Regent’s Castle series. Read books about Midwest history and the American Revolution. Study the Great Migration and the 1920s in Illinois.
– Write a short story.
– Continue querying agents about Shaper.
– Continue submitting stories.
– Examine writing goals and revise them if necessary.
May 2011
– Continue querying agents about Shaper.
– Continue submitting stories.
– Write query letter for Chloe’s novel.
– Write detailed outline for The Loyalty Factor and possible companion novel.
June 2011
– Continue querying agents about Shaper.
– Continue submitting stories.
– Begin rewrite of The Loyalty Factor.
July 2011
– Continue querying agents about Shaper.
– Continue submitting stories.
– Continue rewrite of The Loyalty Factor.
– Write a short story.
August 2011
– Continue querying agents about Shaper.
– Continue submitting stories.
– Continue rewrite of The Loyalty Factor.
– Examine writing goals and revise them if necessary.
September 2011
– Continue querying agents about Shaper.
– Continue submitting stories.
– Continue rewrite of The Loyalty Factor.
– Start thinking about NaNoWriMo 2011.
October 2011
– Continue querying agents about Shaper.
– Continue submitting stories.
– Plot out NaNoWriMo 2011 novel.
– Write a short story.
November 2011
– NaNoWriMo 2011
December 2011
– Recover from NaNoWriMo.
– Continue querying agents about Shaper.
– Continue submitting stories.
Overall goals are to sell 4 short stories this year and find an agent for my novels.
astraea36 and I have a bargain going that for every hour she spends at the gym each week, I’ll spend that amount of time writing the following week. She wants to get in shape and I want to get some writing done, plus she’s my alpha-reader, so we both benefit. Aside from her nagging, which I hope will happen often, you’re all invited to poke at me and help keep me accountable.
