2018 Goal Setting & 2017 Review

I haven't had to date any checks yet, but the title of this blog post briefly threw me, so I'm expecting some incorrect dates coming up.

Now that it's a new year, it's time to review my goals for last year and see how I did. Much like last year, I set the goals then never looked back at them, so let's see how it went.

In 2017, I submitted 95 short stories.
I sold 6 short stories.
4 short stories were released.
I still have 12 stories pending that were submitted in 2017.
I withdrew 5 stories from consideration.
I had...are you ready for it? 80 rejections. Yeesh. Still not up to 100 rejections yet.

My goals for 2017, set back in January, were:

• Final revision on Novel #2
• Query Novel #2 in April at PPWC
• Finish Novel #3
• Write at least one new short story per month
• Finish current pending revisions
• Continue to book speaking/signing opportunities (so far, I have 1 definite and 2 possibles)
• Evaluate Novel #1 to see if I want to continue pursuing it or trunk it for now
• Continue submitting short stories - aim for 100 rejections and 12 acceptances this year
• Write for at least two themed issues or anthologies that are outside my normal comfort level

Not too bad! I not only finished Novel #2, but am currently querying it. I queried it at PPWC and got an ask, but I've never heard it back since submitting it, so that's a no. I wrote at least one short story per month, with one a week for a short time, and finished the revisions I had pending by the end of January.

As far as appearances, I ended up appearing at 7 events, all of them so much fun! I've booked one so far for 2018, with some additional possibilities. Though I did not reach 100 rejections and 12 acceptances, I made the effort. And I wrote several stories outside my comfort zone, both of which were accepted! One has already been published, and the other is coming out in the coming year.

That leaves the things I didn't accomplish: finishing Novel #3 and evaluating #1 to see if I want to trunk it or move forward with it. Those will continue as goals this year.

For 2018, I'm setting the following goals:

• Write a short story or flash piece each week (this is majorly pushing it for me, but I'm going to try.)
• Read at least one book each week.
• Finish Novel #3.
• Start Novel #4.
• Continue submitting short stories (aim for 100 rejections and 12 acceptances.)
• Write short stories in at least three genres.
• Write more nonfiction.
• Query craft book.
• Self-publish short story collection.
• Evaluated Novel #1 to see if I want to pursue or trunk (though it's obviously trunked for now.)
• Take more pictures.
• Send workshop proposals to one conference new to me.

Of course, these goals are all well and good, but they are also fluid. I'll see what continues to be realistic, and I'll allow life to change things as needed. And, hey, I finished the short story for week #1, so yay!

Now for links. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing any of these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

The First Line is seeking flash and short stories that start with the line, "Leo massaged the back of his neck, thankful the meeting was finally over." Open to all genres, including nonfiction and poetry. 300 to 5000 words. Pays $5 to $50, depending upon story type. Deadline February 1.

ChiZine is seeking alternate history short stories for Other Covenants: Alternate Histories of the Jewish People. Open to all submitters. 500 to 15,000 words. Pays $.08/word CAD. Deadline February 4.

Subprimal is seeking poetry and flash fiction. Word counts vary. Pays $20. Deadline February 15.

Electric Athenaeum is seeking sci-fi and fantasy short stories, articles, poetry, and interviews with the theme "For Future Generations." 3000 to 10,000 words. Pays 50 GBP/story. Deadline February 15.

Circlet Press is seeking erotic stories inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. 2000 to 8000 words. Pays $25 for the e-print, and a possible $25 later for print. Deadline February 15.

Any of these links of interest? Did you set goals for 2017? How did you do? How about 2018? Most importantly, are you working your dream?

May you find your Muse.

*New Year Flags by OCAL, clker.com
*Dart Board image by OCAL, clker.com

What? I Set Goals Last Year?

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a pleasant kickoff to 2016, whether that meant staying in or going out. I stayed in, like last year. We were watching Walking Dead when the fireworks began on Pikes Peak. The kids were zonked out, but we woke them up so they could watch. My son just rolled over and went back to sleep, but my daughter watched them.

I inadvertently took a break for Christmas and New Year's. Despite the fact it was unplanned, it was nice to give myself time off, which not only included not blogging, but also included setting aside volunteer work for two weeks (for the most part.) There's been a lot going on, and I was reaching the point of being overwhelmed. A two week break was magical.

But I'm glad to be back!

I couldn't remember if I set goals for 2015, so I went back to January 2015 and checked it out. Lo and behold, I did! Not only that, but I did a fairly solid job of fulfilling the goals, even though I didn't remember having set them.

My goals for 2015 were:

• Finish revising my YA novel and get it ready for submission. I touched on it by post-outlining, but have done nothing more with this novel this year.
• Finish my Urban Fantasy novel. Did it!
• Revise my UF novel. Halfway through revising it.
• Continue writing, editing, and submitting short stories. I kicked this one's ass!
• Place several short stories for pay. Did it!
• Start working on articles again. Mmmm...not really.
• Journal. Nope.
• Continue to experiment and enjoy collaborations and projects to expand my horizons. I've done plenty of experimenting with my writing this year, and look forward to trying more.
• Continue with the horror reading/review challenge. Still on it.

I feel pretty good about this! Not half bad. So I'm going to set this year's goals, which I will promptly forget, but hopefully magically manage to fulfill anyway. (Really, the goals I set last year were in line with what I wanted to do through the year, so I may have forgotten that I wrote them down, but I didn't forget I wanted to do these things.)

Last year, I mentioned that I set goals knowing things change, sometimes drastically, over the course of the year. Any goals I set are to steer me in the right direction, not to give myself another reason to stress out or beat myself up when I don't accomplish them. With that understanding, here are my goals for 2016:

• Finish first revision of novel #2 (UF above).
• Do a second pass through on novel #1 (YA above).
• Start novel #3.
• Continue writing short stories, revising them, and submitting them. One per month would be fantastic, and give me time to focus on my novels, but we'll see.
• Finish all short story revisions pending.
• Submit those short stories once revised.
• Have one of the novels (#1 or #2) ready by April, so I can query an agent at PPWC.
• Continue experimenting with my writing and finding the joy in it.
• Get back to my photography (what? I just slipped in a non-writing goal...)
• Continue with the horror reading/review challenge

That's more than enough, BUT they're things I want to do this year, whether I write them down or not. My photography has fallen by the wayside. I haven't taken a photo just for fun (scenery vs. my kiddos) in months. So I'm throwing that in there, too. I figure exploring other creative ventures I enjoy is a good way to inspire my writing, as well.

What about you? Did you set 2015 goals? How did you do with them? Are you setting 2016 goals? Do you set them so they're hard to attain, or do you set them minimally to steer your year? Or do you skip them entirely? Most of all, what are you proudest of this year?

May you find your Muse.

Image by OCAL, clker.com

2015 Writing Goal Setting

clker.com, OCAL

Now that it's officially 2015, it's time for me to set some writing goals. I don't do resolutions, as such, but I do like to make work-related goals. Before I do that, Happy New Year! We stayed in and had a quiet New Year's just watching movies and relaxing together.  Last year, my husband was on a business trip for New Year's, so it was nice to be with him as we brought in the new year.We watched the fireworks on top of Pikes Peak, and the kids were still awake, so they got to see them, too. Other than that, there are no traditions we observe. I'd never heard of anything other than a toast and a kiss at midnight (which we do, so I guess we do observe that tradition.) I've heard of a lot of traditions now, courtesy of Facebook.

Okay, on to goal setting. To review the year, in 2014 I had the following accomplishments/progress:

• I made steady progress with writing short stories and submitting them, racking up plenty of rejections. Many of these came with positive feedback.
• I was moved to the second tier for an anthology. Though I ultimately got a rejection for it, I consider this an accomplishment.
• I consistently turned in stories to my critique group.
• I participated in the IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond and Of Mist and Magic (release information coming soon.)
• I made consistent progress in my challenge to read the best horror from various lists and write reviews.
• I achieved all of last year's writing goals except those related to my novels, which I chose to set aside.

I don't remember what else, but I'm looking at it as a good year. Hopefully, 2015 will be even better.

My goals for 2015 are:

• I set aside the novels until this year began, so they're back on the docket. I want to finish revising my YA novel and get it ready for submission.
• Finish my Urban Fantasy novel.
• Revise my UF novel.
• Continue writing, editing, and submitting short stories. (I'd set a number goal, but I feel like that would be a number I was pulling out of my rear just to do so, and it wouldn't represent realistic expectations.)
• Place several short stories for pay.
• Start working on articles again.
• Journal.
• Continue to experiment and enjoy collaborations and projects to expand my horizons. 
• Continue with the horror reading/review challenge.

I think that's a good list for now. When I make a list like this, I do so understanding that my goals and/or circumstances might change during the year, but I like to have an idea of what I'm aiming for in the year to come. It always feels good to look back and see what I was hoping to do in the new year, and how much progress I actually made. And it's nice to have something to check in on from time to time to straighten myself out when I've gotten off the path.

Did you set work goals? Resolutions? What are some of your goals for the year, either personal or professional? Do you revisit those goals at the end of the year, or just continue adding to the list as you go? How was your New Year's Eve? Did you go to a party? Observe any special traditions?

May you find your Muse.