Osiyo~

Though it’s not Thursday, I thought now would be a good time to post my writing goals for the year. Yes, I’ve been procrastinating doing this. I’m a very good procrastinator. 😆 But, January is quickly slipping away and I need to do this before the New Year isn’t new so, here I am.

Some of you may have read my goals last year, that HUGE 2-year plan I set out with last January 7th. What a disastrous mess that turned out to be! If you missed it, you can find that memorable post of My Writing Plan For 2024-2015 here. I warn you, take a deep breath before reading it! LOL

I’m doing it again. Yes, again! Why? Why torture myself? You might be thinking I’m a glutton for punishment, that I like to set myself up for sure failure. You’d be wrong. I did it for the same reasons, I guess, that I started edits on a five year old manuscript this weekend. Partly because I’d never set a long term plan and wanted to see if I could. Well, I can set goals. I did. And, as you can probably tell…I failed. Miserably.

I also did it, and am doing it again this year, to push myself, challenge myself. I didn’t set those goals last year for anyone but me. That’s why I do it. But, as with all new things, goals are meant to learn from, I think. And learn, I did!

What did I learn? For one, not to bite off more than I can chew. In other words, I need to set realistic goals, not what I want to do in one or in two years, but what I can do in that time. Can I realistically write four novellas and a full length manuscripts in 12 short months, plus revise another novella to re-publish? Obviously not when it takes me three months or more to write just one.

Click on Image to purchase Risk Factors

Did I accomplish any of my goals for 2014? Yes. I was successful in promoting Risk Factors after it’s new release with my new publisher, Kensington-Lyrical Press, in March. (Do you like how I did that? 🙂 )

I didn’t succeed in getting any other goals completed. Not even blogging once a week. In fact, I didn’t get one novella finished last year. Why? Because I overwhelmed myself. Good lord!! On top of the goals I set, I took on a new project, that isn’t finished yet, either.

Part of my failure is due to a burn out that began in May and didn’t fully end until October. I couldn’t write, didn’t even look at a ms much less work on any. I had to give myself permission to take a break and reevaluate my writing and regroup.

This year I’m taking a new direction with my writing. So, take a look at my new goals for 2015. Yeah…no more two year plans for this writer. But I will be diving into the Self Publishing pool this year, finally.

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GOALS FOR 2015

1. Learn to mute phone when working!!! (can’t turn it off with fil here)

2. Blog at least once a week, aside from guests and regular UnCover Monday features

3. Edit completed full length ms, HW, in progress

4. Post some free reads on website

5. Write two novellas, both already started, but not the DDD novellas from last year

6. Self publish HW, already have a cover in the works and tentative date, May

7. Submit, or self publish at least one of two novellas, not sure which pub route I’ll take yet

8. Write a second full length ms*, my first paranormal, in progress (Juliet’s story in my 2015 goals)

9. Figure out a better marketing solution, for me, or at least a more productive way to use what I already have

* By ‘write a second ms’ I mean complete the first draft in 2015.

So, there you have it. Eight (not counting #1 🙂 ) simple, less stress-inducing goals. Still challenging, but hopefully, doable.

What about you? Will you be making goals (again) this year? How tough are you on yourself? Do you torture, or love yourself with your goals?

Dodadagohvi~