2016's Gunna ROCK

And now we reach one of my favorite annual rituals. The PLAN *buwahahahahahaha*

Now if you've known me a while, you know I always make a plan, and it is hit and miss on whether I follow through. But I have a history of doing better on even years, and I also seem to do best when I have dropped into a pit and so accept the enormous amount of work that needs doing.

So I am hopeful...


The Writing Plan

I have THREE sorts of books I write. Unfortunately, the one I love VERY most is the hardest to sell—the long epic tale. So while I have three of these slated, I have accepted I need to get either my mystery or my YA solidly going before people recognize my name enough to try those other stories.

This year I WILL get one or the other rolling.

Mystery

I think this is probably the genre easiest to break into. (and I've got a bit of a track record, even if I am looking at a break between books) BUT... While I have two first drafts in the series I want to sell, neither of them is the “first book” that I think I can hook a publisher with. One is pretty good, the other needs a serious rewrite because I tried something that didn't work (to do with changing PoVs—this is the wrong tone of book for that). So my next TWO books I write will be part of this series... Then in FALL I will try to sell traditionally, but by the end of year I will have FOUR, so if that isn't going well, I may decide to release one a quarter in 2017 on my own.

YA BEFORE THAT

I have three nearly done YA books (much nearer ready than the mysteries) BUT one doesn't fit style-wise with the other two. Also Appearing will be part of a series, but it is a series that currently only has the one book. Kahlotus Disposal Site and Medium Wrong both have a touch (JUST a touch, but a touch) of paranormal to them. And I have a couple other books I can adapt for this that are WRITTEN (so only need to be rewritten). So my plan is to edit Medium Wrong to “perfect” or thereabouts, and try to sell it in first quarter. Edit Kahlotus while I do that and if MW doesn't sell, try Kahlotus. Between my two mysteries I will both WRITE one more for this series (stand-alones, but of similar genre and style to establish a brand) and adapt another so if neither has been sold by say, August, I will work out a self release plan to start in the fall.


In Sum, that is 3 new first drafts written next year, two BIG rewrites, and several polishing edits.

It is also querying 3 books (1st, 2nd and 4th quarter) and planning a self pub cycle if the first two of those don't work...

I have a calendar, but that is probably less important than the big picture.


And the SUPPLEMENTAL Writing Plan

This is my weakest point... the trouble with my writing success (or lack thereof). I have some mental blocks with marketing... some annoyance with some theoretical ways a person “should” go about it. I don't know how to do this well, but I DO know I have not been doing it, so I intend to make a point of mastering a piece of this each month.

I also plan to work with my newly adopted writing group—cross promotion is part of what we plan and they seem to already be better at this then me, so I will learn from them and work hard not to be the drag on our team.


NON-WRITING

Fitness, fish slap, whatever

Fitness

So I say this all the time, right? I always plan to work on this. But I think I've figured out some boosters for the “old thing that worked doesn't work anymore” bit. I have ALWAYS eaten on a Weight Watcher plan and I walk about 25 miles a week. To that I am ADDING:

Keeping the food between 10AM and 6PM
A 15-minute, 3-Day-a-Week Super-interval thing
A supplement I did some research on

That last is something that would historically have made me very sketchy, but it is all natural so shouldn't hurt and the science analysis on it I watched suggested it really may help. I will let you know if it does.



Theoretically I should have some goals related to home or family, but the family rarely conforms and the home stuff makes me tired, so I will say I will try to be PRESENT and call it good.


How abut all of you? 2016 plans?

2015: A Year in Review

Can we just write this one off? Seriously. I had a bad year. I will chalk it up to a big change at work that had ripple effects that keep on giving. And then a couple writing wrecking balls that just compounded matters, shook my confidence and threw me for a loop. I am trying my darndest to adapt and finally making a bit of progress, but here is how things panned out.

Writing

ABNA did NOT happen last year. So while I got the book I intended to submit pretty ready (I've not had 2 rounds of feedback and think I can get it there) THAT threw a crimp in my plan... And my agent didn't like What Ales Me and fired me... we parted ways. Whatever. She was amazing to give me the chance she did, but she never really quite got me anyway. And then with the day job stress making the day job suck up all my energy, I just fumbled all year on the writing front. I failed at BuNoWriMo (first WriMo fail ever. (I have 12 wins to my record if I count both NaNo and BuNo), so Summer of Bones is only half done and one of the two mysteries I wrote I am really unhappy with. (the November one is a keeper)--so only one book in 2015 I am willing to call “written” and it is a few iterations from sharable. NO books editing to the point of being happy... In my frustration I also fell into several TV shows, which is fun and all, but bad for productivity...

The Recovery Plan to be shared later this week.


Fitness

Weight lost in late 2014 gained back and new scale highlighted that the situation was much more dire than I'd even guessed.

*Sigh*

The Childings, Christmas Eve

Family

This stuff went okay. No big emergencies. My daughter is working. My son has gotten 3 college acceptance letters (one with a nice scholarship). My house is a disaster, but I've not historically aspired to neatness.


Reading

I was going to read a book a month from a writer friend... I think I came close, let's see:

Dragon of the Stars by Alex Cavanaugh
Nasty by Bret Wright
Spilled Blood by Brian Freeman (met through a local book event, not social media)
A Twist of Hate by VR Barkowski
City of Refuge by Diana Wilder
Tower of Bones by Connie Jasperson
Hunted by Elizabeth Heiter (who I met because she is localish, rather than social media)
Ruin Falls by Jenny Milchman
Running from the Past by Alan Orloff
The Boy Who Fell From the Sky by Jule Owen (I don't know her but I won this through one of you, so I believe she is part of this blogosphere)

And am currently reading a Mary Pax Sci Fi western story, so should be done by the start of the year.

So that will be 11 by year end. Plus I discovered a few authors I really really love. Maggie Stiefvater—I read 4 of her books this year and eagerly await another. Andrew Smith—hooked not just myself, but my son, too. And that will be 26 books for the year (of published, as opposed to a couple pre-published I also read... That is a reasonable pace to me. And fails to count the re-reading of the Song of Ice and Fire series I am doing in prep for Winds of Winter.


Blogging

I did not manage to be interesting. This makes me sad. I used to be so entertaining... When life is heavy it is hard to be light.

Shows the curls AND the fact I need to lose weight

Surprise Positives

I finally figured out what one does with curly hair. I've spent years in midwest humidity with just fuzz... I could see the potential for awesome but it wasn't to be. But in around March I read something and talked to a friend with curly hair and made some changes. I quit completely rinsing out the conditioner. I only run the comb through ONCE, when it is still pretty drippy, then use my fingers for all manipulation after, I use an olive oil product to keep the fuzz down. And I now have ringlets... real curly hair, not Hermione fuzz.

I also figured out how to make the DVD player play Netflix and Amazon Prime. I know. Small victories. But Netflix is having some awesome originals, so this is nice.

So Wednesday or Thursday I will share my hopes and plans for 2016, but I thoroughly expect it to be a better year...

The Writing Goals for 2015

I have a couple things this year in “Dependent” status that might change OTHER plans depending on what happens. I will do my best to double plan so I can be adaptive...


First Quarter

IN my control:

January I will do two more rounds of revision on Also Appearing for ABNA and then enter.

January/February I will read Kahlotus Disposal Site and Medium Wrong, then revise the one I am closes to happy with for Querying.

And in March I plan to write a mystery... WHICH mystery depends on...


Somewhat out of my control: What Ales Me is with Ellen. If she LIKES it, hopefully she can sell it (meaning a focus on this series all year). If she DOESN'T like it, I think it is still good enough to query. My agreement with Ellen is project by project and I like working with her, but she will do the best job for me if she really likes it. Most of her suggestions last time she saw it I totally agreed with, but I will have to see if I managed the tweaks where I didn't agree with her (my approach is to generally think I didn't get what I meant across right so I need to do a better job rather than to make it something I didn't mean in the first place... usually it works, not always).

IFF I sell it, I will write the 2nd in March (March Madness). If I DONT sell it, I will write my 2nd Corset Cop one, strictly because I have one for THAT already started)

Historic postcard from Lake Chatcolet

Second Quarter

April and May will again be revision months, one for a YA, one for the first Corset Cop (unless I have requested revisions for What Ales Me or the YA I submitted in February). Then June, as usual (as it is BuNoWriMo, I will write a book... I have a YA I've been thinking about for a long time and really want to get to called Summer Bones—it is part of my Chatcolet series, of which Also Appearing is the first—they are standalone novels, but connected by location—the lake and small communities nearby where I spent much of my growing up. This one is a bit of a prank gone wrong/bullying tale. BUT if I've sold What Ales Me, I MAY be in a position of needing to write one from that series (the 3rd).

Third Quarter...

July and August tend to be months I reserve for winding stuff up that needs doing. If I've sold the Artful Ales series, it will be a polish time there—getting book 2 really totally ready. If I haven't (or my timing is farther out) I may invest it to make progress on either Undoing or Endangered—both of these are huge projects and both need a lot of work still. Undoing is 3 books in three acts and I've written 2 of the 9 total acts. Endangered I am closer to half done but have done a lot of reconceiving. I may structure it more like I did A Shot in the Light—as written I rotate 4 PoVs but the action doesn't distribute that nicely, so I need to restructure.

September will hopefully be a polish/submit time... (TBD--maybe first Corset Cop)


Fourth Quarter:
October a revision TBD.
November write a mystery for NaNoWriMo
December pick my ABNA book and work on revisions for THAT...

Hopefully there is enough flexibility built in here that I can manage... It is a total of 3 new books, polishing and querying 2 and major edits on 2, plus progress on a big project...

Ready, set... GOOOO!

IWSG: Baby Steps

So going through successes and failures from last year and writing goals for this year got me thinking. There is something I am pretty good at that I don’t think comes naturally for everyone. And I believe it is the REASON I am able to be so persistent for so long on projects that can seem ENDLESS. So that is good help for others, ne? (and be sure to visit the other Insecure Writers today, too)

I am good at taking a huge, pie-in-the-sky goal and breaking it into manageable pieces. Not only does this help to DO the thing, it also gives you dozens of mini-successes along the way that reinforce you really CAN get there from here.

So in writing, there are a couple GIANT goals, each as intimidating as the next… WRITING THE BOOK (the first is always hardest) and PUBLISHING THE BOOK… So I thought I’d break down some of the steps a person might break out, though keep in mind everyone has a different process for both of these things.



WRITING A BOOK

If you like to plan ahead…
* Outline
* Character sketch
* Research (though beware of the black hole this can become—limit this to what is absolutely necessary for the story—DETAILS can be researched after)
* Get a few books you think fit the genre and get familiar with what DOES and DOES NOT belong in stories like the one you have planned.
* Write the pitch that will go with your book
* Write the synopsis if you are a superstar

Or if you are a pantser…
* Figure out the time of day that works for you and schedule it…
* Remember a page a day is a book in a year.
* Set reasonable wordcount goals

Or if you are in between like me…
* Make your timeline

NOW just write regularly… set your goal… a chapter a week? A scene a day? 1000 words a day? (or 500?)

And let yourself be proud for each thing you get done…

And then there is PUBLISHING
* Read blogs!!!! (I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned about this business from reading the experience of others)
* Go to The Writer’s Knowledge Base[http://hiveword.com/wkb/search] and look up the latest on the process including wordcount guidelines by genre if you are publishing traditionally
* Find someone to READ your book and give you feedback (edit, repeat, ad nauseum)—some people write relatively clean first drafts… like one in a thousand. Most of us THINK we write clean first drafts at that first book and learn we DO NOT.
* Look up the agents who represent your genre and read more specifically what they like OR find the small publishers who publish what you have
* (if you’d prefer to self publish, on about your 10th draft, hire a professional editor and shop cover artists—we have several of both of these within our blogging circle)
* As you research your process make your OWN list of baby steps. Because as I said, we all have different preferences, but know that networking can teach you of alternative routes, so keep that piece in the loop.


So there you have it… Baby steps + Just keep swimming = success.

Good luck to all of you trying to bit off something new and HUGE!

2013: On Prime Numbers and Plans

I turn 47 this year. That's a prime number, as is 2013... I like prime numbers (my lucky numbers being 23 and 5) so I am taking this as a good sign. I had a huge year of ups and downs last year. REALLY BIG ups and downs. So I'm actually really glad to kick 2012 in the back side. In future years I will remember it as the year I first published, but I am really just hoping the other stuff fades.

2013 has some big events coming... probably the biggest is my daughter graduates from high school in June. But I also have a second book release and I am determined I will ALSO sell one of my young adult books... But lets get specific here. Goals always work better with some specificity...

Fitness Goals

This piece of my life has gotten out of hand. I need to lose quite a bit of weight. I'd like it to go quickly, but am realistic... though optimistic, too. My GOAL is ten pounds in January, then five a month through the rest of the year... after summer it will be a lot harder—it goes slower when you get closer to goal, but maybe a few of the earlier months will have a few extra pounds lost to make up for it.

I will do this by:
Weight Watchers
Daily walking
4 times a week something more intense for at least 30 minutes
3 times a week working with weights (and that pesky push-up/sit-up/lunge stuff)

Mental Health and Balance

This is more a family goal. Most of you who come around here know I am a nut, but honestly, my claimed insanity is pretty stable. I am calm and my reactions are fairly calm. But my family is going through some stuff, so this is really more a commitment to put some regular attention on them and how things are going. My kids, in particular, deserve to have me break my tunnel vision away from the writing more regularly. And I need to make a better attempt keeping in touch with the family that doesn't spend their lives on facebook (though I love that facebook keeps me in regular touch with a lot of people I used to only rarely talk to)

I also have a memorial to plan for the end of June and I need to make a point of doing this well.

And the Writing...

Always back to the writing, eh? It is the piece I seem able to maintain some illusion of control in...


January

1) Revise MEDIUM WRONG and polish for ABNA contest (first 3 weeks)
2) Send at least 10 queries for KAHLOTUS DISPOSAL SITE
3) Begin first revision of WHAT ALES ME

February

1) Continue revisions WHAT ALES ME
2) 10 more queries.
3) Finish typing SHOT IN THE LIGHT

March

1) First polish WHAT ALES ME. Send to reviewer friends.
2) Evaluate whether KAHLOTUS doing what I want: either plan revisions or query 10 more
3) Make Book release plans for The Begonia Bribe


April

[keep block open for unexpected revision of SOMETHING or writing of something requested (in my dreams there will be at least a 4th Garden Society book), maybe KAHLOTUS needs something (in fact probably it does).

Also, if getting nowhere, this is the month to learn the self-publishing stuff I need.


May

1) Revisions for WHAT ALES ME. Send to Ellen
2) Execute BEGONIA BRIBE release

June

BuNoWriMo: I have several books I want to write this year, but in jump starting my career, I thought my next Cozy Mystery idea was most promising. Unnamed... has retired lady cop who is now running a lingerie store as the sleuth... it was inspired by a real (and fabulous) woman.

[note, this will be challenging, as I think I have 10 days on a road trip this month, but I will try it anyway]

Other books on maybe list: Next Pleides, Undoing (a taking down of a secret society from the inside—probably a series), my young adult Armageddon one, or one from my file of ideas...) Also wrote half a book after my first that I've begun thinking has a lot of potential... would probably need to be totally rewritten and certainly needs an ending.


July

1) Revisions MEDIUM WRONG based on ABNA feedback

August

1) Second block for 'fill in here' what has been either requested as changes or do some self-publishing prep work
2) POLISH MEDIUM WRONG

September

1) Being revisions for SHOT IN THE LIGHT
2) Query MEDIUM WRONG

October

1) Continue revisions on SHOT
2) Keep querying

November

1) NaNoWriMo (see above)
2) SHOT to first readers


December

1) Revise SHOT per feedback (polishing for ABNA 2014)

So I think I'm learning... those two months in there to be a little flexible... We will see how that goes, but I have my hopes it will help to keep me on track.

What are your goals?

1000th Post: 2012 in Review

[half day early, even... I decided no one will be reading blogs New Year's Day]

I can't believe I've hit a thousand posts. It's a strange thing. A good thing, I guess. It's been 3.5 years and I've been consistent. I haven't been as good about getting around and trying to build this year, both because my personal life has had a lot of distractions, and because... when you reach a certain size it just becomes an unruly task.

Speaking of personal distractions... They've had an impact on my goals for last year, but I still need to go through the process of reviewing, just so I know how I did... If you are interested in the SPECIFIC goals:

Here is the End of the World Fitness Plan

Here were my Networking Plans 

And here were my Writing Plans


How'd I Do?

I can tell you right off I failed on the fitness all the way around. I started okay, but six days into the year was hubby's first health crisis and I just couldn't seem to make the time to take care of myself when I was picking up the slack for the long list of things he could no longer do.

The social networking, too... I feel like I succeeded on the Facebook piece, but the rest of it... not so much...

So really all there is to talk about is the writing piece.

January, polish Legacy for ABNA. Check.

February, fill holes in Chrysanthemum Campaign. Think this took more than the month, but check.

March: CC to peer readers for the month.
Revise WHAT ALES ME.
Plan promotional campaign for AZALEA ASSAULT

The first and the last happened. WHAT ALES ME revisions are what fell off because the others took more time.

April: WHAT ALES ME to peers.
Revise CC per feedback. Read out loud. Revise again.
Begin CONFLUENCE revision.

Only the middle one happened here (and didn't actually happen until May) but it was because my agent had wanted KAHLOTUS revisions, so that took precedence and was what I worked on.

May: CC to agent
Finish CONFLUENCE revision.
Revise CC per agent

Yeahno. Per feedback from peers, spend May REVISING Chrysanthemum Campaign. (and some of June)

June:  Turn in CC
BuNoWriMo: One of these pesky Armageddon stories...
RELEASE AZALEA ASSAULT

See, and now THIS is why I love a WriMo... Yes, yes and yes... Though CC was actually turned in about a week into July because my agent wanted a little more time and they were switching editors, so the new one wanted to read the first two books before this one ANYWAY to familiarize herself... But I wrote the first 60K of SHOT IN THE LIGHT in June and had a successful book release for AZALEA ASSAULT. THIS was the month I became a published author.

July: First Revision MEDIUM WRONG –
no, but this was a solid mind change. I kept writing SHOT IN THE LIGHT as I knew I was only about half done. And then I hit the years second major life obstacle... my dying aunt... And this was when Amy decided she wasn't the best to represent me, so I lost my YA agent... So Medium Wrong at 120K is ALMOST done... but then I got sidetracked for a solid two months (much more because of the dying aunt logistics than the agent piece—I totally respect Amy's decision and that only would have knocked me out for days, not weeks or months).

August: MEDIUM WRONG to peers
Revise WHAT ALES ME, read out loud
WHAT ALES ME to Agent
Um... no.

September: Final Revisions MEDIUM WRONG
MEDIUM WRONG to Amy

And no. But I DID decide MEDIUM WRONG would be my ABNA book, so I started FIRST revisions on it...

October: Slot for specifically requested revisions for MEDIUM WRONG/WHAT ALES ME
First revision summer Armageddon book

MEDIUM WRONG REVISIONS were all I worked on.

November: NaNoWriMo: Thenother Armageddon? (yeah, I think so... but things change)

DID NaNoWriMo, but changed my mind on WHAT... Ended up writing MEAN and DEMEANED, the first in my Pleides series.

December: Finally polish CONFLUENCE
If time, begin revision ILLUSIONS

And NO and NO. I've spent December actually trying to tie up loose ends... typing the rest of WHAT ALES ME (can't believe I'd forgotten the thing hadn't even been all TYPED yet! Trying to hammer out a synopsis for KAHLOTUS DISPOSAL SITE, prepping for WHAT ALES ME revisions. Readers have MEDIUM WRONG and I want to do THOSE revisions ASAP because it needs to be ready for ABNA.


So... Fails on a couple counts, but honestly, I'm pleased with how much writing I got done. I think it's worth noting that some fails are fails, but MOST are mind changes... an earlier failure or a reason from another direction changes what the current possible/priority is. We have to be FLEXIBLE to change plans, but I still think it helps me be productive to MAKE the PLAN--BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  (Ah... there's the cackle... I bet you'd wondered where it was)

How'd you do on your goals this year?

Tomorrow I will lay out my GOALS for the year...

2011 Goal Progress

So today is my day to assess how I did on my goals for 2011, and I've just copied the list from my blogs (okay, the writing one, and only a link to the other ones) and I will summarize how I did.

January
Edit and Polish one of my WriMos.
Write and test pitch for ABNA: revise test repeat until ready.
Enter Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest

Assessment:  This was all done. Kahlotus Disposal Site was a semi-finalist in the ABNA contest, earned an agent (the fabulous Amy Tipton) then saw two rewrites with agent guidance and is currently on submission. 

February

Polish Legacy (should be a 2 week task)
Present option to agent: if she passes, send a dozen queries
Begin writing next Garden Cozy

Assessment: I did the revision, but then sent to another reviewer who had a series of changes she suggested (and I agree). It then got set on the back burner for the required stuff, but is planned for my ABNA entry this year and Amy is reading it, so its day is coming.


March
Finish Garden Cozy
More queries if appropriate
Read Confluence and take notes

I finished the Cozy, but not until MAY (so mixed bag) and did not touch Confluence.



April

Finish reading Confluence beginning to end
Map out how to change PoV/Villains to make it a YA
Edit Confluence

I was still writing Begonia Bribe, so no.

May

REwrite that Gardening Cozy (should have been about the right about of 'set aside' time) then send to peer reviewers.

The month WAS devoted to Begonia Bribe.... Just not exactly as planned. I finally finished it.


June

Write my Microbrew themed near-Cozy (in a WriMo)

DONE. This is still in first draft--in fact has some pages that still need typing. But I succeeded here.


July

Polish 2nd Gardening Cozy/ send to agent
Revise one of WriMos (probably Kahlotus): Send to peer readers

I polished the Garden Cozy and sent to READERS and did one of my Kahlotus revisions. So I was a round late with Begonia, but did what I'd planned otherwise.


August

Polish CONFLUENCE
Open spot for catching up if something has fallen behind

No on Confluence. But DID use it to catch up--Garden Cozy and Kahlotus winding--glad I left a catch-up slot!


September
agent fixes on Garden Cozy
Rewrite MicroMystery
Query
Cozy DUE to Editor

Another mixed bag. I didn't give my agent as much time as I should have with Begonia--BAD me. And I didn't rewrite the MicroMystery. I didn't NEED to query... this really was ALL about finally getting Begonia Bribe in shape (and at the scrambling pace, that was rough)


October

Query
Polish the July Rewrite

After the scramble for Begonia Bribe, I changed my mind about how much time was necessary to do this thing, so I instead started Chrysanthemum Campaign. Only managed about 12K words, but started is started.


November

NaNoWriMo: 1st draft of 3rd Garden Cozy

And strangely, I couldn't get myself to write this at this pace and Medium Wrong had been bugging me too much, so I wrote THAT.



December

Polish Micro and pitch to agent (pretty sure this will interest her)
So FIRM:  Is writing 3 books, editing 4 books and doggedly finding representation for at least one other work.

And I changed my mind HERE, too... go figure. I am madly finishing my 3rd garden cozy first draft.

Broad Assessment:  I planned to write 3 books and by year end will have written 4.  That is GOOD. I planned 2 polishings that didn't happen though... I still find it hard to make myself focus on the rewrites and the edit.s While I may not have adhered exactly to my plan, I think the only actual near-failure was related to how slowly I wrote Begonia Bribe, which threw my whole timeline off. Next time I have a hard deadline (heck, THIS time with my hard deadline) I am writing like a WriMo and will press until it is DONE. I think it was a good year in Writing though.




Summary of Blogging goals: I think I summed it up pretty well last year, and I think I succeeded in my plans, other than that brevity goal, on which I made progress...


The Fitness, Money and Relationship goals: Yeah, not so much... I started TWO fitness plans... both of which were short-term successful, then petered out, though the Couch to Keg program still has us walking together (I really need better clothes to run in this weather--nothing both WARM and allowing for MOVEMENT)... The money stuff, we managed a PLAN (not the exciting one that makes me cackle, but a practical if painful one) and if we stick to it, it will be a very lean... about 3 years... but then we will be DONE with it. That's all I'll say, as this gets into HWMNBMOTI and his privacy issues.

Goals versus Strategies

I've seen so many blogs this week about resolutions or goals, and I thought maybe my life as a scientist might shed some light on what's what. (you're going to be serious?) Mostly. You know me... even serious will have silly moments. (but I look GOOD as a teacher, yeah?) *cough*


When we submit a grant with the GOAL of the funder giving us MONEY.... They ask for things like a HYPOTHESIS, SPECIFIC AIMS (GOALS) and STRATEGIES. So lets apply those to writing. 


Null Hypothesis: The null HYPOTHESIS is the idea that DOING SOMETHING will be statistically the same as DOING NOTHING.

So in writing, this would be the claim “Working my butt off to improve writing, improve queries, and sending queries to lots of agents will have the SAME effect as doing NOTHING.

Now nobody really BELIEVES the null HYPOTHESIS. If they DID, they wouldn't be doing the darned study, ne? What their HYPOTHESIS really is is that if they work their tail off they WILL find an agent and then a publisher. And REALLY you only use NULL HYPOTHESES in school (at least I only ever did)--for a grant or a manuscript we use the ACTUAL HYPOTHESIS.

So I reiterate: If I work my tail off, I will find an agent and then a publisher.


Easy Peasy, right?

WRONG! How the hell do you operationalize 'work my tail off?' What does that MEAN?

Well we started to get at it up above...

Improve the writing. Improve the query. Send to the right agent. Right? THESE ARE GOALS.

But neither are these magic. (and if you thought they were, I apologize for disillusioning you. I am on day 4 of the 2011 eating plan and it is making me mean and rotten. I am also in my 3rd month of basically marathon level writing production and it is making me loopy. Cranky and Loopy make for twisted bedfellows)

But if to each GOAL you add... say 3-4 STRATEGIES, THEN you might be at a PLAN!!!! (HA! Did you hear the evil cackling?! That is my plan fiend, who I believe you've met.)

GOAL: Improve My Writing

Strategies:

1.  Write 5000 words every week
2.  Find 3 critique partners willing to give me feedback
3.  Read my final draft out loud before sending


GOAL: Improve my Query Letter

Strategies

1.  Find blogs with the RULES
2.  USE a resource that gives query feedback (there are several websites if you don't have a passel of writers to ask.
3.  Write a couple 3 and TEST them.


GOAL: Send queries to agents

Strategies

1.  Identify agents who are currently accepting your genre
2.  TIER them. TOP, medium and lower among acceptable
3.  Send queries about 10 at a time to a set that include all tiers.
4.  Follow ALL the agency guidelines when sending.


See... the strategies are actionable and measurable.

So you end up with this:

I think (hypothesis) and to test it I am going to (goal) by (strategies).


FLEXIBILITY: This one is NOT official. It is about your ability to DO IT. Stuff comes up. I know that is news to a lot of you. Life should just fall in line, yeah? But it doesn't. Children need things. Spouses need things. Jobs need things. I have several times a year that LIFE throws a monkey wrench in my best intentions. Now if you have RIGID plans, then suddenly you've failed through no fault of your own.


COUNT ON IT. PLAN FOR IT.

My tricks?

Set your goals in large enough timeframes that you can absorb... a 5000 word a week writing goal is REALLY a 1000 word a DAY writing goal with padding for LIFE to happen. I TRY to do it in the first 5 days, but I have room to adjust if it doesn't happen that way.

Recognize OTHER people have lives. When I am recruiting critique partners, I generally try to recruit one or two more than I think I need. If the request is for NOW you may not need to because people generally know their immediate obligations, but with my writing group, I try to give a heads up: If I need 2 readers each for initial feedback and then a polished read then I ASK for 3 each. (because SOMEBODY will surely get a life between now and then). Try to also give them TIME. (says the person who only gave Rayna and Cruella 4 days recently *shifty* I guess the key there is TRY...

When something big comes up, be willing to just rewrite the schedule and call it good. When I was in the midst of my LEGACY edits, I got AGENT feedback that was bigger than I thought it would be... that is a DEADLINE. I HAD to drop Legacy. But that didn't mean I had to call Legacy a fail. I just had to set it back and come back to it.

So there.  Goals a la Tart

The Other Ones

Erm... by that I mean the NON-Writing Resolutions...

FITNESS

Okay, so I say this every year, but this is finally a matter of PAIN issues, and I'd rather be done with it. YES, I should weigh less and would LOVE to have a goal of Goddess Like Hotness—like this Playboy centerfold... What I REALLY want? No back pain. This requires a more reasonable weight... it also requires STRETCHING which I am woefully bad at... core strengthening (which I neglect horribly) and possibly more sex (which I promise to work on right away). But SPECIFICALLY:

Back to my exercise (power walking regularly)
Back to eating on a Weight Watchers plan
Alternate days with core/hand weights (15 minutes of one or the other daily)
Stretch before bed every night (I already stretch in the shower in the a.m.)

A moratorium on alcohol and Diet Coke until all this settles in, and then, only on points.

MONEY

We have serious financial problems. I have found a short term fix, but the long-term plan requires a couple things... NONE of them SEEM to be in my control, but the one that most closely is is my writing stuff... This is behind the FRANTIC polishing... I want to have 3 books READY by mid year (two earlier: one for ABNA, one to query) and I plan to GO GO GO until I sell one. I ALSO am concentrating on WRITING stuff I am pretty sure is salable—I want to get my name established so this stuff all gets easier.


RELATIONSHIPS

I finally made peace with my mom (mostly) at Christmas... but newly fixed things are fragile, and I am neglectful in the best of times. I need to keep working at it... I also need to work at the one with the hubby and the childings...

And I should be more cognizant of my other friendships, too... I LOVE my friends, but I can be downright SCATTERED about attention...


I guess those are the biggies, aside from the writing stuff a couple days ago...