2016
This is from my exercise last year:
Vision:
In one year I will finish at least one book and know for sure that it’s good.
In five years I connect with the right people who help get my books to an audience who will like them.
In ten years my life still has a rhythm of work, exploration and refuge that helps me grow as a person but is also centered on writing as a job, with deadlines and hubbub and all that jazz I miss 
.
I am SO HAPPY to say I met my one year goal. I finished a book to the point that it's really, truly good and I'm proud of it, then submitted to everyone who had requested partials or fulls
And there's more
.
I drafted a YA book in March Bootcamp, and a romance book in November NaNo Bootcamp, I found a solid, helpful, positive critique partner, I revamped my romance author website, I took Grace Burrowes's advice (!) and stopped focusing on contests in order to shift my mindset toward professional writing.
My husband and I each escorted one of our daughters on foreign adventures, he in Italy and me in the UK. I had never been to England and wanted to see if it resonated because I'd like to write historical romance in the future. The trip was unreal, and the level of difficulty and planning so extreme that I gained a huge sense of confidence in my brain injury recovery. Although I have lingering organizational problems, they're not worse than most other people's and I feel really, truly healed. After four+ years that feels amazing.
I also took a class on perfectionism in November (here at Savvy with Hilary Rettig) that really helped me identify things I'd considered "high standards" that really slow down my writing and keep me from getting the help from others I need to have "abundant" and "lavish" time for creativity
.
The rough stuff was my losing Dad. He was an immense support, and a wonderful guy. I'm still weepy most days, and the three blogs I've written on my love/life/family blog have all been linked in some way to mortality. Sure, I might have 30 more years of writing. I love the new James Scott Bell book (
Just Write) and he reminds us writers that in all likelihood we will never stop as long as we draw breath. Nor should we. But my time to make a second career of this is limited.
2017
So my goals for this year are a little more ambitious.
1. Through any combination of outside jobs, advances, and e-books sales I need to make $25k this year.
- I've started this already by becoming a substitute teacher but I'll have to do more because that pay alone ($90/day) won't get me there and I'll have to double this salary goal next year.
2. Sell something.
- This can be an article, e-book or series but now that I've started submitting in earnest (starting in Nov/Dec 2016) I need to keep at it until I find an outlet. It's a mindset thing, like not submitting to contests.
3. Complete my romance series through Book 4 by RWA in July.
- A realistic goals since I have revised drafts of all four books. Only the 4th is ready for submission, however, which hogties my chances for selling the series. While new writing was fun last year (neither book I drafted was in the series), I floundered with needed revisions to these books. I'm working through needed fixes for Book 1 this month, while adding new scenes to my NaNo book.
4. Use my time at RWA Conference to try to find an agent.
- I went to one RWA Conference, 2015 in New York, and focused then on craft and taking the whole big world in. This year I want to go to the "pitches" each of the publishers puts on to know which is the best fit for my stories, but use the individual one-on-one time to meet with agents to see if I can find a good fit. I've written romance, women's fiction, YA and non-fiction and would like to write a few e-books and a children's book (or two ) this year. I need an agent to help me with the selling so I can focus on the production and quality.
Last year I made a lot of breakthroughs by setting realistic, attainable goals. I've gotten a better sense of how long it takes me to do different kinds of projects, and no longer get as slowed down by wishful thinking and subsequent frustrations. My life is super-full with family obligations, and while I can tune them out some days, and plan around them others, the great thing about writing is that if some days life takes over, that's okay. I can do that. And get back to writing a day or two later by starting at 4:45, that's my go-to reset button.
Lisa
