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June accountability, July goals

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Last month, I was a little worried about my goals because I had some other big plans. So, how did it go?

GoalsJune accountability

  • Start editing the newest novella. Hoping to make it through the first quarter or third.—DONE. I got through the first quarter of the paper edit and entered about 2/3s of that onto the manuscript, and sent it off to my critique partners. Unfortunately, my paper edit included one note “add an entire new chapter here.” Which I have yet to do. Bet my crit partners loved that part.
  • Read through Tomorrow We Spy again and apply latest round of critique notes; send to beta readers—I had to push the readthrough back to the end of the month, after the beta round, but I did incorporate my critique partners’ notes and sent it off to beta readers! So DONE!
  • READ. A lot. DONE! My husband and I left our kids with my mom and took our tenth anniversary trip, cruising to Juneau and Skagway, Alaska, then driving (and riding a train) through the Yukon, then visiting Fairbanks, Alaska, and Denali National Park before ending in Anchorage. It was fantastic! But more later—when I have pictures. For now, I’ll just say, because of all the driving and flying, I read eight books. Woot!
  • Think about website and marketing stuff even more. There was definite thinking.
  • Get beta reader feedback and incorporate, getting the novel ready to go to my editor—beta reader feedback is trickling in, and I’ve finished the readthrough. Notes are incorporated and I’m about to click send!!

Woot!

July goals

I spent almost half of last month preparing, traveling and recovering. This month, I’ll get to spend a couple weeks with my family visiting. I’m super excited—but I’ve still got to fit the work in!

  • Get a cover. The fun part!
  • Edit the next half of the rebelliovella and send to critique partners.
  • Get back edits, incorporate, and proof.
  • Format and typeset.
  • Read two books on marketing.
  • Keep thinking about website stuff. Seriously. Maybe even think about doing something, eh?

What’s up for you this month?

Photo by Celestine Chua

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News & Contests

May accountability; June goals

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Last month, I was really daunted by my goals, things I’d been chipping away at way too slowly for months. So, how did it go?

GoalsMay accountability

  • FINISH THE NOVELLA—DONE. Sort of. You see, one of the reasons this novella was so tough was that . . . it wasn’t a novella at all. I deluded myself even after I passed the projected 30,000 word count halfway through, even when I hit 50,000 words, even when I finished at 62,000 words. I could cut it back, I told myself. Other than all these scenes I need to add . . . So now I have a new problem: when am I going to find time to edit a full novel??
  • DO THE EDITS—done. They’re not all entered, but the last few are sitting there in my file waiting for me.
  • Do rewrites on Saints & Spies—with the novella turning into a novel, I decided to move this a little later.
  • Participate in a sale event (more on that coming up later in the month!)—check! Not as successful as my last big sale, but still a big bump!
  • Think about marketing & website stuff.—did some of this. More to come.

Whew! That looks like a ton of progress!

June goals

I know, the month’s half over. But here’s what I wanted to get done starting at the beginning of the month.

  • Start editing the newest novella. Hoping to make it through the first quarter or third.
  • Read through Tomorrow We Spy again and apply latest round of critique notes; send to beta readers.
  • READ. A lot. I need to recharge!
  • Think about website and marketing stuff even more.
  • Get beta reader feedback and incorporate, getting the novel ready to go to my editor

I think I can?

What’s up for you this month?

Photo by Celestine Chua

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News & Contests

February accountability; March goals!

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I’ve gotten so much done in the last week!

Not. I may have only posted these last week, but fortunately, I did work on them all month.

February goals

  • Launch Spy Noon—check!
  • Prep the second half of Spy Another Day #3 and take it to critique group—check! A ton of work, but we all got through it.
  • Finish gathering materials for my next writing craft book, and write new materials to fill in the gaps—check! This came together really fast, but I do still have some work to do here.
  • Send next writing craft book to beta readers—check! Thanks, betas!
  • Get covers for my next two writing craft books—one done, the other is in concept state. (Hint: if you want a sneak peek, subscribe to my newsletter!)
  • Gather materials for next-next writing craft book—not yet.
  • Write enough to stay sane—nope, unless editing counts.
  • Start reading for Whitney Awards—yep! Fair to excellent so far.
  • Prep for a family gathering for a big milestone for my son! Yep! It was wonderful.

March goals

  • Host the goal-setting challenge for my writers’ group, the March-a-thon. (Which helps with everything else!)
  • Enter rewrites from critique group suggestions on Spy Another Day 3.
  • Begin the deep edit on Spy Another Day 3.
  • Enter beta feedback on next writing craft book & finish writing out examples.
  • Prep that book for publication.
  • Make cover and gather materials for next-next writing craft book.
  • More Whitney award reading.
  • Write a novella (gulp!)

That’s only eight things, right? 😉

What are you working on for March?

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Writing Life

Belated accountability

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Sooo I normally do this on the first Friday of the month, but the launch of Spy Noon and then the sale the next week threw me off. The last Monday is close enough, right?

GoalsJanuary accountability

  • Get Spy Another Day #3 ready for critique group & take it to them—I did this! It was so much work, though! I really have to be better about this. The problem with my last two novels is that I’ve taken the extremely rough first draft and polished it to about the third or fourth draft state in one pass. I’ve been working way too hard!
  • Polish up that novella I wrote in September—Check! “Polish up” was my conservative way to say “get this ready and publish.” Which I did.
  • Write enough to stay sane—Aside from the new words I put into SAD #3, I didn’t write anything. No comment on the sanity.
  • Start gathering materials for my next Writing Craft book—I . . . can’t remember when I did this. But I did it!

Whew! It was a busy month. And Feburary’s kept up that pace.

February goals

Okay, the month’s almost over, I know, but fortunately I did write down what I wanted to get done this month.

  • Launch Spy Noon.
  • Prep the second half of Spy Another Day #3 and take it to critique group.
  • Finish gathering materials for my next writing craft book, and write new materials to fill in the gaps.
  • Send next writing craft book to beta readers.
  • Get covers for my next two writing craft books.
  • Gather materials for next-next writing craft book.
  • Write enough to stay sane.
  • Start reading for Whitney Awards.
  • Prep for a family gathering for a big milestone for my son!

That looks like a lot. I should always write my goals out in the last week of the month. Oy.

I’ll let you know how I did next week. I’m sure the suspense is killing you!

What have you accomplished so far this year? How is your writing process or workflow going?

Photo by Celestine Chua

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News & Contests

2014 (and January) goals!

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It’s the first Friday of the month&the first Friday of the year! I’m reporting on my goals and setting new ones—come join in!

Goals2013 goals and accountability

My writing goals for 2013 included:

  • Publish two novels and a novella in the Spy Another Day series
  • Write two novels: Spy Another Day #2 and #3
  • Maintain my website and monthly email newsletter
  • Coordinate book reviews & tours
  • Sell 1000 copies of I, Spy
  • Prepare another novel for publication
  • Read 40 books
  • Blog, usually 3-4 times a week.

And here’s how I did!

  • Publish two novels and a novella in the Spy Another Day series—Yep! I actually made a day-by-day schedule to make sure this happened. Fortunately, I also built in a ton of room because I barely made it on time.
  • Write two novels: Spy Another Day #2 and #3‐Same as above: I was way behind schedule, but I made it.
  • Maintain my website and monthly email newsletter—Yep!
  • Coordinate book reviews & tours—Did this, too. This year, I might look into hiring this out, though.
  • Sell 1000 copies of I, Spy—I was scared setting this goal so high for a self-published debut, but I came sooooo close. I did my sales totals for the year yesterday, and it looks like it came to 989 copies of I, Spy sold.
  • Prepare another novel for publication—This I didn’t do. I’ve really rethought the novel I had on tap, and falling behind schedule on writing and editing chewed up some of the time I’d allotted for this. But that’s okay—because the rest of the time was taken up with a different project: my first book on writing craft! (And another novella…)
  • Read 40 books—I got 31. Not bad, but not as good as I could have done. I should read a bit more to help with burnout, I think.
  • Blogging went . . . okay. I feel like the medium in general is in a decline, and my blog is included in that as traffic and comments have dropped off somewhat.

December accountability

My specific goals for last month were:

  • Now finish my NaNo novel—DONE. Took longer than I was planning, and there are still a lot of rough spots, but I know I an keep working at it.
  • Polish up the NaNo novel a bit—didn’t make as much progress as I’d hoped, but I’m still working on this.
  • Write up the 2014 business plan, goals and production schedule—check!
  • Think about my conference presentations for next year. If I’m feeling really ambitious, outline them—I did a quick outline last night while brainstorming. Good enough for me!
  • Enjoy the holidays with my family—check!

And that last one makes the whole month worth it.

January goals

  • Get Spy Another Day #3 ready for critique group & take it to them
  • Polish up that novella I wrote in September
  • Write enough to stay sane
  • Start gathering materials for my next Writing Craft book

Man. That looks so DOABLE. So not like me. (Although really #1 and #2 hide a lot of work, eh?)

And big goals for the rest of 2014

  • Publish a novella, two novels and up to three Writing Craft books. (It sounds like a lot, but the fiction is already written, just in various stages of editing now.)
  • Write a short novel and a full length novel. And whatever else I feel like 😉 (falling under the “enough to stay sane” guideline here, too).
  • Teach at LDStorymakers in April, and possibly other conferences, as my schedule permits.
  • Do all that promotion and marketing stuff.
  • Explore more collaborations & partnerships.
  • Bundles! Box sets!
  • Read. I didn’t intend to set a number goal last year, but then I did. Sigh. I think I’d like to average at least 3 books a month. So 36 books. Should be doable. Right?
  • Try to sprinkle in a little fun. That will come with #2, #3, #5 and #7 of course, but I want to be careful to avoid burnout.

Whew! I’m looking at my color-coded production schedule and . . . it’s a little daunting (in some months). But I’ve adjusted my expectations for the year based on actual! data! and I’ve tried hard to reel it in a bit. Now to add back in the fun . . .

What’s on tap for you this month? This year? Come share!

Photo by Celestine Chua

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News & Contests, Writing Life

November (and October) accountability; December goals!

Whew. November. Am I right? It was such a whirlwind I totally forgot to share my accountability and goals, like I usually do on the first Friday of the month. So here’s some catch up.

GoalsOctober accountability

  • Complete edits on & read aloud Spy for a Spy.—CHECK
  • Proofread Spy for a Spy.—CHECK
  • Pull together promo materials for Spy for a Spy. (sensing a theme?)—CHECK This spilled into November, but it got done in time!
  • Research & plot Nano novel—I think this spilled over into November, too, but CHECK
  • Maybe write another novella? Have to do something to stay sane amidst the marketing and editing 😉 Bahahaha. SANITY IS OVERRATED
  • Edit the novella I wrote last week.—Totally lost heart after editing my brains out with Spy for a Spy. I’ll probably move this to next year.
  • Edit Character Arcs & do all that pre-launch publicity stuff.—CHECK . . . ish. I did a little pre-launch publicity, including sending out ARCs to some lucky readers and reviewers, and I edited and re-edited Character Arcs, finally launching at the end of October. Whew!

November accountability

Goals reconstructed from memory . . . this is why I normally share these things here!

  • Format Spy for a Spy in ePub, mobi & print. (Yes, I do this all myself. I’ve got mad skillz, and I’m cheap. It’s a great combination.) CHECK
  • Launch publicity for Spy for a Spy: blog tour, launch party on Facebook & Twitter with Julie Coulter Bellon, giveaway with Julie, coordinating tons of generously donated prizes. CHECK. Again, I do this all myself (I mean, I did the blog tour. Julie & I worked together on the party & giveaway). It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a ton of fun.
  • Sale on I, Spy along with a BookBub promo and the launch. CHECK. Along with the blog tour, this generated some fairly fantastic results sales-wise. You know what’s more important than sales numbers? Happy readers. I hope I’ll have some of those soon! If sales of Spy for a Spy are indicative, things are going pretty well. 🙂
  • Once all that’s out of the way, win NaNoWriMo! CHECK, but you already know that.
  • Finish my NaNo novel. No joy. Family visit, sickness, and some attacks of ennui sapped my writing energy like creativity kryptonite. Lamesauce.
  • There were probably other goals in here. I forget what they were. Made my best turkey ever, though!

It felt pretty crazy, and there were days when I wrote absolutely nothing, but I’m pretty happy I was able to win NaNo (with tons of support from my family, of course!).

December goals

  • Now finish my NaNo novel. I’m in the final quarter. Fingers crossed I can pound that out today and tomorrow. (Do-able word count-wise, but do I know enough of the plot to figure out how to get there? As a reminder, my previous outlines have sometimes detailed my final act as “They vanquish the bad guys and overcome their obstacles to find love against all odds.” True, but not very helpful in expanding that section to ~20,000 words.)
  • Polish up the NaNo novel a bit. Spackle in the gaps, especially the entire sections of the main plot I skipped saying “Figure this out later” when I had to switch the timeline around, and the scene that was going to take too much darn research to write during Nano.
  • Write up the 2014 business plan, goals and production schedule.
  • Think about my conference presentations for next year. If I’m feeling really ambitious, outline them.
  • Enjoy the holidays with my family. I’m working hard to make Christmas a family-centered, Jesus-centered celebration in our home, especially since this will be the first year ever we won’t be traveling to be with extended family during the holidays.

While it’s hard to beat the satisfaction of typing “The End,” I think my favorite goal for the month has to be that last one.

What’s up for you this month?

Photo by Celestine Chua

Is your writing any good? Join my writers' email group to find out how you can get a free edit & skill assessment!

 
Writing Life

September accountability, October goals

How. Is. It. October.

It’s the first Friday of the month! I’m reporting on my goals for September and setting new ones for October. Come join in!

September accountability

We’re settling into the school routine here. And, uh, that’s kind of it. I worked hard this month, but I made time for my kids, a cousin’s wedding reception, a visit from my sister and other important stuff.

So, what did I get done?

  • Goal for the sequel: Deep edit, incorporate beta feedback, read aloud, send to editor—I deferred reading it aloud—oh, dang, I was supposed to be doing that last week. Ugh. But other than that, check check check!
  • Finish back cover copy and get cover for sequel—I got the cover! The back cover copy is up, but I still need to have my designer convert the cover to a print version.
  • Finish Character Arcs & send to betas—did that!
  • Set up a big promotion for I, Spy—did it!
  • Run Promenade booth—did it only once. Got rained out the last week.
  • Critique—yep!
  • Start something new (and SHORT)?—started and finished!

Whoa.

October goals

While we’re welcoming two new nieces into the family this month, other than getting their gifts ready, I have nothing big planned in my personal life this month. Which probably means something big will happen on its own, right?

  • Complete edits on & read aloud Spy for a Spy.
  • Proofread Spy for a Spy.
  • Pull together promo materials for Spy for a Spy. (sensing a theme?)
  • Research & plot Nano novel
  • Maybe write another novella? Have to do something to stay sane amidst the marketing and editing 😉
  • Edit the novella I wrote last week.
  • Edit Character Arcs & do all that pre-launch publicity stuff.

Why do I always make more work for myself?
What’s up for you this month?

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Works, News & Contests, Writing Life

August accountability, September goals!

It’s the first Friday of the month! I’m reporting on my goals for August and setting new ones for September. Come join in!

August accountability

I spent the first third of the month on vacation with my family, the next third recovering/unpacking/preparing for school, and the last third sending my kids back to school!

My second child started school this year, and she loves it so far.

  • Send the sequel to I, Spy out to my usual beta readers, plus probably a few more & incorporate their feedback—on the last day of the month, I got this DONE! I had to rip the novel apart, and I hope I sewed it back together okay. Within hours of sending it, I opened it to a random page and found a continuity error. Oy.
  • Prep the sequel to I, Spy to send to editor (and do it!)—Um, no. This month!
  • Start something new! My optimistic goal: 12,000 words on something new. Should be doable….?— AHAHAHAHAHAHA. Ha. HA.
  • Read, read, read! Still working on that digital TBR, but the physical one is calling to me, too.—Moved most of this to this month, but I did read 🙂 .
  • Unpack: tackle the garage, landing place for most of the stuff we brought over in the month after we “officially” moved.—We’ve made some serious headway here. But by “we” I mean “my beloved husband.”

September goals

With the baby down for an afternoon nap, my third child sometimes doesn’t know what to do with herself! I’m hoping to convince her to take the occasional nap (she needs it even more than I need her to do it). We’re still getting into a routine, but I’m hoping things will settle down a bit and I can get some serious work done—fast.

I’m going to break out all that I hope to accomplish this month. Because I’m crazy like that.

  • Sequel: Deep edit, incorporate beta feedback, read aloud, send to editor.
  • Finish back cover copy and get cover for sequel.
  • Finish Character Arcs & send to betas.
  • Set up a big promotion for I, Spy
  • Run Promenade booth
  • Critique
  • Start something new (and SHORT)?

How . . . ? Can anybody loan me a couple extra hours a day?

What’s up for you this month?

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