Hey everyone!
New Year, New You... or so they say. This year is chock-full of resolutions-- personal, for my family, my finances, but most importantly my writing. I have a tendency to do what's best for everyone else except for me. I left college early to get 'a real job' to help pay the bills when Jon was starting in his career as a firefighter, then picked up two more to pay for our wedding, honeymoon, and a down payment on our first home. Most people hear that story and think i'm crazy for dealing with that level of stress. This was the time during which i finished the first draft of my first novel, co-written with a friend.
If that weren't enough, Jon and I were battling infertility and instead of having the opportunity to return to school, suddenly we were plunged into the deep-end of IVF and a mountain full of debt. During this time, I decided I was going to write a novel on my own. Classic case of life-gets-in-the-way-itis, but my writing was seen as a 'hobby' and put on the back burner for much too long. So, this year i decided that i'm going to chase my dreams. All in. All the way. No more waiting until we're done with medical procedures or waiting until the time is right for our family for me to take a more active and interested role in my passions.
My husband has been so supportive of my writing the whole time and he's excited to help me work towards my goals, and now with my miraculous son watching me, I plan to make sure he sees me reaching for the things that I want in life. Without further ado, and backstory, I present my list of 2019 writing resolutions.
Attend more local literary events/writing conferences. Every opportunity to learn and polish your craft should be sought out and relished. I have a voracious mind, not only am I creative but I have a work ethic that just won't quit. Dreams don't just happen, you make them happen. So I want to take time for myself this year and really get to know my local writing community and hone my craft.
Sit down with an intellectual property lawyer to discuss options for my first novel. As I mentioned previously, I co-wrote my first novel with a friend and in the years since we've drifted apart. This left my first book, that I am super passionate about, sort of in literary limbo. I'd like to discuss my options (since we didn't draft a co-authorship agreement before writing) and just see if there's any feasible way to finish and possibly self-pub, release the book for free, or come to some sort of mediation agreement with my previous co-author. It would just be really nice to have closure there and I think discussing options would be a healthy way to work towards that closure.
Get WIP ready for submission by the end of the year. YIKES! This is a pretty scary one. It took a couple years to even have a readable, workable draft of my last book and I had someone helping me edit and outline that novel. So wish me luck but I'm really hoping to have this first draft polished and pretty for agents and publishers by the end of 2019.
Have WIP Professionally edited. Okay, so i'm a decent self-editor, I use the Chicago Manual of Style and other resources as guidelines. I know how to take a break before coming back to the work to be able to look at it more objectively. I'm comfortable utilizing beta reader feedback to help shape a story. However, none of that is going to make up for a professional editor and how instrumental solid, specific feedback will be in helping me get ready for submission by the end of the year. So, this year i'm determined, i'm going to shell out the money and get a professional editor to help me.
Achieve Goal of 80k-90k total WIP word count. I don't think this one will be too hard, to be honest. If you couldn't already tell by this post, i'm wordy. But, I want to make sure every single word has been vetted in this manuscript. That each one deserves a place there. No unnecessary filler words. Adverbs go the way of the dinosaurs. Passive voice indicators are no more. So, really I don't want to go OVER 80k-90k words, and I want them all to matter. Period.
Attend a Write-In. I really think this would be fun. I think collaboration is such a useful tool in our writer's kit that is so under appreciated. I'd love to attend a write-in, meet some local wordsmiths, and maybe learn something in the process.
Map the YA trends during 2019. This is just something I need to be better at. To be a good writer (in my opinion) you need to be a student of writing. Well, if that's true, then an aspiring author seeking publication should also be a student of publishing. So, I need to learn more about the publishing process, YA trends, seasons for publishing, etc. I'm not as knowledgeable as i'd like and this year I hope to change that.
Well, those are it. My resolutions for my writing. I hope you all keep me honest, and keep me on track this year and they don't get lumped in with all those unused gym memberships that are being purchased. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Message me and let me know what your resolutions are, even if they aren't writing related. Let me know any tips or tricks to help me achieve all these goals this 2019. I hope to hear from you!
Happy writing!
~Lauren,xo
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