New year, new goals

Of course, resolution time! Let's see how I did with my 2010 resolutions*:

1. Continue to write blogs regularly (my aim is twice a week, Monday and Thursday) ✓ X ?

I took a long hiatus this summer to finish edits on MAGGIE. Besides that 2.5ish month stretch, though, I blogged regularly, often more than twice a week. 

2. Create a more professional look for the blog ✓ X ?

The overall look of my blog hasn't changed since I first moved from a Blogger ready-made layout to the one I created in November 2009. However, I have tweaked small things that I hope gives my blog an air of professionalism. In early December, I redesigned my blog and actually put the new layout up for about a hour, but I missed the old layout and put it back up. I'm not sure when I'll update my layout, but I continue to work on making visiting my blog an easy, stream-lined experience.

3. Get http://www.abbystevens.com/ working properly (I still have to tweak several settings) ✓

I did this in January, and got my abby@abbystevens.com working properly in April. Got a PO Box and ordered business cards, too.

4. Gain readers (I want to set a number for this but have no idea what is reasonable... may update this after some thought) ✓

I had 100 in mind when I wrote this but didn't put an exact number out of fear, though I was at 143 on 12/31/10, so I did reach my goal.

5. Establish connections with other writer bloggers ✓✓✓✓✓

This is the resolution that I have met over and over, and the one that made the biggest impact on my writing. I've made so many amazing bloggy friends, especially through YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesdays.

Thank you Glenna, Rachel (hers and Kiersten White's were the very first YA writing blogs I discovered once I realized what I was writing was YA, and that it was a whole huge market I hadn't been aware of), Sarah, Pam & Quita, and all my other beta, bloggy, and Twitter friends-of-awesome. Thank you, as the Golden Girls would say, for being a friend!

This time last year, I looked at the friendship between Kiersten White, Stephanie Perkins, and Natalie Whipple and wondered if I'd ever make connections like that. Now I know it just takes being yourself, time, and patience. :)

My 2011 writing resolutions:

1. Finish the final round of edits on PRODIGAL MAGGIE.
2. Query.
3. Find an agent.**
4. Get a publishing deal.**
5. Begin work on a new project once MAGGIE's off to queryland.

My 2011 blogging resolutions:

1. Reach 300 followers.
2. Be more prompt in responding to comments.
3. Write flash fiction posts.
4. Participate in blogging 'community' activities and special events (if you're thinking of doing something, such as a contest, workshop, short story round robin, etc., let me know!)

And now readers, I beg your opinion to help me gauge the direction of this blog over the next year: What do you like on this blog? What do you dislike? What would you like to see more or less of? Do you have any suggestions for new content or features? And finally, how was your Christmas break? (I was very busy the first half and did, gloriously, very little except hang out with Bear during the second half, which made it perfect.)


*I will talk about my 36 in 365 challenge results on Thursday.
**I consider these half-resolutions because if you've done your research and done your best, the publishing process beyond the querying stage is largely out of your hands. One of my personal resolutions is to not stress about things I can't control. ;)

Don't send out the YorkiePoo Brigade!

Happy Belated Independence Day!

In case any of you were thinking of sending your YorkiePoo on a mission to rescue me, I just wanted to pop my head out of my editing cave and let you know that a.) Yes, I'm still alive and b.) Yes, I'm still editing.

Thank you to everyone who left positive, encouraging comments on my last post. I've been keeping up with 90% of the blogs I Follow, and I've been popping onto Twitter occasionally, but I haven't been commenting much. I miss the blogging community, but my thought is that there's no point in being a writer/blogger if I never finish my MS.
My deadline to have my MS beta-ready passed a week ago, but I am still working. I've learned a lot by setting this goal, and it has helped me immensely.

Although my original plan was to edit straight through, I ended up working with a beta throughout, so I have been making corrections as I go along, which has actually worked out great! Setting this goal (and not reaching it) has taught me that, while writing is the best. job. ever, I still need room to be, in the wise words of Maggie Stiefvater (and I so cannot find the link to the blog she wrote about this, so if you have it, please leave it in the comments), I must be something other than a writer.

I've worked harder than I've worked in a long time during the last 3 weeks, but once my husband gets home from work, I want to spend time with him, and once the weekend hits, my life is full of family and fun (and okay, chores). I need recharge time.

Rachelle Gardner posted a blog called How to Become a Better Writer: 11 Completely Non-Writing-Related Ideas that I think every writer should read. It's so true and exactly captures how I feel about the writing/recharging thing.

So yes, I didn't reach my goal in the time I allowed. But I learned that, for my pace and temperament, I didn't give myself enough time. I didn't set a realistic goal. I've learned I just can't writewritewrite with no recharge. I know some people gladly do it, but I'm just not built that way. I want to write, do something else, write, do something else, write, do something else.

And to show you a little of what that 'do something else' entails for me, I wanted to share what I worked on yesterday (while watching HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, no less):

I got the idea for this painting from a home renovations magazine. This is what I hope for it to look like when I'm finished:

*Heads back to my editing cave again.*

 See you in a week or two!

Goal

I have set a major goal for myself. It will require me spending less time online for the next 2 weeks. A less strict version of No Internet Distractions Week, if you will.

My goal?

Finish this round of edits through the end of the novel and finish combining chs. 1&2, which will hopefully put me in the position of being ready to send out to betas.

There. I've publicly declared it. Scary, scary, because if I didn't share at least then no one would have known if I fail. But I won't fail, right?

Right.

Because it's all up to me.