My Writing Goals for 2019
Happy New Year, Friends!
At last, I have reached a new milestone in my dream of becoming a published novelist. This year, I hope to ink a publishing contract for The Forgotten Fathers Club!! 2019 promises to be an exciting year for my creative writing, and I've got the goals to prove it :-)
My Writing Goals for 2019
This year, I plan to:
complete draft #3 of The Forgotten Fathers Club
DUE: Jan 1 - Mar 31, 2019
get a publishing deal for The Forgotten Fathers Club
DUE: Apr 1 - Dec 31, 2019
complete draft #2 of The Gaerden
DUE: Apr 1 - Dec 31, 2019
get (1) writing grant or fellowship
DUE: Dec 31, 2019
Of course, the steps to landing a publishing contract are many and very much based on luck. Here's how this goal typically breaks down:
prioritize my list of literary agents
research each agent's submission requirements
draft a query letter tailored to each agent
draft a book synopsis
polish the first (50) pages of The Forgotten Fathers Club until it shines
email my queries to each agent
sit and wait for the rejections (I'm aiming for 100 rejections)
(hallelujah) I land an agent!!
complete draft #4 of The Forgotten Fathers Club
my agent pitches and shops the novel to publishers
sit and wait for more rejections
(hallelujah) a publisher buys my novel!!
Whew.
The sheer number of steps for this goal, at first, seemed overwhelming to me. But, having each necessary step laid out like this actually defeats that overwhelm - I now have a sense of the challenges ahead, and I have a plan to complete each step in the necessary order. And I do have a timeline for when I would like each step to be completed, all the while knowing that the "sit and wait for rejections" periods are variable and totally out of my control. Yet, with a plan, I can simply shift the timeline accordingly. But with any luck, I may get a book deal by the end of the year.