New Year Resolutions for 2014

My New Year’s Resolutions for 2014 in regards to writing:

• Write more consistently every day

I was able to do the 1,667 word count for NaNoWriMo. But I wrote nothing except some blog related content for the first week of December due to burnout. I won’t be able to maintain a NaNoWriMo pace, but I should be able to do 750 to 1000 words daily comfortably.

• Finish a final draft of the first novel

This novel needs to be locked down.  Right now I’m working through my fourth version of my first novel, and still figuring out things about the world.  I will not be able to move on to the second and third book until have things fixed firmly

• Come up with a series name

I have difficulty coming up with names for things I write.  I’ve burned through three working names so far.  I like my fourth working name well, but I’m not sure if it’s the series name or the novel name.  Whichever I choose it to be, I still have to come up with the other.

• Finish a second and third draft of the second novel

During NaNoWriMo, I knocked out a 50k word rough draft.  I need to go back and rewrite it, extending it out to match the length of the first novel.

• Do research on becoming represented by an agent

I know self-publishing is the hot thing, and authors supposedly don’t need agents any longer.  But there will always be a part of me that will always wonder what might have been if I don’t see about going the traditional route of getting an agent to get published.

• Do research on submitting directly to publishers

Same as above, but I know it’s less likely for me to be picked up.   Still, I want to try to see if I can be published by one of the Big Five.

• Do research on self-publishing

If I decide to go the self-publishing route, I need to decide if I want to be part of Amazon KDP Select, or if I want to go with Smashwords Works, another third party ebook service.

• Become more active on Twitter

Right now I only tweet occasionally, and only in response to someone else.  I need to get in the habit of initiating conversations.

• Set up a Facebook profile

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.  Mostly I love to hate it. However it has been suggested by several people that I become active on it to promote my work.

• Become active on Goodreads

I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, but only recently set up an account.

• Start posting twice a week on my blog

This may or may not be possible depending on how much time my day job and my family takes up.  Also, I need to figure out content.  Do I do book reviews?  Open the blog to guest posts once a week?  Talk more about personal things, such as what I am knitting this week?

• Start posting book reviews consistently

I’m mostly wanting to do this so I have a excuse to read without feeling guilty.

• Find a writing group either online or in realspace to join

I learned, despite feeling beaten up after attending the writer’s workshops, they are a good source of information.  I do have people who read my work regularly online, but reading their feedback isn’t quite the same a face-to-face conversation.  But if my job and home life don’t allow for meeting somewhere on a consistent basis, an online group would be a good source of feedback.

I’m going to revisit this list in July to see how much I have accomplished, and then again in December.  It will be interesting to see how much I’ve managed to accomplish.