Goals 2009 Reviewed: Writing

Get JACK ready to sell
Yeah, it was still called JACK. I got my first revision letter from Chris at the very end of 2008. First revision took 5 weeks. Second revision took 6.5 weeks. Third (touch-up)took 5 days. Chris had the manuscript, now called BRIAR-BOUND in editors' hands by May. Rejections dribbled in with pretty consistent feedback. Chris withdrew submission to the last remaining editor in July to revise. Chris and I strategized. I delivered a revision of the first 70 pages mid-August. Pow-wow: on the right track. Delivered subsequent revision in chunks, with the full complete and sent to Chris mid-December. Is it ready to sell (see goal)? No. Chris will send another round of notes in January. I'm confident the project will be submission-ready by March.

Outline JACK sequel
Did this for two sequels when Chris submitted to editors. Subsequently scrapped them (see revisions, above). Am currently working on rough synopses for two sequels, to be developed into one page each.

Finish DOG-BOY
Didn't touch DOG-BOY (see revisions, above).

Write 4 short stories
Fail. :) I could blame it on revisions, but when I had time -- while Chris was reviewing revisions or editors were reading the full -- all I wanted to do was read. I did rework two earlier shorts into short-shorts for a contest of hint fiction (25 words or less). Got nice feedback for one of the entries, but no placement.

Attend Writers League of Texas annual conference
Did it. Live-Tweeted every session and speech I attended. Results: doubled my Twitter followship; didn't learn much of anything new, writing- or publishing-wise. Met a few nice folks. Highlight: buying GRACELING at Austin's indie Book People immediately following conference.

Take revisions workshop
While I was querying agents in Fall 2008, I signed up for an online revision workshop with author Lani Diane Rich, scheduled for February 2009. By the time February rolled around, I was already deep into revisions with Chris and didn't want to (a) get advice from two different sources, or (b) revise a second project (DOG-BOY) at the same time. So I saved the course handouts to glean info later. I do recommend Lani's workshops -- you can find them at Story Wonk.

Details about 2010 writing goals next Monday!

Did you set writing goals for 2009? How did you do?

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