No Resolutions, Just Goals

 The holidays are over. Back to business. Serious author business. I didn't make any resolutions, but like many, I've set goals. Here are my top 5 goals:

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels

1. Get an agent. I'm scouring Query Tracker and my friend Kathy Temean's blog,  https://kathytemean.wordpress.com/. These two sources have the freshest info on the literary agent front.

2. A publisher is interested in a romance I wrote, so I'll be doing a serious R&R- revise and resubmit. This is probably my top priority. Even if I can get an agent, most likely I'll have finished any dealings, good or bad, with this publishing house.

3. Submit manuscripts out. While agents don't like to take on manuscripts that have been subbed around, no author can afford to sit around and wait for an agent. My first novel, Sirenz, was pubbed without an agent, and there was already an understanding for a sequel (or two) before an agent got involved. I have several novels so an agent can rep them if they don't want to touch the ones I've sent out. Time waits for no one.

4. Publish Sirenz 3: A New Trend. I need to review the manuscript one more time, then commission a cover. It WILL be pubbed this year. I've ignored this manuscript too long. I love Hades too much to let him languish.

5. Read more. While I'll still be writing MG and YA, I'm branching out into the friendlier world of romance. And while it's always been one of my favorite genres, I need to read more to see what's out there. I have been lax reading MG and YA too, but I think I should go full force into the romance genre because of the interest from the editor I've gotten for one book (which already has a sequel written and I have ideas for a series) and because I think there is more opportunity in this genre. 

So, goals, not resolutions. The difference? Goals are stepping stones to career and lifetime achievements. Yeah, everyone wants to get in better shape and lose weight, but I'm hiking and biking. When the YMCA fully opens, I can get back to swimming, so I'm taking care of that business. 

Today, I'll be reading The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White, and reviewing/revising my Frankenstein-ish novel The Frankenstein Vendetta. But after I make my bed and eat, I'll be hiking. 

What are your goals?

Char