So here at last, toward the end of January, we get into the nitty gritty of the New Year.
This month, I reflected back on everything myself and the Wordwraiths accomplished in 2016, on how the events of 2016 made me a better person and a better author, and detailed the 4 Tools for Life Success that have helped me refocus for 2017.
Now that my headspace and bodyspace are better under control after November 8th through the use of morning ritual and meditation, and now that my Dreambook has helped me lay out my ideal future in great detail, I have hashed out a solid 10 goals for 2017 — with the help of Michael Hyatt’s online course Five Days to Your Best Year Ever, of course.
Part of reaching your goals successfully is writing them down. Another part is sharing them with others so you can be held accountable. So here goes. Here are my big goals for 2017:
- Maintain a regular morning routine starting January 1st 2017. (Thus far, this is going very well. This is also a habit goal, which can be considered achieved if it’s maintained for 60-70 days consistently. At that point, I’ll be free to create another goal to take its place for the remainder of the year. I chose this goal because I wanted to take back control of my days. Thus far I am exceedingly happy with the results and am looking forward to keeping this up!)
- Lose 10 lbs by May 1st. (Historically, I’m terrible at keeping up with physical goals. So I was realistic with this one. But sadly, even this low goal is challenging for me. To achieve this, I’m beginning the 5:2 diet on February 1st–recommended for me by my health coach sister and the benefits of which I witnessed first-hand during my time as a research assistant–doing pilates at home 3x a week, and walking/jogging 2x a week when the weather permits. I’m also making it a point to take vitamins consistently, as I’m slightly anemic and often have severe vitamin D deficiency, esp during the winter.)
- Publish my first children’s book, Breakfast Time on the Farm, on March 21st 2017. (Thus far everything is still on track for this date. Illustrations are being painted as I type. Formatter is standing by. Money for printing is being stockpiled. I’m pretty excited about this one as I just LOVE the way the illustrations are turning out! I’ll be reading it to my son’s kindergarten class on March 24th! If you know of a classroom that might like a reading as well, let me know!)
- Finish final edits to Primus/Duo/The First Selection (seriously, I gotta find a name for this thing!) by April 30th 2017… and then decide what the heck to do with it. (Fortunately, or unfortunately, other projects keep butting their way in front of this poor novel. However, it is getting very close to completion, and I’ve already written up a query letter for it and everything. But, now I keep waffling back and forth on whether to seek traditional publishing for it, or self-publish. I figure I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it…)
- Publish Cluing For Words: a book of Sherlock found poetry on May 9th 2017. (This project has been in the works for a long time now. This year is the year it will finally happen!)
- Finish and submit short story Maturity Onset Transformational Shifter Syndrome to SFWA markets by August 31st 2017. (Another one started a long time ago that I’m determined to get out the door this year! Plus, I miss having stories out on sub!)
- Plan beats and plot outline for The Peacock Games (working title) Book 1 in October 2017 and finish first draft by November 30th 2017. (This will be my NaNoWriMo project.)
- Promote my published books at least 1x per quarter throughout 2017. (This will be done through Facebook ads and co-promotions with other authors in my genres. Considering I did no promotion at all for my books in 2016, I thought it was time to do a bit more than … nothing.)
- Spend more time with family and friends in 2017. (Balancing family time and writing has always been one of my biggest challenges. I’m getting better about it, but for 2017, I’ve hashed out some very specific schedules to help keep me on track. The hubby and I will be having a monthly date night, we’ll be having monthly family trips, I’m scheduling some scrap-booking time to spend with my mom, as well as monthly Nerd Nights to game with friends, all in addition to our weekly writing meet ups. I’ve stuck with this plan throughout January, and so far I’m really liking it!)
- Take at least 1-2 family vacations in 2017. (One of my sisters is having a destination wedding this summer–hello Mexico!–so that makes 1 trip easy! I’m looking forward to some gorgeous beaches and Mayan ruins in July! Whoohoo! I’m also saving back a portion of each paycheck into a Travel Fund so that money is no longer an excuse to not travel. Plus, I mean, there’s a lot of places I need to see ASAP given the new administration’s opinions on the environment and climate change!)
And that’s it! My entire 2017 booked solid!
Of course, that’s not really it … those are just the main big picture goals for me. There are also some editing gigs already started and scheduled for later, a short story opportunity that popped up unexpectedly and will be squeezed in before March, and another opportunity I’m really crossing my fingers for but don’t want to detail just yet in case it doesn’t pan out.
Oh, and then there’s the various conventions and events throughout 2017, of course.
The first of which is: I will be in the West Bottoms in Kansas City, Missouri on Friday, Febrary 3rd for the Books in the Bottoms event, and I’m pretty excited about it! Kristin Helling and I will be at Bottom’s Up Antiques, on the second floor of the Stowe building at 1300 W 13th Street, from 9am till noon. We’ll be there to answer any questions you might have about writing or publishing, will have books available for purchase, and we’ll sign as well!
Then, in April, I’ll be milling about Planet Comic Con as a regular attendee, but I’m also pitching some panels at ’em, so I’ll let you know how that goes, too, since I hope to be behind the table once more.
And with that … I’m off again. I’ll see you next month, when I’ll resume my regular Project List posts and Bait, Fish, and Reel reports! Until then, good luck in the New Year and happy writing and reading to you!
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