Sunday, April 21, 2013

Goals. So many goals

I started seriously writing last year. I'd written for fun until then, but this time last year I realized that writing is what I want to do, despite any Debby downers who told me it wasn't a worthy career anymore. "You can't write money writing!" many people said and I kind of gave up for a while. Then last year I realized that while I may never make a dime on it, I should at least try.

Now that I finished my first draft for my first full length novel, I really need to set some goals for myself!

  • Finish first edit Awake My Soul by May 10th, 2013
  • Have Awake My Soul edited by an actual editor by the end of June 2013 (this relies on another person, but hopefully she can keep focused!)
  • Have cover finished by end of June 2013. I'm having the cover made by a professional designer who is also a friend. So again this relies on another person, but I think this is ample time
  • Finish my own final edit by July 15th
  • Publish Awake My Soul on July 29th 2013
Why July 29th? I work full time and I'm off Sundays and Mondays. It will give me enough time between finishing my edit to getting the files uploaded to make sure the files are in order and they look crisp and clean.

Of course, these are loose dates and if the other people I'm relying on are quicker than I expect, then I can get the book out sooner. But right now my personal tentative release date is July 29th 2013.

And after that I have some other goals

  • Finish first draft of Lay Me Bare, a contemporary romance I'm working on, by August 30th, 2013. I'm about half done now, but my focus now is on polishing Awake My Soul.
  • Finish first edit of Lay Me Bare by September 15th 2013
  • Cover and professional edit done by October 15th 2013
  • Final edit complete by October 31st 2013
  • Release by November 15th, 2013 in time for Christmas gifts and gift cards!
I have two other books on the back burner, a paranormal romance called The Demon's Song I've been picking at as the mood strikes me and another contemporary called Home Town Hero that I've just started putting together. I hope to finish those up if all goes well by early and mid-2014.

Of course, a lot of this also depends on work. I do work full time and sometimes struggle to find time to write. My hope is that after releasing Awake My Soul I can make enough money to reduce my hours at work so I can dedicate more time to writing. If I can do that, the other pieces will be easier to put into place!

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