Goals for 2013 - at halftime

by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

It's hard to believe, but 2013 is half over. The weather is warm, the kids are out of school, and it's time for me to review how far I've come with my goals for this year.

As with any year-long plan, there have been some adjustments, but I think that's a good thing, right? Shows that I'm flexible and willing to change to meet new priorities. So, here's where I stand.

Submit my second Laurel Highlands story.

This is done. I sent it off earlier in June. Now it's just waiting to hear whether Mysterical-e will accept it (they accepted the first, so I'm hopeful).

Complete and submit my Black Orchid Novella Award contest entry.

This is done. There was some nail-biting ("Is it good enough?"), but I finally stuck it in the mail. The confirmation postcard is hanging on my fridge. Now to wait until December when the results are announced.

Read at least one craft book per month.

I don't know if I've done one per month. Well, that's a lie. I do know, and I haven't done one per month. But I've continued to read and I'm in the middle of a class on short fiction. So I'm making good progress. Right now I'm still in Plot and Structure; I think Donald Maass' Writing 21st Century Fiction will be next.

Complete the SFD of Hero's Sword 4 by May 31 and first revisions by July 31.

Because of the other commitments, this one had to be reset. Target for completion of the SFD is now July 31 (I am doing Camp Nanowrimo to help make that reality). And since I let things sit for a while post-completion, I probably won't get to first revisions until late August/early September.

Complete and submit two more Laurel Highlands stories by end of summer.

I've completed the SFD of a third story. But it won't be ready for submission by end of summer, and I won't have another one. So I'm going to have to move this to end of year.

Plan an anthology release of the Laurel Highlands Mysteries by the end of 2013

Another one I'm going to have to reset. This won't get done until Q1 of 2014 at the earliest now, so I'm going to put it on the back-burner for the time being.

And because I forgot yet another commitment...

Finish edits on my Sisters in Crime anthology story by June 24

I hit this one. I'm kind of proud, too. When I submitted the story I was only 6 words under the upper word limit. After receiving revisions from the first round of edits, I needed to shore up the ending, and I went almost 200 words over. But I managed to get it all back under count (by the original 6 words) all by my lonesome. But since I hadn't planned on the work (silly me), that kind of messed with the schedule. But it's all good.

So there I am. 2013 half over and I'm looking pretty good. Stay tuned for another update at the end of September!

Goals for 2013: Update

 by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

So, a while ago, I posted about my writing goals for 2013. I figured I'd give an update.

Submit my second Laurel Highlands Mystery story. 

I admit, I haven't done this one yet. Mostly because I've been bogged down in other things. See, when I wrote the original list, I forgot a very important goal, which is...

Complete and submit my Black Orchid Novella Contest entry.

How this slipped my mind I have no idea. But it did. The contest deadline is 31 May, so there is time. I'm finishing up review of comments from my critique partners now (yay for critique partners) and should finish this week. Which means I'll have some time to let it simmer again while I work on other things (namely the synopsis for Hero's Sword #5 and started the SFD of Hero's Sword #4). This shouldn't derail me too much, but really, I should just submit that story and get it done.

Read at least one craft book per month.

This one I'm making good progress on. I completed Fiction Attack! and am working my way through Revision & Self-Editing. I usually read a chapter and then apply it, which has been working really well. Next up will be Plot & Structure, also by James Scott Bell. And if you're thinking I'm a huge JSB fan, you're right. If you are a writer, I seriously urge you to pick up some of his books (notably P&S and Revision). He's got a great writing and teaching style.

Complete revisions of Hero's Sword 3 by tax day (4/15).

Ha! One that I completed! Well, sort of. I need to do another read through, I think, looking for more stuff from Revision & Self-Editing. But I did complete another two rounds and trimmed another 2,000 words by the end of March, so I'm going to call this a "win."

Complete the SFD of Hero's Sword 4 by May 31 and first revisions by July 31.

Haven't started - mainly because I was struggling with an idea for book #5. But I've got that now, so I'll probably tackle that synopsis next, which will set me up to start the SFD.

Complete and submit two more Laurel Highlands Mystery stories by the end of summer.

Not started yet. These are generally between 8,000 and 15,000 words (long story story to novelette). I've got at least two ideas sketched out. If I can get two more complete and submitted by fall, that gives me four. A fifth is scheduled to come out in an anthology at the end of the year. That allows me to...

Plan an anthology release of the Laurel Highlands Mysteries by the end of 2013

Not started yet. This is not to say that the anthology will be released at the end of this year - but I will have a plan. I've got decent hopes that I can get the next two sent to Mysterical-e and since they say they like series, there's a decent chance they'll be accepted. If so, the anthology may include a brand new story. Timing of the release TBD, but I can have a plan by year end (especially since one of my targeted craft/business reads is exactly how to make a plan).

So there I am - a little status update. Because part of setting goals is being accountable. So if you've read to the end, thanks for helping me stay on track. I owe you one. =)