2016 - Planning for the year ahead

On New Year's Day, I like to create a long list of things I want to achieve for the year ahead. Although this is a writing-themed blog, not all of these goals will be writing related.

Here is my list of goals:

1 - Finish my novel "Ink" and complete several rounds of editing and revising on it. It needs to be ready for publication sometime within 2016, and that includes having an ISBN, a cover and formatting for it, whether the extra stuff is done by me or I pay to have someone else do it.

2 - Complete, edit and publish at least two of the novellas I began during this year's NaNoWriMo - the ones that are set in the same world as "Ink."

3 - Begin the sequel to "Ink." Write at least 3 chapters of the novel before 2016 ends.

4 - Begin writing the first of the series of nine novels for the Daughters of Poseidon series. Maybe use this book as my NaNoWriMo novel to write this year.

5 - Do some more work on my middle grade book "The Day My Shadow Tried to Kill Me." I need to make some changes to the plot and get writing on it again. I wrote the original draft for a ChaBooCha challenge, but I'm beginning it almost from scratch this time because of the changes that need to be made, so maybe use it as the book to write during this year's Chapter Book Challenge.

6 - Spend more time writing. Don't let a day slip by without spending at least 30 minutes writing. On most days during the work week, spend more time though. Although a large part of my day is taken up transporting the kids to and from school and making meals, etc, I can still manage to treat my writing as a part time job by committing at least 10 hours a week to writing and 5 hours a week to promoting/marketing/networking.

7 - Finish preparing my collection "Mermaid's Muse" for publication. Make sure it is ready and published in early 2016.

8 - Work on perfecting "The 28 Day Fitness Challenge" so I can get it published. Finish creating the accompanying Food and Fitness Journal. Things I still need to do before finalizing the book: Alter some of the steps in the challenge and rearrange the formatting. Take photos of the different exercises being performed for instructional purposes.

9 - Work on my own health this year. Steps to take: Step up my exercise routine. Try not to do as much as I used to do, but don't do as little as I am currently doing. Find a middle ground. Eat healthier. Lose the pounds I put back on this year. Visit the doctor and find out what other tests can be done to find the reason for my health issues. Keep trying to find a way to cure my chronic pain caused by plantar fasciitis.

10 - Spend more time doing silly and fun stuff with the kids. These are the kinds of activities that will build memories for them.

11 - Start swimming again. And while I'm at it, teach my kids to swim. I can teach them more than they are learning in the few classes they get every other year at school anyway. Help Isabella get to a skill level that will make it possible for me to then teach her how to swim in a monofin (which will help her on her way to her goal of becoming a professional mermaid someday).

12 - Perfect my picture book, the one that came to me while I grieved over the loss of my cat Pagan. I love this book, and I think it needs to be out in the world for others to read. Perfect it and either send it out to get an agent/publisher or find an amazing illustrator willing to illustrate it and save up to pay for it to get done well.

13 - Publish more books through Melusine Muse Press, not just anthologies and not just my own books. Get more editing jobs, more book cover jobs and formatting jobs to help pay for publication of books. Publish another Teapot Tales anthology and another SuperHERo tales anthology. Likewise, publish another anthology in the Kids' Chronicles series of anthologies through Your Kids' Creations.

14 - Increase promotion for the Fae World anthology series and take in more submissions for it. this will be an amazing anthology series when it is completed, but it will never be completed without word getting out about it. It needs submissions to make it spectacular, especially as this is one anthology series that will be choosier about what gets chosen to publish.

15 - Write more on my blogs. Spend time writing a post on at least one of your blog's every week.

 
16 - Work more on creating book covers and improving your skill at doing so. Have more sales on Fairy Magic Photos in order to get more practice at photo-manipulating by creating fairy photo images for customers.

17 - Find out everything you need to know to get your Kickstarter campaign for the resin toy figures of the SuperHERp Tales' superheroes off the ground. Find a 3D artist, find a manufacturer, get the total cost worked out, find someone to design the video and get this campaign going! Children NEED these female superhero toys! So get to it!






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