Pre-New Year’s Resolutions

Most people get motivated to set goals at the beginning of the year but for me, it’s always around this time when the weather starts cooling down, I start craving hot drinks, and NaNoWriMo does it’s annual reset in preparation for the big event in November. You know I’ll be there.

This year is a bit crazier than usual for me. First, this is my first year with two kids so there has never been more people demanding my time. Second, this is the first year where I’m actively preparing for publication. Never thought I’d say that, huh? Third, this is the first year I’ll have a team supporting me. I have two critique partners helping me stay on top of things, and now I don’t have to drive an hour and a half to go to a NaNoWriMo write-in. Here, they are only five minutes away.

I’m also planning to enter the Golden Heart before the end of the year. This Romance Writers of America annual contest honors unpublished romance manuscripts. Editors and agents judge the final round, which often leads to requests for the full manuscript. That’s what I’m hoping for. My first 50 pages–the ones that are judged–are just about finished. One more quick edit ought to do it. Then I just need to get the manuscript finished, which is what I plan to do in November.

So here’s my rough plan:

– Write as much as I can before November
– Win NaNoWriMo and add 50,000 words to my manuscript
– Finish up my manuscript in December
– Make one more pass over the first 50 pages
– Write the Synopsis
– Turn it all in by January 2

Then I will have from January 2 to about April to finish up the edits on my manuscript in the hopes that I final and get a request (A girl can dream). If I don’t, then I’ll be well prepared to start querying. Because come January 1, I’ll be making a whole new list of plans and getting an agent will be one of them.

How are you doing on your 2012 goals? What are your plans for the rest of the year?

Jamie Raintree is the author of Perfectly Undone and Midnight at the Wandering Vineyard. She is a voracious student of life, which is why she became a writer, where she could put all that acquired information to good use. She is a mother of two, a wife, a businesswoman, a nature-lover, and a wannabe yogi. She also teaches writers about business and productivity. Since the setting is always an important part of her books, she is happy to call the Rocky Mountains of Northern Colorado her home and inspiration.

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Comments (10)

  1. Great goals Jamie! At the moment my primary goal is to keep querying, and hoping. Whenever I get a chance I’ll be writing short stories, and maybe one of them will turn into something more. Good luck!

      1. Querying is going slowly. It can take a long time to hear back from some agents, and I’ve slowed down a bit with sending them. I have received some helpful feedback from a couple of agents and editors, which was very nice. In the meantime I continue to edit and hope.

  2. So when January rolls around, you’ve already got a head start on resolutions. I like it. My goal for the rest of the year is to finish the WIP–35K to go. Good luck with your own goals, Jamie.

      1. Not doing NaNo. Though I’ve heard good things about the pressure to produce, I’d go crazy trying to push out that kind of word count and still have a life. But kudos to everyone who’s doing it.

  3. I won NaNoWriMo last year and really enjoyed it. Haven’t touched my novel since, but that’s okay, I’ve been busy promoting and blogging. My goals for the coming year are to stay strong with my blogging and social networking and to TRY to get back to writing, but I need to be in the right place mentally. I’m giving myself permission to enjoy this writing hiatus =)

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