joshuapalmatier (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
joshuapalmatier) wrote2010-01-01 05:33 pm
joshuapalmatier) wrote2010-01-01 05:33 pm
Resolutions
So, let's look back at last year's resolutions first and see how well I did. I had a few major goals back then, most dealing with writing. I wanted to get rid of this "little extra" I have around the waist that magically appeared overnight (it seems) when I turned 35. That didn't happen. It hasn't grown, but it hasn't really gone away either. So chalk that up as a goal for this year.
I also wanted to find an agent . . . not so much. Didn't happen. I didn't do a hardcore serious search for an agent this past year, but I did put out some feelers to various people and when the responses were simple and direct "Not interested," or just no response whatsoever, I let it go. Why? Because DAW was interested in my next few projects, I've worked with my editor for a long time, and I had no strong desire to move to a different publisher or try to play one publisher against another. I also didn't have strong enough sales with the Throne books for me to be able to bargain or negotiate much in any potential contracts. So I decided to represent myself as long as I was dealing with DAW. Which is what I did.
And that brings me to the good points about my resolutions for last year. I wanted to sign three contracts. At the time I wrote that, I didn't really expect that to happen. Honestly, at the time, I was praying I'd get one contract. But DAW has bought 3 more contracts from me, which satisfied that resolution. In addition, something unexpected happened: I (along with Patricia Bray) sold an anthology idea to DAW. So I got to add "editor" to my resume.
And along with the unexpected editorship, I also managed to sell a short story, something I'd never really attempted before as well. So I have a short story appearing sometime in April (I think) in the anthology Close Encounters of the Urban Kind. This seems to have opened up my urge to continue writing short stories, and I have at least one more sold with the potential for a few others in the works.
Overall, 2009 ended up being a very good year for my writing career, with some of my hopes fulfilled and some things happening in unexpected directions. In the end, I'd count 2009 to be a very good year for me. No agent (and I've still got that "little extra") but I'm certainly not going to write it off as being a bad year. A much better year than expected actually.
Which brings us to 2010. What are my resolutions for this new year? Well, once again they mostly involve writing. There's the "little extra" that I'd like to get rid of, of course, but my main focus is going to be on writing. Seriously. I have 3 known deadlines this year: the anthology I'm editing with Patricia Bray, called After Hours: Tales from the Ur-Bar, is due July 1st; the book that I've just barely started (I have maybe 16 pages of it written so far) is due September 1st; and the book that I worked on last year while I waited to hear whether DAW would be interested in any of my projects is due January 1st, 2011, which means I have to finished it this year. Now, that last book has a significant chunk already written, but I've never tried to write two books in one year, so this is going to be a challenge. So my main resolution is MEET ALL OF MY DEADLINES!!! Since I'm expecting at least one short story deadline in there somewhere, this will be quite enough of a challenge for me. And who knows what other deadlines might arise in there.
So, in summary, my 2010 resolutions are:
1. Write my ass off.
2. Meet all deadlines.
3. Lose the "little extra."
4. Conquer the world.
I think they're all doable. What about you guys? Got any resolutions for the new year?
I also wanted to find an agent . . . not so much. Didn't happen. I didn't do a hardcore serious search for an agent this past year, but I did put out some feelers to various people and when the responses were simple and direct "Not interested," or just no response whatsoever, I let it go. Why? Because DAW was interested in my next few projects, I've worked with my editor for a long time, and I had no strong desire to move to a different publisher or try to play one publisher against another. I also didn't have strong enough sales with the Throne books for me to be able to bargain or negotiate much in any potential contracts. So I decided to represent myself as long as I was dealing with DAW. Which is what I did.
And that brings me to the good points about my resolutions for last year. I wanted to sign three contracts. At the time I wrote that, I didn't really expect that to happen. Honestly, at the time, I was praying I'd get one contract. But DAW has bought 3 more contracts from me, which satisfied that resolution. In addition, something unexpected happened: I (along with Patricia Bray) sold an anthology idea to DAW. So I got to add "editor" to my resume.
And along with the unexpected editorship, I also managed to sell a short story, something I'd never really attempted before as well. So I have a short story appearing sometime in April (I think) in the anthology Close Encounters of the Urban Kind. This seems to have opened up my urge to continue writing short stories, and I have at least one more sold with the potential for a few others in the works.
Overall, 2009 ended up being a very good year for my writing career, with some of my hopes fulfilled and some things happening in unexpected directions. In the end, I'd count 2009 to be a very good year for me. No agent (and I've still got that "little extra") but I'm certainly not going to write it off as being a bad year. A much better year than expected actually.
Which brings us to 2010. What are my resolutions for this new year? Well, once again they mostly involve writing. There's the "little extra" that I'd like to get rid of, of course, but my main focus is going to be on writing. Seriously. I have 3 known deadlines this year: the anthology I'm editing with Patricia Bray, called After Hours: Tales from the Ur-Bar, is due July 1st; the book that I've just barely started (I have maybe 16 pages of it written so far) is due September 1st; and the book that I worked on last year while I waited to hear whether DAW would be interested in any of my projects is due January 1st, 2011, which means I have to finished it this year. Now, that last book has a significant chunk already written, but I've never tried to write two books in one year, so this is going to be a challenge. So my main resolution is MEET ALL OF MY DEADLINES!!! Since I'm expecting at least one short story deadline in there somewhere, this will be quite enough of a challenge for me. And who knows what other deadlines might arise in there.
So, in summary, my 2010 resolutions are:
1. Write my ass off.
2. Meet all deadlines.
3. Lose the "little extra."
4. Conquer the world.
I think they're all doable. What about you guys? Got any resolutions for the new year?