2022 Goals

These Cursed Waters

• Finish my mentorship with Amie Kaufman and develop the manuscript further
• Resubmit the manuscript to Text before the end of 2022

The Selkie Curse

• A submission-ready draft by 30 Jun
• 15 submissions by 31 Dec

Bleed For Me

• Structural edit completed by 15 Jun
• Draft 2 completed by 15 Aug
• Submission ready by 31 Dec

Embers

• Draft 1 completed 15 May
• Structural edit completed 31 Aug
• Draft 2 started in October

Counting Stars

• Outline review by 31 Dec

Other Projects

• Untitled new series #1 book 1 outline by 31 Dec
• Untitled new series #2 book 1 outline by 31 Dec

In 2022, I have no solid plans for writing short stories.

What are your goals for 2022? How do you plan to achieve them?

2021 Goals – End of year review

Because every professional needs goals, I set out some writing goals for 2021 in December 2020. Now that I’m saying hello to 2022, it’s time to check in.

These Cursed Waters

• Submit to at least 30 Agents by 31st December – So, I didn’t hit this goal, but something better happened! These Cursed Waters was shortlisted for the 2021 Text Prize, and I was the inaugural recipient of the Steph Bowe Mentorship. I have been working with the fabulous Amie Kaufman on revising and developing the manuscript to bring it to the next level.

The Selkie Curse

• A submission-ready draft by 31st May
  • Including: Manuscript, Query Letter, Synopsis – Structural edits are done! I have just been waiting on some feedback from my beta readers. A submission ready draft will be done in 2022.
• A revised synopsis for book 2 by 30th June – Done!

Bleed For Me

• Do outline review by 31st January – Done!
• First draft done by 30th September – Done!
• Start the structural edit in December – In progress.

Other Projects

• Untitled new series #1 book 1 outline by 31st March – Done!
• Untitled new series #2 book 1 outline by 30th November – Done! The working title for this manuscript is Counting Stars

Other Activities (because sometimes you can’t predict the cool opportunities that will come up)

• I have written 4 out of my 5 blog posts on editing TSC as part of my outreach for the Anne Edgeworth Fellowship – One left to go!
• On June 14, I achieved one year of writing 500 words a day. It’s well and truly a part of my daily routine

2021 was a successful writing year for me and I’m looking forward to 2022!

2021 Goals – Mid-year review

Because every professional needs goals, I set out some writing goals for 2021 in December last year. I thought now we are half-way through 2021, that I should revisit these goals and see how my progress is tracking.

These Cursed Waters

• Submit to at least 30 Agents by 31st December – Since the beginning of this year, I have submitted These Cursed Waters for 22 opportunities, so I think I’m well on track to achieve this goal by the end of the year.

The Selkie Curse

• A submission-ready draft by 31st May
  • Including: Manuscript, Query Letter, Synopsis – I haven’t yet finished my edits for TSC, I estimate I will have everything done by the end of August. Only the synopsis has been revised and is ready to go. Between the pandemic, a full-time day-job and the end of financial year, it’s been hard to find the time and creative energy to edit.
• A revised synopsis for book 2 by 30th June – Done! I even finished this one a few days early!

Bleed For Me

• Do outline review by 31st January – Done!
• First draft done by 30th September – Currently at 39% and due to finish by 13 November based on my 500 words per day average. I’ll likely still make my original deadline as I tend to write faster towards the end and get excited by my next project.
• Start the structural edit in December – Should be achievable if everything goes to plan. I like to leave my manuscript at least a month before I do any edits.

Other Projects

• Untitled new series #1 book 1 outline by 31st March – Done! The working title for this book is Embers.
• Untitled new series #2 book 1 outline by 30th November – I need to decide which project this will be, but I have several in the ideation phase which I’m excited to explore.

Other Activities (because sometimes you can’t predict the cool opportunities that will come up)

• I have written 4 out of my 5 blog posts on editing TSC as part of my outreach for the Anne Edgeworth Fellowship
• I got TSC submitted to my editor on time for the manuscript assessment
• I have become more involved with my local writers guild, the CSFG and met some really cool people
• On June 14, I achieved one year of writing 500 words a day. It’s well and truly a part of my daily routine
• I completed by 2021 reading challenge to read 50 books – I might have to set a higher goal for next year!
• I participated in CampRevPit on Twitter which was a whole load of fun

Overall, this has been a busy year for me, and not just for writing. I still have quite a lot left to do, but at least we’re only halfway through the year! In December, I will post my full reflection on my goals and create my goals for 2022.

2021 Goals

Because every professional needs goals, here are my writing goals for 2021:

These Cursed Waters

• Submit to at least 30 Agents by 31st December*

The Selkie Curse

• A submission-ready draft by 31st May
  • Including: Manuscript, Query Letter, Synopsis
• A revised synopsis for book 2 by 30th June

Bleed For Me

• Do outline review by 31st January
• First draft done by 30th September
• Start the structural edit in December

Other Projects

• Untitled new series #1 book 1 outline by 31st March
• Untitled new series #2 book 1 outline by 30th November

In 2021, I’ll be taking a step back from writing short stories. I will continue to submit what I have, but I have so many ideas for novels that I want to start putting them down.

What are your goals for 2021? How do you plan to achieve them?

*Edited 3/01/2021: Was originally 5 submissions but that was too easy. I’ve changed it to be 5 every 2 months.