by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73
So, here we are, at the end of 2013 (well, almost). It was a banner year, for a lot of reasons. And as I promised a recap post of what I said I would do in January 2013 vs. what I had actually done as of December 2013, here it is. My 2013 writing goals Year in Review.
I had set out a number of goals early in 2013, based on advice I read from James Scott Bell. What follows is how I performed in relation to each of those goals.
Submit my second Laurel Highlands story
Check. Story was submitted back in May to Mysterical-e, who published the first story in October. I am still waiting to hear anything (really should follow up on that, huh?).
Complete and submit my Black Orchid Novella entry
Check. This was mailed on time, as planned. Unfortunately, I didn’t win (although I do know the author who did, so I know I lost to a writer I respect). Now comes the hard part – what to do with it. I can self-publish it as-is, see if it will be picked up as a serial somewhere, or expand it before resubmitting. It’s being read right now by a friend who had a very positive first reaction, so I’m waiting. Time will tell.
Read at least one craft book a month
I’m going to say I accomplished this. Although I didn’t read 12 craft books, I did read six. That translates to one every other month. And since this isn’t the same as fiction (you know, I actually have to annotate and digest the information in a craft book for it to mean anything), I don’t think I could have read one per month and, you, have written anything in 2013. So I’m giving myself a “check” on this one too.
First draft of Hero’s Sword 4 by 31 May and revisions by 31 July
I had to adjust this one. The first draft was finished by 31 July and first revisions were complete by 30 September. I did a second round of revisions in October, and finished the third round this past weekend. You will notice that each revision round gets shorter, since I’m doing more fine tuning and less rewriting. I expect this to be done in early 2014 – but that’s a topic for the next post.
Complete and submit two more Laurel Highland stories by end of 2013
Well, no. I did finish the third (fourth?) story and sent it to an editor. I need to chase that down, and then it will be ready for submission. I have ideas for more short stories, but I got slightly detoured (see below).
Finish anthology edits by 24 June
Wow, that seems like so long ago, but yes, check, got them done.
And that leads into the other things I accomplished this year:
- I took several workshops through Sisters in Crime, including one on short fiction and another on scene writing
- I attended my first-ever Pennwriters conference, held in Pittsburgh in May 2013
- As a result of that short fiction class, I wrote my first-ever flash fiction piece, which was subsequently published in the second volume at Uppagus.com, a new digital magazine.
- The print version of Storm Clouds: Hero’s Sword Vol. 2 was released in November 2013.
- The short story anthology, Lucky Charms: 12 Crime Tales was released in December 2013 with a smashing party at Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, PA. We signed – and signed, and signed. All told, we completely sold out our first print run of 200 books on the night of the party (some pre-order, some bought on the spot). It’s a night that still makes me giddy.
- I attended my first author-even, Books in the Burgh, at the Heinz History Center in early December.
- I started freelance proofreading/copyediting, and did some ebook formatting in preparation for a new venture in 2014.
- I was invited to become a member of an online mystery writers blogging group, Mysteristas.
- I racked up four new publication credits (Hero’s Sword 2, Twins (Uppagus.com), An Idyllic Place for Murder (Mysterical-e), and Batter Down (Lucky Charms).
So that’s it – my backward look at 2013. I think it was a pretty amazing year. And while it’s true I’ve come a long way since 2011, when I started this journey in earnest, I recognize that I’ve still got a long way to go.
Looking forward to an awesome 2014, filling with yet more writing excitement.