Mini-Rant: There Is No Ultimate Goal

Really this isn't a rant, it's more of a reality check. I've been published for two and a half years now (or really close to it--I think I'm off by 3 days), and I've learned a few things along the way.

Prior to selling, my goal was to "get an agent." It was a noble goal to be sure, but in the interim, I've seen more than one author-friend languish while their agent either stuck them in never-ending revision-trenches or even actively tried to sell their books. An agent is not the magical fairy who will get you published. They are just one step on the path to a New York contract, and not a sure one at that. If you notice, I still don't have an agent. I'm no longer worried about it because I took a different path, one I'm very okay with.

Then I thought, if I just sell something, it'll all be okay! Truth is, it's "okay" to be an aspiring author. It's okay to toil away on manuscripts that don't sell. It's all O-fucking-kay because signing with a publisher doesn't mean your book will fly off the shelves. Reviews don't necessarily make that happen either, no matter how good they are. What does selling change? You are now a published (or almost-published) author. This is a big deal and cause for celebration, but you're still going to have to toil away at that next manuscript.

Bigger publishers, better deals, hitting lists, making bank... They are all good goals. But at the end of the day, you still have to write a great next book. Especially in the digital age, the idea of a book a year (or less often) doesn't work. The drive to get the agent or book deal or whatever? You still need it after, in fact, you might need it more.

The reality is, there's no sweet spot for most authors where they can just sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. There has to be a push to keep going in order to move forward.

The real trick? The real sweet spot? It's learning to balance that need for progress with the joy of writing. I've said it before and I'll say it over and over again: if you aren't writing because you love it--because it's a passion--you shouldn't do it. But if you can love it even when it's ugly and hard and exhausting...then you'll be able to weather all the storms that come with it.

Hello 2013!

Well, 2013, you look a lot like 2012 only younger. Have you had work done?

As for the rest of you, welcome to the new year. I'm celebrating with a space bar that doesn't want to register, so if you see wordsmashedtogetherlikethis please ignore them as I'm still recovering from a week of holiday celebrating with extended family.

Last night just after midnight, my son (11) asked what our new year's resolutions were. He was a little shocked when I said I don't do those. Reason? People tend to choose things that are destined to fail. They vow to curse less or eat better or exercise everyday until they puke. I'm not saying it never works out, but the loftier the resolution, the more likely it is to fail. So I don't bother with them. The closest thing I have to a resolution is to be the best me I can be.

What I do have are goals.

You see, a resolution is like a promise. Once you break it, the deed is done and can't be undone. Sure, you can start over again, but it feels like you failed. With a goal, you have the whole year to keep trying. Don't reach it in January? No worries, you still have 11 months to go! And I also set reasonable goals. I figure there's twelve months to the year. While I could stand to lose more than this, I have a goal to lose 12 pounds. If I hit that quickly, *poof* goal accomplished. I might set another one or I might just content myself with the 12.

I also have writing goals. These are a little trickier as they are out of my control to some degree.

1. I want to make more money than I did last year. Honestly, this shouldn't be all that hard. Financially (for me), 2012 blew massive chunks and I don't want to discuss it.
2. I want to streamline and de-stress my writing time. I already started this by making the painful decision to leave Steamed! I love that blog, but it was becoming more work than fun. I'll be making more cuts of that nature soon. The only part of my writing that should be "work" is... you know, the work part. 
3. I want to sell more than I did last year. In 2012, I sold 5 stories (1 short, 2 novellas, 2 novels). I want 2013 to be more than that. Considering I already have one piece on sub and another that should go out by month's end (hopefully), I think I can manage that. 
4. I want to meet more readers. This means breaking out of my comfort zone at both RT and Up in the Aether (as well as any other cons I manage to get to). 
5. I want to wrap up at least one series. I'm pretty sure I know which one it will be, but only time will tell for sure (and this will be a late-in-the-year goal no matter what). 
6. Streamline giveaways so I'm not confused on what I owe where. (ie--I'm only doing giveaways on other blogs if they choose the winner and notify me of what I'm sending where. Which is how it should be since it's their party.)
7. Celebrate releases. I haven't done this in... ages. Literally, my release-celebrations last year went something like this. "I have a book out today. Oh shit. I have a fucking book out today! (cue panic) I need to get on the blog and pimp it on social media and..." Good times... Or at least I'm sure someone somewhere would consider it a good time. I kind of don't. 
8. I want to find the joy in writing again. I lost it for a while last year, and I think my work suffered as a result. To much trying to fit inside a box that wasn't made for me left me cranky. No more of that. Writing should be fun. 

If you notice, a lot of that (though not all for sure) is about getting back to where I was before I was published. That sweet spot where writing is all a big, fun, scary adventure. I have no intention of leaving my publishers to find it. But I do want to get there again, to just embrace and run with things, rather than worrying about shit all the time. I have enough damn gray hairs. I don't need anymore, thanks.

So what about you? Resolutions or goals?

New Year, New Goals

Happy 2012! Sorry I didn't post last week. We were at Disney World and I wasn't around to talk to anyone, so I figured it was kind of silly to post.

Anyway... I'm back!

2011 was a big year for me. My first Carina Press release plus (counting YA-me) five others. This year is starting off a little slower, only in that I have no announcements right now. I will have some soon though! To add to that, my little girl started first grade, so I've been adapting to the home-alone thing all day. It's been... interesting.

But it's a new year and I'm freshly back from a vacation where I got to meet one of my tattoos in person and flirted with my favorite alien. All in all, I'm feeling good with the start of 2012. It's already shaping up to be a lot of work, but I'm okay with work. I just need to set goals for myself.

You see, I don't really believe in resolutions. Resolutions are things people say they're going to do and most fail within the first month. So my only resolution is eternally something along the lines of "be the best me I can be in the new year." I can't fail at that.

But for more tangible things, I have goals. I'd like to sign with an agent (either as this me or YA-me, preferably both), but I'm picky. I don't want an agent just to have one, so this might not happen this year and I'm okay with it. Plus, I don't have total control over that process. Sort of like I don't have total control over "I want at least five releases again this year." But those are more dreams and wishes than goals--powered by faith, trust and pixie dust. Goals are powered by hard work and dedication.

So my goals revolve around how much I write since I can control that. As of this moment, I have a full-length contemporary to revise, along with *gulp* two YAs and the second Badlands book. Then I want to write another Cupid's Conquest story. But the big projects are what are taking up the most space in my brain. I have two adult and two YA novels I want to write this year. Figuring them at an average of 80,000 words, that's 240k. Totally doable since I wrote around 350k in 2011. But I need to make sure I have a plan and stick to it. That all means I need to get more stringent about what I'm doing when I'm on my computer (especially since I want to get back to more consistent workouts again too). I'm excited and terrified by the prospect, but I hope all of you will help keep me honest.

Here's to 2012, may it be epic in it's apocalyptic goodness.

NaNoReb(el)s: One Week Countdown

REBEL CHAT at 9:00pm est (10/26/11)! Click here!

Hi all! It's less than one week to NaNoWriMo 2011. Do you have your plans ready?

For those not in the know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing

Month, and it takes place every November. The goal is, within the month of November to write 50,000 words on a novel. Some of the #NaNoRebels here have actually signed on for that. Others have signed on to do something a bit different (lower word count, finishing a story for submission, editing...). But we wanted a place where all the Rebels who wanted could gather together, plan some virtual write-ins, offer support on Twitter, etc. So, I volunteered my blogs: this one and JulieParticka.com. I'll be posting stuff here on Tuesdays, there on Thursdays.

What I want to do right now is talk about Twitter (by the way, if you haven't yet, go ahead and follow this me, @SelestedeLaney, just so I keep everyone nice and organized). A lot of us use it and love it already. Some use it and hate it. Others have accounts but don't use it at all. And some of us just haven't gone there yet. There was a request for me to do a quick Twitter class. Since life grabbed me by the metaphorical balls and didn't let go, I lost track of time and now we're down to a week before. So... Twitter class will be tomorrow, Wednesday, October 26, at 9:00 pm eastern time at Chatzy. I will put a direct link to the room here tomorrow evening. Please make sure you have created a Twitter account in advance of the class and please download tweetdeck. I don't normally use regular Twitter, so it'll be a much more productive class if we're all on the same page.

For those of you who know what you're doing Twitter-wise, just remember to use the hashtag so everyone sees your tweets. And... speaking of the hashtag. *sigh* #NaNoRebels is already an official NaNo thing. So, by all means use it too, but I'm shortening ours to #NaNoRebs just so we have a thing just for those of us in the group. (Yes, it's an open group and everyone can join, but if we're all talking, I don't want it to get lost in a larger twitter feed).

*Big exhale*

Okay, now that that's out of the way, how about we all talk about what our goals are for NaNo? Is it the 50k? Or is it something else?

And if you haven't signed up to join us, click the NaNoRebels thing in my right sidebar and comment there.