How is it January 7th already? 2019 felt like it was never going to end, and then, bam, we're seven days into the new year. Like many people, I like creating goals for myself at the beginning of each year. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't, but at least it puts me on a path to, hopefully, complete a few things. Last year one of my main goals was to publish Wolf Pit, and I managed to do that, albeit at the last second.
This year, I want to talk about both writing and personal health goals for myself. I'm hoping by posting them here, it'll help keep me accountable. Not only that, you'll have a little preview of what to expect from me this year!
Writing Goals:
PDD Book 3: I plan to write and edit Purple Door District book 3. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to publish it in 2020 due to circumstances that happened in 2019. Let's just say I didn't give the book as much love and care as I would have liked, and I want to make sure I do book 3 justice. I don't want to rush it.
Dragon Steal: I put my YA LGBT dragon book on hold to finish up Wolf Pit. Well, after much consideration, I'm planning to heavily edit Dragon Steal, rewrite the pitches, and submit the book both to agents and to #pitmad on Twitter. I'm really excited to work on the book again because I love and miss the characters. It'll be a nice break from the world of The Purple Door District as well. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the series. However, I struggled with a lot of depression while writing and editing it, so I think it's good I'm taking a slight break.
Anthologies: I intend to write more short stories and poetry to submit to local anthologies. I already have plans to create pieces (hopefully) for Fiction-Atlas Press LLC. Ideally, I want to submit to anthologies that provide royalties or pay to help with publication costs, but just having my story in print is awesome too!
Writing Grants: I'm going to apply for some writing grants to help fund my writing career while I'm still getting on my feet. As I've talked about in a few posts, self-publishing is not cheap, and it takes until book 2 or 3 to start seeing a little income. I'm still not quite at that point, so if I get grants that can help me produce these books, I'll be ecstatic.
Fates and Furies: Alongside The Purple Door District, I'd like to get back into working on the Fates and Furies series with my co-author AE Kellar. Oh my gosh, we have so many stories to tell you!
Blog: Yes, my dears, I plan to resume blogging once a week. If you have particular topics you want me to discuss, please let me know. Part of the reason I stopped near the end of last year was because I ran out of ideas! That and Wolf Pit was trying to eat my soul.
Author Interviews: Author Interviews will start up again this Friday. I'll post them on social media and host them on my site two times a month. I think that'll give me a little more breathing room. If you're a published author looking for a place to be interviewed, fill out the form here.
Patreon/Wattpad: Yes, I do still intend to post to Patreon once a month, likely starting in February. I need a break to get more writing prepared. Likewise, I want to post to Wattpad as well. If you haven't read The Purple Door District, you can find it on there under my account. The first chapter of Wolf Pit will be up shortly as well.
Health Goals:
Sleep: I've talked about struggling with sleep before and how it's affected my health and creativity. I'm working with a sleep specialist who is helping me get more rest at night. Basically I was only getting about 2-4 hrs of solid sleep every night this time last year. I'm almost to 6 1/2 hrs now, which has made a world of difference. I want to get up to 7 1/2 hours.
Gym: I plan to start working out again. I know it improves my mood, my sleep, and my health. Unfortunately, due to injuries and bad experiences at the gym, I'm struggling to walk back through those doors. I'm trying exposure therapy, meaning, I'm taking it one step at a time. Today I went into the gym for the first time in months. I almost had a panic attack, but I managed to make it there. Little by little, I'll work out and add time to my routines. I have to do this for myself.
Mental Health: I continue to use my therapy lights, see my therapists, and go to support groups both for my depression/anxiety, and weight. I broke mentally in February 2019, and I do not want that to happen again. So I'm working to be kinder to myself and more understanding. It may lead to me stepping back from things so I can take care of myself, but I'll do what's necessary. I'd like to be here for a long time.
So, I might be biting off more than I can chew, but when it comes down to it, I need to make my mental health my priority, even if it puts things on the back burner.
What about you? What goals do you have for 2020?