New Year, New Resolutions

Photo credit: varun suresh on Flickr
So it’s New Year’s Eve, and I’m writing Friday’s post, and in less than 24 hours it’ll be 2015. 

Well. By the time this is posted, it will be 2015. On one hand, it's kind of hard to believe because it seems like yesterday when Snowpocalypse and the Polar Vortex was happening, and yet we’re in January again. I feel like I’m lapping myself.

On the other hand, I’m actually really excited for this year. For one, I can now officially say that my book will be published next year (eeep!), and maybe I’m just giddy from the really excellent 2014 I had, but I just feel like 2015 is going to be even more exciting. 

Because it’s the new year, I have writerly resolutions, which are really more goals than resolutions, but anyway. Here’s what I’m aiming to do this year: 

  1. Read 50 books. A few years ago, I would have laughed at this goal, but last year I read 44 (published) books, so this seems like a reasonable goal. Also, required reading for school totally counts. 

  2. Revise 2 WIPs. In 2014, I did this thing where I fast-drafting two manuscripts back to back even though I already had a manuscript I needed to revise. Now I have three manuscripts in need of revisions, one of which is in it’s final revision stages (until it goes to my agent, anyway), the other two which I haven’t even started. Those are the ones I’m aiming to revise this year, but if another manuscript takes priority, that’s okay, too. I just want to revise at least two. 

  3. Write a new MS. I’ve written at least one manuscript a year every year since 2006. I have zero idea what new (as in, not yet drafted) WIP I’ll work on this year, but I’m aiming to write at least one new one and keep the momentum going. 

  4. Sell another book. They say not to make goals that are out of your control, and this sort of is, because writing a book and working really hard on it and revising it until my agent loves it is wonderful, but there are still no guarantees it’ll sell. That being said, I’m making it a goal anyway. Because I’m stubborn like that. 

  5. Do something new. This is super vague because I’m not really sure what it’ll be. But I want to do something I’ve never done before, and maybe it’ll be writing related and maybe not, but either way, it’s a goal. 

Now I want to hear from you: what are you resolving (or aiming) to do this year? 

Twitter-sized bite: 

Writer @Ava_Jae shares her writerly 2015 resolutions. What are you aiming to do this year? (Click to tweet)

8 comments:

AnaButterfliesOfTheImagination said...

These are great goals! Gosh, it must be so awesome (and probably a little nervewracking, too) to be expecting a book debut next year. I hope to revise my third WIP and hopefully start querying. I'm not too worried about it though, because I have lots of time for publishing and I don't really need to rush it.

Ava Jae said...

Thanks, Ana! It's totally awesome and exciting to be debuting next year. I'm not quite nervous about it yet, but ask me again closer to the end of the year and I'll probably have a different answer for you. ;)


Also, that's a great goal! I definitely agree with you that there's no need to rush. Time is absolutely on your side, and rushing won't do you any favors. Good luck!

Alana (Siegel) Mag said...

Great resolutions! My resolution is to write more blog posts. I have been following yours for awhile, and they are inspirational!

Darth Lolita said...

Your first three goals are my first three goals too! :D YAYYY FOR THE YEAR OF REVISION/NEW NOVEL/50 BOOKS GOAL!



I've managed to write a book a year for two years now, and I'm going to finish the sci-fi I'm working on, revise the last UF story I finished last year, then revise my sci-fi. I can't waittt to get them both done.


I don't have an agent, so of course I can't make "sell a book" part of my goals (I wish I could!). But I do plan to send at least one query letter toward the end of the year, at the very least. It'll be nerve racking, but I want to challenge myself a little and see if I can manage such a feat. Anything to keep pushing my writing career forward.


Good luck with 2015, Ava. Hooray for Bookish Resolutions :D

Lola R said...

Happy New Year and good luck with your new years resolutions! I set my reading goal at 55 this year as I am reading about oen book a book, I wanted to keep it a bit challenging, but not too much I stress about it.

Ava Jae said...

Thanks so much, Alana! I think that's a great resolution—and I'm so happy to hear my posts have been resonating with you! Good luck! :)

Ava Jae said...

YAY US FOR SIMILAR GOALS!


Those all sound like really great goals (including the ones that are not similar to mine ;) ). Challenging yourself is really important for growth, and I'm sure you'll do great. Good luck! :)

Ava Jae said...

Happy New Year to you, too! And thank you! 55 books is a really excellent goal—good luck and happy reading!

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