New Year Means Resolutions
Last year, I made several writing resolutions. Let's see how I did:
1. Edit and send Champion of Valor to beta readers, make changes, and send it to Gail.
Done! Of course since Champion of Valor had been under contract, it was a guarantee check. And it's up for a Preditors and Editors award! If you haven't already voted yet, I would greatly appreciate your vote!
2. Finish the last couple of tweaks to Alexia's Pen before sending out queries.
Not quite done. The titles been changed (now it's Elena's Pen). I'm waiting to hear back from a few more beta readers. Then I should be ready to send out queries.
3. Re do the beginning scene to Hidden in Shadows and send it off to beta readers. Make changes. Rework the query letter to incorporate voice and send them out.
Not quite done either. BUT I did figure out what my biggest issue with the story was -- I was having the hardest time figuring out the genre. It's not urban fantasy, it's not a paranormal romance. It's paranormal thriller. I had been too worried about making the MC sympathetic (not easy when the MC is an assassin) but because it's a thriller with romantic elements and not a romance, I don't need her to be quite so sympathetic. I was trying to hard. So now I need to find some thriller authors who are willing to beta read it for a fresh perspective.
4. Start working on a new project. Or two.
Done! I wrote a MG fantasy adventure - The Princess and the Griffin. And I wrote a YA fantasy - Crystal's Magic. Time to edit them, send out to beta readers, and edit some more.
5. Do a better job of keeping my website up-to-date and work on increasing my newsletter subscriptions. Also, send out the newsletter at least 4 times a year.
I did a decent job of this in the beginning of the year and fizzled out. Whoops.
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So what are my new resolutions?
1. Edit Crystal's Magic, The Princess and the Griffin, and Elena's Pen to the point where I can send out queries for them.
2. Write 12 PBs in the 12 months.
3. Finish Two Princesses, One Prince, and a Dragon. It's a YA fantasy novel that I started on January first. It's a little lighter than most of my other YAs so we'll see how that turns out!
4. Write two other novels. With baby #3 coming in February, this is definitely a lofty goal, but I'm gonna try!
5. Keep my website up to date and send out more newsletters.
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So what are your writing resolutions this year? Do you having reading resolutions? (I would to read more and start reviewing more books.) Regular resolutions? (Once Christopher is born, I want to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.)
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Yesterday, the awesome Alex wrote an equally awesome blog post about blogs and reaching 1,000 followers. He also featured several bloggers (myself included) who are close to reaching that landmark. Check out the post and if you don't already follow Alex, Matthew, Roland, and Jesse, you should fix that!
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There's still time to send in critiques for my Critiques for Christmas!
You have the choice of a:
Query critique
Synopsis critique
First page critique
All I ask is that you follow my blog. It would be great if you could spread the word, but that's not necessary.
Email me at Nicole.Zoltack@gmail.com with your query, synopsis, or first page. Any genre.
Critiques will be done in a first come, first served basis.
1. Edit and send Champion of Valor to beta readers, make changes, and send it to Gail.
Done! Of course since Champion of Valor had been under contract, it was a guarantee check. And it's up for a Preditors and Editors award! If you haven't already voted yet, I would greatly appreciate your vote!
2. Finish the last couple of tweaks to Alexia's Pen before sending out queries.
Not quite done. The titles been changed (now it's Elena's Pen). I'm waiting to hear back from a few more beta readers. Then I should be ready to send out queries.
3. Re do the beginning scene to Hidden in Shadows and send it off to beta readers. Make changes. Rework the query letter to incorporate voice and send them out.
Not quite done either. BUT I did figure out what my biggest issue with the story was -- I was having the hardest time figuring out the genre. It's not urban fantasy, it's not a paranormal romance. It's paranormal thriller. I had been too worried about making the MC sympathetic (not easy when the MC is an assassin) but because it's a thriller with romantic elements and not a romance, I don't need her to be quite so sympathetic. I was trying to hard. So now I need to find some thriller authors who are willing to beta read it for a fresh perspective.
4. Start working on a new project. Or two.
Done! I wrote a MG fantasy adventure - The Princess and the Griffin. And I wrote a YA fantasy - Crystal's Magic. Time to edit them, send out to beta readers, and edit some more.
5. Do a better job of keeping my website up-to-date and work on increasing my newsletter subscriptions. Also, send out the newsletter at least 4 times a year.
I did a decent job of this in the beginning of the year and fizzled out. Whoops.
---
So what are my new resolutions?
1. Edit Crystal's Magic, The Princess and the Griffin, and Elena's Pen to the point where I can send out queries for them.
2. Write 12 PBs in the 12 months.
3. Finish Two Princesses, One Prince, and a Dragon. It's a YA fantasy novel that I started on January first. It's a little lighter than most of my other YAs so we'll see how that turns out!
4. Write two other novels. With baby #3 coming in February, this is definitely a lofty goal, but I'm gonna try!
5. Keep my website up to date and send out more newsletters.
---
So what are your writing resolutions this year? Do you having reading resolutions? (I would to read more and start reviewing more books.) Regular resolutions? (Once Christopher is born, I want to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.)
---
Yesterday, the awesome Alex wrote an equally awesome blog post about blogs and reaching 1,000 followers. He also featured several bloggers (myself included) who are close to reaching that landmark. Check out the post and if you don't already follow Alex, Matthew, Roland, and Jesse, you should fix that!
---
There's still time to send in critiques for my Critiques for Christmas!
You have the choice of a:
Query critique
Synopsis critique
First page critique
All I ask is that you follow my blog. It would be great if you could spread the word, but that's not necessary.
Email me at Nicole.Zoltack@gmail.com with your query, synopsis, or first page. Any genre.
Critiques will be done in a first come, first served basis.
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