Taking Stock of 2014

Monthly Clock Face, MessinaIt’s a good time to take stock of the year almost ended and think a bit more about what’s coming next, writing-wise. Have I achieved what I hoped this year? Not completely, but that’s mainly because I don’t always make the effort to complete the projects in time! However, I’m happy with the writing year overall considering I’ve been enjoying life in between and we’ve been clearing out the house a bit. So here’s a rough overview of writing-related activities.Adjudicator of Romance Novel Competition at SAW ConferenceShortlisted finalist in Holland Park Press Poetry Competition and read at the prize-givingThe Adonis Touch novella (2nd in series) published by TirgearrFirst Draft piece published in Writers’ ForumRunner-up in Txtlit CompetitionArticle published in The Highlander Magazine (US)Re-published Dangerous Deceit with new coverWinner of Poetry Competition at Writing GroupPoem accepted for publication by the Hawick NewsStory accepted for Anthology by Pulse/Myrmidon (not published yet)Story published in Ireland’s OwnStory published in A Star in the Heart collectionStory Collection, Beneath the Treetops, on AmazonAttended the RNA Conference in July
Entered first chapter of historical novel to M&B Open Subs – good feedbackStarted a newsletter
Writing several new projects but haven’t finished them!Several rejections and non-starters in a few competitions- par for the course
The most exciting event was having my new mainstream novel, The Highland Lass , accepted by Crooked Cat Publishing for a spring 2015 release. Can’t wait to get this ‘book of my heart’ out there at last. I was also asked by Thresholds if they could publish my non-fiction article about DH Lawrence and short stories in their January issue (more about that when it happens). Still to hear about a couple of other submissions to various places.
I’m not going to write a list yet of what I hope to finish and send out in the coming year, as it might well change before then. But I am interested to know - do any of you make a business plan for your working year? I haven’t done this in any great detail before but I read an excellent blog post from a writer who makes such a plan and it sounds a good idea. You can read her post here. I might get around to making such a plan myself for 2015 – watch this space!
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Rosemary