2018 Year-in-Review and Q1 2019 Goals #ROW80

So here I am with my end-of-year review and a new goals post. I have switched to quarterly planning, which works so much better for me than yearly goals. Thank you, Sarra Cannon, for showing me the way!

This year was HUGE for my virtual assisting/freelance editing business. I landed several new clients in very quick succession which was absolutely awesome. My workload increased a lot, which required adjustments and better planning. However, I am ecstatic that I was able to make this happen. That was my biggest goal: increasing my client base and by extension bringing in more money.

I have also learned so much from my clients, stuff that I can apply to my own publishing efforts. So it’s a win-win.

Health wise…ugh, a lot of stuff went wrong this year. Not going to get into it, but suffice to say it was tough and stressful. However, I’ve survived it and I am looking forward to a new slate.

Since it’s my intention to jump back into ROW80 again, I figured I would put everything into one, handy-dandy simple post.

But first, let’s look at what I did (or didn’t do) this year:

~2nd round of edits/release secret project (early 2018) – DONE. Except it was delayed by unavoidable issues until 12/7. Very happy to have it finally out in the world! 
~Revise and release Fireborn – DONE. Released August 1st.
~Get serious about exercise and DO SOMETHING – Nope. I remain a couch potato. 😦 
~Take pictures regularly (once a month, 1 a day for x amount of days, etc) – Nope, and I really wish I could have.
~Get moving with dictation again – DONE. Not dictating currently, but I did purchase the latest version of Dragon Naturally Speaking and I also bought a digital recorder for transcription. Just need to actually start doing it.
~Progress on Covenant – DONE. I don’t have the exact figures handy, but I think I got it up to around 25k.
~Progress on When She Sleeps – This has been put on hold.
~Start Survivor Rewrite for reals this time – Nope, but one of my goals for Q1 is to JUST DO IT.
~Do something with Death Dancer/Pirouette – Nope. But as soon as I can, I’ll start working on this. I have Plans. 
~Get better with planning – My mom bought me a planner for Christmas last year, so I used that for deadlines/appointments/modified bullet journal. It worked great, so 
I asked for another one. And got it. Also, Sarra Cannon’s quarterly planning system worked wonderfully as well. I believe this planning system is the only reason why I was able to release the secret project this year. I was focused in a way I haven’t been in awhile. Being that I am a head planner (that is, I do all my planning in my head), this is a HUGE accomplishment.
~Start writing every day again, even if it’s 100 words – Nope. Time seems to get away from me sometimes.
~Figure out Reaper Girl #3, Faeborn – DONE. I have a premise. And apparently I’d forgotten that I’d called it Faeborn. Oops.

As for how many words I wrote this year: 75,000, which was my modest goal. I was hoping to write more, but given how busy I was and how awful my health was at times, I’ll take it. 🙂

Alrighty, so what’s on tap for Q1 and #ROW80? I’m glad you asked.

~Loosely plot Immortal Faeborn
~Book ads for Gain with Pain, Reaper Girl, and Fey Touched. Put together a tracking system.
~Start manifestation journal (first entry: 1/5/19)
~Put together modified Kanban board for Q1
~Purchase Energy Oracle deck. Start pulling cards daily and journaling.
~Progress on Oubliette or finish
~Do All The Things related to TDP Anthology (to be released sometime in Q1)
~Begin rewrite of Survivor. Continue working on it on Sundays.
~Catch up up on ARCs
~Take Sundays off work when possible
~Start back on MyFitnessPal. Log food 5x a week minimum.
~Water 5x a week

I think that’s it for now. 🙂

Links to the books:

Gain with Pain on Amazon
Fireborn on Amazon 

#ROW80 Check-in Jan. 10th

I can finally do my first post of Round 1! Been busy, and struggling with TN pain. I recently had to have dental work done (prep for a crown) and that was miserable. I am glad the hard part is done, though.

Here’s the rundown:

~2nd round edits on secret project (I am contemplating releasing it around my birthday in March. We will see how things go). ~I  haven’t received the last two betas yet.
~Revisions on Fireborn ~Haven’t received my edits back, either.
~Covenant words ~Don’t have wordcounts handy at the moment. Maybe 1,000 new words?
~Survivor Sundays (Survivor my book, not the TV show) Have not started yet.
~Poke at Fireborn cover? ~Waiting to finish Cover Workshop I am taking

Non-writing stuffs:

~Read 1 book a week Finished both Midnight Rain by Kate Aeon and Die for Me by Dan Rix (ARC).
~Water 5x a week
~Print out test roll pics in darkroom Nope.
~Poetry, maybe? Nope.
~Housewalking 3x a week Nope.
~And everyone’s favorite, chocolate consumption reports 1 whole bag of Hersey’s Kisses (not in one sitting, though!) and lots of hot chocolate. Chocolate minis, too!

2017 Year-End Review and 2018 Goals

Time has been flying! Holy cow! It’s almost 2018 already, and and and —

Okay, I’m a bit early. I don’t expect much to change drastically in 3 days, so here we are.

So how did I do?

~Release 1 book (besides Ever Touched) ~NOT DONE, although I got a new cover for In Flames and put Reaper Girl into KDP Select. 
~Publish Ever Touched (set for May release)~DONE! 
~Start revision of Pirouette/Death Dancer ~NOT DONE, but had an interesting idea the other day about Alisia’s lineage. 
~Finish Covenant ~NOT DONE, but it’s at 24k now. Wanted to hit 30k before the new year, but I’m not sure that’s possible now. 😦 
~Start Elysium ~NOT DONE. At all.
~Finish and release Fireborn ~DONE. Rewrote it and submitted it to TDP for publication next year.
~Outline book #1 in Fey Touched spin-off series ~NOT DONE. May toy with this next year.
~Get on a consistent, simple exercise plan and STICK WITH IT ~NOPE. 
~Eat healthier/Gluten-free ~NOT DONE.  😦 Well, made the attempt, anyway…
~Get back into darkroom when hands are better ~NOT DONE.
~Add in a second writing session twice a week (8 minutes)~NOT DONE. Have been fighting pain and exhaustion.
~Try to write more short fiction ~DONE! Fireborn (55k) and When She Sleeps (projected 60k) 
~Continue with FYFB class (so behind right now!)~NOPE. Downloaded everything that’s available that I haven’t gotten to.
~Start working on Survivor Rewrite outline again ~DONE! Not finished due to wrist issues.

This year has been roughly for me physically. I have been exhausted more, and the trigeminal neuralgia flared up again so we’ve been trying to find the right combination of meds to control the pain. So far, we haven’t been very successful.

I was also laid off from my job in August, so there’s been some upheaval there. I have been working on my freelancing/virtual assistant business to try to bring in more money. Things are kind of up in the air, and it has been wreaking havoc on my productivity.

I have decided to buckle down and make things happen in 2018!

Goals:

~2nd round of edits/release secret project (early 2018)
~Revise and release Fireborn
~Get serious about exercise and DO SOMETHING
~Take pictures regularly (once a month, 1 a day for x amount of days, etc)
~Get moving with dictation again
~Progress on Covenant
~Progress on When She Sleeps
~Start Survivor Rewrite for reals this time
~Do something with Death Dancer/Pirouette
~Get better with planning
~Start writing every day again, even if it’s 100 words
~Figure out Reaper Girl #3, Faeborn

I’ve written roughly 80k this year, which is down from last year. Would like to hit 100k and more in 2018.

#ROW80 Round 2 Goals

I’m a bit late posting my goals. I’ve been really busy with the edits on Ever Touched. I’m jumping in now!

I have fewer goals this go around to limit my stress level. I’ve been very stressed out in the past few months and need a break from it all.

So here are my goals:

~Publish Ever Touched on May 1st (on track to complete as of right now)
~Add 10k to Covenant
~Start formulating a plan for Fireborn (looks like a rewrite as of right now)
~Drink a glass of water 5x a week
~Start working on FYFB class once things settle down

And that’s it! No exercise-related goals yet because I seem to have reinjured my knee. 😦 Once that gets worked out, I may add an exercise-related goal to the mix.

I would also like to add in some mental downtime per week. I’m not making it an official goal, but we’ll see once Ever Touched is published. I had some of that with Guild Wars, but since I’ve been so busy with edits and such, I haven’t been able to play this week at all. So we will see on that as well.

And, as usual, the famous chocolate consumption report.

 

#ROW80 Final Check-in 3/19/17

I’ve decided to do my final check-in today because I have a really busy week coming up and I am bound to forget! So, without further adieu, here it is!

~Finish Ever Touched 2nd round edits ~DONE and turned in March 1st!
~Finalize Ever Touched cover art ~In progress. Cover created, just waiting on feedback.
~Start on a blurb ~DONE! Still more work needed, but it’s a start.
~After Ever Touched is finished, start Fireborn revision ~NOT DONE. Have been thinking about this, though. 
~Add 5k to Covenant (using 8 minute writing if possible) ~NOT DONE. Issues with sleep due to eczema and general stress has killed my energy. I did write 1,349 words on it a few days ago, though, and plan on continuing with it.
~Continue FYFB class (I’m so horribly behind now, it’s not even funny!) ~NOT DONE. Once things calm down, it’s the first thing on my priority list.
~Eat healthier/lose 5 pounds ~KINDA SORTA. Lost about 3 pounds total. Trying to eat healthier.
~Restart transferring Survivor Rewrite outline to Scrivener ~NOT DONE. Just plain ran out of time.
~Exercise: housewalking 3x per week ~DONE ONLY ONCE. Really need to get serious about this in the next round.
~Water – 1 glass 5 days per week ~DONE!
~Chocolate consumption reports of course! ~DONE!

So I won some and I lost some. Not a bad round considering all the health crap I had to deal with. I’m okay with it. 🙂

Final chocolate consumption report: Triple chocolate cake last night for my early birthday party, chocolate brownie topped with chocolate ice cream and hot fudge recently, chocolate pudding, hot chocolate. The chocolate is strong in this one. 😉

How did you do?

#ROW80 Check-in 2/12/17

Here I am with another #ROW80 Check-in.

Things have been going pretty well for me. I’m sleeping still, and while I’ve had a fibro flare this week, I’m feeling okay. It was questionable for awhile, because the flare up happened in my neck (new location) and it needed motrin for a few days. Today it’s okay. Hopefully it will stay okay!

Here’s the run down:

Ever Touched – Very close to be being done! I rewrote the climax three times! I couldn’t get it right! I think it’s okay now, but regardless, I am done rewriting! If my editor feels it needs more work, then I’ll do it. But I need to move on! I have one scene to write that I forgot (oops!) and a few small tweaks to do. And of course the final proofread. Still on track to make my March 1st deadline. We are getting SO close! I can’t even believe it!

Oubliette – Just finished writing 1,122 words. I promised myself something different, and Oubliette’s been calling to me, so there it is. 🙂

Water – Made all 5 days this week!

Exercise – Nada. I really, seriously need to start something.

FYFB class – Still on hold till after I turn Ever Touched in.

Weight – Still at 1 pound lost.

Guild Wars – I played it a lot this weekend. I finished two quests that have been so tough to finish, so I feel good about that. 🙂

Chocolate consumption: chocolate pudding, chocolate/caramel covered pretzel, gluten-free mini brownies, mug cake…I think that’s it. I think I’m falling down on the job here. Must eat moar chocolate.

#ROW80 Check-in 2/5/17

It’s Sunday, and you know what that means — ROW80! It’s also Superbowl Sunday, which I never participate in b/c I no get football at all, and the one time I went to a party, all I did was sit there and pretend to be interested when I was really confused. And I ate too much.

So, pass.

How am I doing on my goals?

Ever Touched – I am about 20 pages away from being done. However, this doesn’t count the climax I am rewriting and struggling with. My editor said there weren’t high enough stakes, which I completely agree with, so I’ve been dithering on how to raise the stakes yet keep the actions that are happening. So that’s a thing.

Oubliette -This is a 7-year-old novel that I began as a result of family drama, but isn’t about that at all. It’s actually more of a supernatural thriller, I guess. Both main characters intrigue me so much, and for some reason, it has been calling to me. I left it at 12k and have plot cards written up. I did more plotting this week and would like to write a bit on it soon (today maybe?).

Exercise – Nada, unless you count Walmart shopping and bathroom cleaning today.Been so tired lately.

Water – For the most part. I think I missed one day this week.

Eczema/psoriasis – Sleeping much, much better! No change in lesions since last check-in, and being in a hot grocery store stirred up the itching again. But I think overall I’m doing better.

FYFB class – Nothing until I finish Ever Touched.

Fireborn revision – Thinking about this. Not sure if I want to extend it or not, or how to fix it. I am considering running it through Holly Lisle’s How to Revise Your Novel work. Still need a better grasp on how to write mysteries.

Weight – Lost 1 pound!

Guild Wars – Still addicted, but have lowered my usage considerably (she says as she plans another run tonight during the Superbowl, lol).

Chocolate consumption: Hmmmm. Oreos, chocolate caramel thingies, mini-brownies (gluten free!), hot chocolate, 2 breakfast bars (gluten free). I think that’s it?

How are you doing with your goals?

#ROW80 Check-in 1/29/17

I’m back! I’ve been very busy and sleep deprived.

I finally saw the dermatologist who diagnosed it as both eczema and psoriasis. He gave me a super-strength steroid cream which is helping tremendously and an antihistamine to take at night for itching and sleep. And told me to moisturize constantly which I’ve been doing faithfully.

As a result, I have had 4 good nights of sleep! And my feet hardly itch during the day! My hands are still itchy at times (especially when exposed to heat) but not as much. The lesions (I HATE that word, but it is the actual terminology they use) look better, too. So I think *knocks cyber-wood* I may be on the mend!

Except that the dermatologist mentioned that this is a transition to what may be a worse condition. 😦 So I guess time will tell. Bu at least I am feeling better. I am grateful for that.

I’ve been busy with another editing job that came through, and I just turned that in a few days ago (early!). Ever Touched is 75% done. I had to rewrite a few scenes, and I know I’ll need to rewrite a few more. But so far it’s been fairly easy.

And…Guild Wars. OMG I have probably logged at least 6 hours this weekend. It has been a struggle to disengage myself and get my work done. I have to be vigilant. So I’ve been limiting my time. We’ll see if it works.

One of the members of the accountability group for the FYFB class said gaming is actually a very good destressor. And I agree with her, because where else can you legally kill people and monsters? That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

How is everything else going? :laughs:

FYFB class – Nothing, and I anticipate there won’t be until I finish Ever Touched. It is self=paced, so I am not losing anything by waiting. I am still meeting with the group each week though.

Exercise – Nope. Still adjusting. I have been trying to stand and stretch on a timer, however, like always. That’s my #1 goal once things calm down.

Fireborn revision – I’ve been doing some thinking about this and after discussing it with TDP, I may be expanding it a bit. I think overall the mystery is a bit rushed (trying to stay within 20k, which was what episode 1 was) and I have been researching how to write mysteries b/c I realized I have no idea how to properly do it. Several of my books have had mysteries in them, but they weren’t the primary storyline. So that’s happening.

Survivor outline – I am considering writing up plot cards instead of using Scrivener, primarily b/c they’d be portable, and I am considering working on Survivor on the fly. Or devouting Sundays to it again. Still pondering.

Weight – I honestly haven’t weighed myself in quite awhile so I really don’t know how I’m doing. I can tell you that my appetite has been less since I was sick recently, and hasn’t really fully returned. Which is great for weight loss, but it worrisome in the long term. So I will need to weigh myself and see where exactly I’m at.

Water – 5x a week for the most part. I may have missed one last week.

Ever Touched cover art – Stock art has been purchased and my #1 priority after I turn Ever Touched in is to work on the cover.

Chocolate consumption: Ultimate chocolate sandwiches, Oreos, chocolate/caramel cover pretzels, chocolate mini brownies, hot chocolate. I have a TON of gluten-free snacks that I got for Christmas that I am working my way through, and most of them aren’t chocolate. I’m sure I’ll get back to my chocolate-addicted ways soon. 😉

#ROW80 Check-in 1/15/17

And here we are again with another #ROW80 Check-in. I’m still not sleeping well, and as a result I’ve been pretty unmotivated, to be honest. Edits on Ever Touched are progressing slowly, although today I believe I will be able to get a lot done.

I’m up to page 100 of 238. So far, it’s been pretty easy, but I know I’ll have to rewrite the climax because I know (and my editor mentioned it) that it’s not as good as it can be. I’ve been simmering that one.

I am also addicted to Guild Wars (it’s a massive multi-player online roleplaying game similar to World of Warcraft) again. Le sigh.

As for other things….

Water – 5 times.

Exercise – Nothing, bad girl!

FYFB class – Still very behind. Haven’t even touched it.

Weight  – Haven’t actually weighed myself lately so I’m not sure how that’s going.

Chocolate consumption: dark chocolate truffles, chocolate caramel thingies, ultimate chocolate sandwiches, and hot chocolate. Also more Twizzlers.

That’s it for me! How about you?

2016 Year-in-Review and 2017 Goals

Here we are with my 2016 Year-in-Review and 2017 Goals. This year FLEW by, and I had a lot of health stuff crop up, so things did not go as smoothly, and some things had to be put on the back burner. All in all, I think I did pretty damn well considering. I wrote around 130,000 words for the year, which is excellent. I did a lot of editing and revising, and that’s not counted in the total.

The two major accomplishments for this year were submitting Pirouette/Death Dancer to a publisher and one agent. I got frustrated by the process, and realized that my ability to meet deadlines due to my health is compromised, and besides that, I like having control over things, so I decided to stop trying with traditional publishing and try to publish Pirouette independently. That’s not to say I’m done with traditional publishing; it just means that Pirouette will probably at some point be a Turtleduck Press release.

The second one is Ever Touched. I finished it and submitted it to my editor by my deadline of December 1st. Due to life craziness and a computer in the shop for 11 days, it was a struggle, but I’m glad to say that I made it. I’ve already received my edits back, and have started the 2nd round.

Also, Turtleduck Press published To Rule the Stars, an anthology of space princess stories. My story, Bound, is part of it (and a sneak peek of Ever Touched!). Check it out here.

What about everything else?

~Release one novel – <–DONE, technically. I released Reaper Girl as a perk of signing up for my newsletter. I am working on releasing it everywhere.
~Finish and release Fireborn <–NOT DONE. I am close, though. I was never able to get it done to my satisfaction. It’s my #1 goal in 2017 after Ever Touched edits are done.
~Finish Pirouette revision and submit to publisher. If rejected, make a ruling as to what to do with it (trad or indie)<–DONE. Was rejected by both publisher and agent. Have decided to publish it with TDP.
~Begin Flamebound rewrite <–NOT DONE. Would love to do something with it in 2017.
~Begin Survivor rewrite <–NOT DONE. Definitely going to be a project for 2017. I am DYING to get this one out there.
~Make progress on Awaken Me <–NOT DONE, unless thinking about it counts!
~Finish Ever Touched <–DONE and turned in on time. Slated for May 2017 release.
~Get back into darkroom <–DONE. Processed a test roll of film, but have not been able to do any printing. And b/c of my skin issues, it’s not looking likely for awhile. 😦 
~Try not to stress so much <–NOT DONE. LOL. It feels like all I did was stress out about things.
~Experiment with plotting techniques <–DONE! “Plotting from the Middle” and Monica Leonelle’s techniques.
~Finish up Changeling serial <–DONE! And as of Feb. 1st, I am starting a new one in the Fey Touched world.
~Get back on diet/eat healthy/exercise<–KINDA SORTA. I’ve been trying to get better with exercise, but a sprained knee screwed me up. Likewise with the diet. Been trying, but have been losing and gaining the SAME FIVE POUNDS. Ugh.
~My word for this year is NURTURE: nurture myself, nurture my creativity, nurture my dreams.

So, all in all, not too shabby. Here are my goals for 2017:

~Release 1 book (besides Ever Touched)
~Publish Ever Touched (set for May release)
~Start revision of Pirouette/Death Dancer
~Finish Covenant
~Start Elysium
~Finish and release Fireborn
~Outline book #1 in Fey Touched spin-off series
~Get on a consistent, simple exercise plan and STICK WITH IT
~Eat healthier/Gluten-free
~Get back into darkroom when hands are better
~Add in a second writing session twice a week (8 minutes)
~Try to write more short fiction
~Continue with FYFB class (so behind right now!)
~Start working on Survivor Rewrite outline again

I think that’s enough for now. What are your goals for 2017?