I wrote the first of these posts last year as a way to evaluate whether I succeeded at a) achieving my New Years resolutions and business plan goals, and b) whether the resolutions and goals that I made in the first place were realistic and serving my needs. If 2018 was a pretty lackluster year in terms of personal plans–thanks in no small part to my wedding–my resolutions and goals for 2019 were an overwhelming success.
Here’s a brief rundown of how this year’s resolutions turned out:
1. Come to a consensus with my husband about where we want to move.
Done! I won’t be announcing where we’re moving on this public blog–some things need to stay somewhat private–but I will say that we’ll be living in a much larger city in a whole different state come the end of this summer when our lease is up. I’m pretty anxious about it, but pretty excited too.
2. Apply for at least five different part-time editing gigs.
Done! By the time all was said and done, it was actually more than five.
3. Get rejected 100 times.
This was one of those impossible stretch goals that was intended more as a way for me to push myself to put my work out there than anything else, so I’m neither particularly sad nor surprised that I wasn’t able to get to 100. Between job applications and short story submissions, I am currently sitting at 31, which isn’t too shabby at all. I have a bunch of short stories still sitting out in the ether and waiting for responses, so I’m confident that I’ll start 2020 on a good, strong, rejected note.
4. Begin volunteering again, ideally in a way that aligns with my professional goals.
I’d made this a resolution in 2018 and failed at completing it then, which makes this year’s failure even more disappointing. I did give this topic a lot of thought, but I simply couldn’t come to any conclusions about where I might actually want to volunteer or what kind of work I’d like to do. Given our upcoming move and the sheer amount of upheaval my husband and I will be dealing with over the next eight months, I think I might have to check this one off as an aspirational goal and sideline it until sometime next year.
5. Determine what part-time work outside the home I’d like to do and begin applying for jobs.
Done! As I mentioned in this post all the way back in July, I actually landed a part-time job at the beginning of August that involves administrative work and editing. I’ve been doing a combination of that, freelance editing, and freelance writing since then, and I’ve been overwhelmingly pleased with it overall. Honestly, I was kind of surprised by how quickly I was able to make the switch to part-time work and freelancing, since I anticipated the whole process would take much longer than eight months.
And here’s how this year’s business plan (i.e. the goals I make specifically in the service of furthering my writing career) turned out:
1. Complete the first draft of my Web Girl Vigilantes manuscript, do one full revision pass on my own, and hand the MS off to my CPs for additional feedback.
This goal was . . . ambitious, to say the least. I thought I’d set more realistic standards for myself and my writing this year, but it turns out I still have some room for improvement. At present, I’m roughly halfway through the first draft of this MS, which isn’t the progress I would’ve liked, but which I’m pretty pleased about regardless. I’m a little stalled on the story right now, frustratingly enough, but I’m still hoping to finish this draft sometime early next year. Fingers crossed!
2. Finish every book on my research reading list for my YA thriller, Renegade, and determine what else I’d need to research before beginning a first draft.
Since the success of this goal was entirely contingent upon the success of the previous goal, I definitely didn’t manage to accomplish it either.
3. Attend a relevant conference or, alternatively, sign up for another Wordsmith Retreat in 2020.
Done! I’ll be going to a fall Wordsmith retreat in Lake Anna, Virginia next October, and attending WriteOnCon, a web-based conference where I won’t even have to leave my apartment, in February next year. Very much looking forward to both!
4. Revise “Feed,” a short story I recently finished drafting, and submit it to at least five different literary magazines, anthologies, or publications.
Done! I wrapped up the revision process in October, and I’m currently waiting to hear back from a few different places where the story is still out on submission. I’m incredibly proud of the finished product and hoping that it finds a home in 2020.
Resolutions aside, I also:
Sold a travel article to the Matador Network. Link is here!
Had another piece published on The Financial Diet.
Took on another professional sensitivity reading gig for a YA novel that’s coming out in 2021.
Took a truly absurd number of trips. (Six, if I don’t count trips home to see my family.)
Attended three weddings.
Completed a total apartment de-clutter in preparation for our move.
Did you accomplish your goals or resolutions for 2019? What did you do that you’re most proud of? Let me know in the comments!