2010 in Review and 2011 Goals

Gee, where do I start?

On the first day of this year, I posted a few goals and plans. But this year did not at all turn out how I expected it would.

For instance, six days after that blog post, I sold another two book contract to Harper — but it wasn’t the two books i”d been hoping to sell. All of a sudden, I had a very different project to write. But that was nothing compared to the biggest project of all — the one I was about to find out that I was already working on.

So here, in retrospect, my 2010 goals, and how I did:

1. Paint rooms in house I want painted. Not all of them, but we did the nursery and the bathroom, which is a big start.
2. Write at least two novels. I wrote one, and another one twice (and it’s still not done).
3. Finish Secret Project #2. (Please note: this might be one of the 2 novels, but I’m listing it separately, since I really want to write THIS ONE especially.) I didn’t touch it. Maybe this year.
4. Take Rio to agility classes. Poor Rio. There was no way THAT was going to happen. And 2011 won’t be the year, either.
5. Install bookshelves in rec room. We did have a carpenter come look at it during maternity leave, but it was prohibitively expensive.
   
6. Go on a real vacation with Sailor Boy. We went to St. Lucia this spring, on a last hurrah before becoming parents.
7. Redecorate master bedroom. Does taking all our stuff out of the heretofore-used-as-a-closet spare room in order to make it into a nursery and stuffing it in the bedroom wardrobes count? On the flip side, I did decorate the nursery from top to toe, and it looks fabulous!
8. Make a podcast. Negatory, even though Harper wanted me too. I got too caught up in baby stuff.
9. Sign a new contract. Yes! Several, even!
10. Plant a garden again. My garden this year was awesome. I drowned in basil, tomatoes, and zucchini. I had some luck with peppers, oregano, and squash. My cucumbers were not good, and once again, I’m the only person on the planet who can fail at mint.
11. Read at least 50 books. Do pregnancy and baby books count?
12. Write a totally unexpected project of some sort. (I did this in 2009 and it was inspiring.) Nope. But, you know, things came up.

The beginning of 2010 was kind of a blur. I finished the revisions and the production work for Ascendant and Morning Glory. I wrote “Errant.” I was very, very, very sick. I was pretty vague about it on the blog, but my mother in law still got suspicious. I started being very careful what I wrote on here.

By late spring, I was starting to feel better, and get back to writing. I wrote the bulk of my newest manuscript. I went on the aforementioned vacation. As summer began, I went on the conference circuit in anticipation of the release of Ascendant — BEA, ALA, etc.

As summer stretched on, I lost the plot — literally. I tore apart my almost-finished manuscript, certain I could do it up better. I got way exhausted. On the plus side, my first short story was published. The blistering heat of a DC summer did a number on me — I barely walked Rio and I let my garden run wild. I also lived on salads and ice cream. Oh, and I redecorated the aforementioned nursery.

In the fall, I had four books out. And a baby. Fun times.

And now it’s winter again, and I’m back to work. My maternity leave didn’t net me many pages, but I did get contracts — more anthology invites (including The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year) as well as my first foreign sale of RAMPANT.

And now, here I am, staring 2011 in the face. I’m nervous for this year. As much as 2010 was a year of massive changes, I’m sure 2011 will easily blow it out of the water. I’ve been able to spend 2010 as either a writer OR a mom. In 2011, I have to do both at once, and for the first time. And so, I’m keeping my goals simple for this year. Keep my job. Keep my baby healthy and happy. Make sure Rio gets walked (please don’t let my poor puppy know there was ever anything called an agility class I failed to take her to!).

Goals for 2011:

1. Revise/finish my contracted novel.
2. Write short story #1
3. Write short story #2
4. Write short story #3
5. Write new proposal #1
6. Write new proposal/book #2
7. Go to one writing-related conference.
8. Walk my dog.
9. Plant a garden.
10. Make sure I spend quality time with Sailor Boy.
11. Do at least two home improvement projects.
12. Cut our budget.

You’ll notice that there are no baby-related goals on this list. It’s because my only goal with the baby is that next year at this time, I’m here with a happy, healthy, almost-15 month old little girl.

The other thing I want to do this year is keep myself more accountable in these matters. Currently, my only 2011 full length release is the paperback reprint of Ascendant. Obviously, this is down from the two full length original releases I had in both 2009 and 2010. There’s a book and a few short stories in the schedule for 2012, and at least one original short story for 2011, but that’s all. I would like to get back to a regular schedule, though I’m glad for my 2012 release date. But to do that, I need to get new proposals out there on top of my contracted work. 2011 is going to be a building year — I’m building up a body of work in a year without a major new release, I’m building a new work schedule, I’m building a new work/life balance entirely. So I’ll check in here once a month and let y’all know how I’m doing.

And I’ll keep myself honest about Rio, too. Poor girl.

Hey, Mommy! Check out how agile I am already!