QUARTERLY GOALS: 2017-Q4 Review & 2018-Q1 New Goals

Hello, Writing Desk Readers! 

Happy Valentine's Day/Galentine's Day/Wednesday/Hump Day/Whatever Day you're celebrating! 

I appreciate everyone's patience with the frequency of updates on the blog these last few weeks. As many of you know by now, my grandmother recently passed away and before that her health was on a decline, so one update per week was the best I could do.

If you want to see the most amazing photo of her, and also proof that she was way cooler than I'll ever be, you can take a look at the Instagram post I made shortly after her passing. The definition of a 1960's glamorous lady!

And now, let's take a look at my final goals from 2017-Q4, and how much I was able to accomplish.

2017-Q4 Goals: 

1) Hold my first GIVEAWAY!
- DONE! I gave away THREE copies of Carolina Crimes: 21 Tales of Need, Greed, & Dirty Deeds! Not to mention a ton of "Do Not Disturb the Reader" bookmarks. It was an amazing feeling putting those packages in the mail, and they all arrived safely!

2) Announce and implement the second project I devised in Q3. I truly hope everyone enjoys this, it's something I've never done before as a writer. 
- Half done. This project was announced, but I decided to wait until the new year to actually start the serializing of my YA sci-fi novella, Grave Diggers. (Q1 Hint: The first installment is coming in March!)

3) This is the big one. COMPLETE my 60,000 word count goal for Book Project #1 by Thanksgiving! Or, at the very latest, by New Years. 
- I won't lie, dear Writing Desk readers, this one did not go as planned. Due to my grandmother's waning health, I decided to push back my writing schedule to spend more time with her and my family.

4) Start sending out sections of Book Project #1 to my critique partners. They've actually already read the first few pages and a short synopsis I put together for them. So, we're off to a good start!
- This was actually DONE! So far, I've sent roughly 30,000 words to one of my critique partners, and the other has let me know she's ready to start reading as well. 

5) Start edits for Book Project #1, based on critique partner review, to plan for the beta-reader phase.
- DONE! I was able to put the notes from my first critique partner to good use, in lieu of the new writing that I decided to push back.

3.5 out of 5! That's more than I was expecting, if I'm being honest. I know we're already halfway through the quarter, but let's move on to my goals for 2018-Q1!


 2018-Q1 Goals:

1) Publish the first installment of my YA sci-fi novella, Grave Diggers, in March 2018. I'm so excited to share this story with everyone, and I'd love your feedback on if you'd like to see it turned into a full-length novel!

2) Finalize a set update schedule for Grave Diggers. Should it be weekly? Bi-weekly? Whatever the decision, I'll be posting the schedule here on the blog, so readers can know what dates to expect new installments.

3) Resume work on Book Project #1 (I'm horrible at titles, so that's what we're going to continue calling it for now) and complete the first draft by mid-Q2. I'm giving myself a little cushion here, mostly because I want to go back through the outline and re-work a few things. 

4) Find at least one writing/book convention or retreat to attend this year. Suggestions are welcome!

5) Continue to pre-plan weekly posts for The Writing Desk Blog. This includes the monthly author/writing industry interviews.

I'm leaving the list at five goals for now, but hopefully I can add a few more as the quarter progresses.  

What goals have you set for yourself in this new year? What is your best method to keep yourself accountable? Please share in the comments below! 

**If you try to comment on this or any post and are unable to, please send me a message on Instagram, Twitter, or to official.cc.writer@gmail.com. The comments issues I was having last year are supposed to be fixed, but I want to be sure!**