Guess who's back?
I'll give you a hint. It's me! Did you enjoy your holidays? I know I certainly did. So many memories to be cherished and grateful for. :)
But that's behind us. (Womp, womp.) It's time to get back to work! I've seen tons of people listing their 2013 goals, but that can get overwhelming. I want to focus on one quarter at a time...
General examples from my obsessive, color-coded notebook:
January
- Write business plan - I haven't done one of these since college, but it's a necessary evil.
- Finish client's book cover
- Finish first draft of Strength's sequel
- Finish (amazing) book I've been reading to quote/endorse
February
- Give "new adult" writers a nudge - It's still a struggle to find great NA publishing opportunities—i.e. pitch contests—so we're going to do something about that. Get ready! ;)
- Send revised draft of Strength's sequel to CPs
- Process feedback as it comes
- Do more cardio/dance between writing sprints
- Send guest posts/interviews out to tour participants
March
- Send release info to party/blitz participants
- Release Strength! *confetti cannon*
- Blog tour(s)
- Avoid turning into a zombie...
Whew! I feel better. Those goals seem pretty manageable. I think I can cover those. :) Speaking of covers—segue, segue, segue—who wants to see A.L. Jackson's latest?
A.L. Jackson first found a love for writing during her days as a young
mother and college student. She filled the journals she carried with
short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties
and joys she found in day-to-day life.
Years later, she shared a short story she’d been working on with her
two closest friends and, with their encouragement, this story became her
first full length novel. A.L. now spends her days writing in Southern
Arizona where she lives with her husband and three beautiful children.
Her favorite pastime is spending time with the ones she loves.
A.L. Jackson's Cover Reveal...
Side Note: A.L. is super talented, and if you haven't already, you'll definitely want to check out her other books: Pulled, Take This Regret, and When We Collide.
About LOST TO YOU...
People come into our lives. Some stay,
and many go. Some build us up, while most tear us down. They become our
friends, our enemies, our lovers, our tormentors.
Christian Davison came into mine, and I
knew I’d never be the same.
To
Elizabeth Ayers, New York City had always been a dream. She’s worked her entire
young life to make it here.
Groomed
to one day take over his father’s law firm, attending Columbia University was
Christian Davison’s only option.
Neither
wanted anything more until they sat across from each other at a café table
after being paired as study partners.
Christian
wants her, but Elizabeth knows better than to give into their intense
attraction. Yet there is little she can do to stay away.
Lost to You, the prequel to
the bestselling romance, Take This Regret.
A New Adult novella, recommended for readers 17+. It’s unnecessary to have read
Take This Regret to enjoy Lost to You.
About A.L. Jackson...
A.L. Jackson first found a love for writing during her days as a young
mother and college student. She filled the journals she carried with
short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties
and joys she found in day-to-day life.Question of the Week...
What is your #1 goal for this quarter? :)
Have a great week, guys! ♥
P.S. I'm a bit late, but thank you to Nancy S. Thompson for the Blog of the Year award! :D
P.S. I'm a bit late, but thank you to Nancy S. Thompson for the Blog of the Year award! :D
63 comments:
Just two more months until your book release - get excited!
It's great to have goals written down, good luck with them all. And A.L. Jackson's book cover looks steamy good, a book that I'm sure I'd enjoy reading! (; And I'm looking forward to your book release too Carrie!
Goodness, that doesn't seem like a mountain load each month? (Note to self, build up stamina like Carrie.) Love those goals, but especially the last one. =) My goal is to finish edits on my WIP. Not too difficult, right?
You're so together! No wonder "Strength" is so awesome. A.L.'s cover is very hot. Best of luck to her!
My goal is to get my freaking tree down. Today. I pushed it till the Magi came home and it's time to get it down or be called a slouch.
Wow, I didn't realize you had a book coming out so soon! I'm so excited! Love the cover. :) And I'm totally stealing your idea to do more cardio/dance between writing sprints. That sounds so productive!
I am tired looking at your goals LOL! However, I know you will succeed, and I am looking forward to being a part of your blog tour!
Huh, how have I never heard of A.L Jackson before? Her books will be going on my TBR list very soon!
Your book release is right around the corner! Squeee!
Your resolutions make me feel like such a slacker, lol. My #1 goal this quarter is to shiny up my Nano book. I love it so much and hope my agent does too. :)
First of all, huge congrats on the Blog of the Year award! So awesome!
And those are some dang fine goals you've got there. I think I'll steal your last one as my #1-- Avoid turning into a zombie. :)
You blow me away with your organization! Breaking your goals down into quarters?! Genius. Look out 2013!
Thanks for sharing in the Lost to You Cover Reveal, Carrie! Hmmm...my #1 goal this quarter...set aside personal time. I'm a workaholic, and I don't want that to be what my kids remember me by.
Excited about STRENGTH book coming out. Soon. Very soon.
Great cover A.L. LOST TO YOU sounds like a great read.
You're so organized... ;)
My goal this quarter is to finish my current WIP! :D
(will I make it???)
Holymoley, what a cover!
Eek! It is two months now, isn't it? I'm excited and nervous!
I wish I had the time to accomplish all that. The one goal I have is to write my sequel. That's it. I'm so boring! You are going to have a very busy first half of the year!!!! And yay for Amy's cover! I'm reading it now. It's yummy! Happy New Year Carrie!
My goodness ~ good luck with all of those goals. I'm breathless just reading! And fabulous cover reveal, huge congrats to AL. What a fab start to your 2013's!!!! Rock on, my friends. X
I HAVE read Take This Regret! Ooo, can't wait to read this :)
Wow, you're organised to say the least. A business plan? I had to write one of those as a freelance journalist at college and don't think I even finished it! But yeah - sensible. I'm sure you'll hit all your goals with style. Congrats to AL!
Is it hot in here, or is it just that cover?
Welcome back, glad you had a nice break. Good luck with your quarterly plan!
Thank you, Elise! You know how much I appreciate your support. *Hugs*
Oh, yes! You'll definitely want to check out A.L.'s book. :D
You're so ambitious but I have no doubt you can do it! I can't wait to read the sequel. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge. Wink. My plan is to finally finish one darn draft of Hold Still. *sigh*
It does seem like a lot, but I'm a multi-tasking masochist. I have to get as much done as humanly possible. xD
That's a great goal! :) Good luck with edits!
Cool cover! And good luck with your 2013 goals.
Great cover . . . I want to read this one. And the m.c. has the same last name as me *almost* Yay for your book coming out soon and LOL to not turning into a zombie. I'll say cheers to that one b/c I feel like that may happen to me as I prepare for my release this month. Mainly I'm just too freakin excited to sleep:-)Good luck with your goals!
Aww, thanks, Elizabeth! :)
I agree. A.L's cover is super hot! Artsy, too.
Hah! I love that goal. Best of luck getting the "freaking" tree down! LOL
I'm excited, too!! :)
Oh, it is. Plus, writing just flows after a cardio/dance session!
Haha! They are pretty exhausting tasks, but it's a labor of love. ;) I'm looking forward to it, too!
Oh my goodness, yes. Not only is A.L. a fancypants bestseller, she's one of my SSP pub sisters. You'll love her books!
Two months! :D Squeeeeeeee!
P.S. Yours is just over three months away, isn't it? Double squeee!
Oo, best of luck with your NaNo book! :) I'm sure your agent is going to love it!
Why thank you, Pegasus! :) Oh my goodness. I hope neither one of us turns into one...
But if we do, that interview is going to be even more interesting! LOL
I had to. Otherwise, I get overwhelmed and freak out. It's not pretty. LOL
Thanks, Jessie! :D
You're very welcome, A.L.! I think you have another bestseller on your hands. ;)
Oo, that's a good one. You have my full support!
And only five months until yours! 2013 is going to rock. :D
Yes! Otherwise, your CP might come down to Texas and shake the words out of you! LOL
That's okay. We, the people, desperately wish to read that sequel. ;) So, get crackin'!
Thank you, Nicky! :) You have another release coming up soon, don't you? It's going to be a great year for SSP!
Me neither! :D
Thanks, Jeff! :) I have two words for you:
HOCKEY. TIME.
Thanks, Nick! :) I figure if I want to pursue this career long-term, I better take it seriously. I can't say business plans are much fun, though. I don't blame you for not wanting to finish that one in college!
Thanks, Lisa! Oh, don't worry. In about a month, you'll start getting texts...
"Are you ready to read??"
"Huh? Huh? Are you?"
"Wallace misses you."
"HELP MEEE!" ;)
Thanks, Melodie! :)
It's a sign! You totally have to read this one. ;)
Uh oh. Let's hope neither of us turns into a zombie! LOL
Thanks, Jamie! Best of luck with your release!
Sounds... WOW. Fabulous cover. A real eye-catcher. I wish great success for you, A.L.
Carrie, your list will be a snap. Haha, like I'd know. I can't seem to get much done these days. After you're finished your list, I have some delightful chores for you. Want to do a month long garage sale in April???
It'll be fun!
Isn't it? The whole thing is very eye-catching. :)
You bet, Joylene! As long as that month-long garage sale involves topics for A-Z blog posts. *grins*
I split my goals up like this as well! However, I had big goals for the whole year that I then broke down into a bunch of itty bitty pieces. It's fun to be checking off things already. Boosts my confidence. :)
High five, Brooke! It really does boost the confidence, doesn't it? :D
Wow. Nice specific goals by the month. Go you. As I've started getting some feedback from my CPs I've realized I need to stretch my January goal into February. lol
Thanks, Donna! :) Oh, I'm sure I'll be the same way. These goals are pretty fluid... lol
Fantastic goals, Carrie. Your color-coded notebook makes me happy. :)
Hi, Carrie,
Happy 2013!
I LOVE how you itemized EACH month. I wish I could do that. I am sort of the "Fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" kind of guy.... LOL.
ALL THE BEST for you goals.
As for me, in my CURRENT situation, I would be thrilled just to get Christmas put away .... Yup, Santa's still visiting and putting up a good fight.... He doesn't want to go yet....
Thank you, Empress King! :) By the way, I love your new photo!
Hey Michael,
Happy 2013 to you, too!
Thank you. :) I say do whatever works. Fly by the seat of your pants, if you need to! LOL
I don't think anyone could blame you for the delay in taking those decorations down. Your place looked gorgeous in those photos. I'd be dragging my feet, too!
That's a great list of goals, Carrie! Wishing you all the luck in the world to meet them. And might I say, that's one saucy cover? :)
that is one sexy cover...meow!! wow, you really have your goals planned out to the month! you must love organization :D
Thank you, David! :) Best of luck with your goals, too!
Meow, indeed!
I do love organization! I'm kind of a freak... ;)
WOW, girl - you are on the ball. And love your hint about who's back! LOL. You're awesome. Great cover reveal too! So many great things going on. My number one goal this year is to have the collab I'm doing with Cassie Mae accepted for publication. :)Might not be released by the end of this year, but I want it in the works!
Thanks, Leigh!
Oh wow. You girls are so ambitious with those collabs! I can't wait. :D
Your final March goal might be the hardest to get done... ;)
Good luck with your goals. I'm impressed by how organised you are.
I agree. ;) Thank you, Lynda! I appreciate that.
Hi Carrie. I've missed reading your blog. I am really excited for the release of your book. It's really getting close. You have the right idea, breaking your goals down into quarters. When I saw your "color coded" tag at the top of this post, it reminded me of something I've been meaning to ask you for a long time. A while back, (quite a while, I'm afraid), you wrote a post about your extremely organized character cards. I don't remember everything about the post, but I fell in love with your cards and I think they were color coded. You may have also posted about some other story writing tools that you used, that included index sized cards. I hope this is making sense-what I am trying to say. Anyway, If my memory is not completely shot, you offered a link to a template that others could use. I saved it on my old pc, for so long, and that computer finally bit the dust. I wasn't able to get everything off my hard drive when I switched to a Mac. I think about your very pretty and perfectly organize story writing template cards, from time to time, and was hoping you could direct me to the link where you shared them.
I really like the idea of your "Question of the week." My first priority this quarter is to finish revisions so that I have a finely polished draft when I attend the San Francisco's Writer's Conference, in February. Running a very close second is my goal to FINALLY come up with a writing schedule and a blogging schedule that works along side my work and family schedules. I need to create a balanced approach to 2013, and it's hard for me, because I am the world's most utterly unorganized person.
Hi, Melissa! I've missed reading your blog, too. It's great to connect with you again!
Oo, I think I know which post you're talking about. Try this post and this download link.
That's awesome that you get to attend a conference! I'm so jealous. ;) I know you'll get those revisions done in time, and you're going to knock the socks off those agents and editors!
As for organizing schedules, it's usually a matter of trial and error. After you shuffle things around a bit, I'm sure you'll find your stride. :) Good luck!
This is amazing !
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