Writing Objectives, 2010

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Okay, out with the old, in with the new, sort of. I like the structure of last year’s goals, so I’m going to start from there and update them.

Ground Rules:

Keep my priorities in order. The requirements of my spiritual life, family life, and day job have to come first.
Submit quality work. Clean, tight, and worth reading. I know how it should look.
Have fun. If the writing becomes a grind rather than a creative outlet, throttle back.

Objectives:

Sustain. Slightly increase my short-story submissions. With two novels in the works, I need to make this figure more realistic. Goal: 30 submissions to paying markets (includes resubs). This is a little more than an average of two a month, which should be workable while pushing me to keep writing short stories.
Reach. Submit to more pro-level publications. Goal: 10 or more submissions. I think this is still about right, I just need to hold myself to it.
Broaden. Write some non-genre material. Goal: Write and submit 5 or more non-genre short stories. Again, the goal is fine, but I need to make it a priority and be disciplined about pursuing it. I’ll add to this reading at least two literary ‘zines per month.
Network. Attend a writer’s conference this year and make some new contacts. Goals: 2 conferences, at least 10 new writing contacts outside the local area and 5 in the local area. Had no trouble with this last year, so I’m raising the bar.
Stretch. Try something that exceeds my expectations. Goals: Continue marketing The Muse and help my publisher get past break-even on costs. Finish both novels under construction and begin shopping them around. Finish NaNoWriMo this year. Surprised myself last year, so I’ll continue to aim high this year.
Study. Improve my writing skills. Goal: Learn 5 new things about the craft of writing this year, and apply them. To this, I’ll add take a writing course of some kind this year.
Read. Maintain a habit of reading consistently. Goal: 1 book a month, with variety. This pace is about right for my lifestyle.