My year is up! Goal report.

A year ago, I set a goal: to give my all toward my writing career seeing that I got a windfall of hours due to my youngest finally heading to school full time.

I'd said if things don't go as I want, I'd consider heading to grad school (yes, I'd be completely out of my element... college was a loooong time ago.)

I started by entering the esteemed PitchWars with my YA, Mega Girl, again, this time a heavily revised version. It didn't makes it, but the encouraging letters made me think it's so darned close. So, I entered another, got lucky and got in. And wow, a few agents were intrigued. And the querying process began.

Then, I plotted a new YA, an upper YA... one I always wanted to write. Then for NaNoWriMo, I finished it in 18 days. Its temp title is Lotus Island. I get to tackle the first draft soon.

Then I returned to the previous year's NaNo... an NA, a category I had never written before, but after reading the NAs from many of my peers, I wanted to try. It was the most fun I'd ever had writing a manuscript. And I revised... and I had beta readers—fantastic beta readers... and I revised more. And I set a goal: to pitch it at my local RWA conference.

Meanwhile, Mega Girl's rejections started coming in in clumps... A few had interesting feedback, like it read young, it started in the wrong place, or it's a tough market (apparently a knack I have is picking the hardest market). Things like that. Some had the dreaded "dear author" which is one of the worst things to read when you're feeling puny.

I went to my first writer's retreat with some amazing writers who helped me in more ways than I imagined. (Can't wait until next year!)

Got a few more rejections and decided to take a Mega break.

And my NA got some love from a mentor in a new contest. That's right, what is now known as Nothing Ever Goes As Planned was liked, loved, by someone who wanted to take it under their wings! And the last near three months have been working toward that goal.

And now, I'm here a year later with three books, two completed and one just beginning. And funny enough, I'm entering Pitch Wars again too. Different story this time.

I've come full circle doing the exact same thing.

Nope, there's no publisher. No agent. No plans to self-publish yet.

Same spot, but I'm not in the same position. So far away...

So, I made that goal and then some. I've no plans to go to grad school anymore. I think I'm getting plenty of lessons from my tribe and betas and CPs without paying an arm and a leg.

I guess the point of the story is: Learn every day from yourself, others and you're richer for it.

Now to set up my next year's goals.