Over the last four years, I’ve been writing pretty much every day since I started my first book, a YA dark fantasy (which has had various names, but is now called Sword of Mercy and Wrath). I’ve never really kept track of my writing goals but I’ve known that to get better, and reach my ultimate goal of getting published and turning this into a career, I knew I had to write every day.
This post is the start of my public record: the date that I made myself accountable to my subscribers and followers.
To date (the abridged version), I have:
Shelved SOMAW until I can give it the attention and rewrite it needs,
Finished six drafts of Born in the Purple, my adult epic fantasy,
In the process of these rewrites, I paid for a professional beta reader: Gaby Michaelis, whom I can't recommend enough. Her rates are very reasonable and her feedback was thorough, more like what I expect from an editor,
Queried BITP with two partials1 and no fulls - 60 queries in total over a 4 month period in 2021,
Started several2 other projects in the meantime, including The Thirteenth Dynasty, the prequel to BITP which I’m really excited about, but still drafting - 39k/110k (this has been put on the backburner while I finish BITP),
Workshopped BITP with some great fantasy writers and readers - in progress!
About 80% of the way through rewrites with BITP, and about 40% workshopped.
My goals for publishing BITP have shifted dramatically the more I learn about self-publishing. I was chasing down agents and having my heart broken by their rejections, which I took personally. I know now that BITP wasn’t ready then, and though I think the book would be ready and the best it could be when I finish these rewrites, the market might not be right for it, nor might an agent have the right editorial or marketing vision for the book. And that’s fine. I have a list of about ten agents that I really think could love it, but I’m not wedded to them.
There’s also the fact that I’ll have to hand over my rights to the IP and the direction of the series to a publisher, not to mention the 83/17 profit split (and tiny four figure advances) that is often the case with debut authors. That doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest. If that sort of deal is offered to me, in all honesty, I would probably walk away.
This year’s goals:
Finish BITP’s seventh draft,
Query BITP to a select few agents who I think would have a real editorial vision and passion for the series, and would go to bat for it,
If I’m unsuccessful or if I don’t like what I’m getting from an agent or a publisher, pursue self-publishing,
Finish drafting TTD,
Reach 50 substack subscribers,
Start drafting a novella related to TTD (this is in the planning stages).
Obviously these goals will shift and change, plus I’m having a baby in September, which will throw a spanner in my face. I am over the moon about my child, but I’ll have to manage my expectations and tailor these goals accordingly.
I have various other projects - four books (the sequel to BITP; a dark fantasy set in fantasy Venice about a mysterious plague; and two historical fiction projects that I’m separating from this because I’ll need to write under a pen-name for those, so people don’t get them confused with my fantasy stuff). Plus I’m writing short stories of pretty much any genre: as exercises to hone my craft, and to sell in various magazines.
But this post is the first step to holding myself accountable, and I’m glad to finally make that step.
NCK
Both partials went nowhere but I’ll do a post about my querying path when I get around to it
I have undiagnosed ADHD, stg lol