Happy New York!
A late Happy New York, everyone!
Well, that's what my mother-in-law said while attending a New Year's party in the States a long time ago. Her English wasn't very good and she spent the whole night wishing people a Happy New York. :) Now it's a popular family joke.
2009 came and went faster than I expected, but I did get a lot accomplished, writing-wise. I finished the first draft of my book (something I thought would never happen), I finished revising the first two sections and have sent them to fresh beta readers, and I've started researching and plotting out my next series.
Which leads me to 2010 goals:
Finish Revisions to Echoes of Truth
I'm slogging my way through parts 3 and 4 now (making great use of comments gleaned from my critique group, The Silver Griffins, of course ). I have Part One out to a new set of Beta readers with Part Two ready when they are. Once I incorporate any new feedback, this puppy will be ready for submission. Which leads me to...
Find an Agent
The whole query process scares me more than anything. Up until now, my success or not as a writer has been up to my own level of skill and dedication. Throwing this out into the world puts my career in someone else's hands, so to speak.
Finish Researching The Condottiere
I've been immersing myself in Renaissance history over the past four months, so I think I'm about ready to plot out my hero's life in broad strokes. There's still the history of some of the smaller city states in Northern Italy that I want to research first.
Complete Outline of first Condottiere novel
Once I do the above, I can pick a time/age/event and start plotting out the first book in this series of standalones. Suprisingly, I know what events I want to cover in the third or fourth book , but not the first.
Start Writing first Condottiere novel
Notice I didn't say I'd finish the first draft. I'm starting to realize I stink at estimating my own levels of writing output... However, seeing that these stories will be about half the length of Echoes and much simpler in terms of story and scope, I could finish faster than I think.
