A Look Back, A Step Forward

A Look Back on 2017

Despite the political and social climate, 2017 was a great year for me both personally and professionally. My most significant accomplishment was born October 28 and my other turned 3 in December! On the professional front, achievements include:

read 465 picture books
participated in 31 webinars
submitted 24 queries
drafted 15 manuscripts
wrote 12 blog posts
entered 5 writing contests
read 3 craft books
awarded 1 amazing mentorship

Here are the steps I took in 2017 that most supported my writing career?

1. Applied for and was awarded a writing mentorship with Penny Parker Klostermann, which led to a lot of revision work in 2017. Read more here.
2. Wrote (almost) everyday. I felt the most creative and productive when I wrote regularly. I used various prompts, including Judy Reeves’s A Writer’s Book of Days, to dig deeper into my characters and write from their perspectives. This helped me immensely with manuscript revisions.
3. Joined 12X12 for my second consecutive year (3rd year total) and took advantage of the monthly webinars, which provided a source of inspiration and improved my craft. It also kept me accountable and pushed me to produce at least 1 draft each month.
4. Started a critique group that truly challenges me!
5. Every submission counts. While the majority of my submissions resulted in form rejections and non-responses, I received a “revise and resubmit” that pushed one of my manuscripts to a whole new level.

Steps Forward for 2018

This year  I have created a vision board to support my writing goals, wishes, and intentions. I have begun bullet journaling to stay organized and focused. And while my word of 2017 was “creativity,” I have set 2018’s word as “quality.” Here are specific career goals for 2018.  

• Write something *most* days. (Let’s be realistic – I have an infant!)
• Participate in 12X12 and write at least 12 drafts with a minimum of 6 high-quality drafts that excite me and have potential. Also, engage in the 12X12 forum by posting at least 3 manuscripts, providing critiques, and reviewing ‘ninja’ critiques.  
• Publish 1-2 blog post each month or approximately 18 this year.
• Submit approximately 20 queries this year.
• Continue with my monthly critique group.  
• Read 250+ picture books and early reader chapter books AND write an Amazon review each Tuesday #ReviewsDay (or 4 each month).
• Participate in at least 1 conference and various local events:  SCBWI LA Conference and/or ABLA Big Sur Workshop
• Read 3 craft books from the following:
  • Linda Ashman’s The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books
  • Laura Purdie Salas and Lisa Bullard’s Picture Books: The Write Way & Rhyming Picture Books: The Write Way
  • Christina Katz’s Writer Mama
  • Cheryl Klein’s Magic Words
  • Mary Oliver’s Rules for the Dance
  • Lisa Cron’s Wired for Story​

Let’s go 2018! ​​