2014 Writing Goals

By Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

So, 2014 is two weeks old. Still a baby, but time I stop aimlessly wandering around and put some goals out there so I (and you, please) can hold myself accountable. Some people can work without going public, but I find that if I announce that I’m going to do something, I’m far more likely to do it. Now, other things may come up during the year, and if they do, I’ll adjust. That’s life. It would be foolish to plan otherwise.

That said, here are the things I know I want to accomplish this year.

Write books 5-7 in Hero’s Sword

It takes me about four months, start to finish, to get one of these ready for the publisher. And yes, that takes into consideration all my other writing (if I wasn’t doing that, I could go even faster). At that pace, I should have the next three books in the series completed by the end of December 2014. Note that I say the manuscripts will be done. I make no publication guarantees.

Get Every Other Monday is Murder ready for an editor by September

This is the first full-length novel in the Laurel Highlands Mysteries series featuring PSP Trooper Jim Duncan and public defense attorney Sally Castle. I completed the sh!tty first drafty during NaNoWriMo 2013 and I’ve reserved time with an editor this fall, so this must get done.

Write two more Laurel Highlands short stories

To date, I’ve finished four of these. One was publishing by Mysterical-e in the Fall 2013 issue. Another will appear there shortly. A third was included in the Lucky Charms: 12 Crime Tales anthology from Sisters in Crime Pittsburgh, and a fourth is currently with an editor. I’d like to get two more written because…

Start releasing the Laurel Highlands stories as digital shorts

It’s time these things start making me some money, so I want to start releasing them as digital short stories on a rolling basis. They’ll be available for 99 cents from Amazon (and probably other places). The ultimate goal will be a collection of the previously published stories, probably along with a “never before seen” story. That collection, however, probably won’t appear until 2015 (followed by the novel – but I’m getting ahead of myself).

Attend Writers Police Academy

I’ve been talking about this for a few years. I did a local Citizens Police Academy last spring and really enjoyed it. But I really want to do the full show put on by Lee Lofland. And this is the year it’s going to happen.

Revise (and potentially expand) my Black Orchid project

I did not win the Black Orchid award. Oh well, but I’ve given the manuscript to others who’ve said it’s worth going back to (including a “love it” comment from someone I really admire). So it’s back to the drawing board. Now that I won’t be facing a hard 20,000 word limit, I’ll be free to turn this into a longer novella or even a novel. If it stays a novel, I may wind up self-publishing it. But again, that’s probably something for 2015 (unless I get really inspired).

Continue learning about the craft

This is not so much a goal, as a “thing that must be done.” How? Well, last year it was a combination of online workshops, retreats, and books. This year will probably be the same. The WPA mentioned above will be part of it, and I’ll most likely attend the fall retreat with my local SinC chapter too. And maybe this is the year I finally read Stephen King’s On Writing. Who knows?

So that’s it. Somehow, this list seems shorter than the list I had for 2013. But I have a funny feeling that, as the year progresses, this will be just as much – if not more – challenging than last year.

Personally, I dubbed 2013 as the year writing became a “job” and not a “hobby.” 2014 will be the year I put that into practice. So let’s get cracking, shall we?