Normally, my goals and projects post goes out on the first of the year, but hey, happy Leap Year! You get it on the 29 of February this time around. There has been a lot going on, and better late than not at all.
So. Last year I didn’t publish a thing. This year, who knows? One thing is sure, I’ll be working.
Writing wise, I have already received my first rejection, and I have two more short stories out that I’m waiting for responses on. If I get a yes to the big one, it comes with an audio book. I have my fingers crossed, but no clue at all if the weird little piece I sent in is what the publishers are looking for.
Either way, accepted or not, I’m not focusing on short stories this year. I have several shorter pieces I’ll be working on, but my main writing focus will be on a novel or two. In 2022 my collection of short stories, Inflicted, was published and one of the longer pieces in there, “Any Other Day,” meant a lot to me. I’ve been working (incredibly slowly) on writing a duology expanding on that story.
Book one, titled Make the Grade, will be launching with D. Ynes Freeman and my new publishing house Halloween of 2025. Meaning I need to get the damn thing finished. In other words, I’ll be focusing on writing this book, and one other major project.
I hinted at a publishing deal with a large traditional press, and yeah, that is still happening. I have to submit two short pieces for this traditional publishing project by the end of the year. It is a lot of time to write less than 5k words, but as the project manager says, those due dates really sneak up on you.
Given there is a new publishing business I’m working on with Ynes, a lot of my goals and projects are also centered around that. We are aiming at three publications this year. Two novels, and a little something, something for the end of the year that we haven’t one hundred percent decided on yet.
There will also be one big, exciting, stressful, what-the-hell-are-we-doing-this-in-our-first-year-for project we’ll be starting end of this year, and likely running into the early months of 2025. Keep an eye out for that. If everything goes as planned, this is going to be a doozy.
I. Am. So. Freaking. Excited.
And that concludes my goals of this year. Short, sweet, and to the point, am I right? But sometimes that is for the best. Stay safe out there, everyone! Catch you all later!