Welcome, fine friends of the interwebs!  April 15th has passed, and for me that means another round of quarterly reports for my day job = DONE.  After a few celebratory brews, I thought I might apply the same idea to my annual writing goals.  With that in mind, here is my:

CY13 Q1 AUTHORLY REPORT

Goal:  Finish the first draft of the submarine novel by the end of January

Status:  Totally done.  Thanks to the good folks in the 1 hour & 1,000 words sprinting group, I kicked this one well ahead of schedule.  It’s currently marinating and I plan to get back to it after the first draft of my next novel (see below).

Goal: Edit stories for volume 1 and get them to editor by end of February

Status: Well…I’d give this one a 50%.  I’ve gone back to many of my earlier published short stories for polishing, but I have to admit that some of them I’m not comfortable with.  Yes, they were published in the past, but I still feel like I’m polishing a turd.  I figure if there’s more red on the page than black, it may be better to retire that particular story.  Others will get a significant rewrite and then I’ll go from there.  I’m just not willing to put out something questionable and then ask people to pay for it.  Not happening…

Goal: Finish sketches for above stories by end of February

Status: See above.  The plan is to have a little sketch/photo/some form of artwork for each story.  I have a few sketched out, but they’re nothing special since I’ve been more concerned with the stories.  I don’t think anyone would fault me for that.  Besides, I’m not an artist, although I once played one on TV…no, not really.

Goal: Review beta feedback and final edit Camp Hollybrook for submission by end of March

Status: Almost there.  I think I would have been done on time, but based on beta feedback I’ve made some significant changes (including adding a new character and moving 30-some pages around while trying to keep continuity…it’s VERY fun).  My goal is actually to have it done by the end of the day, and I think i’m on track to make that happen.  A final read-through this weekend and I’ll have the envious task of writing query letters.  I’m looking forward to getting this one out.

I also had a random goal of getting more work done on the 20 or so short stories that are at various stages of editing.  There are quite a few first drafts that need a lot of work and a couple that were/are on deadline, so I’m kicking them in the pants as well.  One new story has been edited, polished, and sent out into the great beyond, now I have another that I’ll be starting tomorrow.  There’s lots to do, but if you don’t try then you already know how far you’ll get.

Those are the only goals I had for Q1.  Not too bad, I think.  No, I didn’t meet them all, but if you read my thoughts on annual goals back in January you know I don’t really care.  Well, of course I care, but I also know nothing is set in stone, and everything is subject to change.  As an example, here’s a little look into the future:  I’m already changing my Q2 goals.  Why?  Because I’m planning to start work on my next novel by the end of this month.

Of course, this is all provided I can choose between the conflicting stories in my head (because they just won’t leave and I’m running out of space).  I may need a chisel…