2014 Goals – September Update

by Sarah | Sep 3, 2014 | Books, General, Goals, Writing

Back with the latest update on my 2014 forecast. August was a bit of a kick ass month for me. I wrote over 100k words during the month, and finished all of the books I had scheduled to go to the editor. That means I have begun my list for 2015 already, and started on the books for it as well. Which means, of course, plenty of changes for this weeks list.

And now, onto the updates.

First, the overall goals. Not specific books, but all around goals..

1. I’ve challenged myself to write 600,000 words in 2014. ( 464,955 WC as of 9/2/14 10:47PM)
2. I will build my audience and work harder at promotion. A continuing work in progress.
3. I will find focus (see below), and figure out how to USE it. I did really well on this in August. Hoping to be able to continue in September, but it’s a busy month, so we’ll see how it goes.
4. Plan 2015 Holidays in Lake Point series books. Done – and submitted to SCP as a proposal. Still waiting on work back.
5. Plan 2015 book schedule. I’ve written down the know ideas I have, and have started on the first book for the year. Once I get an answer on my Lake Point books I’ll be able to plan dates better (having deadlines really helps my focus).

And for my list of projects. This I’m not removing the completed items, because I like seeing how many are done, however I did remove a couple I had to backburner for pressing deadlines. Items in RED are complete. Items in ORANGE are in progress (or progress notes). Items in BLUE are new.

1. Runaway Train (Dominion Falls 5) – 113k
2. Stalled Independence (Lake Point #3) – 35k
3. Katherine’s Story (Dominion Falls Prequel) – 48k – Named finally. Independent Brake
4. Into a Mirror Darkly (Morgana Chronicles 1) – 100k (~10k done)
5. Witch Way (Lake Point #4) – 30k
6. A Thorough Thanksgiving (Lake Point #5) – 23k
7. Heartstrings & Hockey Pucks (Lake Point #7) – 30k (10,151 done)
8. Luck of the Cowgirl (Lake Point #8) – 30k
9. Natural Selection – 40k
10. The Tribe (The Tribe #1) – 85k
11. The Wolf (The Tribe #2) – 85k
12. Switchback (Dominion Falls 6) – 100k
13. The Chief (The Tribe #3) – 85k
14. The Raven (The Tribe #4) – 85k
15. The Child (The Tribe #5) – 85k
16. Escaping Humanity (Co-authoring w/ Mary Terrani) – 100k (22k done)

So thrilled  with the progress I made, and the plans I’ve made for the 2015 year. So many words to be written. I think I can make my 600k goal for this year, and maybe more!  I’ve got some crazy-busy months coming up to round out the year, but I still hope to get plenty of words in.

So here’s to heading into the final quarter of the year and on the path to ending the year with a bang!

2014 Goals – July Update

by Sarah | Jul 8, 2014 | Books, General, Goals, Writing

I’m trying to be good and keep up on my 2014 forecast. June was a terrible month for me all around. For some reason when school let out, the world blew up.  Still, I managed to accomplish a couple of goals and get a pretty good word count.

That being said, one of my goals last month was to revamp my goals since I’ve managed to finish quite a few in the first six months of the year.

So first, the overall goals. Not specific books, but all around goals..

1. I’ve challenged myself to write 600,000 words in 2014. ( 323,517 WC as of 7/7/14 11:29PM)
2. I will build my audience and work harder at promotion. I am not doing enough with this. Need to get out more.
3. I will find focus (see below), and figure out how to USE it. I am working on this. Some days I do great, others not so much. Call me a work in progress.
4. Plan 2015 Holidays in Lake Point series books. I have ideas jotted down, but nothing set in stone. I’ll also need to write the first 2015 book before I can submit anything.
5. Plan 2015 book schedule. What I didn’t finish this year, plus others. Again, I have some ideas, but nothing solid. Some half-started ideas lingering in waiting for me to have time to write them.

And for my list of projects. This I’m not removing the completed items, because I like seeing how many are done, however I did remove a couple I had to backburner for pressing deadlines. Items in RED are complete. Items in ORANGE are in progress (or progress notes). Items in BLUE are new. Some of the new items are in blue with the progress I’ve made in orange.

1. Runaway Train (Dominion Falls 5) – 113k
2. Stalled Independence (Lake Point #3) – 35k
3. Katherine’s Story (Dominion Falls Prequel) – 48k – Named finally. Independent Brake
4. Into a Mirror Darkly (Morgana Chronicles 1) – 100k (~10k done)
5. Witch Way (Lake Point #4) – 30k (10k done)
6. A Thorough Thanksgiving (Lake Point #5) – 30k
7. The Tribe (The Tribe #1) – 85k
8. The Wolf (The Tribe #2) – 85k
9. The Dead Past (Dominion Falls 6-temporary name) – 100k
10. The Chief (The Tribe #3) – 85k
11. The Raven (The Tribe #4) – 85k
12. The Child (The Tribe #5) – 85k
13. Escaping Humanity (Co-authoring w/ Mary Terrani) – 100k (22k done)

Right now my main focus is in my three series. Lake Point, Dominion Falls, and The Tribe. For Lake Point I have two more books to write and one to edit for release this year. Dominion Falls still has another to edit. Books 1 & 2 of The Tribe series are ready to be sent to my editor when they’re due, The Chief requires rewriting and The Raven needs to be written (although The Raven is not yet on our editing schedule).  I’d love to get another Dominion Falls book or two out next year, but It’s at the bottom of the “do it now” list.

I’ve still got Escaping Humanity near the top, which I’m coauthoring. I love the book, but contracted deadlines are looming. Hoping to get some more written soon as Witch Way is done so I can hand it back to Mary for her next scenes.

Beyond that I’ve been dabbling in a few things for Tuesday Tales and here and there. I have too many deadlines looming to think past the immediate future.

Still, 2014 has been good for meeting goals so far. I hope the second half of the year is as successful.