There comes a time when one must look in the mirror and face accountability.

We’re a third of the way through the year, my move turned into a two month ordeal, and I’ve gotten distracted from my writing by hunting page views on WAY too many social mediums.

And?

To be honest? I’m starting to lose faith that I’ll find my agent with this story.


I’m even rolling new story ideas around in the back of my head.

Now don’t think for a moment I don’t love this story, I’m not sick of this manuscript–I keep getting ideas on how to improve it more. But, I will confess to being frustrated every time I realize it really does need more revising or editing–that’s the struggle with writing a novel, it’s never done. Even after it’s printed, you can still find authors who want to fix things.

I think it’s called “George-Lucasing” their novel…

But, maybe the market for YA Fantasy is just too crowded right now, too hungry for high concept books that flip-the-script on everything. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong place for my agent, or they’re not in the mood for the flavor of my manuscript this month.

And none of those are things I can control. So, when external things get in my way, it’s time to look internally.

How am I doing on my goals for the year?
Query 3 agents every other week, unless revising
Well, it’s a good thing I tossed that caveat in there. Too bad I’m not actively revising…

Read 2 books a month, and try to rate/review them
I slipped at least one book in last month, so I think I’m comfortably treading water here, at least.

Blog every week. Decide if I’m going to keep vlogging
Unmitigated success!

And I even added the Query Corner feature. Which isn’t as popular as my regular posts, but that’s okay. It’s a pretty niche topic.

I keep thinking if I’m going to continue with the vlogging, I really should start pushing it a little harder, because I don’t have many followers. [Feel free to subscribe!]

And you see how this social media related goal is the first one that I feel confident in…

Move forward with my picture book
Hahaha! Nope. Not a thing. I’ve lost faith in this one too, I keep delaying researching word count and query tips for picture books.

I think it’s sweet and fine. And doesn’t stand out.

Try to use social media better
Here’s one I’ve been letting consume far too much of my days, weeks, and months. I need to start scheduling stuff and stepping away.
 

And I’ve started! But, I also joined 2 support groups for bloggers who keep trying to get me to promote my stuff more and network. Which… why blog if I don’t grow my audience?

And maybe Pinterest really is the key to everything…but it might be a niche for lifestyle blogs and not really for writing blogs? No one knows.

Rewrite one of my NaNoWriMo shelved projects
Not yet. But there’s still time.

Write something new for NaNoWriMo
There’s still time left for this!

Clearly, I need to prioritize better and make sure that writing goals aren’t being sidelined by the supporting goals. I want the writing to be my focus, but too often, the social media stuff, with its short-term deadlines and insta-feedback is taking over.

But, luckily for me, these aren’t the only things I’ve been doing.

What am I doing that isn’t part of my goals?
Well, it’s actually thanks to this whole “use social media better” objective. I’ve been writing. Flash fiction, little stories, and vignettes. A little on Reddit, a little just for myself. And even a smidgen on Tumblr.

Things that don’t require a lot of planning and that I’m probably not going to go anywhere with.

But I’m still going to give myself credit for working on telling stories that aren’t 80,000 words long and 2+ months of effort to even get the concept down on paper.

Now, I just need to buckle down and finish this round of revisions so I can move on.

We’re a third of the way through the year. How are your goals coming along?

Do you like what goals you’ve made progress with? Or do you need to re-prioritize, too?