Gave myself a B-. Thanks, Janus!

Hard to believe that we are only days away from ringing in 2011. Thanks to learning about Janus in adult Sunday school almost two decades ago, the two-headed god for whom January is named, I now can't look ahead to the New Year without reflecting on the past year.

I began this blog in October by introducing a framework for setting and realizing writing goals introduced by Lori A. May. I thought it was fitting to revisit my goals--which should be done four times a year.

GOALS FOR 2010-11:

1. Revise SHAKER mss and resubmit to [certain publisher]
2. Complete three of five WIPs novels
3. Have 4 quality journal credits to add to my clips
4. Make some money from my writing
5. Meet new writers, editors, agents
6. Be a better Literary citizen
7. Improve my visibility as an author
8. Further my craft and push myself as a writer
9. Have a fiction manuscript accepted for publication
10. Cultivate and deepen opera network in preparation for book tour

 Based on a framework, I devised those goals in mid-July. So, six months later, how much have I accomplished?

• I added 6,300+ words to one WIP.  (Goal #2)
• Finished the first draft (except last chapter) to another WIP--adding 20,000 words. (Goal #2)
• Added 40 posts to this blog since October and as many followers. (Goal #7)
•  (Goal #8).  
• Following and seeking out new writers, editors, and agents on Twitter daily, to build my online network (Goal #5)
• I completed and requested new interviews with opera companies, directors, and composers. (Goal #10)
• I did one reading since revisiting my goals in October. (Goal #7)
• Completed TWIt Write-a-thon on October 30 to benefit my local library and participated in NaNoWriMo(Goals #6 and #8)
• Read two e-books on craft and writing to publish (Goal #8)
• Pitched new WIP (nearly complete) to agent who passed on other manuscript. (Goal #9)
• Revised and submitted a short story for publication. (Goal #4)

So what grade have I earned for the fourth quarter of 2010? I give myself:

I didn't revise that all important manuscript that one publishing house offered to revisit. I didn't revise any other short stories to submit to journals. The most significant accomplishment was the work on two WIPs--which is good work. I made no money as a writer--though I did submit a resume to our continuing studies department so that I could be considered for teaching writing classes to adults.

How about you? What grade would you give yourself for your literary/writing/publishing endeavors in 2010?

NaNo update...the 4-1-1 on this year's NaNo project for you non-NaNo's

Even though overall NaNo goals, in terms of total numbers, can be daunting, I'm inspired by the daily word count goals, including today's goal. Since I'd not added anything substantive to this manuscript in two years, I'm feeling great that I added 7K words in the last two days.