Chrissy's 2011 Goals - Rising High

I'm glad and a tiny bit jealous.

Phew. Another busy day for me, but the good news is I'll be relaxing tomorrow and we've got a friend coming into town so I might have some 'vacation days' coming up. It's always nice to relax. A little.

1. Guardian's Vengeance: Revise 3 chapters per day. Goal - finish by September ? Reviewed 1 chapter.

2. Short story per week: Last week wrote two stories: "Answers on the Run" (and submitted to Glimmer Train magazine) and wrote novella, "Those with Souls." This week, wrote: "To Restart Game, Press 'Family = Holidays" and "The Shells Speak Truth."

3. Publishing: Published one story: "The Unwanted Apprentice." To Do: Publish two stories. Published 5-story collection: "Batter Up, Pucker Up" - A Little League Collection.

4. Publishing set up: Downloaded Calibre. Research OmniLit as a distributor.

5. Websites: Need to work on list and author photo. Updated all 3 sites.

6. Paperwork: Updated spreadsheets.

7. Home Run Novel: Finished first review edits. On to second review.

8. Game Over Novel: Wrote 7 chapters.

9. Book Proposal: Write for second Guardian story.

10. Book Proposal: Write for second Home Run story.

11. Register copyright for 2 collections.

12. Write next Grey story & submit to F&SF.

Relaxing? Now that sounds good. So, it's September 1st, you think you really can finish revisions on GV by then? That would be awesome. Those websites and the paperwork sure keep you busy, huh?

Keep up the great work.

BTW, I just started I Don't Believe in Elves. This is YA, yes? Want to make sure I post my review on the right blog. LOL!

Nope, didn't hit my Sept 1st deadline but I've decided to power through that novel and get it done. I'll basically hold off on writing Game Over until it's done (about the only way I can make myself do it). This is really my least favorite part, which is why I drag my heels so much. The last three days were nice and relaxing. Had some fun wine tasting and hanging out with a friend from CA. Today I'm gonna get some more GV done and then tomorrow I have two stories to publish.

Websites and paperwork aren't too bad - mostly just something I've got to do every week (since I'm always finishing two stories and publishing two). In total, maybe 2 hours of work? So it's not too bad.

And yes, I Don't Believe in Elves is a YA. Thanks a bunch!

I had a fabulous couple vacation days. Some just relaxing, some getting more work done, and yesterday took a day trip to Mount Rainier and did a 7 mile hike. Now, of course, I've got some catching up to do but I'm really looking forward to getting back into it!

The next couple of days I'll be powering through GV and handing it to my husband on Saturday. Lots of work and still need to write those short stories...looks like I'll be putting in a long few days! =)

1. Guardian's Vengeance: Revised 6 chapters. To go: 35. Complete by Sept. 10.

2. Short story per week: Write to stories this week.

3. Publishing: Published one story: "Those with Souls" short novel and "Check Out a Book, Check Out a Boy." To Do: Publish two stories.

4. Publishing set up: Research OmniLit as a distributor.

5. Websites: Need to work on list and author photo. Updated all 3 sites.

6. Paperwork: Updated spreadsheets.

7. Files: Backed up.

8. Home Run Novel: Waiting for copyediting review.

9. Game Over Novel: First draft deadline - Sept 25

10. Book Proposal: Write for second Guardian story.

11. Book Proposal: Write for second Home Run story.

12. Register copyright for 2 collections, 1 short novel.

13. Write next Grey story & submit to F&SF.

Last week went well. Powered through my monster of a novel (and yes, it was a monster) and managed to hit my weekly goals. Wasn't easy, but I feel great about working so hard. Today's a little slower (had to put one of my ferrets to sleep and that's never a fun experience). I plan on writing hard tomorrow though and getting up the word count in Game Over.

1. Guardian's Vengeance: FINISHED! Waiting for 1st reader.

2. Short story per week: Wrote "Becoming More" and "Love is for the Dogs." Write two more stories.

3. Publishing: Published two stories: "The Shells Speak Truth" and "At Least There's Still Christmas." To Do: Publish two stories.

4. Publishing set up: Research OmniLit as a distributor.

5. Websites: Need to work on list and author photo. Updated all 3 sites.

6. Paperwork: Updated spreadsheets.

7. Files: Backed up.

8. Home Run Novel: Waiting for copyediting review.

9. Game Over Novel: First draft deadline - Sept 25

10. Book Proposal: Write for second Guardian story.

11. Book Proposal: Write for second Home Run story.

12. Register copyright for 2 collections, 1 short novel.

13. Write next Grey story & submit to F&SF.

Wow! I'm away for a week and look and all you do: 7 mile hikes, revising novels, publishing stories. Gee, I'm a lazy jerk. Well, not really, but you'll have to check my updates for that.

I ended up reading your first elf story, but since I wanted to know more I decided to pick up the five-pack. I haven't had a chance to read them all yet, but I will and I'll send you the link to my review.

Let me know what you find out about OmniLit. I like to keep up on those things even if I won't need them right away.

Congrats on finishing GV. I hope you get some great feedback from your reader.

Keep up the fabulous work. I am insanely jealous of that writing.

Cool! Thanks for giving my stories a try and I hope you enjoy them. I plan on eventually writing novels with the elf story (when she's older), but I'm using these stories to 'build' the world and figure out what's going on (you know all those years I spent doing that with GV? Same thing except I can make money this way).

I did have a crazy week. Taking off two days kinda puts the crunch on, but everything I needed to get done, got done. And like I told you, you're not allowed to feel like a lazy jerk because all I'm doing is writing...and exercising...and taking care of pets and husband. You're the one with all those extras activities and little ones to deal with. Ferrets are way easier than taking care of kids (they sleep like 23 hours a day).

Yes, I know OmniLit is on my list. I really need to check on over there, especially since I downloaded Calibre (which allows you to give them a format OmniLit can distribute).

I have a huge relief that GV is done. It's ridiculously long, but I figure my husband will have a better idea than me on what to cut. I'm too close to the story. But it's written!

Okay. Back to work for me.

Last week? Yeah, I ended up pushing myself pretty gosh darn good. Had three solid days of working on my novel and instead of writing two short stories, I thought heck, why not get the contest story done too? So, I did. Had a little time off on Saturday and then worked all through Sunday.

1. Guardian's Vengeance: Waiting for 1st reader.

2. Short story per week: Wrote three short stories: "The Price of Memories," "A Two-Sided Soul," and "Share a Book, Share a Kiss." Write two more stories.

3. Publishing: Published two stories: "Love is for the Dogs" and "Becoming More." To Do: Publish two stories.

4. Publishing set up: Research OmniLit as a distributor.

5. Websites: Need to work on list and author photo. Updated all 3 sites.

6. Paperwork: Updated spreadsheets.

7. Files: Backed up.

8. Home Run Novel: Waiting for copyediting review.

9. Game Over Novel: First draft deadline - Sept 25. Worked on - a lot. Word count total: 37,483.

10. Book Proposal: Write for second Guardian story.

11. Book Proposal: Write for second Home Run story.

12. Register copyright for 2 collections, 1 short novel.

13. Write next Grey story & submit to F&SF. Wrote story.

14. Write story for next Writers of the Future Contest entry. Wrote story.

Last week was another really productive week, even managed to finish two stories while I was out waiting for the car to get worked on. It's been interesting trying to figure out what a proper 'work' load is for me. I can go a week of working like crazy (around 40 hours) and then still getting all the house stuff done and all my exercising. I find when I do that then the next week is more relaxed. I do need a day or two of unwinding, but then can fill another couple days with lots of writing. It's easy looking at it in 'hour' chunks of time and then a short break.

I didn't get the novel finish like I wanted, but I thought that was being a big optimistic anyway. Still, it's going strong and I might have it to my reader by Oct. 3rd (I say might because there's quite a few more scenes/plot points I haven't added yet and I'm reaching the word count goal I'd set for myself). We'll see what happens!

1. Guardian's Vengeance: Waiting for 1st reader.

2. Short story per week: Wrote two short stories: "More than a Little Accident" and "Fireworks all Season Long." Write two more stories - already wrote one for this week, "The Dead's Day."

3. Publishing: Published one story, "Share a Book, Share a Kiss." Published one collection: "Five Choices of Friendship and Magic." To Do: Publish two stories. Also, need to publish more short story collections.

4. Publishing set up: Research OmniLit as a distributor.

5. Websites: Need to work on list and author photo. Updated all 3 sites.

6. Paperwork: Updated spreadsheets.

7. Files: Backed up.

8. Home Run Novel: Waiting for copyediting review.

9. Game Over Novel: Deadline - Oct. 3. Worked on - a lot. Word count total: 53,726

10. Book Proposal: Write for second Guardian story.

11. Book Proposal: Write for second Home Run story.

12. Register copyright for 3 collections, 1 short novel.

13. Write story for F&SF.

14. Write story for next Writers of the Future Contest entry. - Changed to "The Dead's Day." Deadline Sept. 30.

You're making tremendous progress. It's great to see you getting your name out there. I can't believe how far you have come on your novel. October 3rd sounds doable to me.

Keep up the great work. I wish I had your stamina.

Thanks for the encouragement. I have to say, seeing my sales going up every month goes a long way for getting me to sit down, write, and publish - it's a lot of incentive for me to keep working at this, to keep getting better. And, it's pretty humbling to see that people are actually reading what I'm writing, and enjoying it enough to keep coming back. Very humbling.

This week's been a little off for me. My mom was in town which threw off my schedule a bit. I'm also playing around with which novel project I want to work on next. Instead of tackling the next Guardian's novel, I'm going to pound out a novella or two for Grey's backstory (which started from two short stories and really needs to be a much longer one). So, I need to do that first before the GA novel. Also, I'm going to try my first young adult novella and see if I can go the distance with the voices and story. I also have quite a few holidays stories to write. I'll definitely get the Christmas ones done; not sure about the Halloween ones. Maybe at least one or two others. However, I will write one more novel (and finished) by the end of the year. At least. That's my goal - a total of 4 finished novels.

1. Guardian's Vengeance: Just got revision notes from reader. To do: Revise!!

2. Short story per week: Wrote two short stories: "The Dead's Day" and "Third Witch, Third Wheel." Write two more stories.

3. Publishing: Published one story, "Fireworks Wait for No One." Published one collection: "When Dreams and Choices Collide." To Do: Publish two stories. Also, need to publish more short story collections.

4. Publishing set up: Research OmniLit as a distributor.

5. Websites: Need to work on list and author photo. Update all 3 sites.

6. Paperwork: Updated spreadsheets.

7. Files: Backed up.

8. Home Run Novel: Waiting for copyediting review.

9. Game Over Novel: Written!! Sent to first reader.

10. Book Proposal: Write for second Guardian story.

11. Book Proposal: Write for second Home Run story.

12. Register copyright for 3 collections, 1 short novel.

13. Write story for F&SF.

14. Write story for next Writers of the Future Contest entry. - Changed to "The Dead's Day." Deadline Sept. 30. - Submitted

15. Write Grey novella

16. Write young adult novella

17. Write story for Glimmer Train contest - Deadline Oct. 31

That to-do list is getting longer, but you're still getting so much done. I'm insanely jealous. How nice that your mom came to visit. Did you have a nice time?

I'm in the mood for some Christmas stories so bring them on!

Hope you have a productive week.

Cheryl

Thanks, Cheryl, I did have a great visit with my mom. It'd been over a year since I saw her, so we had a nice few days together. My to-do list is rather long, but mostly they're projects I'd like to get to at some point (and my list helps me keep track of everything). I'm a little behind this week since I had to finish up one of the stories from last week that came in longer than expected - and was harder to write all the way around. No problem though. I'll keep the stories short and then jump start on the two short novels for next week and see what happens.

1. Guardian's Vengeance: Just got revision notes from reader. To do: Revise!!

2. Short story per week: Wrote one short story and one short novel: "The Best Prom Ever" and "A Ghost of an Accident." Write two more stories.

3. Publishing: Published two stories: "More than a Little Accident" and "Third Witch, Third Wheel." To Do: Publish two stories. Also, need to publish more short story collections.

4. Publishing set up: Research OmniLit as a distributor.

5. Websites: Need to work on list and author photo. Updated all 3 sites.

6. Paperwork: Updated spreadsheets.

7. Files: Backed up.

8. Home Run Novel: Waiting for copyediting review.

9. Game Over Novel: Waiting for first reader.

10. Book Proposal: Write for second Guardian story.

11. Book Proposal: Write for second Home Run story.

12. Register copyright for 3 collections, 1 short novel.

13. Write story for F&SF.

14. Write story for next Writers of the Future Contest entry. - Deadline Dec. 31

15. Write Grey novella

16. Write young adult novella

17. Write story for Glimmer Train contest - Deadline Oct. 31

I'm doing much better this week; finally caught up from taking those few days off and then tackling a rather difficult short novel. So, I'm in good shape. Ready to start the two short stories - got an idea for one already and we'll see where the next teen romance wants to take me. Or maybe it's something else entirely. Also, I ended up starting a totally new book proposal, for a totally new romance pen name (more for a bit older crowd than my teens and twenty-somethings). I'm pretty excited about this story so I'm going with it. Probably won't start until I get the revisions done for GV.

Ah, the busy life of a writer. Never enough time to write all the stories I want to write (never thought I'd say that after I quit the day job!). But, I'm happy and I'm blessed and I'm plugging along.

1. Guardian's Vengeance: Just got revision notes from reader. To do: Revise!!

2. Short story per week: Wrote two stories: "My Secret Santa" and "The Ghost's Forgotten Death." Write two more stories.

3. Publishing: Published two stories: "Best Prom Ever" and "A Ghost of an Accident." To Do: Publish two stories. Also, need to publish more short story collections.

4. Publishing set up: Research OmniLit as a distributor.

5. Websites: Need to work on list and author photo. Updated all 3 sites.

6. Paperwork: Updated spreadsheets.

7. Files: Backed up.

8. Home Run Novel: Waiting for copyediting review.

9. Game Over Novel: Waiting for first reader.

10. Book Proposal: Write for second Guardian story.

11. Book Proposal: Write for second Home Run story.

12. Register copyright for 3 collections, 1 short novel.

13. Write story for F&SF - Will submit "The Ghost's Forgotten Death" after first reader review.

14. Write story for next Writers of the Future Contest entry. - Deadline Dec. 31

15. Write Grey novella

16. Write young adult novella

17. Write story for Glimmer Train contest - Deadline Oct. 31

18. Started new book proposal, "Finding Home." - Finish

You're making such great progress. I'm impressed. Fabulous news about the new romance under a new name. That's always exciting. Oh, I see you have a contest on your to-do list. Good luck with that.

You know, I haven't worked outside my home in 8 years and I still say I don't know how I did all I did while I was working. It's crazy.

Keep up the great work.

Oh, my. I can't believe I'm halfway through with another week. Life's been good and busy like always. Yes, I'm excited about the new pen name, though I keep going back and forth on it. I'm sure I'll keep moving forward, though it is sad that I have to build up yet another name with more and more work. It never ends. Thanks for the good cheers like always.

And I do have some terrific news....my first novel is up!!!! I just published "Home Run" tonight, under the Christen Anne Kelley name. Very exciting, very fun. I've got "Game Over" to do next, then "Guardian's Vengeance." Once those are both finished I'll start on the next novel.

1. Guardian's Vengeance: To do: Revise!!

2. Short story per week: Wrote two stories: "Santa's Unfinished Business" and "When You Need a Friend." Also finished one for this week, "The No Boyfriend-Christmas Experience." Write one more story.

3. Publishing: Published two stories: "My Secret Santa" and "Deception and Magic: Two Fantasy Short Novels." To Do: Publish two stories. Also, need to publish more short story collections. Started breaking up the stories into collection 'types.'

4. Publishing set up: Research OmniLit as a distributor.

5. Websites: Need to work on list and author photo. Updated all 3 sites.

6. Paperwork: Updated spreadsheets.

7. Files: Backed up.

8. Home Run Novel: Published!!!

9. Game Over Novel: Revise.

10. Book Proposal: Write for second Guardian story.

11. Book Proposal: Write for second Home Run story.

12. Register copyright for 3 collections, 2 short novel.

13. Write story for F&SF - Will submit "The Ghost's Forgotten Death" after first reader review.

14. Write story for next Writers of the Future Contest entry. - Deadline Dec. 31

15. Write Grey novella

16. Write young adult novel

17. Write story for Glimmer Train contest - Deadline Oct. 31

18. Finding Home: Write.

Let's just say I had an incredibly busy week. Very, very busy. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

I finished the edits and published both of my romance novels. Got my short stories done, submitted one to a contest, published one story and one collection. I've also got the brain thinking about my next project...and it'll be a tough one. I want to write my next novel, this one a young adult novel. I'd also like to have it finished by our Thanksgiving vacation - which means finished by Nov. 18. On top of my usual stories and publishing, along with getting some more collections up.

Yep. This will be a challenge, but if I want to have this finished and up by Christmas, it's gonna mean working for it. However, you should be pleased to know that while I'm on vacation I've decided I don't need to hit my usual weekly goals (write two stories, publish two stories). That will help take some stress off too. Soo....after working just about all week straight with no days off, I'm going to take the rest of the evening off and then tomorrow I'll see what I can do about that YA novel! (Yes, I know, I'm crazy - but I'm happy!)

1. Guardian's Vengeance: To do: Revise!!

2. Short story per week: Wrote two stories: "The No Boyfriend-Christmas Experience" and "My Boyfriend's Elf-Mom Hates Me." Write two stories.

3. Publishing: Published two stories: "Santa's Unfinished Business" and "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" - 5 Story Collection. To Do: Publish two stories. Also, need to publish more short story collections.

4. Publishing set up: Research OmniLit as a distributor.

5. Websites: Need to work on list and author photo. Updated all 3 sites.

6. Paperwork: Updated spreadsheets.

7. Files: Backed up.

8. Home Run Novel: Published!!!

9. Game Over Novel: Published!!!

10. Book Proposal: Write for second Guardian story.

11. Book Proposal: Write for second Home Run story.

12. Register copyright for 3 collections, 2 short novel, 2 novels.

13. Write story for F&SF - Will submit "The Ghost's Forgotten Death" after first reader review (just got this back - will do tomorrow).

14. Write story for next Writers of the Future Contest entry. - Deadline Dec. 31

15. Write Grey novella

16. Write young adult novel: Write proposal

17. Write story for Glimmer Train contest - Deadline Oct. 31 - Submitted "When You Need a Friend."

18. Finding Home: Write. (On hold until other novels done).

Okay. After reviewing my schedule, feeling the crunch of trying to get all my projects done and still hitting my weekly goals, I've decided to adjust my goals as well as a few outside of writing. While short stories are important (both for improving my writing and helping me worldbuild), I'm going to cut down to just one story a week. This might change and go back to two stories per week, but it's just eating too much into the novel writing. And let's face it, novel writing is where the money is. This means eventually cutting down the two published stories, but right now with all the collections I want to get up, I'll keep that at two for now.

I will have two more novels out for Christmas. GV means editing, but I'll hold off on that until I write the YA novel. This one won't be much of a problem, especially since it's shorter. And as long as I can get this to my husband, by Dec. 11, I'll get it up in time for Christmas.

So...that's where I'm at right. I'm focusing my attention the novels and getting more of those up. After the Christmas season, I'll reevaluate but I think one story a week is much more reasonable, especially when it's writing a fantasy story (which always takes me longer than the romances, and which I generally have no idea where I'm going).

Should still be fun and a lot of work, but I'm feeling great about the changes.

Oh my goodness. You put me to such shame. I can't believe how much you got done since I checked in last. We've been without power since Saturday, and don't have it at home yet. Keep up the great work, my friend. You are a huge source of inspiration for me.

I've been off the board for about 2 months, but never fear I've been working harder than ever (and am currently on a much needed vacation). I thought I should check in with my list once more before starting my new 2012 goals. Here's what I accomplished for 2011:

1. Wrote and completed four novels. Three novels have been published as of December 29, 2011. The fourth, “Guardian’s Vengeance,” is ready and awaiting cover art. To be published end of January, 2012.

2. Wrote 41 short stories. Published 33 short stories. The rest (other than 3 pending publishing) were submitted to magazine markets.

3. Published 8 short story collections. Started file system for Christen Anne Kelley collections.

4. Wrote and published 2 short novels.

5. Attended two, week-long workshops on the Oregon Coast.

6. Started Blue Cedar Publishing.

7. Created and maintained three websites.

8. Continued to update and maintain both financial records and profit & loss statements.

9. Became a full-time writer and publisher.

10. Learned how to be a publisher and formatting for ebooks.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I added up all my completed words for the year. I wrote 265,472 words for short stories and 334,719 for novels. Grand total was 600,191 words for 2011. Needless to say, I was shocked to see the number so high. Shocked and thrilled. This has been a terrific and wonderfully fun writing year.

Congratulations on all fronts, Chrissy. You don't full around. You know what you want and you're making it happen. A very impressive word count, indeed. Can't wait to see GV make it's way into the world later this month. I've heard so much about it. I bet you'll be thrilled to see it out there.

Keep up the great work. Wishing you a wonderful and productive 2012.