Goals for 2010

As promised, here are the goals I have set for myself for 2010.

For the entire year I want to read at least 1 book per month. It has been quite a while since I have been able to sit down and read. Reading makes you a better writer so I view it as a priority.

I am going to work weekly on my grammar skills to become a better writer and further my career.

I want to begin completely 2 writing prompts a month for extra practice. I am going to look for a great writing community today to do this.

Here are the rest of my goals for the year.

January-

• Submit 1 article for print publication
• Outline first draft of adult book for publication and begin writing it
• Outline Ebook #1 and begin writing it

February-

• Submit one article for print publication
• Enter a writing contest
• Begin outlining and writing a children's book
• Finish 1st draft of Ebook #1

March-

• Submit one article for print publication
• Complete first draft of childrens book
• Finish 2nd draft of Ebook #1

April-

• Submit one article for print publication
• Publish Ebook #1
• begin 2nd draft of childrens book

May-

• Submit one article for print publication
• Completed 1st draft for adult book.
• Outline and start Ebook #2

June-

• Submit 1 article for print publication
• Enter Writing contest
• Submit children's book for publication
• Completed Ebook #2 first draft

July-

• Submit one article for publication
• Completed Ebook #2 second draft

August-

• Submit one article for print publication
• Publish Ebook #2

September-

• Submit one article for print publication
• Begin outline and start writing Ebook #3
• Completed 2nd draft adult book

October-

• Submit one article for print publication
• Enter writing contest
• Complete first draft of Ebook #3

November-

• Submit one article for print publication
• Submit adult book for publication
• Complete 2nd draft for Ebook #3

December-

• Submit one article for print publication
• Submit Ebook #3

During the year I am going to continue with my online freelance work. I want to make a big push to get out my creative work and print publications.

What are your goals?

New Goals and Changes

Today marks the start of my month off from freelance work. And as expected, all I can think about is work. I can not wait to get back to writing but at the same time this is a much needed break. Of course this break really is not much of a break at all. There are so many things I want to accomplish during this month.

Yesterday big changes occurred for Writing Mommies. We went though a new identity and became WM Freelance Connection. This change was a long time coming and was something that needed to be done. However, our mission and purpose remain the same. Pay attention because our URL will be changing in a few weeks as well. For those that participated last month, the monthly contest has been posted for December. You can read all about it HERE.

During my month off, I want to get quite a bit of work done for WM Freelance Connection. We are growing larger and larger everyday and want to keep growing. I want to get a few things done for the readers and the staff to help push the blog forward.


I also decided the beginning of the new year is a time for change. I am going to sit down this week and create a year long goal plan for me this year. I think it will help keep me focused on where I really want my writing to go this year. It will keep me from getting lost in the freelance writing chaos again. I am going to be sitting down and setting many new goals for myself and I am very excited about this. I am doing this to increase my income, further my career as a writer, and expand areas of my freelance writing.

With all the changes that are occurring right now and will be occurring next year, I have to take this time to get my family adjusted and on a new path. There are so many changes that will be occurring within the next 6 months, I need to take this time to create a solid plan for my children to help them adjust.

On another note, one of the blogs I enjoy reading called CC-Chronicles offered me a free book that I can not wait to get started reading. I am so happy. When I read the blog yesterday it completely made my night. I am so far behind on my reading. That is one more thing I will be catching up on this month.


So I have a question for my readers. Are you following the writing path you would like to be on? Whether you are or aren't, join me this month is creating a year long goal plan. It is a great way to stay focused and motivated. I will be posting my plan later this week and will keep updates with you all as I mark them off my list.

Happy Writing!

Coming to an End

The month of November is winding down. I am finishing up my last deadline and then I will basically be free for a month. Despite the anxiety of worrying what I will do with myself for a month, I am actually looking forward to days of sleeping in, playing hot wheels all day with the kids, and working on creative pieces.

After this break I am hoping I will be recharged to start the new year. As our family expands, I think so should our income. Next year my goal is to bring my income up to the next level. I see many changes I can make to accomplish this. As a friend of mine once said regarding writing, "do not put all your eggs in one basket." Well, I have been doing this for a long time. If I loose the one great job I have, I would take a HUGE income loss. I really need to branch out. This gives me all the more motivation to make the transition to print.

I have had the mentality over the past year that a pay check now is a lot nicer than a possible one in the future, regarding why I focus on freelance work instead of publishing a book. I now think I have been looking at it the wrong way for two reasons.

The first reason I believe this mentality is actually limiting my writing career. By only focusing on freelance work I am limiting my expansion in the writing world to strictly online freelance work. Although I greatly enjoy freelance work, I do not think I could do it forever unless it was for a newspaper.

The second reason I believe I have been wrong this whole time is something many people have told me. Many fellow writers have told me for my age I have made it fairly far into the online writing world already. If I start to branch away from freelance work, I can only imagine how far I can make it into the print world if I start now.

I can not wait to make these changes. I need this month off to begin plotting my strategy to make all these changes. I am very excited for what my future holds.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Taking a Break? What?

After discussing things over with my family, I have decided to take next month off from freelance work. Although most people would love to take a month off from work, I am dreading it. What am I going to do with myself? I know I will go crazy after sitting around for a few days. I feel lazy when I am unproductive. Boredom leads me to new projects that I don't have the time for.

To try and reduce myself from loosing my mind over the next month I am going to finally finish that Ebook I have been talking about for so long. I can easily finish it in one month. This book is long over due so December will be the perfect time to sit down and finish it. Plus what better way to start a new year than to start it off with a newly published book.

But before I take a month off I must first finish November. As usual, I have procrastinated profoundly this month and I will be participating in the usual end of the month hustle. Fun stuff right? Well actually I work much better under deadlines so I guess I can procrastinate for a couple more days and then get my butt in gear for the rush.

November was a better month for me than last month. The work has definitely picked up. But with all the changes in my life lately I do not think I will be able to take on as much work as I have been. At least not for a while anyway.

Well I know I have said it before and I will say it again, I WILL make the transition to print soon. Although I love the online world, it is starting to loose some of its appeal. Which in return I believe is causing me to loose much motivation. I think taking the steps into print will be a nice challenge for me to try in 2010. I am always up for a challenge.

Happy Writing!

Is it nap time yet?

Well, these changes I had to make are actually much harder than I thought. I was very confident I would be able to accomplish all my work that I needed to do after the kids had gone to bed but I quickly learned this is just not happening. By the time I have finished all the things I have to do through out the day as a mommy and wife, I am just too burnt out to focus on writing. I did not think it would be this difficult, but I think this pregnancy is playing a larger role in it than I had anticipated. The energy level I use to have just isn't there.

These changes are definitely a juggling act. I think this weekend is going to full of reflection so I can find a better way to balance everything I must do through out the day. I must say my house has been very clean this week though lol. I am glad I am done with school and that is one less thing I have to worry about right now. I think I need a clone...and possibly a nap.