Novel Resolutions

[mr mistook]

What are your goals for 2005 as far as novel writing goes? Some are here to learn, others to perfect. Some hope to start a novel, others to finish, revise, edit, or publish.

Where are you at right now, and where do you hope to be by New Year's Day 2006?

Me? I'm a first time novelist with a half written manuscript. The story is clear in my head, but I've spent all of 2004 just finding my voice and working out my style. My goal is to finish and perfect my manuscript in 2005. Next New Year's Eve, I want to have started my second book, and be popping a champaign cork, safe in the knowledge that I have an agent.

[Risseybug]

I want to have my second book finished, polished, and on it's way to publication. Hopefully my publisher will like it as much as my first book, and take on the whole series. I am targeting the book to be totally finished by June, no later.

Which, means to say that by next Jan. 1, I want to have my third book half done too. :)

[Fresie]

Happy New Year everybody!!

Me, I'm halfway through the first draft of a historical novel, started from scratch in November. I hope to finish the first draft by February or mid-February, and then edit edit edit till I drop. I do know that many of the best novelists worked their way through 20 drafts or so, and I won't be able to do that by 2006, of course. On the other hand, the book goes remarkably easy, as if I just remember it, so maybe with lots of hard work, I'll get it finished and submitted by January 2006. That's my provisional goal, anyway.

And YOU?

[Nateskate]

Nice question:

1) Get the first book of the series submitted to an agent, and published

2) Have the second book ready to submit by the end of the year.

[Fillanzea]

My resolution is to finish and submit my current novel, which only stands at 32,000 words at the moment.

Side note: is it really realistic to expect a book to be published in the next year if it hasn't been accepted yet? I thought the lead time between acceptance and publication was at least a year.

[kevacho]

I don't believe in resolutions. I believe in goals. My goals for 2005 are to write one more screenplay, submit one of my novels to agents, and one of my short stories to magazines, find and sign with a LEGITIMATE agent, and to start work on a series of fantasy novels I've been madly toying with in my addled brain case.

I'll need luck, perseverance, and discipline to achieve these goals. So far… I have two out of three. Here's hoping for number one!

Strength, effort… discipline: these are the watchwords of a warrior.

Kevin
www.kevacho.com

"Sweet dark elixir of life…" ;)

[Pellegrina Leoni]

Well, I have two novels under my belt: my "training" novel and the novel I've been querying about. In 2005, I hope to get my third novel underway and make it better than my first two. Onward and upward!

[Risseybug]

Side note: is it really realistic to expect a book to be published in the next year if it hasn't been accepted yet? I thought the lead time between acceptance and publication was at least a year.

This depends on quite a few things. First of all, the size of your publisher and how many other projects are ahead of you in the editors lineup. A big publisher, like Random House, then maybe not. But a smaller publisher, you stand a good chance if you get accepted in January. Then the size of the novel, and how much editing you need.

My book was accepted last Oct, and we're already almost through the first round of edits. I think it will hit the stores in Oct. 2005, maybe as early as Sept. But, I write middle grade fiction. My book is only 50K words or so, so it doesn't take a long time to get through the book once.

So, your answer is that there's no definitive answer. It depends.

[Nateskate]

I meant to say: get agented, and then find a publisher.

I didn't take into account their time to get it on the market.

[Azura Skye]

I'm in the middle of my first book and my goal is to finish and edit it this year.

[veingloree]

Good to see everyone busy. In my experience it is a good idea to set goals that are acheivable and under my control. e.g. I control whether I finish and submit -- not whether agent or publisher accept!

I aim to polish my second full length book and submit it to traditional publishers -- and finish a pile of novella length eoritca to e-publish in the meantime. I was considering seeking an agent for the spicy stuff.

[pencilone]

Here's my shot at this :) :

I'll strive to carve out time for a serious revision of my first draft and complete pruning, editing, polishing by March so I can submit it and move on to the next one. I'm a bit scared because I'm still not sure about the ending (my characters took over it and played me down). I don't dare have any beta readers till it's polished in the final stages (I wonder if this is a mistake?).

For short, I hope to get that first elusive publishing contract in 2005! (there, I said it!)

Happy New Year Everyone,

Pencilone

[Kallahan]

To dance like a monkey on the top of a dead dondge dart. And publish my Novel.

[maestrowork]

Keep your resolutions/goals manageable and realistic. I did, and managed to achieve almost all of my resolutions last year... okay, so I didn't sign with St. Martin (but I didn't set out to get St. Martin anyway, so there!) but I know 2005 is going to be a great year, especially after what happened at the end of 2004...

[katdad]

What are your goals for 2005?
I set out in 2004 to sign with an agency, and I accomplished this in the fall.

So my agent is presently shopping my 1st novel. In the meantime my goals for 2005?

* Get that novel sold & published! (Of course my agent bears the burden here, but you know).

* Finish my 2nd novel and get it off to the agent. (final edit should be complete by mid-January)

* Finish a terrific screenplay I'm half-done with, get it to the agent.

* Take my 3rd novel to near-completion, hopefully get it finished too.

* Wait for Sigourney Weaver to leave her career & family and come live in sin with me. (Hey, a guy can dream!)

[arainsb123]

I don't believe in resolutions. I believe in goals.

Me too! My logic is that I'd rather accomplish my goals than resolve to accomplish them. My goals:
1. To finish my WIP and three other books (I finished three books this year, so I want to top that).
2. To have my NaNoWriMo novel edited by January 31.

[mistri]

Sigh. I want to actually finish a full length novel (I have two half completed ones at the moment), edit it, revise it, and then submit it to agents.

Ideally I would finish both half-written novels, and then write another one. The two unfinished ones are both fantasy WIPs, so I might give a more mainstream story or a YA book a go.

I'd also like to polish up some short stories I have on my hard drive and send them out into the world.

I'd also like to make more of an effort to join in at the various online writing communities I belong to, without using up all my spare time when I could be writing :)

[DarkHaven80]

I don't do well with resolutions, either. I know this sounds weak or maybe pathetic, but I don't set strict goals. I have plans and guidelines I follow, but as for goals such as, daily at this time...etc, it just doesn't work with my personality type. I have the same general resolutions all year long, which I accomplish or keep working on, but don't set anything in stone for the new year.

[STORMTURNER]

In late October, I told myself that my goal would be January '05, but as the story developed, I realized I needed far too much research to make Jan '05 a reasonable goal. Thus, my goal to finish is Summer '05. I think that's obtainable....if I give up all of interferences. Television being one. I wish "Desperate Housewives" and "Kevin Hill" debuted after my book was done.