Good morning everyone. I thought I'd comment on everyone's JHS goals, and the best way for me to do that is to actually quote you all. I mean, you don't really expect me to remember from the top of the page to the bottom who's doing what do you? If so, as my daughter say, "I want some of what you're smoking" because if you think I can do that, you are way beyond wearing rose-colored glasses.
Ok, enough already...
- Query $80/day with NO carry-overs.
- Send 3 book-related submissions to agents/publishers.
- Update all blogs at least 3x a week.
- 2 Bukisa articles a week (I'm leaving this one in for a while, it might go buh-bye later on though)
- 2 eHow articles a week
- Complete & send OWFI contest entries (have several ready to go)
Very good goals Jen. Updating all the blogs you have going is almost a full-time job, but you do pretty well at it. I see all of these goals as completely doable for you. Go Jen.
Oh, and I was stupid...
I talked to some friends on Twitter & Facebook, so I've started another blog.
Jen's Getting Fit. If anyone wants to join me on it, I'll make it a group blog and someone else (or several someone else's) can post too.
OK. I think that's it. I'll come back and add to it if it's not.
Ok, first, you were not, are not stupid. Get that idea right outta your head. Second, the getting fit is a good idea, if a blog helps you well, then go for it. I checked out your blog, it looks good. Now to just drop the pounds from you, and fatten the blog with entries.
yea! it's a new year which means I am cutting out the soda from my diet. And that means that at 11am my time, I am now on my second pot of candy cane coffee. (gotta love Christmas!)
I told hubby last night that this year I was concentrating on writing and not going to get sidetracked by all the other things on the ranch. This is why we have hired help, right? They are hired to help out and I'm going to take advantage of it while I can.
goals for January, gee ... well ... hmmmm ... I know I have them around somwhere.
- get organized! My office over the next couple days is going to get an overhaul. Hubby will love it, until he realizes that all the stuff i'm taking out is getting put in the basement for him to deal with
- send out at least five essays a week
- send out at least five queries a week
- do more with my short stories. Send at least five out this month
- blog three times a week
- break into a hunting magazine
- continue sending out Blood Sisters
- organize my recipes and try
Taste of Home again
ok, that's all. If I get half of those completed this month I'll be on a roll. Happy New Year all!
Un, Raven, gotta ask, why are you dropping soda from your diet and adding pots of coffee?
That's right, you have hired help to help. You need to get your money's worth, so let them do the work on the ranch while you do the work on your writing. I know, there are some things you just have to do yourself. And, I think this goal may be your hardest. But, remember when you first started letting your husband do household chores (folding clothes, well, towels and such, washing dishes, even making beds or vacuuming)? Did he do it your way (which in our (the woman's) mind is the "right" way)? Probably not, but the job got done, and after a while you learned to live with him doing things different (or wrong), but you live with it.
It's probably the same way with your hired help. When you see them doing something and it's not the way you'd do it, you want to just go do it yourself because you know it'll be done right then. Now, I'm not talking about doing something with your animals that could hurt them, or cause them harm in some way. But, I'm thinking there are plenty of chores for the hired help to do that won't endanger the animals in anyway. Not that your help will hurt the animals, but they are after all your babies and it's hard to trust them to someone else. Good luck with this goal. I'm rooting for you here.
Happy New Year all!
ritinrider, we're practically twins in our writing goals (see a few lines down)!
Jen and ravenlea, wow, your ambitious goals are so inspiring!
Jen, I checked out your new blog. Looks great!
I'm pretty shy online so I don't know how often I'll comment, but I'll be following along as I try to get myself more fit too.
For me, my goal is also 4 queries this month, and I have three of the ideas all ready to go. I do have a longer-term goal (not sure what month I'm aiming for) of getting to a weekly and eventually daily query goal.
Moth, I think we are writing twins. See, you probably won't comment often on Jen's weight blog but plan to follow along, me too. It's funny, there are people who know me in rl who would fall down laughing at the idea that I'm shy. But, they don't really know me, though they think they do.
Ten queries.
Ferron interview submitted on time.
Schedule resume-writing course.
Make flyer for writing course.
Start thinking about how to get a website.
Whoo-hoo, welcome back Auto. Was just thinking about you the other day and wondered where you'd gotten off too. Congratulations on submitting the Ferron interview, and on time way to go! Where are you going to teach this writing course?
I've just written the first 415 words of the non-fiction book I've been putting off writing for 4 years. Whew! I had been dreading it.
First words are where you have to start. Congratulations. And pftt, 4 years, that's nothing. I first got the idea and started working (kind of) on my scholarship book when my daughter graduated from high school, at least that's when the idea was formed. I'm not saying how long ago that was, but, my daughter now has a 9 year old son.
Okay, it's the 2nd already so I'd better jump in. Yesterday was a blur because we had a party that ran till 4:30 a.m., and everyone stayed overnight so the house didn't clear out till the afternoon. Lots of fun, but I felt like an elephant trampled my head.
Goals:
-Promote my Orlando Examiner page. I have a plan to link it to my blog and websites.
-Finish my schoolwork by Jan. 24 (taking a class and that's the end date).
-Send out 4-5 queries per week.
-Finish sample chapters requested by agent that I've put off way too long (horse book).
-Send out travel book proposal.
-Organize travel agency files and prepare to hand off some work to hubby.
-Be logged on for online counseling 6-8 hours per day.
-General organization (lots that needs to be done there!)
That should be plenty to keep me started.
Whew! Enough to get you started? That should keep you busy for a while girl. I'm assuming you can do some of your writing while your logged on for counseling?
Wow everyone's goals are great! Raven, that's a lot of work there!!
So far I have six assignments due in the first month of the new year. On top of those, my goals are to blg 3 X a week at BOL, and 2 X on my own blog. Originally I wanted to do 5 X a week at BOL, but I don't think it's realistic to come up with that many ideas for the next 12 months.
Also, I will visit FWJ every day until I get at least one more regular gig paying at least $400/mos.
Dawn
Good thinking there about your blogging at BOL, if you come up with 5 ideas a week, that's just gravy, but forcing yourself to do so, could cause burnout. Besides, 3X week is pretty good I think. Especially since this is in addition to your other writing. Good luck with the gig hunt.
My mantra for the month is "I can do it!"
... besides I have nothing to lose at this point. I even managed to accomplish stuff yesterday. My office is half clean and clear of all 2008 filing, replaced by shiny new 2009 binders and folders. My recipes are organized and I found three recipe contests to enter. The first is due by the first of Feb.
good luck with the gig hunt! I'd be happy to make $400 for the whole year!
Nice surprise in the mail today. I recieved my check for the article that will be out this month in a regional horse mag.
i'm off to query some hunting magazines and get an essay ready for the mail. (since it's a short week, I'm only going to do one. I'm not slacking - honest!)
Aha, you're ahead of me on the filing getting organized stuff. I need to get my life organized. In the meantime, I'm going to set up some files and stuff for my writing, that way at least one aspect will be organized while I go through boxes of papers to file or trash. When I moved 2 years ago I just dumped everything in boxes, saying I'd go through it later. Ok, it's later, I need to go through the stuff already and get rid of what I don't need. Which honestly, is probably most of it.
Congratulations on the check. Money is always good.
Good luck with the receipe contests. Since you're such a good cook, have you tried writing any cooking articles?
Last week was a short week, one esssay is good. Did you get it written?
In the vein of posting 2 articles a week on eHow, today I put up "
How to Write an Icebreaker Speech for Toastmasters." In retrospect, I probably should have said "give" instead of "write" because it covers more than just writing. Oops.
Oh, and Nita? Just a heads-up. I kinda mentioned you, but not by name, in it.
Congratulations on writing and posting at ehow. It was a good article Jen, especially the part about listening and taking ideas from someone else's speech. That's really what I did you know, took the bracelet idea and moved it to quilts.
Ok, that's one goal met today for me. I have posted at AW. Now to go finish cleaning the living room, then writing something.
At least i'm cutting out the sugar. i've also given up my morning donut.
I can't remember the last time my husand did anything around the house. Oh wait, he loaded and ran the dishwasher the other night while I was fighting with the printer. Other than that .... his motto is: "Why clean up,we're just going to make it messy again." And he wonders why i'm a stay at home mom! 
You deserve a hug if you're gonna survive without your sugar fix. I'll take your word for it coffee is cheaper than soda, personally I can't stand the stuff. Except, of course, the aroma if someone else is drinking it.