Once Upon A Time. . .

THE END.

Yep, finally got to the end of the first draft of The Werewolf Whisperer! What a great feeling. To celebrate, I'm having my hubby take me out to dinner tonight (okay, so we were really going anyway, but now it's nice to have something to celebrate)

My plan is to let it sit while I revise Crystal Clear for a resubmission.

Approaching THE END

Yep -- there's not too much more to write on TWW, but, in case you've noticed that the word count isn't progressing much, there is a reason.

THE SYNOPSIS.

NOW I know why people dread it so. How in the world do you know what to leave in and what to take out to get a 30K document down to 1900 words????

I've taken my best shot at it and am firing it out to my Partners in Crime critique group tonight. We'll see what they say. . . then, tomorrow, it's back to finishing up the first draft.

An Encouraging Rejection

Well, 45 days passed and I got an e-mail regarding Crystal Clear (CC). It was one of the most encouraging rejections I've ever gotten. No contract forthcoming for this story; however, some suggestions were offered and the publisher asked to see it again after revision. So. . . there's still hope.

I've decided to finish The Were Whisperer (TWW) before revising CC. Although I have some good ideas of what to add to CC, I don't want to stop my momentum on TWW.

On another note, I just finished "attending" the online Cobblestone Press Historical Workshop. Wow! What a lot of information about the genre and the e-publishers. And the really great part is that I now have a critique partner!

I met Beverley during Avon Fanlit. She's just now completed the first draft of her sexy historical and I'm excited that I'll get to be part of helping her prepare the manuscript for her opportunity to pitch the manuscript to a Berkley editor. Go Beverley!

Writing Goals

I'm a plotter by nature -- I keep lists at home of things to do, I have lists of long and short term financial goals, and a list of long and short term writing goals. Honestly, I don't know if keeping the lists makes me any more likely to achieve the goals, but if I have them to look at, at least I can be reminded of how far off I am!

Goals for 2007:

• Write 500 words per day on the WIP (with 3 weeks of vacation, Christmas, Easter, & Summer)
• Write and submit for publication: 3 new novels or novellas
• Complete and submit for contests or publication: 2 to 3 short stories
• Convert Mary's Christmas Wish into a novella to submit for publication in time for the next holiday season.
• Attend a conference (either mystery or romance related)

As I also write short stories in the mystery/horror genre and have separate goals for them, I'm going to be a busy little author in the coming year! Will I achieve these goals? I sure do hope so!

So, what are your goals for 2007 and how do you plan on achieving them?

2007