Writing Goals for 2009

The other night, I wrote these out. I’ve taken some time to think about them since then and have made a few changes. That said, here are my goals for 2009:

• Acceptance and publication in a national glossy, sich as O, Woman’s World, Figure, Glamour, etc.
• Submissions to 36 publishers/agents for book manuscripts. (This would be 3 submissions a month.)
• Write a creative tips ebook.
• Write a KNOWS ebook.
• Query $80/day five days a week (toward the ultimate goal of going full-time with freelancing).
• Update all blogs 3x a week.
• Minimum of 2 articles for Bukisa a week.
• Minimum of 2 articles for eHow a week.

I have plans/processes in place for all of these. These are just my writing goals, not my personal ones, which I may or may not post on another blog.

What are your goals for 2009?

Filed under: writing , queries, Jen Nipps, jennipps, money, submissions, KNOWS, query, goals, 2009 goals, New Year's resolutions, New Year's goals

Looking Back at 2008

I started looking through the archives for my list of writing goals for 2008. Apparently, I didn’t post them on the blog. Bad Jen.

This year had a lot of successes for me, writing-wise. I have:

• 4 website reviews published in the OWFI Report.
• 3 articles published with WritingforDollars.
• 1 request for a full manuscript from an agent.
• 2 requests for partial manuscripts from publishers.
• won 1st place at the OWFI conference for a technical/how-to article.
• won 3rd place at the OCWI conference for a novel.
• judged the nonfiction article category for a contest.
• successfully completed 1 fixed-rate job with oDesk.
• successfully completed 1 hourly-rate job with oDesk.
• had a poem, “Gestation,” published in the November/December issue of Writers’ Journal.

I also

• completed the rough draft of DEVON’S WISH, the second book in the Maguire Men series set in medieval Ireland.
• re-edited KIERNAN’S CURSE (the first of the Maguire Men).
• started BENEN’S BURDEN (the third of the Maguire Men).
• started and finished NAVAJO ROSE (will soon be re-editing that.)
• spent two weeks at the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
• submitted queries/synopses to 3 agents and at least 10 publishers on various manuscripts (mainly KIERNAN’S CURSE, NAVAJO ROSE, and CONFESSIONS OF A FAT CHICK.
• bought the domains for www.confessionsofafatchick.com and www.theideapocket.com.
• achieved PRO status with RWA.
• joined OK-RWA, the Oklahoma City chapter of RWA.
• led a “buzz session,” an informal workshop, on blogging at the OWFI conference in May.

This has been a very busy writing year. It’s not possible to list all the queries for articles I’ve sent, essays and short stories written, and so on.

Perhaps with continuing all this and more, I’ll have an even better year in 2009. (A 2009 goal entry will be coming soon.)

Filed under: editing, revisions, writing , queries, poetry, Jen Nipps, jennipps, OWFI, RWA, writing, OCWI, Writers Journal, poems, agents, Kiernan's Curse, Navajo Rose, Devon's Wish, goals, OK-RWA, Benen's Burden, 2008, Confessios of a Fat Chick, publishers, articles

Freelance National Anthem

(Found coutesy of Deb Ng.)

Filed under: writing

Scrapbooking Software Practice

Last night, my mother and I bought a digital scrapbooking software program, Scrabook Factory.

This is just a practice run with it. We wanted to see how it would look loaded on the ‘Net.

Filed under: not writing, photography, writing , Jen Nipps, jennipps, writer, freelance, picture, scrapbooking software

Don’t Forget About People

In her latest posts on The Freshman Writer and Heiddi Zalamar, my friend Heiddi reminded me of something I neglected to mention in my post on  Motivation.

I had forgotten to mention people.

Without interactions with people, I don’t get ideas on what to write about. I wouldn’t have the wonderful supportive friends I have met as a direct result of writing. Heiddi is among them.

People to provide inspiration.

People to provide motivation.

People to provide moral support, a figurative shoulder to cry on when things don’t go so well, a figurative high-five when things are going well.

People to give your latest query a quick once-over because you think you’ve totally screwed it up.

Yes, I have people like that, for all of the above. Online and off.

I realize I’m very lucky in that regard.

One of my favorite places online for that is the AbsoluteWrite WaterCooler, particularly in the Freelance Writing board and the JHS (Just Hit Send) discussions. I’ve also found a few people to fill that roll on Twitter.

If you’re a writer and you don’t have any kind of support group, official or not, offline or on, I encourage you to connect with the AW Water Cooler or on social networking sites like Twitter. Plurk, and Facebook. (Look me up if you do. I use the same ID at all the above-mentioned places: JenNipps.)

Filed under: writing , queries, Jen Nipps, jennipps, writers, write, writer, submissions, query, Plurk, Twitter, Facebook, AbsoluteWrite WaterCooler, people, motivation, moral support, inspiration

A Good Kind of Trolling

A few months ago, I started a new strategy for achieving my goal of making a living as a freelance writer.

I query a potential income of $80 a day, no carry-over. I do it five days a week for a potential $400, or $1,600 a month.

The question has been asked about how I do that. To put it simply, I go trolling. I troll job boards, Craigslist, and guidelines databases.

I have an ad up on Craigslist.

I am a freelance provider for writing, editing, data entry, and transcription on oDesk.

I frequent Freelance Writing Jobs and the Problogger JOb Board.

I have written for WritingforDollars and make use of their guideliens database. I also subscribe to Writers Market Online and Funds for Writers.

I don’t apply for anything that I think would be boring or that would cause me to compromise my sense of eithcs. Because of that, I don’t apply for anything that appears that it could be a term paper mill. I do not and will never condone cheating or plagiarism of any kind.

I also contribute articles to Bukisa and have attempted to to write for eHow, though none of what I have submitted has been accepted at this point.

As of right now, I have approximately 25 items out that I am waiting to hear back on. I keep track of magazine queries in an Excel spreadsheet. I should probably keep track of jobs/gigs I’ve applied for in a similar manner, but I have yet to do that.

That is basically how I meet my $80 a day goal. I don’t do everything everyday, especially since some of it comes out only once a week, but I do most of it.

Filed under: writing , ad, Bukisa, Craigslist, eHow, freelance, Freelance Writing Jobs, Funds for Writers, goals, guidelines, Jen Nipps, jennipps, Problogger, Problogger Job Board, queries, query, submissions, writer, writers, Writers Market, writing, Writing for Dollars

Motivation

I want to win.

I want to be published.

I want to write.

Correction.

I have to write.

It sounds cliched, but if I go very long without writing — more than two days — I become cranky and don’t like who I am. That is one part of my motiation.

Writing and sending work out is a competition, regardless of it you’ve entered an actual contest or if you’re sending your work out to a magazine or book publisher.

I want to win that competition.

I want to be published more than I have been so far.

Success is great, but it should never be an excuse to sit back and rest for a bit. Someone else will get ahead of you in the competition if you do.

The funny thing about that, to me, is that I’m honestly NOT a competitive person in other things. Let me start sending my work out, though, and that changes. In the past, I was content with just writing for myself. Truthfully, I didn’t want anyone to see any of my work. I don’t know exactly when that changed, but I’m glad it did.

I have many reasons supporting my motivations. Those are for a different post. The point of this one is I am motivated.

The deadline for the annual Oklaoma Writers’ Federation contest is approaching. My goal every year is to enter more than I did the previous year. I think this year, I may have a new record. I’m well on my way to it.

What keeps you motivated to write?

Filed under: writing , Jen Nipps, jennipps, Oklahoma Writers' Federation, OWFI, submissions, write, writer, writers, writing

Poem Published

Last December, I sent a poem (“Gestation,” about writing) to Writers’ Journal. They said they didn’t know when it would run, though, since they use them as fillers. I’ve been getting the magazine every month to see if it’s out yet.

Last night, I went to Hastings and got the new WJ. I thought that surely they would run it within a year, right?

Right!!

“Gestation” is in the lower right corner of page 21.

Filed under: writing , Gestation, Jen Nipps, jennipps, poem, poetry, Writers Journal

“Be Perfect For Her” Book Release Party

Every Monday, I go to Tulsa to a Toastmasters meeting. A friend there has a new book out. I believe it’s his first.

Be Perfiect for Her, by John G. Buchanan, Jr., is available through Be Perfect for Her Ministries.

If you’re in the Tulsa area, there is a book launch/networking event on Thursday evening at the Elks Lodge across from Mardel’s on 53rd.

(If I have any of this information wrong, I’m sure he or antoher friend will let me know and I’ll correct it ASAP.)

To find out more about John Buchanan and Be Perfect for Her, visit www.beperfectforher.com.

Advance reviews say:

“I believe that personal responsibility is a key to success in any area of life.  John Buchanan shows us all that this extends to our personal relationships.  Instead of trying to find the right person, we can proactively take steps to be the right person.”

Jim Stovall
President, Narrative Television Network

Author, The Ultimate Gift

and

John Buchanan has not written just a ‘book’, but a practical lifestyle program designed to give men of all ages the opportunity to examine their own daily living habits and their attitudes toward the women in their world.  Here, in a comfortable setting, the ‘gentlemen’ is guided in his communication that will help him better understand and treat the ‘lady’ in his life.  It is based on the belief that the courtship and marriage relationship is the most significant of all relationships.

Dr. Mark Maynard,
Radio Host, “Adventures of Christian Entrepreneurs”
and Professor of Business, Evangel University.

Filed under: writing , Be Perfect for Her, Be Perfect for Her Ministries, book launch, Dr. Mark Maynard, Jim Stovall, John G. Buchanan, reviews, Toastmasters, Tulsa, write, writer, writing

Updates in General

It’s been a while since I’ve posted any kind of writing update as to how things are progressing for me.

Let’s start with NAVAJO ROSE.

It’s circulating.

In October, I sent it to a literary agent who had requested it at the Ozark Creative Writers conference. A few weeks ago, I got an e-mail confirming that she had received it, but it would be anywhere from mid-December to mid-January before I heard from her on it.

OK, no problem. That was about what I had expected anyway. I went about my merry way, working on my next WIP (more about that in a minute).

On November 29, I got a “letter from myself,” as my mother put it.

Uh-oh.

The only things I’ve ever received in “letters to myself” are rejections. Sure enough, this one was no different.

It was a very nice rejection, though, and was rather encouraging. The first of it even sounded very positive. It wasn’t until the 2nd or 3rd paragraph that she said she was giving it a pass.

Why is it nice rejections are the hardest ones to take?

I didn’t let it sit for long, though. NAVAJO ROSE is now under consideration at The Wild Rose Press for their Crimson Rose line (romantic suspense).

Now for the other WIP – BENEN’S BURDEN.

It’s pretty much common knowledge that I didn’t finish it for NaNo. At this point… It’s stalled. I haven’t done much on it since the week before Thanksgiving.

That needs to change.

NOW.

Or as close to now as I can manage, which will be tomorrow.

On the CONFESSIONS OF A FAT CHICK front, I have to admit I’m a bit confused.

I’ve been researching markets for it. I’ve sent it out to one, but I need more than that. I have found two possibilities. Neither one of them accepts e-mail submissions, so they have to go out via ground mail. One has already gone out.

The other is what is providing the current predicament.

Their guidelines request a proposal with two to three sample chapters.

That’s ttandard. I don’t have a problem with that.

Then, however, they say “not the first.”

What?

I’ve never heard of this before. Everything I’ve ever seen says the sample chapters have to be the first ones. It’s puzzling.

However (again), there is a conference I will be going to in May. One of the proposed workshops is on book proposals and how they are changing. Could it be that this is one of the ways?

That said, I can do sample chapters that aren’t the first for THE IDEA POCKET. I don’t have a proposal ready to go out for that one, yet, though, but maybe it’s time to kick it into high gear and get one out.

Filed under: writing , Benen's Burden, Confessions of a Fat Chick, Jen Nipps, jennipps, NaNoWriMo, Navajo Rose, The Idea Pocket, write, writer, writing