Sometimes I think we go about things the wrong way, though. So a bit of advice. If one of your goals is to get an agent, you might want to rethink your focus.
(1) Why do you want an agent? Are you really ready for that step, or do you want an agent because that's what everyone else wants?
(2) Have you tried to get an agent in the past? If so, were there a lot of rejections? Only a few? Some specific feedback? Maybe your goal should be more specific, like master the art of your first chapter, write a better query letter, write a better book, query at least one agent a month, learn the rules and how to better break them, etc.
Sometimes I think goals skirt around the issue, and that's the reason they are never completed. For example, many people say they want to lose X amount of pounds within the year, when it would probably be wiser to look at it from a different angle and make the goal to exercise at least once a day, or maybe cut out half the meat in your diet, or eat more vegetables and drink more water. Because, after all, the idea of losing weight is to be healthier, right? Feel healthier. Look healthier.
After all, the idea of getting an agent is to publish a book, right? There is a lot that surrounds publishing a book, and a lot of different ways to go about it. Make sure you're attacking the right goals.
One of my writing-related resolutions for 2011 is to deepen my prose. I'm really interested in creating more beneath the surface than I have in the past. I want every sentence to charge the story forward, but also contain layers beneath it that move at different speeds. This goal comes from my desire to write more literary work, even if it doesn't appeal to a wide audience. I have some short stories in mind, one more novella to write, and possibly another novel to revise. I have a lot on my plate, but the goal I will focus on is my prose. I think it will help move all my goals forward in the end.
What is one of your resolutions? Don't be afraid to say get an agent, haha. I only made that point above to illustrate how we can look at things differently and pinpoint the goals we're sure we want.
My main writing goal is to get a good first draft of Nowhere But North written. I need to finish up a few other tasks before I can get to that, though.
ReplyDeleteMy main goal with Nowhere But North is to make it the best book I've written. I want the story to carry the readers through the narrative but I also want the narrative to point to the world beyond the story and to strike glancing blows against all sorts of things. That is, I also want to give my work more depth.
It would also be nice to get a book deal this year and to have a few more short stories published, but my focus is on the new writing.
Scott, that's a fine goal! Your main goal, of topmost priority, should be to send me C&B. Right? Right.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to get into writng more literary stuff you should join my Poetry Pact on FB! :o) It's get your mind working in the right way - as a lot of literary work if VERY poetic :o)
ReplyDeleteJessica, do you have a link? All I did in college was write poetry, and that's where my lyrical style comes from. I adore poetry. :)
ReplyDeleteMichelle: Er, yes. That's it exactly! I'm 30% through the first round of revisions, so I'm a THIRD of the way through. If you take my meaning.
ReplyDeleteIt's at the top of my list, Mr. Bailey. I'm formatting it in Lulu today, unless you want it faster and then I can just hit send in my email. :D
ReplyDeleteIvana: Lulu's fine. Take your time, honestly. And get a copy of My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me. I started reading the stories last night, and it's an amazing collection. I'm surprised I didn't have nightmares.
ReplyDeleteI don't need nightmares, but I will get it anyway and read it in the mornings. I'm assuming it's like horror fairy tales?
ReplyDeleteTo get an agent. LOL
ReplyDeleteExcept that is not a goal, per se, because it is dependent on another party. The goal is to finish Sublimation and query it in the most effective way possible, hoping to get an agent and then after that a publisher. I want an agent, but I only set goals that are entirely within my own power.
Nevets: Yay! I kind of knew that was one of your goals, but I think you're going about it the right way. I'm looking forward to the rest of the book. :)
ReplyDeleteMichelle: Not really horror; more like old-school fairy tales that weren't really for children, so there's a lot of violence and general creepiness. But even though they're all modern versions of these stories, they all have that fairy-tale feeling to the writing. Sad and terrible and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSounds like I'd absolutely love it and eat it up. :)
ReplyDeletecrunchy bones!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea of making "action items" the focus, rather than the bigger, overarching goal. It reminds me of the old adage "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." :-)
ReplyDeleteMy goal for the new year half involves writing. I'm going to try and unite my writing life with my science life. Or, more specifically, I want to stop feeling like I have to keep the different parts of my life separate. I think I'll feel a lot better about everything if I can do that.
ReplyDeleteLaurel: Yeah, that's exactly it! One bite. Eating is a big thing over here today. :)
ReplyDeleteDavin: Cool! Does that mean you will be keeping Domey?
Laurel, I agree. Actions make good resolutions. I'm going to try to focus on actions this year.
ReplyDeleteOne of my resolutions this year is a modest one: to set aside at least one hour, at least three days per week, to work on my novel, starting this summer. Just enough to keep it going while I have a baby. I'm not even going to pretend I could be ready for an agent, editor, or publisher in 2011!
My goal is to have at least one book finished, as in ready to query, by the end of the year. I have proved to myself that I can write long fiction (in first draft) but now I have to prove that I have the sticking power and faith in myself to go through the torture of revision.
ReplyDeleteWhether I get an agent seems secondary to this goal.
Finish two novels (one collaborative), and four short stories. Maybe some flash fiction thrown in for fun. :D
ReplyDeleteHere's to a new year, LitLab luminaries! *cheers*
Jeannie: I think you'll reach your goal, but even if you don't, you know the baby is always the most important thing! I can't wait to read your book one day. :)
ReplyDeleteJane: Ah, revision. I know about that! Good luck, and you know you have supporters out there. Revision, to me, is where the real writing begins.
Simon: I want to read your book. Of course, I wouldn't blame if you never let me touch it since, you know, I never sent you Monarch. *ducks glare*
I've got three different novels I've been writing, all at different stages. This year, I would like to finish all three. Whoa. I'm ready for the bumpy ride.
ReplyDeleteAimee: Oh, good luck! That does sound like a lot of work, but I don't think it's unattainable at all. :)
ReplyDeleteMy goal is to self-publish, either a novella or a novel I have in my drawer. I'm presently reviewing the series you did on this. Then all I have to do is to screw up the courage to actually do it.
ReplyDeleteMy goal for the new year is to write with consistency. I had the words "Always Write" tattooed on my arm two years ago (both as an inside joke as I am forever saying I'm always right, and as a reminder of the #1 rule of writing) and ironically enough that was about when I lost all semblance of consistency/drive.
ReplyDeleteI want that drive and productivity back, so 2011 is the year of no excuses for me.
Chuck: I think that's a great goal! You'll get the courage. If you don't, email me, and I'll give you a nudge. :)
ReplyDeleteAnthony: What an awesome tattoo!!! I wish you the best of luck with that new goal.