Today I posted a giant essay on GOALS (how to make good ones and how to achieve them) over on the Manuscript Mavens blog. I won’t regurgitate myself here, but I’ll wait for you if you want to go read it.

(No really–go take a peek)

Back? OK. (Did you really go? I hope you left a comment over there. I’ve got my eye on you. *g)

I wanted to do a New Year’s Resolution reality check at the halfway point through the year, but with one thing or another, I ended up a month behind. Better late then never, though, so here we go.

The Top 10 Goals for 2007 I posted on January 1 are as follows:

10) Attend the national conference in August
09) Attend all local monthly chapter meetings
08) Meet with my local CPs at least once a month
07) Be more active (and interactive) with my online CPs
06) Query and/or pitch at least 5 agents
05) Query and/or pitch at least 3 editors/publishers
04) Enter at least 4 contests
03) Blog at least once a week
02) Write two novel-length stories
01) Do something writing-related every single day

Now, to be good goals, they must be specific, quantifiable, realistic, and attainable. Let’s see.

10) Attend the national conference in August

Check. I did in fact achieve this goal. Although I achieved it in July, since that’s when the national conference was. Next year I’ll add “learn how to read a calendar” to the list.

09) Attend all local monthly chapter meetings

Fail. I missed a couple meetings due to being out of the country. Although this goal was specific and quantifiable, in retrospect it may not have been particularly realistic or even attainable, given my schedule. I will reword this when I update. This item belongs on an ideal-world Wish List, not a checklist of goals.

08) Meet with my local CPs at least once a month

Fail. Being out of the country for six weeks at a stretch kind of killed this one for the same reasons as above, but also my local CPs had their own life issues tangle up our potential together-time. Therefore, this goal was neither realistic nor attainable, right from the start. Again, this is an ideal-world Wish List item, not an achievable goal.

07) Be more active (and interactive) with my online CPs

Check. We met up at the National conference, started the Manuscript Mavens blog, and email almost daily.

06) Query and/or pitch at least 5 agents

Check. This is a good goal. It’s specific, quantifiable, realistic, and attainable. “Get an agent” is not a good goal, because getting an agent is as much a function of luck and perseverance as it is skill and talent. I pitched a total of three agents and queried a good dozen before I ended up signing with Lauren Abramo of the Dystel & Goderich literary agency.

05) Query and/or pitch at least 3 editors/publishers

Fail. For multiple reasons. I did pitch one editor at National, but did not otherwise pursue this goal. I decided it was much smarter to get an agent, instead, and let her submit proposals to editors at publishing houses. If that process happens this year, I guess I will indirectly achieve this goal.

04) Enter at least 4 contests

Check. Jury’s still out on one contest I entered, but I ended up triple-finaling in the TARA Contest. Which, I’d like to point out, is a nice accolade, but did not lead to the agent, directly or indirectly. Goal #6 led to the agent.

03) Blog at least once a week

*maniacal laughter* Er, check. Clearly, I have an addiction. I blog here at least once per weekday, even when I’m not in the country. I blog over in Mavenland every Monday. And I have the non-guest Friday slot over on Romantic Inks. So, yeah. At least once a week.

02) Write two novel-length stories

Not yet. I wrote and got agent representation for one story, and am 2/3 through the second Nether-Netherland book, although I may revise a previous story before finishing that one. I am still hoping to make this goal this year.

01) Do something writing-related every single day

Fail. Like #s 9 and 8, this goal simply isn’t realistic or attainable given a) my erratic schedule and b) life.

So.

It’s time to revamp the goals for the rest of the year. They are now:

10) Schedule a writing retreat for sometime within the next 6 months
09) Attend all local monthly chapter meetings if in town to do so
08) Attend weekly Maven chats if Internet access is available
07) Polish TATTF and send to agent
06) Finish first draft of DATD
05) Revise Touched
04) Read an average of 1 book per week
03) Blog at least once per weekday
02) Visit my blogroll at least once per week
01) Do something writing-related every workday with Internet access

What changes did I make?

Well, some of the goals are completely different, as I removed those I’d already achieved and those that were impossible. And some of the goals now have more sense-making caveats, such as attending all chapter meetings if I’m in town, as it’s dreadfully difficult to make them from out of the country.

Some of the goals are harder than others and some are more time consuming than others, but writing is a profession, and success isn’t for the lazy.

If I want to be an author, I have to work at being an author.

That said, all goals are not created equal! You have to make the goals that are right for you. You do not need to attend retreats or conferences or chapter meetings in order to be an author. You do not need to blog or enter conferences or even get an agent in order to be an author. Only you can determine the goals that are right for you.

YOUR TURN: I hope you *have* determined the goals that are right for you! Care to share any of them with me? Are you a goal maker or a goal breaker? If you made New Year’s resolutions back in January, how’s that going for you?