Greatest Hits from 2014

My 8-year-old son summed it up the other day when he was reminiscing about the New Year's Eve party we attended with family friends last year.

"Wow," he said. "2014 really flew by, didn't it, Mom?"

Exactly. I know I say that every year, but this year truly did fly by, and not without its up and downs. Our family faced its share of adversity, from the back windshield of our SUV shattering right before we had to drive home after a week's vacation at the beach to a pretty devastating job loss. I won't get into it all here, as I covered it pretty well in this post at WOW! Women on Writing, but on the eve of New Year's Eve 2014 I can't say I have too much to complain about as far as my writing career. Here are a few of my "greatest hits" from this year. (For a glimpse of me a year ago, see this post.)

Non-Fiction Writing
I continue to work as editor of Little Ones Magazine (recently celebrated three years!) and write regularly for Lake Norman Currents and Today's Charlotte Woman. I've come so far since working on the very first issue, but I know I still have a lot to improve upon.

Fiction Writing
This is probably where I've made the most strides. I'm almost done with the latest round of revisions on the YA novel I've been working on for the past few years. I took it to the SCBWI Carolinas Conference this past September and got some wonderful feedback on the first 10 pages from a YA novelist and literary agent, which really boosted my confidence. I hope to begin putting together an agent wish list in the next two months and start the submission process. I still need to work on revisions for my MG novel, and those are going to be pretty massive, so that's been put on the back burner for now. I participated in NaNoWRiMo 2014 and completed 50,000 words of a NEW contemporary YA novel. I'm super excited about this latest one and can't wait to get back to work on it.

Blog Tours
I continue to work as a Blog Tour Manager for WOW! Women on Writing, and a spectacular job it is. I've met so many authors I probably never would have met and formed some great relationships and professional connections, not to mention had opportunities to review and promote some fantastic books!

Blog Posts
I contribute to The Muffin, the blog for WOW! Women on Writing, and had the chance to get nice and creative this year. Here are a few of my favorite posts.

ADWD (Attention Deficit Writers Disorder)
Why I Love My Job as a Blog Tour Manager
Preparing Your Author Platform
Literary Heroes

Honestly, I can't wait to see what lies ahead in 2015!

Greatest Hits from 2013

I've been mulling over what my writing goals will be for 2014, as I'm well aware that I need accountability in order to do what I actually say I'm going to do. I've read a lot of great posts lately regarding the best way to set up those goals, but while I get organized I thought it might be fun to look back at some of my "greatest hits" from 2013 to get me motivated! Here's a peek at what I was up to:

Magazines

I'm continuing to work as editor of Little Ones, a bi-monthly parenting magazine based in Charlotte, NC. We put out some great issues this past year and I was blessed to make the acquaintance of many  area families and businesses, as well as work on some great human-interest and travel stories. Here's one of my recent articles.

Fiction

I worked on polishing up a flash fiction piece, In the Depths, for the WOW! Women on Writing Fall 2012 Flash Fiction contest and found out my entry placed in the top ten stories in March 2013. I was so excited to actually get recognition for a piece of fiction and it gave me a boost of self confidence that I needed to keep writing. You can read my finalist interview here.

Not long after that, I answered an ad for a blog tour manager with WOW! Women on Writing and got the job! I now work with two other lovely ladies, Jodi and Crystal, helping authors promote their books via virtual blog tours. It is such a joy meeting and working with authors from different genres and learning more about the publishing industry. It's been a win-win situation for me!

I finished writing and editing my middle-grade novel, Camp Big and Bright, and am now querying agents and publishing houses. I also turned the first novel I wrote several years ago into a YA for National Novel Writing Month, and am now ready to begin editing!

Conferences

In April I traveled to Raleigh, NC to attend the Write Now! Conference and had a great time meeting other North Carolina writers and getting new ideas for the non-fiction writing side of my business. At the end of September I was fortunate enough to attend the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators Conference here in Charlotte, where I spent two and half days immersed in everything agents, authors, queries, and writing for children. It was a great experience and I can't wait to go back in 2014.

And a few of my favorite posts from The Muffin, the WOW! Women on Writing blog:

Dear Manuscript: It's Not You, It's Me

A Fictional Finale

What 80s Movies Have Taught Me About Writing

The Hunt for a Great Human-Interest Story

What are some of your "greatest hits" from the past year?

How Do You Know When You're Ready to Submit?

I'm *this* close to beginning the book submission process. There, I said it out loud. Maybe that will finally convince me to spring into action. I've been thinking today about the question, "how do you know when you're ready to submit?" For writers, this could apply to a number of different things, such as:

• applying for a copywriting gig
• submitting a national magazine query
• finishing a novel
• starting a blog
• taking a writing class
• entering a writing competition

Over the years, I've prepared myself for various income streams. In order to gain more experience as a journalist, I've worked as a stringer for a metro newspaper and began writing parenting articles for regional parenting magazines and websites. I've held editing positions with regional magazines to learn more about how the magazine publishing industry works. I've conducted countless interviews in order to hone my interviewing skills and learn how to tell a better story. When I decided I wanted to take a stab at writing fiction, I wrote and revised and revised. And revised some more. I practiced writing in different lengths and genres, in different POVs and sharpened my voice. I entered writing contests. I wrote book reviews for my blog for extra practice. I shared my work with others and attended conferences. I had my worked critiqued. I picked up books on craft and researched agents through blogs and marketplace listings. 

None of this happened overnight. And rarely does success come easily for any writer. When I first started out, I expected to snap my fingers and make it all happen instantly. Of course, it didn't. And I'd be lying if I said I'm not afraid of the inevitable rejection notes, of hearing that "your project just isn't what I'm looking for." But I know it's all part of the process, and I'm ready for whatever comes my way.

In what ways have you prepared yourself for submission?

Year in Review

I decided to sit down today and glance through my files so I could get a gauge on what I accomplished in my career this year. I've been fortunate to have a steady stream of work in 2012, but there is definitely room to improve my productivity and branch out into new markets. I'm already making plans to attend at least one writer's conference this year and subscribe to some helpful publishing newsletters. Here's a look at the accomplishments I'm most proud of for 2012:

• My articles appeared in 10 out of 12 issues of Lake Norman CURRENTS.
• I had two bylined articles in Making Waves, the official newcomers guide to Mooresville, N.C.
• I wrote four articles for Great Lake Living, the official newcomers guide to Lake Norman in North Carolina.
• I broke into my first Canadian parenting publication with a reprint.
• My article “Writing for Free Opened the Door for Paying Assignments" appeared in the March 2012 issue of The Writer.
• I began working as editor of Little Ones, a bi-monthly regional parenting publication based in Charlotte, N.C. This past year, I edited and wrote copy and feature stories for all six issues of the magazine.
• My post “My DIY Writing Retreat” appeared on WOW! Women on Writing’s Friday Speak Out blog.
• I wrote my first two short stories for children and am now submitting them to the appropriate markets.
• In November, I wrote the first draft of a middle-grade fiction book in 23 days.
• I made the decision to turn an unpublished manuscript from mainstream fiction into a YA book and am currently working on that outline before I make revisions.

What were some of your most notable accomplishments for the year? What do you hope to accomplish in 2013?