Hello, lovelies! I hope you are having a wonderful summer and are enjoying your holidays! For me, these hot, sunny days are the perfect time to settle into my Adirondack with an iced Coke and my list of goals for 2023—just to see how I’m going into the second half of the year. Let’s go ahead and dive in!

Query REBEL PRINCE

My goal was to dive into the query trenches with my first novel, REBEL PRINCE, and to query 72 agents by the end of the year. Thus far, I’ve sent out approx. 20 queries so I’m behind schedule. I did get one full manuscript request, followed by a kind, personal rejection. Since all the other rejections I received were form rejections, I decided to hit the pause button on querying and improve my query package before diving back into the trenches in September.

Write the first draft of BLACK CAPTAIN

My goal was to finish a first, comprehensive draft of my next project—BLACK CAPTAIN—before the summer. I partially completed this goal: I have a first draft! But is said draft comprehensive? Not so much. All the major plot points are there, but they are accompanied by sooo much messiness! To make sense of the chaos, I’ve started working on an Excel file in which I match my plot to the SAVE THE CAT beat sheet. Fingers crossed this will help!

Outline PROJECT X

I was hoping to write an outline of my super-secret YA romance by the end of this year. I’m pitching it as THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY x CAMP ROCK, by way of EVERY SUMMER AFTER. I’m still very excited about this WIP! But I’m also dreading the feelings that will undoubtedly claim me once I really start working on it. For now, I’m mainly indulging myself by building a Spotify playlist and creating the perfect Pinterest board.

Create a Newsletter

Another goal for this year is to create a newsletter. I haven’t made much progress in this department: I’m still in the “uggggh” phase of it all (a.k.a. denial). However, I did subscribe to a ton of writerly newsletters, and I’ve scoured “the YouTube” for good explainer videos on how to make your own digital monster baby.

Read 25 books in my genre

Sooo, I’ve read 15 books this year. Does that mean I’m ahead of schedule? Nope, nope, nope! I was planning to read a ton of YA fantasy books, but I just couldn’t get my head in the game. Out of the 15 books I’ve read, only six were YA fantasy. The others were a strange yet wonderful mix of historical fiction, romance, contemporary YA, and self-help. But, but, but: my TBR pile contains many YA fantasy books, so the year isn’t lost yet!