13 Writing Goals for 2013 - Better Late Than Never

I was fascinated by a young woman who made a 30 before 30 bucket list. She came up with thirty projects, tasks and dreams she wanted to accomplish before she turned thirty. How motivational! How cool! How unattainable!

I mean, really. At my age, the closest round number is 50, and I don't think I have enough time to complete fifty accomplishments unless they include Eat dessert for breakfast and sleep in.

My husband and I came up with 13 for 2013 instead, and though we each have our own list, we cheated a little. There are a few joint projects that went on both our lists.

Naturally, I thought I should have a  13 for 2013 for my writing. Is it too late to get them done? It's already July.

1. Blog more often than I dust the tops of the bookshelves. At least some semblance of regularity. Enough that those who follow me don't start scanning the obituaries.

2. Finish three novels.  It's not as intimidating as it sounds. They're all in different stages, so it's not as if I'm starting them all from scratch. And I put the pressure on this goal. I contacted my editor and scheduled the first edits of two of the books for the first quarter of 2013. Then I hung up and passed out.

3. Get my e-books on CreateSpace. I have several novels and even more short stories, but I figure that once I get the process down, it will be a cinch. Right?  Right???

4. Quarantine my FB. Right now, it's writing notes, friend notes, and spiritual sharing. That's right. It's a mess. I like to keep up with certain folks, and I'm shy about unfriending all but the few I actually read. Maybe variety is good, but I'm not so sure.

5. Unsubscribe to every newsletter and update except for the few I read. Right now, my inbox has over 1500 3,000 items in it...and I had it under 1,000 the other day.  This means putting on my angry face and following up on the unsubscribes that continue to show up weeks later.

6. Figure out my iPage website. It has a lot of cool features, I'm certain, if I could only figure them out. I don't want to become a web designer.  I just want my page at a level where teenagers who stumble across it refrain from sneering.

7. Take a few business classes, because writing is a business. And it will give me confidence if I ever get audited.

9. Get all the straggler short stories, compilations etc. finished and off my plate. That way I'll have room for new, fun projects.

10.  Do a better job each and every time, whether copywriting or outlining the latest novel.