I Plan, so that I will Do

It’s kind of cliche to do the resolution thing this time of year, but I am currently sorting through various proposals for my attention and time, considering which ideas will make it on my plan for the coming year.  I have a long history of making resolutions and failing, year after year.  The failures for the most part were due to lack of planning:  to many big undefined goals without any planning to base them in reality.  This year I’m determined to do it differently.

My goals fall into categories like Home, Family, Writing, Work, Roxy, Health, Community, etc.  My strategy is to gather my ideas into these categories, determine priorities and make concrete plans.   Some projects are shorter term, some longer, some will have periodic deliverables, some are one-time items.   Following the advice of a local health official who writes for our newspaper, I’m making plans, not resolutions.

For writing, I want to continue the momentum I started in late 2010.  I’ve got two pieces submitted for possible publication this year.  For 2011, I want to submit work to another couple of anthologies.  One prerequisite is that I do some research into calls for submission.  Some anthologies publish every year (Best Lesbian Erotica, for example) and others will be new (Stalled and the Lesbian BDSM anthology are new).  I want to create my own list of resources — publishers, sites listing calls for submission, editors or other regularly published writers — so that I can get a better sense of the opportunities available to me.  I’m also open to non-erotica  collections, so I need to broaden my scope.

With that in mind, here’s a start on my goals for 2011:

Writer’s goals for 2011

• submit 1 piece for publication within the first 6 months of the year
• submit second piece before year is out
• create list of publishing resources within first two months of the year
• research options for public reading of my erotica within driving distance of home
• participate in at least one public reading before the year is out
• research possibilities for regularly featured column on a website other than my own (may be a collaboration with Roxy, we’ve talked about this possibility before)

If you know of resources that will help me accomplish my goals, please leave a comment or email me at kyle_style5000 AT live DOT com.

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