A Softer 2018, in ?? Steps

So my hot take: 2017 was pretty fucking awful. At the moment, twitter (where I’m spending a lot of my time) is filling up with resolutions and suggestions for 2018, and that sounds like an absolutely fine and dandy idea to me. TALLY HO.

PERSONAL SHIT

What I want: To get out of debt.

How I’m going to do it: Organize and budget.

I mean, the real answer here is ahahahahahaha, but leaving that aside, I plan to do shit like revive my budget and organize my incoming mail. LIKE A GODDAMN ADULT. If nothing else, it’ll keep the paperwork down and my head in the game.

What I want: Make my health a priority.

How I’m going to do it: Make an issues/solutions list.

Like, I’m going to actually write down all the things I think could maybe be wrong and/or could use some tweaking, and then make a solid game plan to address those things. I’m going to be THIRTY-SIX next year, I am clearly heading toward decrepitude, I need to start paying attention. Also apparently being healthier makes you feel better?? Who knew?? (Everyone.)

What I want: To be more gender-inclusive.

How I’m going to do it: The singular they.

No more he/she baloney – everyone’s getting a “they” unless otherwise specified.

Okay, now that that’s out of the way…

PROFESSIONAL SHIT

What I want: To beat my 2014 story sales record.

How I’m going to do it: Write a new short story at least once a month.

I’m still really proud of the number of stories I managed to sell in 2014, and it all came down to the amount of time I was spending writing. (Lol, I WROTE MY WAY OUT.) To get back to that, and prompted by Charlie Jane Anders’s article “12 Secrets To Being a Super-Prolific Short Story Writer”, I’m going to try and write a new short story every month – and, natch, send them out on submission.

What I want: A new agent.

How I’m going to do it: Send out queries.

YUP. GONNA DO IT. Somehow in my ridiculous life I’ve never gone through the querying process, BUT 2018 IS A GREAT YEAR TO START.

What I want: To sell another book.

How I’m going to do it: Finish another book.

This and the agent one sort of go together – if I have an agent, I have a better chance of selling a book! If I have a book, that’s, like, step 1 to getting an agent! It’s circular. THE CIRCLE OF LIFE. EVERYTHING THE LIGHT TOUCHES SHALL BE MINE.

That’s me – how about y’all?