This year, I decided, I will commit to my adult writing, particularly short form. While I published eight children's books with a good traditional publisher, it's been fifteen years since I've seen any movement in my writing for middle grade and YA. During that time I've had short stories and essays published for adults and have moved into humor writing, publishing on Medium. That seems a more productive use of time.
Why Choose One Age Group?
Writing requires much more than just writing. Writers should be reading what is being written for the age groups they write for to help them understand what others are doing and where they are doing it. They should be doing market research for their age groups, meaning, for short-form writers, what publications are publishing what they write and, for long-form writers, what agents and publishers would be interested in considering what they're doing. There are different types of workshops and other types of studying to do for each age group. There are different social media groups to network with for each age group.
I am also interested in a variety of short-form writing--humor, essays, short stories. Writing about eating, versus food writing. I've completed and submitted a humor piece already this year, I'm working on an eating essay, and I'm thinking about another essay about time management for writers. Needless to say, all three of these pieces need to be submitted to different places, meaning I have to stay up on what the three different publications I'm interested in require for submissions.
Trying to work for two different age groups has been spreading me too thin. I hope that concentrating on adult work will give me opportunities to write more, submit more, study more, and build more of a reputation as an adult writer.
How Will This Impact Original Content?
Now For Specific Goals And Objectives For 2023
- I've been rereading the manuscript and creating a blueprint of changes to be made by chapter and determining what chapters I need to finish the book and developing those.
- I need to write an essay one of the characters writes.
- Use the blueprint to finish a draft.
- Send the draft to a reader I've lined up to check out technical information.
- Complete and submit something every month to a Medium publication.
- Revise some short stories and essays, preparing them for publication.
- Increase my reading of both traditional and on-line journals--market research.
- Spend more time with flash and essay Facebook groups, places to find both material to read and publications for submitting to.
- This will require some research regarding changes I am interested in making.
- Blueprint where those changes will go.
- Make the changes!
- Research agents for adult books
- Submit Good Women first, since it's closer to being done and may have some current events interest
- Provide social media support for adult writers and continue supporting children's writers when appropriate, which means when the spirit moves me.
- Attend virtual events for adult writers, fewer for children's writers.
- Attend workshops for adult writing.
- Use NetGalley to support authors with new books publishing this year.
- Continue promoting Original Content at Facebook communities, Goodreads' blog, and Twitter.
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