A.J. Maguire

Tag: year in review

  • 2018 In Review

    This year was crazy fun! Not only did I move across the country, but I got a ton of work done while I was at it.

    IMG_2193What did I have projected for 2018? Well….

    1) Complete Ashwood edits 1-3 and begin shopping it around.

    Big check mark here! Not only did I begin shopping it around, but I got some great feedback. I don’t want to jinx anything, so I’ll just say that I’m hoping to throw some celebratory confetti soon.

    2) Complete Enemy Souls and release it the Fall.

    IMG_1699Mostly check mark… Because the book is done, but I have decided to do some crazy new things with this book in the coming months. I will be releasing it as a podiobook, chapter by chapter, for FREE. But if you can’t wait for the chapters to come out or the sound of my voice irritates you (hey, it’s possible) then it will also be out for sale in hard copy at the same time.

    This is a marketing ploy. I know. And I do hate marketing, but at least this way I can have some fun with it. I’ll be stretching theater and public speaking muscles that haven’t been used in some time, so it should be a grand adventure…

    As soon as I have a proper microphone and sound booth. (Christmas, fellas. That’s my eyelash-batting wish to Santa and he seems to like me enough to agree.)

    2nd Edition of the original Tapped novel released sometime in the summer.

    Newp. Didn’t do this one. I have the edits done and I know what I want to put in the Fact 1130181417cvs. Fiction section at the back, but I put it on hold because it made more sense to do the Tapped universe stuff all at the same time. So you can expect this to come out around the same time or slightly before Enemy Souls makes its audio debut.

    3) First Draft – Song of Swans.

    Sadly, this novel was scrapped. Or not so sadly, because it became Castle of Three Kings and the first draft of that novel is complete. SO! I give it a check mark as complete anyway.

    4) First Draft – The 13th Month. 

    As of this moment I am 8 chapters shy of the finish line. If I keep my deadlines then the book will be more than done by the end of the year. So I’m going to give it a preemptive check mark.

    5) First Draft – Inmate.

    1130181417aI didn’t even start this one. Big old X and a blaring horn of shame.

    BUT!

    The things I did that weren’t on the agenda…

    Several short stories, one of which I am going to give as a freebie for my New Years Celebratory post. I won Camp NanoWrimo AND I won November’s NaNowrimo.

    Started plotting a completely different novel thanks to the Writing Excuses Master Class that I’ve been taking. 1130181417b

    Began working on my twitter presence and all the marketing stuff that I super hate but is required for people to actually… you know… pick up my novels. It’s been grueling work there, but at the end of the day, I remind myself that it is more important to write good books than to try blasting people with my information.

    Hence the Master Class. And the classes through Coursera I’m taking. And the fact that my butt hits the chair at 9AM sharp every day.

    I have also had the pleasure of connecting with writers in this area. All have been lovely people and I am so pleased to call them quasi-neighbors now that I’m in New England.

    I hope everyone else had a great 2018!

  • Year in Review – 2017

    img_0444Can you believe we’re almost into the year 2018? It’s like I blinked and suddenly my year was gone!

    2017 was a flurry of activity for me, both in my writing life and in my personal life. However, as this is my writing blog, I will concentrate on my writing victories. My friend L.J. Cohen, author of some awesome YA Science fiction (Derelict is my favorite), got me started on this annual assessment of my writing time.

    For those who don’t know the rules, this is where I look at what I projected to have done in 2017 and see what flopped and what managed to get finished. So! What did I say I wanted done in 2017?

    1)  Final edits on Usurper – Not only was this done, I got it in to the publisher and it

    UC front cover-sample-2
    Cover Art by Richard Stroud

    went through 2 more edits with in-house editors and is scheduled for release on February 1st.

     

    2)  2nd Edit of Dead Weight – A big green check mark here.

    3)  Begin Song of Swans – I am slowly making my way through this novel. It has been started and I am looking at a longer timeframe to get it completed in because the story is so big.

    4) 1st Edit of Ashwood – Currently I am neck-deep in revisions for this novel. A lot is changing so this is the more intensive edit and I believe I will be working on it well into 2018.

    5) Outline Inmate 87101 – Nope. Not a jot. Double Red XX Marks on this one. I didn’t even think about this novel.

    OK… So 4 out of 5 of my goals were met. I’m going to call that a win.

    What’s in store for 2018?

    Well, in the Spring I am looking at a big move and once that happens I will be looking at a lot more writing time. With that in mind, I have big plans for 2018.

    Big, intimidating plans.

    Plans that might bite me in the batoosh before the year is over, but I will do my best to get them done.

    1) Complete Ashwood edits 1-3 and begin shopping it around. This is my paranormal romance ghost story… thing. I wrote it for NaNoWriMo 2016 and enjoyed telling a love story amidst all that weird ghosty-mayhem.

    Scorned2) Complete Dead Weight and release it the Fall. This is the sequel to Tapped. It follows our hodge-podge family of military deserters and religious refugees introduced in the first book.

    Also, there will be a 2nd Edition of the original Tapped novel released sometime in the summer. My intention is to give a Fact vs. Fiction version that has some of the research for Pluto/Europa and our solar system in the back. This is purely for fun. Nothing major will change in the story.

    3) First Draft – Song of Swans. I am calling this my long project because it is so big, but I hope to have it finished by the end of April.

    4) First Draft – The 13th Month. I cannot wait to get my hands on this book. It has been simmering in the back of my head for a while now and I will begin it June.

    5) First Draft – Inmate. This is the third installment of the Tapped Series. I will begin work on it in October and finish out the year with it.

    Also! In relation to the Tapped Series, I have begun outlining and exploring books/novellas that will span the Galactic Wars and show our intrepid Tango Five in action. I’ll know more about these as I work.

    Essentially, I’m looking at 3 first drafts and 3 completed novels, giving me a total of 6 projects done by the end of the year.

    Bring it on, 2018.

     

  • Year in Review – 2016

    img_0444
    Empty Cork-Board!

    That’s right people, we’ve nearly made it through one more year. And it was an election year at that!

    Which … let’s be honest … I’m terribly surprised we managed to survive. I think we can all agree that this year’s election was just plain ugly to watch. But, hey, we managed to get through.

    And that means it’s time for my Year in Review!

    This is one of my favorite posts to do. It’s where I take a look at what I projected to have completed 365-ish days ago and what I hope to do next year. It’s … sort of New Year’s Resolution stuff but focused on writing.

    Because if I don’t have goals I end up playing Star Wars the Old Republic and reading a ton of books.

    Which … consequently … has been my whole December, but I did that on purpose. December is my month off.

    So! What did I say I was going to do this year?

    1)  Dead Weight – the sequel to Tapped is slated for work to begin starting January 1st.  

    Check! Totally did that.

    2) Primal – This is a new-adult-paranormal-romance novel that I’ve been kicking around for years. I’ll begin work on it sometime in June, after I’ve completed the draft for Dead Weight.

    … Well … Primal was revamped into Ashwood, which I completed for NaNoWriMo this year. So, technically, I can put a check mark here too.

    3) Residual Haunting – Will be completed in 2016. ‘Nuff said.

    Derp. Nope. I didn’t go near Residual Haunting all year long. Big red XX in that box. I actually forgot I meant to do that this year.

    4) Usurper – Is currently being edited. It may drag into the first two weeks of 2016, but not much further than that.

    I did do this. But it needs another edit before I’m comfortable with it. So … I’ll put half a check-mark.

    5) Persona – Is going to go onto Kindle Scout. 

    Big check mark here too. Persona DID go to Kindle Scout. And there it languished in obscurity because I am just horrible at asking people to vote for my things. It is now out for review with one agent and one publisher and I might try five more places before going ahead with publishing it in the Indie market.

    What did I do this year that I didn’t project?

    img_0451
    Nuisance in the tree. 

    Well, I wrote a novelette called Torven and a short story called Ava and began world building a new fantasy called Swans. And I got a new kitten for the kiddo who continues to try climbing our Christmas tree. And I started a relationship with a very good man who doesn’t mind my crazy.

    All in all, I’d say 2016 was a very successful year.

    What do I want to do in 2017?

    1)  Final edits on Usurper – I have this scheduled out for January through March.

    2)  Dead Weight – Editing, editing, and more editing. I hope to have this novel out for sale in the Fall.

    3)  Swans – My new novel for the year. High epic fantasy. I lurve it already.

    4) Ashwood – Beginning edits in the Fall.

    5) Inmate 87101 – This would be the third installment of the Tapped series. I want to have the outline completed by the end of the year.

    And that’s it! Those are my writing projections for 2017. I’m totally jazzed about it and I can’t wait to start.

    I hope everyone else has something they’re looking forward to getting done in the coming year. If not, well, have a good year anyway. If you do have some writing goals then …  Good luck to you! I’ll see you all in 2017!

     

  • The Close of 2014 …

    Yep, it’s that time of year again. The moment when I look back and take stock of what I did or didn’t manage to accomplish during the last 365 days. (It’s less than that, I know, but with Christmas and Residual Haunting posts I need to toss this post up sooner rather than later. Because my all-time favorite post is the one where I decide what I’m going to get done in 2015 and stuff.)

    So … here are the things I said I wanted to get done in 2014 …

    #1) Graduate.

    Big check-mark there! Back in May I graduated from Northwest Nazarene University with my BA in Christian Ministry.

    #2) Submit Persona to the ABNA contest in January.

    Another big check-mark. I didn’t win, but they did send me an invitation to Kindle Scout, which I haven’t decided on yet.

    #3) Implement edits from developmental editor (Yay, Gabriel Fitzpatrick!) on Tapped.

    In spite of an epic failure coring an avocado that left me one-handed for several months I did manage to implement not only the edits from Gabriel Fitzpatrick, but suggestions from my Beta readers as well. Check, check, and check!

    #4) Finish Residual Haunting.

    Residual Haunting is almost finished. It is currently being posted as a serial novel on Wattpad and is updated every Wednesday morning. I’m going to put this one down as half a check-mark. (PSST. Wattpad means you can read the current chapters for free! Go check out my creepy sci-fi/horror thing!)

    #5) Revamp the synopsis and query letters for the revised Tapped novel. And then Send. Out. Those. Queries.

    Check. I did this. And then I decided I wanted to self-publish Tapped (and its entire series) because it gives me more creative freedom.

    #6) Revise Persona and start formatting it for publication.

    …. Um … nope. Due to the unforeseen incident with the avocado from Hades I spent most of my working time focused on revising Tapped. It was excruciatingly slow work given that I had two fingers I could not feel during the months of May through October.

    #7) Participate in NaNoWriMo again.

    I totally participated. And I totally lost. Again. I should give myself a negative check-mark for losing.

    Is there such a thing as a negative check-mark?

    #8) On December 2, 2014 Persona will be released as my first self-published novel.

    ………… Needless to say, this did not happen. Production on Persona was pushed back. It’s new publication date is set for April 2015. However, I will be sending this in to agents and traditional publishing houses first (as per my arbitrary agreement with myself for all my work) so that date might be pushed back again depending on what sort of response I get.

    #9) I would really, really, really like it if I could climb a mountain.

    I climbed through a canyon. It wasn’t a mountain, but it was climbing. Half a check-mark.

    #10) If I can swing it, I would love to be a Secret Santa for someone next year. I’ve had one this year and it has been wonderful fun.

    Check-mark.

    So! I did relatively well in 2014. Bring on 2015!

  • Good Lord, is 2013 almost over?

    Looking at my blog schedule I realized that I have all of 3 weeks left in the year. 3 weeks and 2013 is over!

    Well, three weeks and a few days if we want to be technical. But since the end of this year is actually going to be supremely crazy for me (5-year-old + Christmas = Mayhem) I thought I’d better write my year-in-review now. Because honestly, apart from making New Years goals this happens to be one of my absolute favorite posts to make. (Uber loves and thanks go out to Lisa Cohen for getting me hooked on this.)

    So! What did I say I wanted to do in the year 2013?

    1) Submit my edited copy of Dead Magic to DDP on my deadline of March 1st.

    There’s a big check mark in that particular box. Dead Magic was sent in, edited twice over by the fine people at DDP, and will be released in 2014.

    2) Finish Usurper.

    To be totally honest, I’m still working on this one. But if I follow my schedule I will have it done on December 3oth. Which is cutting it a little close but … eh … at least it’ll have a completed draft.

    3) World Build and (hopefully) complete Tapped.

    Another big check mark. Tapped has a completed draft AND went through the hands of an editor. I’ll be editing Tapped using the editor’s notes starting January 2nd.

    4) Climb 2 Mountains.

    …….. Well, you see, my car broke. I couldn’t drive up to the mountains in a car that kept breaking, so I couldn’t climb any mountains. But I totally made up for this, I swear!

    Those are the 4 goals I planned out for 2013. Here’s what I did in addition to all of that;

    1) Re-wrote and serialized my first historical fiction — Hurray Persona!

    2) Participated (and lost) NaNoWriMo, leaving me with 37 thousand words of a truly entertaining ghost/science fiction story.

    3) Edited Deviation per DDP notes — subsequently Deviation will also be released in 2014.

    4) Wrote a short story for a new DDP anthology — which I imagine will come out soon. (The Nano-Fisherman’s Wife)

    5) Wrote another short story for a completely different anthology which will hopefully come out around Christmastime. (Countdown to Goodbye)

    6) Started lifting weights. (This is not a joke. I totally have started lifted weights and my arms look incredible. If I weren’t allergic to the whole “selfie” picture thing I would totally post one just of my biceps.)

    7) Started researching the Civil War era for a prospective historical novel.

    And that’s all on top of the whole school work thing. Which, by the way, I will graduate in the Spring. But I’ll post next week about all the fun things I get to do in 2014. For now, I’m just happy to see what I managed to accomplish in 2013. It was truly a year of hard work, but it was work I enjoyed doing so that made it worth all the hours in front of an empty page.

    I hope everyone else had a wonderful year and I’m looking forward to a fruitful 2014.