There are a few ways that I can do this but time is of the essence so I'm going to share with you my 2017 and then my writing intentions for 2018. Seeing how much I love lists, this post is chock full of them.
Highlights of 2017
Highlights of 2017
Best of nine photos are all the rage this time of year on Instagram so here are my #Bestofnine for 2017.
- Presenting author at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature (aka Dubai Literature Festival)
- having my sister visit me in UAE
- visiting my cousin in Portugal
- celebrating the life of my brother Roury
- spending last moments with my publisher Sheila Barry
- playing Mas' at Cropover in Barbados
- celebrating my 40th birthday
- my 2nd picture book Malaika's Winter Carnival (aka book #4) launched in August, accepting an CLASP Americas Award honor for Malaika's Costume and making a speech at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
- Highlights Foundation retreat in Fundamentals of Writing Biography in Honesdale, Pennsylvania
- spending time with niece and nephew in NYC
- desert camping
- travel to 12 countries (see below)
- started dating again
- attending the #teamsoca wedding of Njeri and Tomee
- getting closer to signing more book deals and an agent
- getting closer to finishing writing projects started years ago
- getting bookings for author visits
- new teaching jobs (one in Dubai, one in Vietnam which I eventually turned down, and now one at home in Toronto)
- spending time with friends and family.
- losing my job
- moving from Abu Dhabi to Dubai
- moving from UAE back to Canada
- grief in losing my publisher Sheila Barry and my brother Roury
- finances
- dealing with loss.
God guided and supported me through it all.
Travel Highlights of 2017
2017 Travel highlights pictured here Left to Right, Top to Bottom:
Not pictured but also trips I took in 2017 which also include border crossings and layovers of flights where I actually left the airport:
- UAE
- Sri Lanka
- Egypt
- Spain
- Portugal (and Portugal)
- Trinidad
- Barbados
- US (in Washington DC).
Not pictured but also trips I took in 2017 which also include border crossings and layovers of flights where I actually left the airport:
- Kuwait
- Germany
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent
- US (NYC, Philadelphia/Pennsylvania, Baltimore),
- Portugal (the Azores)
- Oman
Thank you to author Hélène M Boudreau for inspiring me to do the 2017 kidlit author roll call. Writers, please share your progress!
My Writing Goals 2017
How did I do with my goals as of today (December 31, 2017)?
My Writing Goals 2017
- 12 manuscripts (4 picture books, 1 mg, 4 young adult, 3 non-fiction)
- 1 book award
- find an agent
- Malaika... book # 3
- finish Malaika... play manuscript
- 5 book contracts
How did I do with my goals as of today (December 31, 2017)?
- 5 manuscripts (3 picture books on submission, 1 non-fiction manuscript Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter set for publication by HarperCollins in 2019, 1 young adult at 36, 000 words)
- 1 Americas Award Honor by the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP) at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC for Malaika's Costume (acceptance speech below)
- began manuscript submissions to agents and so far received a few positive responses
- Malaika... book #3 is one of the 5 manuscripts listed above and currently in development
- currently working on Malaika... theatrical adaptation (again) in a playwriting course (the same one I took 2 years ago) and currently at 8 scenes
- 3 book contracts in the works (after receiving 3 rejections, 2 of which are turning to work on other projects)
- I applied to arts grants to assist me in covering the research and living costs to completing these
- Malaika's Winter Carnival, sequel to my first picture book, was published by Groundwood Books in August 2017 and completed the book trailer in November 2017
- joining as a presenter with Authors' Booking Service News
- getting more bookings this year and in 2018
My Writing Intentions for 2018
- 2 young adult novel manuscripts (1 ready for submission to publishers, start writing the other)
- 1 completed Malaika... play manuscript
- 5 picture book manuscripts signed for publication
- attend a weeklong writing workshop (either VONA or Highlights or both)
- 2 literary/writing conferences (to attend)
- sign an agent
- Social media strategy:
- 1 blogpost weekly
- 1 newsletter bi-monthly
- 1 youtube video for my channel monthly
- 2 tweets daily
- Instagram and Facebooks posts regularly
- 1 blogpost weekly
- Research:
- Jan-Jun 1-3 hours each week
- arts grants/funds to allow me to do 2 international research trips
- Jan-Jun 1-3 hours each week
See you in 2018!
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