The MiG's 2013 Goals

Happy New Year! Another year rolls in and we are super excited about  2013. Each January we always make our goals and share them with each other. This year we thought how fun it would be to share our goals with you.

Here they are!

Andrea Mack

1. Finish rewriting Novel #4 (my middle grade novel about a girl on a wilderness adventure).

 2. Finish drafting Novel #5, the middle grade novel I started during NaNo. I'm excited about his project and it's keeping me writing and puzzling about the plot.

 3. Write two picture book manuscripts based on ideas I collected during Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo). I have some good ones and I want to take the time to develop them into stories.

Debbie Ridpath Ohi

 1. I will make regular time for my novel writing every day, no matter what excitement is going on in my picture book career, and even it means just writing a very small chunk or revamping the outline or (in the case of severe deadline crunch for other projects) just thinking about the story and characters and what's happening next. The important goal is to devote some focus on my novel(s) every single day.

2. I will finish my revamped outline for my MG novel and write the first draft.

3. I will come up with 10 new picture book ideas a month (roughly two per week). Halfway through the year, I'll choose the idea I like the most and spend the last half of the year polishing the mss, working on rough visual ideas.

Christina Farley
(whose YA novel GILDED launches from Amazon Children's this November)

 1. Jan- Write and send sequel proposal to agent.

 2. Jan- Write and send new book series proposal to agent.

 3. Jan- Work on revisions of GILDED.

 4. Feb/Mar- Launch new website.

 5. Mar- Aug- If sequel is a go, revise it and send to agent.

 6. July- Work on book launch.

 7. Sept- Nov- Organize for the launch of GILDED.

 8. Nov- Launch GILDED into the world!

  Carmella Van Vleet
(whose EXPLORE ELECTRICITY! launches from Nomad Press in August)

 1. Finish revising my YA and send off to agent. Revise some more. (Hopefully submit to editors by end of the year.)

 2. Fine tune my picture book (with astronaut Kathy Sullivan) so agent can start submitting.

 3. Start outlining a new MG.

 4. Get together a brochure and look for more opportunities for author visits.

 5. Promote my new book, Explore Electricity!, due out in August.

 6. Read. Every day. (I'm inspired by Andrea and her annual 100-books- a-year goal. I need to get myself in gear!!)

 7. Sign some contracts. :-)

  Susan Laidlaw
(whose AN INFIDEL IN PARADISE launches in Feb from Tundra Books)

 I'm going to finish revisions on my second novel well before my March 1st. deadline, so I have time to mull over the changes I've made before submitting it, which means putting in a solid morning of writing, every morning, which is when I'm most creative. If I don't feel I can continue into the afternoon, I'll spend a few hours every afternoon doing something toward marketing my first book, which includes getting back to my blog. I will try to blog once a week.

 I will begin research on my third novel as soon as we get to Mumbai in February, which means volunteering with an NGO working with either street kids, or underage prostitutes. I'm going to finish the rough draft of my third novel before the end of May and try to have the revised version in my agents hands before the summer.

 I will stay on top of my critiquing responsibilities with my critique group because they really are the best and I love being a part of the Migs.

  Kate Fall

 Oh, Lord, manage stress, YES!

 I try to think of one word for the year. This year it's THINK. Think Big. Do my books interconnect? Think of new markets. Should I be writing for adults? Think more before I first draft. Think of what I want and can get from my career, and think on what I'm learning from others.

Asking Santa for an Agent? - by Christina Farley

Happy Holidays everyone! Have you written your list to Santa? One thing you might have on your list is: "Bring me an agent, Santa."

The other day, we MiGs were chatting about agents and offers and revisions and all that good stuff. After our chat, I thought how helpful it would be to put together all of our thoughts and ideas on what to do when you get that "call" from an agent.

So I made up this vlog that goes over each step of the process, some questions you might ask during the phone call and why you should ask those questions. I hope you find this helpful.



Anything else you would add to this list?

Christina Farley's debut YA, GILDED, releases fall 2013 by Amazon Children's Publishing (formally known as Marshall Cavendish). She is represented by Jeff Ourvan of the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency, LLC. She blogs and vlogs about writing and traveling, and is often found procrastinating on Twitter.

If I could give my younger writer self some advice - by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

It's been a pretty amazing couple of months for me. I'M BORED, a picture book that Michael Ian Black wrote and I illustrated, has been getting some wonderful press.

I really wish I could take part of the mega-good-karma that is happening now and sprinkle it into my writing career a few years ago, when I was getting rejection after rejection after rejection.

Way back, I used to think that once I had my first book published, I'd have it made.

The reality? There's a whole other level of angstiness. And of course the truth is that no matter what stage a writer (or illustrator) may have reached in their career, there will ALWAYS be something else to stress about. Those who haven't yet reached a particular level will envy those who have, no matter high up.

I'm sure even J.K. Rowling has her angsty list.

If I could give my younger self some advice, it would be this:

Enjoy every success, no matter how small. Try to put some of the emotional energy you're putting into... 

1. Wanting something you don't have

and

2. Insecurity about where you are vs where you think you should be 

....and save it for your creative process.

Meanwhile, of course, I'm trying to take my own advice in terms of my writing career. I've been published as an illustrator and am working with S&S on writing my first picture book.

The next step? Getting my middle grade and YA novels published! Grateful to the MiG Writers for helping me improve my novel-writing craft.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the journey. :-D

---------------
Debbie Ridpath Ohi writes and illustrates books for young people. Her illustrations appear in I'M BORED, written by Michael Ian Black & published by Simon & Schuster Books For Young People. I'm Bored was selected by The New York Times for its Notable Children's Books Of 2012 list.

Congratulations, Debbie!

Our very own Debbie Ridpath Ohi has a book on the New York Times "Notable Children's Books of 2012" list !!!!

Check out I'M BORED and all the other great books that made the list HERE.

We're so proud of you, Debbie! (Don't forget us little people. :-) ) 

My Grateful Post

I’m prone to complaining. 

There. I said it. 

If fact, I like to joke that I’m not happy unless I’m UNhappy about something. But favorite pastime aside, this has been one of those weeks when I’m sure I must be on a soap opera or maybe trapped in a YA book. It started with needing bifocals and ended with being put on high blood pressure medication. (Ok, so maybe not so much YA and more like AARP. :-) )

But as challenging as it’s all been, it’s almost Thanksgiving and I’m feeling grateful for many things. And I’d like to take a moment and celebrate a few things: 

My super talented critique partners - Andrea, Christy, Debbie, Kate, and Susan - who not only make me a better writer but a better person as well. (And who are really good listeners.) 

My agent, Marie Lamba, who always makes me feel like a rock star even though I know that’s not true.

Sites that teach me so many thing or just bring me joy. Sites like: 

http://kidlit.com/

http://andrea-mack.blogspot.com/
http://www.literaryrambles.com/

http://www.verlakay.com/

http://author2author.blogspot.com/

http://christinafarley.blogspot.com/

http://inkygirl.com/

http://cynthialord.livejournal.com/ 

Too many wonderful books to list! (Duh.) 

Editors who work tirelessly and patiently to make us look good. 

Everyone who shows up to read this blog.

That the first draft of my new book is done. (I really hate first drafts. I’m a revision kind of girl.) 

That I have a new non-fiction book coming out next year.

And I’m especially grateful for The News That Shall Not Be Shared (yet) :-) 

What or who are you thankful for this season? 

Why Writers Shouldn't Blog!

More news from the MiG Writers! The sixth (and most mysterious) member of our group, Susan J. Laidlaw, now has a new website and blog.

Susan is the author of the soon-to-be published YA novel, An Infidel in Paradise. 

Her first ever blog post gives us 10 reasons Why Writers Shouldn't Blog. I love this quote from her post:

"We need to be told enough is enough, it’s time to stop, your dog is going to expire if you don’t get off the couch and feed her."

I can so relate to this! I have to admit, there are times when I've actually forgotten to pick up one of my daughters from an activity because I was busy writing (it's good to remind teenagers that their mom's not a taxi, right?)

Anyway, I'm getting off topic. For more about Susan's new book and her take on being a writer, visit her new blog and website.

NaNoWriMo: Insane Or Motivating? Depends on your expectations and situation

Today's the first day of NaNoWriMo, also known as National Novel Writing Month! The goal: to write 50,000 words in one month.

I'm a NaNoRebel this year, but my friend Errol Elumir and I are doing daily NaNoWriMo comics over on the NaNoToons site.

There are many experienced writers out there who hate the idea of NaNoWriMo, or think it a waste of time.

As I mention in a blog post today, my take is as follows: it depends on your motivation, situation and expectations. If I had to offer one piece of advice for NaNoWriMo newbies, it would be this:

Whatever you do, do NOT send out your NaNoWriMo novel right after you've finished at the end of November, no matter how excited you are about it. 

If you wrote it in hopes of getting it published, then put it away for at least a few weeks and then start working to polish it. If you can wait until March, then participate in NaNoEdMo (National Novel Editing Month).

My other piece of advice: Have fun with it. If it's not fun, then why participate? If you find yourself falling further and further behind in wordcount, building up stress and guilt and self-loathing, then maybe NaNoWriMo is not for you.

Although I've done NaNoWriMo in the past AND had fun with it, I've found the timing just hasn't worked out for me in recent years because I'm always away for a big chunk of November. So I make my own motivation as well as finding other ways to vicariously enjoy NaNofun....like doing NaNoToons. And being an extra in the 6-part web series about NaNoWrimo, NaNoMusical! First episode just launched, and I appear in a few scenes :-).

So is anyone else participating in NaNoWrimo, PiBoIdmo (Picture Book Idea Month) or one of the other November writing challenges?