The Negative Goals
1) Have no tight deadlines
I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. The recent copyedits saw me rushing to Fedex at 7:45 in the evening to make the 8pm deadline for overnighting. And to ship a measly 5 lb of paper cost me $59.95. Why for a few more dollars I could fly myself, along with the copyedits, from Austin to New York City.
2) Not write 1,000,000 words to get a 100,000-word novel
Haven't written any 100,000-word new novel yet. Stay tuned.
3) Not be constantly behind on laundry, yard, and house cleaning
Gah! At the end of the copyedits, the abode resembled what my suburban, disney-fied imagination thinks of as a crack house. Kidlets were scrunching for socks in the laundry chute. And I just finally mowed the lawn yesterday morning, with some portion of the grass up to my knees.
4) Not exercise only when I have trouble fitting into my clothes
Haven't had trouble fitting into my clothes. Have been forgetting to eat rather than eating too much. But what awful shape I'm in. Rode bike the other day to kidlet's school because he forgot something at home. Half a mile, and I was about ready to dial 911. Must exercise more.
5) Not neglect this blog for months at a time
Gah again! If not an F at least a D. True there have been various updates in the past two months, but very little proper content. One reason is that all the contents have gone to other people--I guest-blogged at everybody and their great-aunt's place during March. The experience was excellent, but my sluggish mind can only originate so many blog posts in a given time period. Guess whose blog got the shaft?
The Positive Goals
1) Spend so much time with Hubby that he runs away when he sees me next
He is still walking towards me whenever I see him. So must do better.
2) Get my bike repaired and serviced so that I never drive my car again for distances less than three miles, which should cover the grocery stores and the library and the most of the rest of my life when I'm not working my accounting job (which is 10 months out of 12).
Was all set to go Monday past, then it rained. And then the senior kidlet was sent home from school with a nasty bug and he's been recuperating at home ever since. Will do next Monday.
3) Improve my grasp of the languages I already know.
Ummm...
4) Learn Spanish.
Maybe next year.
5) Make some money from writing. I made a grand total of $1,450 in 2007, from the Russian sale of Private Arrangements.
Well, what do you know? A goal accomplished! The delivery&acceptance check for Delicious came last month and surprised the heck out of me. I had totally forgotten that I was owed any money for it; I was just so happy that the book turned out right.
6) To make 5) happen, I should sell 4 books on contract.
Sold two more historical romances to Bantam. And given the snail's pace at which I write, I'm going to call this a goal accomplished too. Lots of people would lose sleep--not the least of which me--to know that I have more than that many books under contract. If I ever manage to write a book in under six months again, I'll revisit this one.
7) Have five foreign sales. I had three in 2007--Russia, Germany, Spain. Foreign rights sales are the awesome. Every one is like a little Christmas.
Sold French rights to PA in March. Not bad.
8) Become a better person. I'm actually not a bad person at all, but there is always room for improvement. (And I wonder what it says about me that this resolution is way down on the list. Ha!)
Uhhh...no halo around my head yet, so still a work in progress.
9)
I actually went out and tried on a pair. I looked stupid in them.
10) Care enough to be upset when my resolutions languish from casual neglect. :-)
Casual neglect, check. Casual indifference, check. Nope, still same old me. Well, I did hate that the house got so messy while I was on deadline. So perhaps there is hope for me yet. :-)
15 comments:
Hi Sherry,
I am writing this on Mars !..
Anything about existence of life on Mars is misleading..
Believe me, there is no life on Mars. Everybody goes to bed at nine here..
I tell you what... Anything that feels good is either against law, ethics or religion..
You are smart, why dont you write something that men can read too, without getting bored.. For example about a wicked girl..
I promise, if you do, I will buy one copy..
I took 4 years of Spanish. You would think I would speak it fluently. HA!
Como Estas? Tu es bonita ;)
Hmmmm, is that a message from Sma Tyler up there?
You set yourself tough goals, Ms Thomas.
I just finished your delightful book. It is wonderful. Truly, I loved it.
(I am also relieved. After all the fuss I've made about looking forward to it, I'd have felt a right 'nana if I hadn't liked it). Will blog about it at some point but you're not exactly desperate for publicity are you? Not one but two fabulous reviews on Dear Author for starters....
Sorry, SAM Tyler.
As in Life On Mars.
Tumperkin,
Women are from Venus, men are from Mars...
And, Martians do have well defined basic needs:
red meat, wine and women...
Romance is not in our diet...
Dear Anon,
Did we have lunch together recently?
And what feel-good @#$% have you been doing again? Didn't we talk about it already?
As for a book about a wicked girl, how about one who goes to Mars and wouldn't let people go to bed until 9:30?
Kate,
I took five years of French before I went to France as an exchange student. And it was still a huge struggle the first few months.
Tumperkin,
More than wasting people's money, I hate to waste people's time, more so if it's someone with very little free time, like you.
So I'm also relieved at this end.
:-)
Dear Anon,
Add romance to your diet. It's as easy as getting money out of Nigeria. Promise.
Wahoooo!!! I'm so excited that you sold another 2 books!!! That means I get to read 'em!!! Wheee!
And I bet you looked cute in those skinny jeans.
Oh, Catherine, I wasn't exaggerating. I looked downright dowdy in them. :-(
On the positive side, I will be saving a lot of money, since I've yet to see a pair of cheap skinny jeans.
You ARE funny!
Congratulations on the sale!!! What great news! I admire you for being so goal-oriented, and for holding on to your French! Mine didn't stick with me.
Bev,
I like to think of myself as elegant and sophisticated, but in real life I'm a ham. :-)
Janine,
I get excited when I think about such things as getting contracts, then I think about how hard it was writing Delicious and I am tempted to stick my head into a mound of pillows.
And you don't know my French. It blows mightily. :-)
Well, it is me again: the Anon,
Sorry, I am answering late. I have been too busy to log on lately, u know, the wicked girls (rather wicked women). OK, just kidding, no wicked females around me anymore.
I have never been to Africa, so I do not know how difficult would it be for me to take money out of Nigeria, though do not underestimate my negotiation skills. I got bankrupted three times in 7 years. The last one was a twelve million dollars plant. I am seasoned..
You are an expert on love. Tell me. About that girl. Should I feel guilty about her. I paid her for being a wife substitute for a month.
Cooking, cleaning, playing an affectionate wife. Going to bed was optional, she did not (obviously I am not that attractive anymore).. Left with a big tip as well some golden gifts, including a watch..
I am planning to outsource wifes for the rest of my life (after flashing two real ones down). I believe it may work !..
Hi Sherry! After meeting you at RWA last year, and reading your brilliant first book, I assumed you were an angel or your own personal muse! My starry eyes have changed to robust admiralty for your every-day life goals that are just like mine.
Congrats on selling two more books! I can't wait to get your next one at the RWA literacy signing! Happy Writing!
Jacqueline,
LOL. No, no, please going on thinking of me as my own muse. Let's not let a little thing like reality come between us. :-)
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