New Year's Resolutions!

Yeah, I'm one of those people - I used to insist upon making long lists of resolutions at the start of every year, but right now I'm trying to make a shorter list with more achievable goals (which is a resolution in itself!). As 2013 is a very important year for me (among other things, I'm publishing my first novel in January and graduating from university in July!), I need to make sure I'm ready to face the challenges!

My Goals for 2013: 

1. Make a viable post-graduation plan. At the moment, the plan is to secure as much work experience as possible (I have two internships lined up between now and graduation, but nothing secured for summer...yet!) and decide if doing a Publishing Masters isn't a financially unrealistic option! It depends on whether I feel I'm ready to start work right away, or if I need more experience first. I don't have the money for a Masters, so the only option if I do one is to take out a scary huge bank loan and get into even more debt!
2. Prepare for the publication of my first novel - contact bloggers, organise a blog tour (as I still don't have a release date from the publishers, this is proving difficult right now!).
3. Decide how to publish my next book (Darkworld Book 1) - should I continue to query or self-publish? And where's the money for editors, cover design etc going to come from? (I have no idea about that one!)
4. Continue to work on the sequel to THE PUPPET SPELL!
5. And continue to be stubborn in the face of comments about how I'm attempting the impossible. I'm trying to publish another book series and also start a graduate career in publishing. Can I do both? Well, why not? Yes, publishing' insanely competitive and hard to get into. But I've managed to get 3 work placements, one at a top 6 publisher. It's not impossible - and I'm not the type to give up!
Ditto publishing my own books. Even if I fail to get a publishing contract for my new series (and the genre is quite niche), I'm more than happy to do it myself. I've already chosen a potential editor and cover designer, and I now know how to convert and format e-book files. And I've spent most of my life doing what most people would claim to be impossible!
So my final resolution is the usual - self-belief, not letting other people beat me down - and, of course, surviving the emotional trauma of leaving university!

But for now...Happy New Year everyone! :)