Happy new year folks! Happy new decade! As resolutions tend to have an air of failure about them I'm not going to make any, but I do have some plans. I'll probably sign up for another year of university study - only one paper and although last year's required a lot of reading and even more time on assignments, its ensures that some of my time will not be spent just navel-gazing. I wish it wasn't so expensive but as I get to do it in the comfort of my own home I shouldn't complain too much.
I'm determined to finish some of my bigger writing projects and start on something new. I also plan on more submissions. Some will be in NZ but I'm keen to try some overseas options as well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm also tossing up whether to attend the SCBWI conference in Australia in September. At this point its hard to assess how beneficial such a trip might be so I can't tell whether the cost is justified. I think my initial overseas submissions will be to Australian publishers and agents then, so I get a feel for what the possibilities are and whether its worth a visit. Its hard to keep my enjoyment of travel out of the equation.
What 2009 taught me is how the unexpected can rule your life. I was lucky to have lots of opportunities to visit schools and give talks as a result of winning the Children's Choice Award. Even though I know there probably won't be so much of that this year, I hope I still get the chance to meet the readers and talk about writing from time to time and I have a proactive plan in place to try and make that happen.
Hope your 2010 is a good one. I'm off to create some 'firsts' for this new year, this new decade.
3 comments:
Happy New Year Melinda. I hope you storm the publishing world in 2010
Submissions - have you thought about submitting to US agents? They seem pretty open to overseas writers. Lots of them also accept e-submissions, so no huge postage costs.
Hi Melanie, Happy New Year to you, It was great to see your books on display at the arts centre inChristchurch when I recently visited. The shop assistant knew your books and recommended them.
I look forward to reading some more of your wonderful books - Denise
Good advice thanks, Justine. I'll definitely include US agents in the submissions plan for this year. I loved your last post. What a huge decade the noughties were for you. Hope there's much more of the good and none of the bad for you in the coming decade.
Hi Denise - great to hear from you. Nice to know I have some support in Chch too :)
cheers
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