Happy New Year! It’s now officially 2022, and as I do every year, it’s time for me to take a look back at the year that was and a look ahead to future goals. In writing this post, I browsed back to see what my goals were for 2021. At the time, I had three:
- Finish edits on my mystery novel, The Keeping Place, and begin submitting it for literary representation.
- Finish my WIP, The Ghosts of Wingate Hall, and indie publish or submit for small press representation.
- Publish my collection of short stories or submit individually to magazines for possible publication.
Overall, I didn’t do too bad in meeting those goals.
- I finished editing The Keeping Place, and started submitting agent queries in early December. So far, I’ve had one rejection.
- I had hoped to knock out Wingate with NaNoWriMo but only managed a little over 22K. NaNo was a fail for me, but I used November to draft query letters and a synopsis for The Keeping Place, and begin researching literary agents.
- I published my short stories as a collection called Things Old and Forgotten.
Moving ahead, 2022 is going to look much the same as 2021 did.
- I need to continue submitting The Keeping Place. I know I’m in for a long haul in finding an agent, but I have faith in the manuscript. I’ve heard horror stories from best-selling authors regarding the amount of queries and time (YEARS) they invested before finding an agent. Discouraging, but at least I have plenty of other works to keep me busy while searching.
- I REALLY plan to finish The Ghosts of Wingate Hall this year. It’s a little over halfway complete. As the title implies, the story is ghost fiction (mixed with mystery/suspense). The jury is still out on indie pubbing vs. contacting a small press, but I’ve got time to decide.
- Once Wingate is done, I plan to return to Belladonna Cottage, my NaNo project from 2019–a straight mystery mingled with a splash of folklore.
My blogging schedule will likely look different moving ahead, too. Long time followers of this blog may remember my Mythical Monday posts, which took an in-depth look at various cryptids, urban legends, and tales from mythology and folklore. I maintained that Monday blogging schedule for years, then later did a brief stint of Wednesday Weirdness, which pandered to the same ideas.
In 2022, I’ll be introducing Mae Clair’s Cabinet of Curiosities. I can’t wait to share many of the strange and bizarre legends that have intrigued me over the years. We’ll definitely be taking a closer look at my favorite cryptid, the Mothman, the creature who factors into my Point Pleasant Series. The first Curiosities post will appear next week. While I may try to schedule them for the same day each week, they’ll likely pop up sporadically and won’t be on any set schedule. The same goes for my book reviews and guest author posts.
Elsewhere, you can find me on Story Empire, where I’ll be blogging throughout the year with the other members of SE on topics of writing, publishing, books, and all things related to the written word. I hope you’ll join us, and I hope you’ll continue to visit me at From the Pen of Mae Clair.
The last two years have been a challenge for all of us, but I’m hoping we’re headed toward the light at the end of the tunnel. Among all the things I’m grateful for, I include my many friends in the writing community and blogosphere.
I’m raising a glass of the virtual bubbly and wish all of you health, happiness, and many blessings in the coming year!