So instead, I'm still calling it my year in writing, but I'm going to focus on a bunch of other things that happened too. You'll thank me later.
January
Endings and Beginnings
After twelve previous drafts--yes, TWELVE--over the last seven months, I *finally* felt like draft thirteen was ready for me to type the two words I hadn't let myself type before--at least not together. "The End." I *might* have cried a little. And it was just in time because two weeks later I attended my first writer's conference. Not gonna lie, it was 3 of the most stressful days of my life. I didn't know anyone, and I had 5 pitches to agents and some of the other writers I met...well...let's just say they were less than friendly. But I SURVIVED. And walked away with 3 partial requests, a full request, and a conference choice award for my first chapter. Yeah, I was shocked too.
February
Stalling and then Twitter changes lives
After LOTS of going round and round on who to query and when to query and OMG-I'm-too-scared-to-query, my family, friends, and CPs ganged up on me with an epic Twitter campaign (#hitsend) and shoved me into the querying pool, kicking and screaming the whole way. Within 12 hours I had my first rejection, 2 partial requests and a full request from a partial--oh, and I still had ten chapters to finish line editing before I sent the full. It's amazing my head didn't explode.
March
DREAMS and REALITY
After 2 roller coaster weeks of querying, my dream came true, and I got an offer of representation from my #1 Wish-List agent. Yeah, it was totally cool. She was traveling when I accepted her offer, so I had to wait 3 weeks to announce (I was too worried I'd get a "just kidding" email, so I wasn't going public until I had my contract in hand) and when I finally shared the news, the reaction and support was AMAZING. Such a high. I'll never forget it. And then...reality set in, when I got my first Laura Rennert revision letter. It was LONG. And thorough. And full of amazing ideas. And OMG SO SCARY!
April
Self Doubt, Drama, and Re-Grouping
I started out the month pretty much paralyzed with fear. Wondering what would happen if I couldn't nail the revision (would I lose my agent and have to flee the country for the shame of it?). Wondering where to even start on her notes. Doubting I was good enough. (Incidentally, this was when the revision-is-stressful diet kicked in). And as if that wasn't fun enough, some things in my personal life became...well, let's just say drama-filled. Not gonna lie, it was a tough month. I took a few weeks off blogging. I lost some weight. But by the end of it I knew who my real friends were, what I needed to do with my draft, and I had finally started tackling the revision.
May
Full steam ahead
Here's where the writing part becomes repetitive (*coughs* Revision *coughs*). But somewhere in the midst of that, I got an email from a friend saying, "Hey, I want to plan an online writer's conference. You in?" (well, okay, she was more articulate than that, but I'm too lazy to go back and find her actual wording) And I of course said, YES. Even though I had NO idea how in the heck we were going to do that.
June
Slogging through
WriteOnCon was slowly becoming a REAL THING (hey, it even had a name!) and even though I still didn't really understand how any of it was going to work, we were contacting agents/authors to participate--and they were saying YES! Wheels were in motion. Hundreds and hundreds of emails were being sent and group chats were being held and websites were being built and life was pretty much insane.
July
The tough month and the sekrit to keeping the joy.
July was an INSANE month. Comic Con. SCBWI LA. WriteOnCon planning. Oh yes, also more revision. And I'll confess, I was getting burned out. BIGTIME. A friend who knew my struggles suggested I start another project to give me a change of pace, and I wanted to laugh. I was SO busy already, when would I have time for that? But when I was out of town with my husband for our anniversary I couldn't sleep (insomnia sucks) so I grabbed my laptop. I'd planned to get some work done, but my heart just wasn't in it. So on a total whim I opened a new, blank document and wrote from this new voice that had been hanging out in my head--a new character with a new story I hadn't planned on telling. And it was a revelation. I only wrote 6 pages but they were the best 6 pages I'd written in a long time--not because they were perfect (if only...), but because they were FUN. My sekrit project was born, and ever since, whenever I need a break or to fall back in love with writing, I spend some time with it. It's like therapy in a draft.
August
WRITEONCON!
Everything was down to the wire. Faculty were being added. Some were dropping out. Then some who'd dropped out wanted back in. And the emails. Oh, the emails. It's amazing gmail didn't close my accounts. And just when I thought it couldn't get any crazier, it was CONFERENCE TIME. Longest three days EVER. Between Error 403 (I *still* have nightmares about that) and keeping up with the forums and the emails and moderating events and everything else, I pretty much didn't eat or sleep the entire time. But it was SO worth it. Not just because we reached so many more thousands of people than we expected. Not just because Publishers Weekly ran a story on us. But mainly because here was this HUGE thing we'd done that helped a whole lot of people, and it had all come from a few vague ideas and a ton of email. Anything really is possible if you set your mind to it. Who knew?
September
Back to normal--or not
Just when I thought life would calm down, WriteOnCon came back for more. We got so many emails from people who were sad they'd missed the conference, we decided to hold monthly live events. And whilst we were scrambling to organize those, we found out the only way to avoid another Error 403 was to switch to a different web hosting company--and it was expensive. Cue scrambling to put together an epic fundraiser. Cue hundreds more emails. But that's okay. I happen to love email. And the fundraiser and live events were another huge success.
October, November, December
Group blogs, more of the same, and finally--a routine!
Funny thing about being super insanely busy for an extended period of time: it starts to feel normal. And then it IS normal. I finally figured out a way to organize my time so that I can answer all my emails, organize the live events, revise, work on ze sekrit project when I need to, blog, play on Twitter, and occasionally eat and sleep see my husband. So I figured, why not join a couple of group blogs??? ;) But hey, I'm kind of a pro at juggling now. I don't even really feel it. And hopefully between that and the fact that I am FINALLY getting close with my writing, here's hoping 2011 will be the year I sell my first book. Only time will tell.
*Phew* So there you have it, my year in revising/querying/signing-with-an-agent/blogging/planning-an-online-writer's conference/stressing/not-eating-or-sleeping-enough/surviving-drama and oh yeah, WRITING! Sure, I've had some ups and downs. But I've always moved forward.
And I do want to add one more thing. This year I have made some of the most amazing, supportive writer-friends ever. I seriously don't know how I survived without them, and with their help I know I can handle anything this crazy publishing business throws at me as I continue to chase my dream. Bring it on 2011. I'm ready!