Happy New Year!

A new year, a new chance to forget the mistakes, the failures, the wishes that didn't come true. It's time to start afresh. Here's a clean slate that I can design any way I want. I have a whole year to make it all happen.

I have no need or desire to make new year's resolutions, especially those that are out of my control. A finished novel is a great achievement, but getting it published traditionally is pie in the sky or a shot in the dark or jam tomorrow.

I spent the first six months of 2013 querying literary agents for my completed novel. A few asked for samples, but none took the bait. I decided to get a professional opinion and sent the manuscript to an editor for a substantive evaluation. It took me a month to make the changes he proposed, then I sent it back to him for a copy edit. Was it worth the money I invested? Only time will tell.

So, here we go again. 2014 will see me querying agents with a fresh, revised novel with a new title, a lower word count and fewer characters that just might be the bait agents are looking for.

I’m halfway through a new novel, but I stopped writing because my unpredictable characters ventured so far off the outline’s path that I need to organise my thoughts and make sure I’m headed in the right direction.

I’m looking forward to another year of writing, and I'm crossing my fingers that this will be the year that I find that elusive literary agent who will find a publishing house for my prose.