Happy Friday! Please remember to visit me over at the Scribes for Cal’s Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies. Yes, you did read that right. I did use double, chocolate, and cherry all in the same sentence.

It’s hard to believe that it was only a year ago that I started this blog (in April 2011). And last May, I was preparing to pitch to editors (see here). Well, CT Fiction Fest is back (tomorrow!!) and I will be pitching again. Only this year, I’ve decided to throw an agent or two into the mix.

Now that I’ve sold two books, I’d like to expand my horizons or maybe it’s more accurate to say broaden my reach. I’ve realized that in order to keep motivated, I need to update my goals. For so long, the goal was – sell a book!

Mission accomplished. Now it’s time to dream bigger which includes writing more stories. And believe me, I’ve got loads of them locked in my head, scribbled in notebooks, and even all over Post-It notes. Coming up with ideas is not a problem. Executing those ideas, while promoting Mystic Ink and preparing The Undead Space Initiative for release all while maintaining a full time job/life, is not so easy.

But, hey, I’m not complaining. No one is standing over me with a gun making me write. I could walk away at any time. Of course, I wouldn’t be happy with myself. I already know because I’ve walked away from writing before and it drove me nuts.

Since stopping isn’t an option, eventually something will have to give. At the moment, I’m focused on Mystic Storm and a totally different novel. That’s means not so much time spent on social media or other activities. The only way I can create time for writing is to take it from something else. That’s just how it is.

Buried deep in my mind is the fantasy that some day I can quit my day job. There is 8-9 hours, right there, plumb for writing. If I need to  acquire an agent to do that – I’ll consider it. If I need to stick to e-pubs for a while – yup, that works. If I need to Indie publish – that’s a viable option too.

So back to pitching, this year, the focus is on –  where can I go next? And what can I accomplish with the time I have?

To a non-writer I know this seems like crazy talk! But in reality, you have to really love what you’re doing to keep going. Selling a few books was exciting, but by no means the end of the story. Like anything writing is a journey, not a destination.

How about you? What are you trying to accomplish? What are you willing to give up to get there?