Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2013





Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. For more information about Top Ten Tuesday and a list of upcoming Top Ten Tuesday topics, click here.





Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2013

My goals are a mix of "personal bookish accomplishments" as well as how many books I want to read and where I want to purchase my books.

1. Finish novel and begin querying in Fall 2013.
I'm writing a steampunk novel for my Masters thesis.  It's a retelling of a classic piece of literature, and I'm having a total blast writing it.  I'm setting aside the entire months of June and July for revisions (summer vacation from teaching), and August is my deadline for completion!  Wish me luck!

2. Graduate with my Masters in Children's Literature.
Once I have my Masters in hand, my goal is to find a job in Children's Publishing.  I would love to work with middle grade or YA in an editorial or marketing role.  I'm currently exploring different avenues and entry level positions.

3. Post at least one book review a week.
My schedule for January has me posting two to three book reviews a week because I'm trying to catch up from my hiatus.  Reviews are slated in my posting schedule for Mondays, occasional Wednesdays, and Saturdays.  I'd love to keep up a two a week schedule, but as it's tough for me to READ two books a week (with teaching middle school and writing my thesis), I didn't think that was a realistic goal for me to maintain.

4. Read 12 debut novels.
Last year was my first year attempting the Debut Author Challenge.  I purchased 12 debut novels... but didn't get around to reading 12 debut novels.  This year I'm setting a goal to post a "Debut Review" on the last day of every month.  This is a way of setting a deadline for myself, and I work well with deadlines (even the self-imposed kind).

5. Read 3 Newbery books and 3 Printz books.
I took a graduate course in Newbery books as well as heard a guest speaker who served on the Newbery committee.  It gave me a real understanding and sense of honor for these awards.  I'm always excited to hear what books are awarded medals each year, and I want to continue reading Newbery and Printz award winners each year (not just when I'm taking a class!)  I also enjoy trying to figure out why this book was chosen/selected versus other books, and identifying the winner's merits.  I'm a total nerd!

6. Read 7 steampunk novels.
I am likely going to be doing an independent study in the Spring on steampunk, and therefore know I will be reading a bunch of it.  I also want to read what is out there in terms of YA steampunk so as to place my own novel in context.  Is it similar to what's already been published?  What does it have to offer that's new?  I have some theories, but I really need to read more in order to prove my assumptions correct.  Some books on my list: The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron, The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress, Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve, and The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann.

7. Read 3-5 contemporary novels.
This is a genre that I'm slowly growing to enjoy.  This year I read Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door, The Fault in Our Stars, and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (review forthcoming).  All of which I enjoyed, despite not being an avid contemporary reader.  This year I will undoubtedly be reading Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins, The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen, and Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry.  I'll be watching for a few more contemporary reads to add as well.

8. Read 3-5 historical fiction novels.
This is a genre that I used to love.  I totally grew up on the American Girl series. (Felicity was my favorite.) I'd love to renew my love of historical fiction because lately I've been reading a lot of fantasy and science fiction.  I've heard great things about Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly and Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson.  But I'll gladly take recommendations of great historical fiction.

9. Do majority of eBook purchasing from indie booksellers through Kobo.
I'm a little upset by what I've read about Amazon's business practices and their interactions with publishers, authors, and booksellers.  Despite loving my Kindle Touch, I want to shift my book purchasing to support independent booksellers.  I got an iPad for Christmas and downloaded the Kobo app.  Through Kobo, I can purchase eBooks from my favorite indie stores, like Browseabout Books in Rehoboth, Delaware or Politics and Prose in Washington D.C.  I want to purchase eBooks from the stores that offer me great book events, opportunities to meet my favorite authors, and a great shopping experience.

10. Start novel #2.
I'm not even done with book one, and I'm already thinking ahead to book two!  That's partially because book two was started before I even began book one.  But then there was the "Dystopian Boom" and I realized I had to figure out a way to make my dystopian trilogy different from all the others being offered.  I had a unique premise, but I needed a different ending.  Most dystopians end with either the protagonist running away from the dystopian society or rebelling against the dystopian society.  I wanted an ending that would be neither of those.  And I found one!  A fantastic twist!  I can't wait to return to this project when I finish my steampunk novel.

Whew!  Does anyone else feel like they need to print out all their goals and resolutions and post them on the walls to keep them in sight?  I have a lot I want to get done this year!

What are your Bookish Goals?

23 comments:

  1. These are some awesome goals! I also have reading Contemporary books on mine.

    Good luck with writing your novel, and your graduate work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you!

      I'll have to watch for any reviews of good contemporary books on your blog, since that's one of your goals too!

      Delete
  2. Gah, your writing projects (both one and two) sound soo exciting. I so wish I had the talent and persistence to be a writer. I wish you the best of luck on your reading and writing goals! I have a feeling I'm really going to be getting into contemporary more this year than any other before, as well...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm definitely surprised at how many contemporary books I'm excited about! I'll watch your reviews of contemporaries since I know we have similar tastes!

      And I hope someday you'll hold a finished copy of one of my writing projects in your hands :)

      Delete
  3. I love all your goals!!! Revolution is fantastic and I want to read more debuts this year, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh! Glad you liked Revolution! Def want to check that one out now!

      Delete
  4. Wow! Good luck with all of those, particularly the top two!

    Check out my list here if you'd like to.

    ReplyDelete
  5. These are some great goals, and I know you can do it!! I'm very curious about your twist on the dystopian genre. I haven't read much Dystopia, but it does seem like so much of follows a similar path. I really want to write more too. That's great you have a SET reason to write (your thesis) but I need to find some new motivation to write. I'd love to query again. I think I just got burnt out from some of my rejections last time and I'm just really busy. But I love it and I have all these ideas, so I need to make some time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It does really help to have a reason to write and deadlines to meet. Online writing partners to swap writing with can be really motivating. Maggie Stiefvater has done these writing buddy matchmaking things once a year on her blog, and it's nice cuz it's mostly people who read YA and also want to write YA. You should definitely make time if you love it!

      Delete
  6. Great goals! I'm looking forward to writing at least 1 book review a week as well. I write a lot of movie and TV reviews and often music reviews but book reviews seem to fall behind so looking forward to getting into more of a routine.

    Good luck with your writing goals!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I enjoy movie and TV reviews too! I don't have as much time to watch TV with work and grad classes, but I love hearing about good movies that are out!

      Delete
  7. Wonderful! I look forward to seeing you accomplish your goals this year! We have the same goals in #'s 1 &2!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ha! You're right, we do have a lot of similar goals for this year. We should make sure to help the other out. I liked what you mentioned about getting eBooks from indie booksellers. I didn't know about that at all. That's awesome

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow these are some ambitious goals. I'm impressed! I was never god at fitting personal reading in between school work, especially the higher my education got. I wish you luck on your novel, and graduation. I've also joined the Debut Author Challenge, and I hope to read books in all the genres you listed above as well.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for sharing the info about Kobo and independent bookstores. I will look into that locally!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love your goals towards variety of books! So smart.

    Fever 1793 is amazing, and I'd also recommend Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson as well. Another great hist fic!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I hope you enjoy all of the contemporary novels you read this year! I went overboard on the genre last year, I decided to try more paranormal reads. Lots of luck finishing your novel and with the sequel! Writing can sometimes be hard. I'm sure they will be great :D

    Thanks for stopping by my blog :D

    ReplyDelete
  13. I absolutely love #4, and as of the contemporary thing, I would surely be reading more than oyu! :)

    My Goals for 2013
    What I'm Waiting for This Wednesday

    ReplyDelete
  14. wow what a fun list! Your writing goals are so exciting, and they've piqued my curiosity for sure ;)

    Felicity was my favorite, too! I'm looking forward to seeing which historical fiction you choose (so I can read them next!)

    Good luck with all your bookish goals this year!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey, we should start doing critiquing stuff again this year. We're both getting closer :) Ooh, I never thought about a Masters in Children's Lit. How did you go about that? haha, you already read Stephanie Perkins, so I guess I didn't have to rec her the other day! For #8, GRAVE MERCY counts as historical fantasy! I love that you are going to purchase ebooks through indies now! That's amazing, keep us informed!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great goals, Lauren! And if you want a beta reader for your novel(s) just let me know! Good luck with all your goals!

    ReplyDelete

I love discussing books and writing with people, so thank you for taking the time to comment!

If you leave a link to your blog, I will always try to comment back :)