Let's see how I did:
To Do List:
1) Finish my presentation for the Delta Lake Writer's Gathering on July 5th - I am proud to say that not only did I complete my presentation ahead of schedule but the day went by flawlessly. I was more excited than nervous to speak to my fellow writers and look forward to having another opportunity in the future.
2) Complete my part of the work that my friend Hope Martson needs in order to publish her next book - Another achievement! Not only did I finish the formatting for Hope's Sacket's Harbor Powder Monkey book, it has since been published. Look for it at Amazon.Com
3) Take a deep breath, lay in the hammock and stare at the clouds to see what pictures they
make - Thanks to a wonderful summer program that my daughter attended I was able to take more deep breaths than anticipated. The relaxation was much needed. How soon is next summer?
4) Mutter through the 5 doctor's appointments we have this week, and go shopping after each one as a reward! - This one was a struggle. We did get through our appointments but not without being stressed over the tight schedule. The shopping however was fun.
5) Open my notes that my Beta readers have given me from my proof book and start implementing
changes - I have received all but one of my Beta books back and the feedback I received was taken into consideration. However the manuscript has taken a major overhaul since and I wished I hadn't shared my "sloppy copy" with so many people!
6) Wash my daughter's dance costume well in advance before her next competition date (well in advance may be a stretch, at least by the night before!) - Costume cleaned, dance shoes washed and we were ready to go ahead of schedule. Her dance competion advanced from the county fair to state fair and I couldn't be more proud of her !!!
7) Work more on my novel - WORK, WORK, AND MORE WORK. This I did dillegently. As I mentioned earlier big changes were made to the book. My first five chapters are now in the hands of a professional editor ! More on that to come soon....
8) Go camping, eat s'mores, and sing by the fire (if you are nearby, please insert your ear plugs
accordingly) - I did get to go camping, but unfortunataly only once. There was just too much to do. But that didn't stop me from endulging into the s'mores. No, I did not sing. My husband is grateful for that.
9) On the first sign of rain drops, quickly grab the broom and start cleaning the house that has been ignored since summer started - Well there weren't too many rainy days now were there? Enough said.
10) Send the revisions on my novel back to the Beta readers for a 2nd look, eat some ice cream, and then back to the book - Partly accomplished. The ice cream eating was of course done so with gusto, and while I did work on my book I did not send my revisions to the Beta readers.
11) Visit the zoo, water park, and maybe even a musem - Can you believe my daughter did these without me? She was one busy beaver.
12) Meet with my writing partner - Lisa and I did meet up on a few occasions, but not as much as I had hoped. With both of our goals to get our books out in the next year we had to adhear to our own tight schedules first.
13) Repeat goal # 3, 5, 8, and 10 - Finsished, Reapeated, and Finished once more.
14) Start thinking about back to school. Hmm...maybe some more shopping??? - This I did not do, nor was I even compelled to. For the first time ever I put off school shopping until the day before.
15) Finally learn how to get the pin it button to work on Pinterest - I did it!! Have you checked out my page? http://pinterest.com/windingroadbook/
16) If all goes well, update my query letter, send it off to an agent, and then wait with baited
breath - This one got put on hold but is not forgotten. I decided it is best to wait until my final revisions are done before persuing this.
17) Pick a day to do absolutely nothing! - Who was I kidding? I can never sit still.
18) Dig out some of my old writing and submit them to magazines - I am going to check this one off as done. I may not have submitted my writing into magazines, but I did get mentined in the Parenting Special Needs Magazine for my work on Somtimes The Wind Blows Sideways: Our Lives With a Special Needs Child.
19) Go on a date with my husband - YES! We found time to reconnect with one another. Alone time is always nice.
20) On the first week in September: scramble to finish everything on this list that didn't get done, find things that should have been on my list and make a mental note to put them on next
year's list. - I was actually realistic the first week of September. Whatever didn't get accomplished I didn't sweat over because I knew that I worked really hard all summer on the most important things.
Overall I think I had a very productive summer! I will continue to work throughout the fall on some of the things that did not get done over vacation. Only 167 more school days until I am off again :)