Re-Evaluating Goals

So the year is slightly more than half over.  As is the norm, I made goals.  Then hubby broke his leg and I forgot all about goals.  Then I found out the department where I teach part time would be hiring two full time instructors.  I applied because it would be a way out from the crazy that is my boss, and I desperately wanted that.

I found out today that I didn’t get the job.  Actually, let’s be more accurate, I haven’t specifically heard a word, but I found out that one of my friends signed his offer letter today.  So apparently they skipped the interview process entirely and just made offers.  I didn’t get one.  I am mostly okay with this.  Once I heard about some of my competition, I worked on making myself okay with the notion of staying.  So I’ve come to terms with that.  This wasn’t a surprise.  There were other far more qualified people for the position and the department isn’t ready to move forward with their online program, which is what I am most qualified to help them do.

I’m not crushed.  But I am…conflicted.  I’d gotten to the point where I wasn’t certain that teaching in person was the right way to go.  Developing multiple classes would have put an end to my writing this year.  There’s also a component of “the devil you know.”  As crazy as my boss is, I still manage to juggle stuff and write.  I’d already basically said “God, if I’m not supposed to do this, just don’t let them offer me the job.”  Well, I guess God has spoken.  Yes, Sir.

So I felt compelled to go back and revisit what my goals WERE for this year.

  1. Finish Forsaken By Shadow and release it.  CHECK
  2. Redraft Hunted in Shadow and prep for submission by 2011.  DEFUNCT.  I put this one to bed and have since abandoned the traditional route of publishing.
  3. Plot out and write a second novella.  IN PROGRESS.  That was supposed to be Revelation and then that ran long and then came Edge of Shadow.
  4. Develop another online class for the 4 year university.  IN PROGRESS.
  5. Read John Truby’s Anatomy of Story. I haven’t done this one yet, but I’ll get there.
  6. Track my productivity.  IN PROGRESS.
  7. Make this year the year of exercise, where I make fitness a priority. IN PROGRESS.

So overall, I’m doing a pretty good job meeting my goals despite the leg break.  Since I 86ed Hunted in Shadow, I’d like to revise my writing goals to finish and release Edge of Shadow.  I’d like to finish plotting and begin writing out the stand alone YA I’m playing with, which would be good to serialize before release.  I’ll tell y’all about that in another future post.  Other than that…just keep plugging along.  Stealing writing time where I am able and seeing what I can do on the indie front.

And if that’s not enough, here’s a great post weighing up traditional publishing vs. ebook publishing by Robert Walker.

4 thoughts on “Re-Evaluating Goals

  1. It’s so awesome that you’ve been able to do all of this. You’ve been working hard and it will pay off in the long run. I admire anyone who can set goals and work toward them and yet not freak out too much if everything doesn’t happen in perfect order and harmony. You’ve inspired me to set more specific goals instead of running around just trying to “do stuff”. 🙂

    1. ROFL Oh, oh! You think I don’t freak out! Hahahahahaha! :picks self up off ground and assumes more serious expression: I assure you, I freak out plenty–I just generally take a chill pill before I spill it on all here so that I can come across looking like the unflappable professional you seem to think I am. See, it’s working! You’re totally deluded 😀

      I’m not sure ANYTHING in my adult life has ever worked out in perfect order and harmony. If it did, I think I’d be looking for the catch or the hidden camera.

      Seriously though, I’ve always been a big fan of setting goals, even if I know I’m not likely to meet them. It’s easier for me to work toward something than to just generally work without an aim in mind. I was like that to begin with, and it just got honed and refined by my choice of field because in psychology we’re all about setting measurable goals. And it makes me happy to be able to look back and either see what I achieved or figure out how to adapt the goal to something more manageable.

  2. I’m sorry you didn’t get the job. Even though you think it might have prevented you from writing, I found I got *more* writing done when I had a full time job. I have no idea why this was. I compared notes with a friend of mine who also retired and she’s finding out the same thing.

    I think too, it helps those in a hiring position to know that you are looking to move on/up. Maybe this position wasn’t right for you, but there might be something down the pipe. It helps to keep your name visible and circulated–much like promoting a book. :o)

    Goals are great. Kudos to you for keeping on track.

    1. Oh I already have a full time job, a second part time job that, right now, is demanding as much or more time as the regular full time job, and recently got rid of a THIRD part time job. It’s not a question of working vs. not working. I actually like my current job, I just hate my boss.

Leave a Reply to Kait Nolan Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.