It’s the last day of ROW80 round four and almost the end of 2011. So how’d I do with my goals?

ROW80

At the beginning of the round, I set out to:

• Finish current round of edits, using the revision checklist from James Scott Bell’s Revision And Self Editing to track my progress
• Send manuscript to beta readers
• Read The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass
• Begin researching literary agents
• Polish query letter
• Start preparing pitch for Writer’s Digest pitch slam

FAIL.

Except, not really.

I still made progress with my edits and had some really productive weeks (all thanks to write-nights). I read Hooked and figured out how to make my opening shine. Because the Writer’s Digest pitch slam is only a month away (eek!) I’ve started to research the literary agents that will be there, and work on my pitch and query letter. I have drafts of both so I’m on the right track.

What’s next? My “winter break” (as I like to call my upcoming 11 days off from work) begins on Friday so as soon as the Christmas festivities are over, my plan is to revise my way into the New Year. (Not literally. I’ll take a break for the champagne toast!) Then I’ll join the next round of ROW80 on January 2nd so I can keep the productivity going! You should join too!

So in conclusion, I’m giving myself a pat on the back for trying my best this round. I’ll celebrate with an extra helping of chocolate fondue on Christmas night.