Writing Goals
November 8, 2009
I’ve published work in The Capilano Review, one of my favourite literary journals and a tough nut to crack. TCR is the first literary journal I ever purchased, as a child on a rare trip into the city. After I started to publish, I found two journals resistant to my work: TCR and Grain. This year is something of a breakthrough for me in that I had work accepted by both journals.
I turned 30 not long ago and have been thinking about my writing goals. I wanted to have my first book published before I was 30, and I just squeaked by on that count. I wanted to have my second book accepted before my first was published, and that happened when Coach House Books accepted my manuscript for Clockfire (this also fulfilled another goal of mine, to have a book accepted by Coach House, my favourite press). I wanted to publish my writing internationally (check), in the journals Filling Station, TCR, Grain, CV2, Prairie Fire, Matrix, and The Believer (check, check, forthcoming, check, check, check, check). I even have work being republished in Harper’s soon. I wanted to publish a refereed academic article and a book chapter (check & check), and I wanted to publish in an anthology (check), and a chapbook (check). I also wanted to publish a pseudonymous work (forthcoming) and to publish in a newspaper (check) and to publish some photos (check — took some for Quill & Quire) and edit a national journal myself (check).
Not too bad, considering that when I turned 25 I was depressed at having accomplished nothing, and vowed that by the time I was 30 I would have done a lot more as a writer. Well, I always feel like I could have done more, and there are always wasted hours and unproductive days and weeks, even months, but in general I think I’ve been pretty industrious. And so I need some new writing goals — which is a good thing.
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