New Year, New You - How to Make Those Dreams Come True

The start of 2014 meant more to me than merely the start of a new year.

I wrote all the time when I was a kid, but the hobby tapered off when I went to university. Then I took a writing class in 2005 and the bug was back. It took me many unfinished works and a few more years for the nagging urge to write to morph into a persistent fog-horn sounding call I couldn't ignore any longer.

My writing goal for 2011 was to complete a manuscript. I finished a full length novel "Fly Boy" which is still unpublished. I only sent it to one publishing house, got an 'R', and have let it sit on my hard drive ever since. Sometimes I think about taking another look at it, with fresh, more experienced eyes, review/edit, and sub it again. I'm sure it has a home somewhere.

I wasn't overly ambitious in 2012. After four years at home with my two kids, I went back to work. Life became a whole lot busier with even less me-time. So, my goal, once again, was to complete a manuscript. I wrote a novella "Dream Hunter" and sent it to one publishing house. It was rejected and I put it back on the digital shelf.

I wasn't thinking beyond one publishing house. I simply accepted the rejection of my work as confirmation it wasn't good enough and then started a new project. Because the ideas kept coming.

My 2013 goal was to publish a manuscript. After a year back in the trenches, I needed something to keep me going. Publication was possible... books were published every day, after all... there was no reason why someday it wouldn't be one of mine. I took another look at "Dream Hunter", saw the potential, and did a little re-working. Then I started looking for a publisher. Just Ink Press decided to take a chance on me - an unknown novice. When I saw the contract sitting in my inbox on Christmas morning, it was the best present I could have gotten. That doesn't mean the iPad goes back, honey!

If you have a dream, plan for it come true. I don't believe in new year resolutions. I don't join a gym or start a crazy diet just because it's January. But I do believe a new year brings a fresh start; an opportunity for change; a chance to make those dreams come true.