For the more experinced write, author JA Konrad's list of New Year's Resolutions:
Newbie Writer Resolutions
* I will start/finish the damn book
* I will always have at least three stories on submission, while working on a fourth
* I will attend at least one writer's conference, and introduce myself to agents, editors, and other writers
* I will subscribe to the magazines I submit to
* I will join a critique group. If one doesn't exist, I will start one at the local bookstore or library
* I will finish every story I start
* I will listen to criticism
* I will create/update my website
* I will master the query process and find an agent
* I'll quit procrastinating in the form of research, outlines, synopses, taking classes, reading how-to books, talking about writing, and actually write something
* I will refuse to get discouraged, because I know JA Konrath wrote 9 novels, received almost 500 rejections, and penned over 1 million words before he sold a thing--and I'm a lot more talented than that guy
Professional Writer Resolutions
* I will keep my website updated
* I will start a blog
* I will schedule bookstore signings, and while at the bookstore I'll meet and greet the customers rather than sit dejected in the corner
* I will send out a newsletter, emphasizing what I have to offer rather than what I have for sale, and I won't send out more than four a year
* I will learn to speak in public, even if I think I already know how
* I will make selling my books my responsibility, not my publisher's
* I will stay in touch with my fans
* I will contact local libraries, and tell them I'm available for speaking engagements
* I will attend as many writing conferences as I can afford
* I will spend a large portion of my advance on self-promotion
* I will help out other writers
* I will not get jealous, will never compare myself to my peers, and will cleanse my soul of envy
* I will be accessible, amiable, and enthusiastic
* I will do one thing every day to self-promote
* I will always remember where I came from
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