2023 Reading and Writing Goals

After my successful reading (and only a little successful writing) last year, I'm setting more goals! Of course, I've learned some lessons I'll be applying to my new goals as well. 

Reading
1) Volume of Reading
In 2023, I won't be keeping track of the number of books I've read, but the number of pages. This is because I got so stressed about needing to finish books last year that I felt guilty choosing long books, and didn't want to DNF a book after investing so much time into it. If I go off of pages read, then I can DNF a book without feeling like I'm letting myself down, and I can pick long books without worrying about needing to read faster. I went back to my data from 2022 to get a baseline and in 2022 I read just over 14,000 pages. 

My 2023 goal:  Read 15,000 pages


2) Variety of Authors
I liked keeping track of the number of female authors I read, but I found it super easy to hit my goal of >50% of the authors being female. Therefore, I don't think I'll set a goal for this in the up coming year. However, I will keep track, and if it drops below 50%, then it'll be back on my resolutions next year. I just want to see if I naturally meet this mark. 

However, I was challenged by my 2022 goal of 50% of the authors being unlike me in some (demographic) way.

My 2023 goal: >50% of the authors will be marginalized in some way


3) Variety of Publishing
One really tough aspect of my goals last year was the 8 indies. Most of them were great, but two were big flops for me. Still, I could just be looking in the wrong places for recommendations, so I'm going to keep at it!

My 2023 goal: Read 9 indie books


4) New Aspects to Track
I want to add a new challenge this year as well, and I've thought about reading award winners/nominees, classics/foundational novels of scifi, or debuts. I'm a little torn, so why not all three? 

My 2023 goal: Read 2 foundational scifi novels
My 2023 goal: Read 4 scifi award winners/nominees from the last 2 years (2021-2023)
My 2023 goal: Read 5 debut novels (from 2022 or 2023)


Writing
A lot of these will look familiar, but the only way to get published is to keep trying. 
1) Querying
This is staying the same, since finding five open agents from my list every month proved to be pretty tough sometimes.
My 2023 goal: Send >5 queries each month until I finish my potential agent list

2) Writing Fresh
I don't care which month I finish the novel in, so long as I finish it. I've been getting great feedback on the first half, which has given me a ton of ideas for the second.
My 2023 goal: Finish the first draft of my current WIP

​3) Critique Groups
Tried and true, I'm going to earn my keep in these valuable groups.
My 2023 goal: Continue to attend my critique groups and keep up with the pre-reading (when applicable) 

4) Continuous Improvement
I have great opportunities this year for workshops, and I feel like maybe it's even safe enough to go to big conferences again. Hopefully the timing works out. 
My 2023 goal: Attend one writing workshop or conference

6) Short Stories
These have never been my focus, but with two short stories published now, I want to keep going. You never know when an agent's reading an anthology or magazine, right?
My 2023 goal: Get one short story selected for publication. 

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That's about it. I'll check back on this post at the end of next year to see how I did. 
Do you have 2023 goals and resolutions for reading or writing? Let's chat in the comments!