As the clock strikes midnight as 2025 ticks into view, the myriad of goals and new year, new you videos and ads bombard every social media platform. It is a moment that is anxiety inducing and also offers a chance to start again and look at the next 12 months as a clean canvas. I often hope as the clock strikes 12, a magic wand is waved and all the worries and fears of the previous year are miraculously solved, but alas that is not the case. The only magic is hard work, perseverance and maybe a little bit of luck. I am usually in the category of anxious of a new year starting and having find some way to achieve my goals. This year I wanted to focus on a handful of goals that I have already been working towards in 2024 and I can hopefully achieve in 2025.
Read my end of year review here.
1. Find a literary agent
This is an ongoing goal from August 2024 as I started querying my debut YA fantasy novel and hope to receive an offer of representation or a full manuscript request in the near future. As of writing this post, I have sent 28 queries, 10 rejections, 9 no responses and 9 active queries awaiting a response. I also had what I am now referring to as my Mamma Mia moment as one agent only accepts initial queries via post. As I printed my carefully crafted letter and found an envelope with a stamp, I pulled my winter coat on and left the house in the cold evening air in search of a post box. As I stood by the letter box in the quiet, I let the envelope fall into the letter box. As I walked back home, the scene from the Mamma Mia film rippled into my mind, where Sophie sends her three potential fathers an invitation to her wedding. She sings I have a dream as the envelopes fall into the letter box. As a massive ABBA fan, I couldn’t help but hope this was a sign and just as Sophie embarked on her journey, so am I. Fingers crossed!
The pitch: A girl makes a dangerous deal to save her father and becomes embroiled in a century old power struggle. Inspired by the magic and adventure of Pirates of the Caribbean this YA adventure blends rich world building, emotional depth and high stakes adventure perfect for fans of Tricia Levenseller’s DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING, Rachel Greenlaw’s COMPASS AND BLADE, Stephanie Garber’s ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART and Cassandra Clare.
2.Finish my current work in progress.
I began writing this nugget of an idea late last year as a distraction from querying, I wasn’t able to reach my word goal for the first draft. So, 2025 is the year I aim to finish writing this draft and see how I feel about maybe querying this idea as well as my original manuscript. Last year I binged watched Gilmore Girls and absolutely adored the close knit community of Stars Hollow and the diverse characters with endearing personalities. I knew I wanted to write my version of a fun cast of characters and that formed the basis of my current creative writing project. Gilmore Girls at Sea is the vibe in a cosy fantasy with a strong dash of romance.
3. Read more books!
In 2024, I read 40 books and and this year I want to stretch that goal to 45. I’ve already finished reading my first book of the year – review to come!
Stay updated
Amy is a writer and reviewer and is currently querying literary agents with her Pirates of the Caribbean inspired debut fantasy novel. For more content click here to read book reviews, short stories and updates on Amy’s writing journey.
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