here's how my 2025 goals are going

It often occurs to me that this newsletter is aimless. Sometimes I write posts for aspiring writers; sometimes I write for my readers; sometimes I write personal essays for myself. It bugs me that I don’t have an organizing mission or theme, as well as that I’m so inconsistent with posting frequency. (Rule #1 of newsletters is to choose a consistency and stick to it! I know this!) I’ve been thinking about sending out a poll to see what type of content you all want. If I do, will you please respond? Until then, we carry on with wherever my latest whim takes me.

Today, that means checking in on my 2025 mantras and professional goals. The year is somehow one-third of the way over already. Let’s see how it’s going.

Book 4

Here’s what I said in January:

I’m going to… as soon as I turn in book #4.

One measly half-sentence dedicated to book 4? Talk about short shrift! On January 29, I shared the first draft with my editors. One month later I received feedback. Reader, these were the fewest notes I’ve ever received on a first draft. Maybe it’s because this novel’s protagonist is a writer, and this book is about the publishing industry, a world I know intimately. Maybe I just got lucky. But to get all three editors (US, UK, and Canada) to agree that a first draft is great is… not something I’ve ever managed before. For the past six weeks, I’ve been working on draft 2, which I turned in Wednesday. Hoping to share title and premise with you in the not-too-distant future. This one should publish in fall 2026. A couple of hints in the photos below.

Left: The last scene of the book takes place in a publishing house lobby. It's based on the Penguin Random House lobby (my publisher, pictured here). I have a borderline spiritual experience every time I enter this chamber. Right: The interior of The Mysterious Bookshop in Tribeca, which makes an appearance in the book. I visited both locales during my trip to NYC last week.

Screenwriting

Here’s what I said in January:

Last spring I wrote a pilot for a speculative TV show idea. I’m going to (finally!) revise it as soon as I turn in book #4. A few years ago I also wrote a feature-length biopic about a real woman who lived the most jaw-dropping life in the early 1900s, but then I did nothing with that screenplay. Why?! I want to take another crack at it, then potentially submit it to some screenwriting contests. All of this is in service to the goal of getting a TV/film manager and/or agent this year.

I did not start revising the pilot as soon as I turned in book #4. In fact, I have made zero progress on screenwriting projects this year. But for good reason, I think. Some new information came to light, which forced a reshuffling of creative projects, so that while waiting for book 4 feedback, I began developing book 5 instead.

One of my continued self-frustrations is an inability to prioritize unpaid but important work over contracted writing. Have you heard of the Eisenhower Matrix? I think about it, oh, weekly. My novels fall in the top left (“Do”) quadrant. Projects like screenwriting fall in the top right (“Schedule”) quadrant. At the beginning of this year, I scheduled the unpaid stuff. Put it on the calendar, blocked off X weeks, and was determined to see these projects through. But although I work alone, I don’t work in a vacuum, so whatever is happening with my team’s schedules affects mine too. I am hoping to get back to this work in the second half of the year. Does anyone have a secret sauce for creative project management? (Don’t tell me there’s no secret sauce.)

Book 5

Here’s what I said in January:

I’m going to write a novel that isn’t a thriller. I’ve had one idea in particular since—checks Google Doc—June 2023, and it has been an irrepressible bee in my bonnet for the past eighteen months. During the second half of this year, I will commit to researching, outlining, and drafting (some of) it.

Though I’ve made no progress on the screenwriting front, book 5 is coming along. I learned in mid-January that I needed to prioritize this project, so the day after I turned in book 4, I got to work. That meant research, character development, plot ideas, jacket copy. I wrote a prologue I love and a first chapter I hate. I’ve since come up with a better starting point for Chapter 1.

I’ve had to put the project aside while revising book 4, but now that I’ve turned in draft 2 , it’s full steam ahead on this new one. The plan is to write the first four chapters, perfect the pitch, and then share it with my agent. Pictured are some of the books I’ve been reading or plan to read for research.

From top to bottom: The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes, A Commonwealth of Thieves by Thomas Keneally, No-No Boy by John Okada, The Train to Crystal City by Jan Jarboe Russell, and The Nazi Conscience by Claudia Koonz

Short story

Here’s what I said in January:

I’m also going to revisit the short story form. Around Halloween I was invited to contribute a story to an intriguing literary magazine. … I realized I could use this opportunity to resurrect an old novel pitch that my publishers thought mainstream readers wouldn’t stomach. Hoping to write that story end of winter/early spring.

End of winter is gone, as is, in some places, early spring. This project has come to a standstill—in part because of the aforementioned reshuffling, in part because some contract details became clearer. In this publisher’s case, I’d write the story first, THEN see if the publisher wants to buy it. This is also how writing your debut novel works, but all subsequent contracts with the same publisher do not typically require writing the whole she-bang.

(Can you see why? Developing and writing a story takes a lot of time, sometimes years, and I have a mortgage to pay. If writers had to wait years to get paid for their work, we wouldn’t be able to eat.)

So, I have two options here. 1) Pass on the short story invitation, so that I don’t risk wasting devoting a bunch of time to what is, for now, another non-contracted project. OR 2) Take the risk! The reality is that being a writer means doing a lot of unpaid creative work. Similar to the screenwriting projects above, if I want to expand into new mediums and reach new audiences, this is the deal. I’m leaning toward option two, taking the risk. I haven’t written a short story in eight-ish years. I kind of want to see if I’ve gotten any better at them.

New miscellaneous project

This week my agent reached out about a cool new invitation we received for a novella-length project, around 40k-50k words¹. These are the suggested parameters:

I love her female characters – I often think about Rose Gold still now. The have/have not vibe might be good – so maybe it’s a super luxury setting maybe where she feels like a bit of an outsider, looking in. I’m often talking about beautiful people, beautiful houses – but with a central protagonist slightly separated from it that feels relatable.

This could be an opportunity to resurrect my drawer novel, a book I wrote in 2022, between This Might Hurt and The Hitchcock Hotel, that my publishers ultimately passed on. I’m determined that the drawer novel will someday see the light of day, but I’m not sure if I can shave it down by 30k words without losing the essence of the story. Could make for an interesting challenge! Alternatively, I have two other psychological suspense ideas that could work well within the intended format, but they’re both set in the 1930s. I need to find out whether this project requires a contemporary timeline.

I don’t have any information yet regarding deadlines, process, etc., so who knows what, if anything, will come of this one. As with the short story, the opportunity to flex my creative muscle in a new genre or format, with different partners, is enticing. It’s validating to now have received two solicitations for my work. So much of a writer’s life is begging people to buy your work², so it’s nice to be on the flip side occasionally. Makes me feel like I’m managing my career well.

California homebody

Enough of the professional stuff. What about my personal mantra? Here’s what I said in January:

This year I want to stay home more often. I want to get rooted [in LA].

I’m doing it! I’m making friends. I found the most important local establishments: a cozy bookshop (Sunny’s) and a delicious Mexican restaurant (Sol y Luna). I’m hiking. I’m taking cheesy photos. I’ve watched the sun set over the ocean twice. I have no desire to get on planes, to be in constant motion. This is new for me.

I’ll spend much of this year renovating my townhouse. She was built in the 1980s, and most of her hasn’t been updated. Ever. I’d like to make this home a place I want to settle for years and years to come…

I’m doing this too! We’ve picked flooring, carpet, paint colors, fireplace stone, kitchen stone, countertop slabs, couch fabric, bench fabric, drapes, sconces, faucets, wallpaper. Lord, there are so many decisions to be made—I’m relieved we have someone brilliant leading us through this process. I’ve chosen a wallpaper with unicorns, castles, and dragons for my office/library. Technically I’m an adult, but I also dream up fictional worlds all day long, and I want my workspace to reflect that. This print will make me smile every day.

I want to spend more of this year reading and watching.

I started off the year strong with some excellent reads. Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino and Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker are two favorites so far. Last month I floundered. My grandma went into hospice, which meant a trip to Chicago and zero alone time for reading. The trip was at times heavy, at others light and even fun. I’m so glad I went. I created memories with my grandma that I’ll carry for the rest of my life.

As for watching, TV has picked back up. Severance was near-flawless, as always. The four-episode Adolescence is absolutely spellbinding. (Seriously, you must watch.) The White Lotus was meh, Paradise was fantastic (the last two episodes!), and Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke held me captive, despite already knowing the story. A surprising favorite? Mr. McMahon, a six-part docuseries about Vince McMahon, the longtime owner of WWE. This may come as a shock, but I am not a wrestling fan—yet I could not tear myself away from this series. I honestly could have watched another six hours. I could also squeeze at least two or three novels from this show: McMahon’s problematic relationship with his grown children; how Trump’s persona in the ring informed his presidential persona; Hulk’s journey from babyface to heel. Wrestling is a soap opera for men! I didn’t know!

That feels like as fine a stopping point as any. Maybe I’m more of a quarterly poster. Just trying to find my stride on more avenues than one.

Thanks for being here,

1. For reference, novels are typically 90k-100k.

2. This is, in large part, what book 4 is about.