Looking back, looking forward

         




As I mentioned in an earlier post, while packing, moving, and unpacking, I've unearthed some forgotten things. Another thing I found was my cover letter when I applied for the editorial assistant position at Little, Brown, and also the thank you letter I sent after my interview. Here's a draft of my thank-you letter:

As the CBC Diversity Committee has been such a significant part of my life the past few years, I especially appreciated my comment about Megan's commitment to publishing diverse books. That still holds true. By the way, the two spaces between sentences drives me crazy now.

Also, note the "Time Warner Trade Publishing"--back then, Little, Brown was part of Time Warner, and the children's division was still based in Boston. Soon thereafter, it became part of "AOL Time Warner"--I also found this:

Now, of course, we are Hachette Book Group, and the children's division is based in New York. The company has been through at least four name changes in the 14+ years I've been here.

And finally, I found this fun note. Grace (Pacy) Lin and I were roommates back then, and she left me this fun little note before leaving for vacation:

Ah, memories.

***

I did a quick wrap-up of my vacation on my personal blog. I'm really looking forward to putting 2013 behind me, and am looking forward to and hoping for a better, less tumultuous 2014.

As always, I love making new year's resolutions. Here are a few of mine for 2014:

- No internet shopping unless it's a gift, a necessity, or for work. (I successfully kept this resolution from last year, and will try to keep it for at least one more year)

-write in my journal and/or blog at least twice a month

-go on a vacation to Europe with Greg

-achieve a maximum of work inbox 100 at the end of each week

Happy 2014, all!

An epiphany

         




At the end of 2012, I talked about burn out. Well, I started this year feeling re-energized (although very busy, still!), and part of the reason for my reinvigoration was that I had a small epiphany. (I may actually have had this epiphany on epiphany...)

What I realized is that during my busiest work times, when I'm feeling overwhelmed by everything I have to do, what I always wish for is the ability to stop time. (You know, like Evie from Out of This World!) What I don't wish is to be able to just sweep the work off my desk. This served as a reminder to me of how much I love my work, every part of it. (well, almost.) I actually want to do all the work. Of course, this hasn't taken away the fact that I don't always have time to do it all as quickly as I would like, but it did help me put things in perspective.

As with many (most?) of us, work-life balance is an on-going issue, and probably will be for most of my life. I don't have the solution, but in addition to some of my new year's resolutions (which are more about making boundaries between work and life, not how to handle workload), I do have some strategies to tackle workload issues this year.

I recently attended a management training that evaluated my personality in terms of leadership. One of the many insights I gained was into how I deal with high-pressure situations. During busy, high-stress times, there is one part of my personality that tends to gets disorganized, and another side of my personality that tries to do even more, take more onto my plate. Not a great combination, and I have to say, very true to my nature.

I've already known this about myself, but it was a good reminder. So I need to get back into the habit of saying "no" more, or at the very least, not volunteering up my time so easily. And I need to stay more organized--I have a few newish tools that I'm trying out, including workflowy.com, which was introduced to me by an agent.

We'll see how it goes!

Regardless, I know it's going to be a great year.

***

I'm heading to Seattle for ALA Midwinter on Friday. If you'll be there, come by the Little, Brown booth to say hi! I'll also be speaking on a CBC Diversity panel on Sunday, January 27, from 3-4. Hope you can make it!

Happy New Year!

         




This is my first post of the New Year, and as usual, I've made a bunch of new New Year's Resolutions. I wasn't as successful as keeping my resolutions from 2012 as I have been in the past, but I'll let myself off the hook. 2013 is a brand-new year!

Here are some of my resolutions for this year:

-No spending money on internet shopping, unless for a gift, a necessity, or for work. (For some reason, this is a controversial goal for a lot of people. I'm not opposed to internet shopping in general--this is just me, but I find I spend too much time and money buying things I don't really need.)

-No candy (I fell off the wagon big time the second half of last year. So I thought I'd revive this one.)

-Have at least one weekend day where I work less than two hours (unless I'm at a conference)

-Don't stay at the office past 9 pm, and if I do stay till 9, only once a week.

-Have at least one unscheduled night a week.

-Do at least one good deed each month

-Throw out or give away at least 150 items (not including trash)

What are some of your resolutions, if you make them?

Tradition and 2011

When Alvina’s entry last week mentioned the tradition of BRG’s to post their New Year’s resolutions, it got me thinking about tradition.

Every New Year’s Day since that day in 1995, I have placed a new, daily Disney calendar on my nightstand and ripped off the cover so January 1st showed. Why my mother decided I needed or wanted a Disney calendar for Hanukkah at 16 years old, I can’t say. I also can’t explain why it became clear that she should buy me another the following year. In 1996, the calendar came with me to overnight camp and that summer while she was becoming my best friend, my co-counselor and I would turn the page together at midnight. Starting that summer, the calendar became a sort of horoscope; it was always easy to start the day with the image of Cinderella’s fairy godmother, but when Queen Maleficent greeted me, I approached the day with trepidation. Through the years the calendars have followed me…to college, to my first apartment, to New York.

(Please still take me seriously as a professional literary agent)

In December, my mother called and said she had bad news, “Rebecc, I can’t find the Disney calendar. “ Still on the phone, we went online together and confirmed—there is not a 2011 daily Disney calendar. Now I know that so many have faced much greater losses. Still, without a choice, a tradition that I’ve maintained for half my life ended.

When I was at my mother’s house between Christmas and New Year’s she had the local news on TV (for some reason she still doesn’t believe me that the Daily Show provides more news that he local NBC). There was a “man on the street” segment in which people were asked what their New Year’s resolutions were. One woman exclaimed, “If I tell you it won’t come true!” and the newscaster responded, “No! That’s a wish!”

It was a funny moment, but it also made me think. While it’s pretty obvious, I had what my 2010 gift bestower, Oprah, would call “an ah-ha moment.” A wish is hoped for and beyond one’s control. (I realize Alvina and Grace also mentioned this in their 2011 posts, but I needed to realize it for myself and in my own way). A resolution is an achievable goal that can only be reached by the efforts of the list maker herself. So here are my resolutions…*

1. By the end of each business day, respond or have my assistant respond to every email or call from a client, a publisher’s office, or within Writers House.

Now it may seem a given that I would do this, but days are quickly filled with the most urgent matters and on projects that were already on the calendar for the day. At times, the emails I receive between the time I leave the office and enter the next morning could fill my entire day. My goal is not to answer every inquiry posed to me daily, because it would be impossible. I will respond and give a realistic timeline for when their email or call will be addressed or who I need to be in touch with to provide a complete response.

2. To have bi-monthly meetings with my assistant dedicated to discussion of submissions and queries from potential clients.

3. Be more consistent about announcing clients’ achievements on Twitter and Facebook.

4. Check in more (whether over lunch, drinks, or just by picking up the phone) with editors and other agents to see what is new, talk about the industry, or to pick their brains about something instead of just calling when there is a particular matter regarding one of my clients that needs to be discussed.

5. Be a better Book Club hostess. I started an industry book club in 2005 that meets monthly at Writers House. I love having to opportunity to read published middle grade and YA books with other adults who read and love these books. However, in 2010, we most definitely did not meet 12 times…and that is admittedly my fault. I will make sure our record is better in 2011.

6. Check in with clients who don’t call or email as often to provide the opportunity for discussion about what has happened since we last spoke and get updates on how their writing or art is going even if I know that they are making progress and are sure to deliver on time.

7. Make sure clients 2011 needs are met. As an agent, especially one who represents so many picture book clients, it’s easy to live two or more years ahead (I have already sold books on schedule for 2014). While keeping a close eye on selling books for the future, I can always do more to attend to the books published this year and the promotion that goes along with those books.



There are a couple more resolutions (8 &9), but I am going to discuss them in greater detail in a post to come.

10. And though it may seem vague, my big resolution is to look carefully at my work- related traditions. There are many that are in place because they serve my clients and me well. I certainly am not going to rid myself of those simply for the sake of change. However, I resolve to challenge my own traditions when they can be improved upon or should be ended (to save time, open my mind in some way, allow for new connections to be made, etc).

Of course, all my resolutions for 2011 are not business related, and I won’t enumerate them here, but I do want to touch on them. I would guess many of you readers have personal as well as professional resolutions for the New Year and they can definitely effect each other, no? Anyway…

I was part of the beginning of BRG resolution-making in December of 2008.


If you notice, there is silverware carefully placed over some of my resolutions, theoretically so that BRG readers wouldn’t see them. However, the real reason was probably that I didn’t want everyone to see goals that I might not really expect myself to achieve. They were resolutions not wishes. They were in my control, not left up to chance. They wouldn’t be easy and would require change. So, in terms of personal resolutions, I resolve not to keep with tradition, to not have the need to put those resolutions on my list in 2012.

I could tell you what my wishes are for 2011 too…but if I told you, they wouldn’t come true!

p.s. It seems to be a new tradition of mine to write blogs that are one week late. I will write about the ALA awards next week, but can’t end this entry without saying how proud I am of my client David Ezra Stein who received a Caldecott Honor for his picture book, INTERRUPTING CHICKEN, and our Grace who received a Geisel Honor for LING & TING: Not Exactly the Same!

*I have decided that action taken to meet these resolutions did not begin on the stroke of midnight January 1st, but the day this blog posted. My resolutions. My rules.

Rebecca Sherman is a fabulous agent with over 9 years of experience at Writer's House. Her clients include Lunch Lady author/illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka, the Scott O'Dell Award Winner Matt Phelan, Caldecott Honor Illustrator Brian Pinkney, recent Caldecott Honor Illustrator David Ezra Stein and Blue Rose Girls Anna Alter and Grace Lin. You can follow Rebecca on twitter @rebeccagent.

My resolutions and goals for 2011

I'm happy to still be on vacation this week. Any of you going to ALA Midwinter in San Diego? I'll be there--stop by the L,B booth and say hi!

As regular readers of this blog may know, most of the Blue Rose Girls make resolutions each year. I love this time of year! And I also personally pride myself for making resolutions that I actually keep. Well, partially keep, at least.

Here are my work-related resolutions for the new year (some I've kept from last year):
-Don't stay in the office past 9 pm, and if I do stay until 9, no more than twice a week
-Have my work email inbox at 20 or under at the end of each day I'm in the office
-Achieve Inbox Zero at least once a month
-Read an average of 1.5 published books per month
-Do more cultural activities (shows, museums, etc.)
-get 4,000+ followers on Twitter (follow me! @planetalvina)
-post on bloomabilities at least once a month (I actually have a new post up now. And yes, I know I resolve this one every year and fail...but hey, it's a new year!)
-clean my office (and apartment) a little bit once a week
-de-clutter my apt and office
-focus on acquiring Middle Grade and picture books--acquire at least two projects in each genre

Here are a few pie-in-sky goals that I don't personally have much (if any) control over:
-Have five of the books I've edited become NY Times bestsellers
-Have the books I edit collectively get at least 25 starred reviews
-Win an award for books I've edited in every category: picture book, early reader, MG, and YA


And there you have it. Regardless of whether I keep these resolutions or if these goals happen, may 2011 be happy, healthy, and full of bloomabilities for everyone. Happy New Year!

2011

Ack! Today is the the first day of the year (and also 1-1-11! That has to mean something!). Resolution time! 2010 was quite a wonderful and memorable year for me, So even though I had a lot of resolution fails last year (#5 and #9 were epic failures), I feel pretty content.

But I still hope to accomplish things in 2011! I have thought a great deal this year's resolutions, some are repeats from last year but with a different viewpoint (which I hope makes them more accomplish-able!):

1. Learn Chinese. I've been an embarrassing Chinese School failure for a long time and this is the year I plan on remedying that. I want to at least be able to have a basic conversation in Mandarin. My schedule doesn't allow for classes until the summer, but in the meantime I've plunked the money down for Rosetta Stone & dedicated lingual chats with my Mom.

2. Appreciate my readers. Ah, same as last year, but needed more this year! I said that if my FB fanpage ever reaches 1000 fans I'd give everyone cupcakes. I'm at 1337 fans now and still no cupcakes. I have an inkling of an idea of how to do it..hopefully it will happen in 2011!

3. Stop waiting. You know those people who keep plastic on their furniture to keep it good? Or have those nice plates dusting away on a high shelf because they are only to be used for special occasions that never happen? I'm kind of like that. During my Newbery dress search, I acquired a number of pretty clothes that lay unworn while I waited for something special. This is silly. What am I waiting for? In the Tao Te Ching, there is a line about how a cup is only valuable when it is holding something, when it is being used. That means not using items because they are so valuable actually makes them worthless. I'm going to stop waiting and use the things I own. And make everyday a special occasion!

4. Find peace with things outside my control. There's always going to be somebody who's going to find my books boring, my art unappealing, or my personality annoying. Things like that are pretty common for all authors--for all people, actually--yet, I let it get to me much more than I should. My job is to carve out my bit of happiness with the rock I've been given and that is what I need to remember.

5. Seize the day. This ties into #3 and #4. I have some ambitious dreams that I've done nothing about because I've hoped that an opportunity would present itself (#3) and because I've been afraid of others might think it's stupid or that I am getting full of myself (#4). For example, I would absolutely adore Ling and Ting to be PBS cartoon. And while I know it's a long shot, I feel like I should at least try and give it a shot. Anyone know how to pitch an idea to PBS?

6. Balance. This is something on my list every year and I've never achieved it. I regressed to blob state more times in 2010 than ever before. sigh. School visits, traveling, creating books, being healthy-- someday I will find a way to balance my life. Maybe this year?

7. Clean my studio once a month. I wanted to say every week but that resolution would be broken pretty quickly. I have to make realistic, achievable goals, y'know.

8. Figure out Social Media. Or at least what I am doing with it. Right now, I have a blog. This blog has posts that tweet, show up on my FB page and provide content for my newsletter. Maybe that is okay. Or should the newsletter have something special just for newsletter readers? FB something different just for FB readers? Tweets that are not just broadcasting my posts, but are bits of conversation? Do I want to do that? Do I have time to do that? I'm not sure but this year I'm going to figure it out.

9. Charity. In 2010, instead of one large project like smallgraces, I participated a number of small charity projects (with ATASK, Hyde Park Suzuki, Open Fields and 826LA) which I was proud of. I'm not sure if I will continue with small project participation or think up another large one, but I definitely wish to continue.

10. Write without sugar. I have a bad habit of ingesting sweet things while writing. Well, I have a bad habit of ingesting sweet things all the time, but while writing is particularly troublesome. Somehow I have connected the creative process with high amounts of sugar intake (perhaps this is why some of my writing gets overly sentimental!) and this is not good . Which is why I will not do it in 2011!

11. Have Faith. Every year, I have the same literary goal. But this year I am tying it into resolutions #4 and #5. For a while, I have been hearing and reading is how the book industry is dead or dying. There will be no more books and authors will be lucky to have any readers or make any money (much less make a living). It's been enough to tempt me to give up on the whole book thing and try to become a cupcake decorator (though now the cupcake trend is over too).

It's quite stressful. I don't want to bury my head in the sand, so I do plan to try put new opportunities if they feel right (#5). But if I truly grasp resolution #4 (make peace with things I cannot control) and create a story/art/book to the absolute best of my ability, I have to believe there will be an audience to share it with.

I have to believe what I do is of value and others value it too. Or else what's the point of making any resolutions at all, right?

Happy 2011, all!

Happy Holidays!

Sorry for the delay in posting. I'm at my parents' house in California right now, and I can't keep track of the days of the week. I'm so happy to be on vacation! I'm reading for pleasure (am reading and enjoying Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go), playing with my iPad (my brothers and I have discovered the game Fruit Ninja, which is a ridiculously addictive game where you have to slice fruit thrown up in the air):



playing sports (tennis, ping pong, pool, and golf):

my younger brother and I on the golf course

reading the newspaper (hard copy of the LA Times, iPad version of the NYTimes), watching movies (saw TRON: Legacy last night--except I fell asleep during a big chunk of it because I was exhausted from golf), eating (of course! Had In n Out Burger on my first night back)

and just spending time with my loved ones (we played with my brother's XBOX Kinect, which is like the Wii, but without a controller--it uses a sensor.).

My older brother plays a dance game while his wife looks on.

The table is set for Christmas Eve dinner

Before I left work last Wednesday I was determined to reach Inbox Zero, as I knew I would be out of the office for almost three weeks (am on vacation until the ALA conference in San Diego, and won't be back in the office until January 12!).

And, look! I achieved it!!

It was so satisfying that I think I'm going to add "reach Inbox Zero at least once a month" to my work New Year's Resolutions for next year. More on that later...

Happy Holidays, all!

Checking in on my New Year's Resolutions

 

At the beginning of the year, I made eight work-related New Year's resolutions. It's been a while since I looked back at them, and since there's less than a month left of 2010 (eeeek!!!), I thought I'd check in and see if there isn't anything I can firm up my resolve about in these final days of the year.


1) Learn how to say "no" more. 
Hmmm. Oh, gosh, I totally forgot about this one, and I don't think I achieved it at all. I find it hard to say no to speaking requests that are based in NY, like the NYPL panel I did last month, or the school visit I did at a High School in Brooklyn a few weeks ago, or the panel on digital publishing that I'm doing tonight at a Middle School! And I've said yes to a bunch of guest blogs and interviews, although I've realized that I've also dropped the ball on a few. I guess that was why I had this resolution, because I found myself saying yes, and then forgetting or not having time to follow through...ugg. Oops...

2) Stop counting on weekend and vacations and holidays to "catch up" on work.
I think I've been better about this than in previous years.

3) Don't stay at the office past 9 pm.
I think I've only broken this one two or three times, on nights before leaving for a trip. But I've never stayed past 10, so that's an achievement.

4) Work towards "Inbox Zero"--I think this is probably too lofty a goal, so to be a little more realistic, I'd like to have under 20 emails in my inbox by the end of each day (Let's call it Inbox Twenty).
For most of the year, I actually achieved this, and it's been amazing. Life changing, even. But just in the past two weeks my workdays have been filled with back-to-back meetings even more than usual, and I've had more after-work engagements than usual as well, and so I've failed to do this at least four days in the past two weeks alone. Darn it. I'm going to try to keep this up, though, because it's such a weight off my shoulders knowing that I don't have hundreds of emails waiting to be dealt with.

5) While at work, work. Less socializing and web surfing. 
Yes, I think I've achieved this, although I've fallen off my "only check Twitter in the morning, at lunch, and after 5"--I've definitely cheated.

6) Acquire at least two picture books, two middle grade, and two young adult projects this year.
This really has been a year of acquiring YA for me. Although I have a few picture book projects in the works/close to acquisition, I haven't actually contracted new picture books this year. But I have acquired more than two MG and YA projects.

7) Read a little before bed at least five times a week. Read at least one published book per month.
I've definitely read more published books this year, averaging at least one per month. I've also read more in bed before falling asleep, although I don't think it's averaged five times a week. Sometimes I conk out right away, or need to veg out watching TV.

8) Tidy my office at least a little bit once a week.
Ummm....this one would be a definite NO. I coworker walked into my office last week and said, "Gee, and I thought my desk was bad." Oh well.

Maybe in January I should resolve to review my resolutions more often. Ha! But overall, I do think I've achieved a better work-life balance than last year. I hope I'm at least headed in the right direction!

Happy December, everyone. How have you done with your resolutions? Have you started to think of new ones for next year yet?

Resolutions

In keeping with my resolutions this year I am doing more art not related to book projects. Here is a portrait of our cat Wilbur I painted this weekend. Bruno said he has so many whiskers on his face he looked like a dandelion. There does seem to be a resemblance.



I haven't done so well on the waking up at the same time every day, but I did cancel the cable so I'm watching less tv. Progress has been made!

Newbery aftermath and Checking in on my New Year's Resolutions

First of all, I added a few pictures to my ALA Midwinter post when I cross-posted it on my personal blog. Check it out here.

And here's a picture of what I came into my office to see after the news was announced. My assistant made the huge medal to adorn the book (the Al Roker is from another coworker after we found out the book would be Al Roker's Book Club pick on the Today show, and the stars are for the starred reviews the book received). The beautiful flowers are from my Publisher. They smelled fantastic, too.

I'm still basking in the news of Grace's Newbery Honor, and I can't express enough my gratitude to the Newbery Committee who recognized Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. As I mentioned in my post, as an editor, it is my dream to acquire and edit a book that becomes a classic. Of course, a Newbery Honor, or even a Newbery Medal, does not ensure that a book will become a classic, but it sure the heck doesn't hurt! Grace, your books are all classics in my book.

****

So, now that we're over three weeks into 2010 (not a bad year so far, I must say!), and I thought I'd check to see how I'm doing on my work resolutions.

1) Learn how to say "no" more. 
Yes! I turned down at least two conference invites this year already, as well as a few requests for meetings.

2) Stop counting on weekend and vacations and holidays to "catch up" on work.
I'm sorry to say that I haven't kept this up. In fact, I went into the office both days this past weekend. Then again, I didn't feel bad about it. I enjoyed the work I accomplished.

3) Don't stay at the office past 9 pm.
Yes! I think two days this year I stayed till just before 9 pm, but overall I've managed to leave the office at a decent time each evening.

4) Work towards "Inbox Zero"--I think this is probably too lofty a goal, so to be a little more realistic, I'd like to have under 20 emails in my inbox by the end of each day (Let's call it Inbox Twenty).
Yes! I'm the most amazed that I've been able to keep this up. The closest call was the first Monday back at work after the break, because I was dealing with weeks of emails that had piled up over my vacation. As 8 pm passed, I realized that resolution #3 would at times be in direct competition with #4...but for now, both resolutions have been achieved.

5) While at work, work. Less socializing and web surfing. 
Yes! Limiting Facebook and Twitter use while at work has worked wonders. I should probably cut out Gawker, too, though.

6) Acquire at least two picture books, two middle grade, and two young adult projects this year.
I'm working on it! Just finalized a two-book deal for two YA novels--more on that after the deal is announced. Also have a three-book middle grade deal in the works...

7) Read a little before bed at least five times a week. Read at least one published book per month.
Yes! Read one published book this month so far, over halfway through another.

8) Tidy my office at least a little bit once a week.
Ummm....maybe?

How are you all doing with your resolutions so far?

The year of balance

I like Alvina's declaration that this will be the year of "no guilt", so I will expand on that and say that for me I hope 2010 will be a year of balance. This means creating restricted, focused work time, letting play time be play time (so I guess I am shooting for "no guilt" too- love that Barry Goldblatt quote), and less mixing up of the two. Also I think I've underestimated how much quality down time can contribute to my creativity later on. So here are my goals/aspirations/resolutions that I hope will help to create more balance:

*Wake up at the same time every day, and earlier. I've been working at home full time for over four years now (part time for 6) and this has aaaalways been a struggle. I'm a night owl and would love to work all night and sleep all day. Problem is the rest of the world does not seem to be on that schedule, including my fella, so I aim to see more of the daylight hours. And be more consistent.

*Do more creative projects that do not have to do with my job. I think this was on last year's list, but it will have to be a rollover. Like down time, doing different kinds of creative projects helps feed your creativity. And I just LOVE makin' stuff.

*Panic less, relax more. Publishing is so unpredictable... I feel like half my time is spent panicking about signing up the next project, and the rest is spent overwhelmed with everything I have committed myself to. It really cuts down on the enjoyment of writing and painting, which is why I started doing this in the first place. SO. Time to relax. And just trust that things will work out as they should.

*Watch less tv. I am not a terrible tv addict, but I do have a bit of a weakness when it comes to watching Clean House and trashy fashion tv. Dare I cancel the cable? Tempting but maybe will try to wean off slowly. Also, less blog reading. UGGG.

*Less email. After listening to the below clip, and refreshing email like 12 times while he spoke about how people spend too much time refreshing their email, I see that I clearly have a problem.

Thats all for now.

My work resolutions for 2010

I always make New Year's resolutions, including my "no candy" resolution of eight or so years ago. One of my resolutions this year (and last year, too, although I didn't achieve it) is to blog at least once a month on my personal blog. (Cross-posts from the Blue Rose Girls don't count.) Well, to get in the habit, I posted my first original bloomabilities post in a loooong time on Wednesday--I looked back on my Oughts here.

So now it's 2010 and it's back to work. Vacation is over--it passed so quickly! I got more than 50% of my very lengthy work "to do" list done, so I feel okay about starting the work year. However, because of the work, it wasn't a true vacation. It never really is, right? I think we all struggle with maintaining a work/life balance.

Around New Year's, agent Barry Goldblatt tweeted (or retweeted, rather) this:

Definitely! RT@DaveMcKean Resolution? More unequivocal days, that is WORK days and PLAY days, not guilty play days and distracted work days.

That really resonated with me, because if I had to pick two words to describe how I felt last year, they would be "busy" and "guilty." I felt guilty all the time because of all of the things I had to do and wasn't doing. All of the submissions yet to read, the unanswered emails and calls, the people to get back to. I felt guilty all the time about not working, even when I wasn't supposed to be working. And that needs to stop.

So, in addition to my usual work goals, in 2010 I'm going to try to set some boundaries and make some changes in how I work. Here are a few of my work-related resolutions I've come up with so far:

1) Learn how to say "no" more. Last year I really did try to say no to favors and requests that I really didn't have the time to do, but if someone insists and says "Are you sure? Please?" I often fold and say yes. I need to stop that. Because this past year, I've said yes to things, and then have not followed through with the task in a timely manner, and that's contributed to this constant sense of guilt.

2) Stop counting on weekend and vacations and holidays to "catch up" on work. Weekends and vacations are "me" time! And it never really works, anyway. (This is an example of "guilty play days.")

3) Don't stay at the office past 9 pm.

4) Work towards "Inbox Zero"--I think this is probably too lofty a goal, so to be a little more realistic, I'd like to have under 20 emails in my inbox by the end of each day (Let's call it Inbox Twenty). If you're curious as to what Inbox Zero is, watch this (rather long) video:



5) While at work, work. Less socializing and web surfing. Sure, Twitter and Facebook and blog reading are also work-related for me, but I need to stop checking the sites throughout the day. Once in the morning, once during lunchtime, and once after 5 pm will suffice.

6) Acquire at least two picture books, two middle grade, and two young adult projects this year.

7) Read a little before bed at least five times a week. Read at least one published book per month.

8) Tidy my office at least a little bit once a week.

And, of course, I resolve to keep all of my resolutions! Really! And if I don't, I won't feel guilty about it, because I hereby declare 2010 the Year of No Guilt.

What are some of your resolutions if you make them? What do YOU declare 2010 to be the Year Of?

Happy New Year, everyone! It's going to be a good one. I can feel it.