Renee Emerson

My goals last year were:

1. To send out poems to 5 magazines each month (did it!)
2. To send my work in progress WOB to 3 contests (sent to 8, thanks in a large part to fee waivers!)
3. To revise my sci-fi middle grade novel (did it!)
4. To read 20 poetry books (at least!)
5. To write 4 poetry book / chapbook reviews (my Substack covers poetry, you can read my reviews HERE)
6. To participate in NaPoWriMo (did it!)

Accomplishments:

1. Though I didn’t get my W.O.B. manuscript accepted this year, my chapbook The Commonplace Misfortunes of Everyday Plants (Belle Point Press) came out in January and my third collection Church Ladies (Fernwood Press) came out in June.
2. I placed poems in 10 literary magazines
3. I was honorable mention / finalist for 2 poetry contests
4. one of my poems was a best of the net finalist, and I had two pushcart nominations
5. I published a nonfiction essay (for a little pay!) and won an essay contest; I also had two book reviews placed at The Englewood Review of Books.
6. I did a zoom poetry reading for my chapbook and an in-person kids-focused reading for my kids novel
7. I consistently wrote my book review Substack (Renee’s Book Bag) each month!

Thoughts on 2023:
I always feel like I’m not getting much done, writing my handful of poems a month, sending out a handful of submissions a month, but I look at all this and see how a little bit consistently can add up! I’m also thinking I need to follow the creative spark whenever I feel like writing an essay; for a long time I’ve had it in my head that I can’t write nonfiction, but I’m learning that is not true.

_

This year my writing goals are:

1. To send out poems to 5 magazines each month
2. To send my work in progress to 3 contests
3. To reread all the poetry books I own (that is about 50? not sure!)
4. To write 2 poems per month
5. To write a Substack post once a month

Notable changes:

1. I’m leaving my sci – fi novel alone. I want to focus more on writing poetry this summer. I may however start sending it out to agents–I’ve just not been that interested in writing fiction lately.
2. I think if I participate in NaPoWriMo, it will not be with the goal of writing a poem a day. I might participate in that I will Write each day, but I don’t feel like the poems I produce in NaPoWriMo are great; I like a slower pace when writing poems.
3. I’d like to focus on writing two very good poems per month, building toward another collection.
4. I’d also like to continue my Substack, reviewing books as I see fit. I do like to review poetry collections if I know I’ll love the poet (I recently reviewed Maryann Corbett), but I’m pretty choosy with it, since nonfiction writing in a more formal way takes up more of my time.

Thoughts on The New Year:
This may be cheesy, but I have actually been praying lately for my writing to improve and for God to bless my work. I used to only half-heartedly, maybe ashamedly pray for things like that, thinking it was “wrong”–but if God made me to be a poet, why not be a good poet? And why not ask for a little bit of blessing on that pursuit?
So I am hoping this year to become a better writer. (Actionable steps: writing daily, revising, and reading some good poetry books and some good books on craft–and praying too. Why not?)
I’m also excited to have some sustainable side projects that are poetry-adjacent but not poetry–my book reviews on my substack and the occasional essay. I don’t love either one enough to pursue it as more than a fun side thing, but sometimes it is nice to have writing I do just for the heck of it, not as part of my “writing career.” (yes, I had a Xanga back when there were Xangas).

What are your writing goals this year?