I had a vision for 2022, at least, for my writing. I'd finished a book at the end of 2020, finished a second in September of 2021, and had written 50k words for a third in November 2021. I'd also gotten a book deal and spent late December/early January editing the book included in that deal. To say I was exhausted was an understatement.

So, I planned to work on edits on my second manuscript later in the spring and focus on writing short stories. I thought I'd use #CampNaNoWriMo to finish my third book in April or July and then leisurely edit it throughout the rest of the year as I had time between editing my first book for publication and querying my second.

That was the plan. What actually happened was a continuation of the craziness of last year. I finished my pre-edits for my publisher in January, edited the second book in February and sent it to a developmental editor because it just didn't feel quite there. Then I spent March finishing the third book.

I'd love to say in April, I'll relax, but my thesis is due in early May, so I'm going to have to pick a book and edit it. I'm leaning toward my second book. For one thing, my first book's main character and my thesis advisor share the same name (though spelled slightly differently). It was unintentional, but it's still a weird coincidence. I thought about submitting the latest book so I can really make the most of my program, but I'm still debating between it and book 2. On the one hand, it would be good for me to have a reason to focus on editing book 2, but on the other, I just did a marathon editing session on book 3. It may be in better shape as a result.

At some point, I'm also going to have the first round of edits back from my publisher, which will take up a chunk of my time. Maybe after the book releases in the fall, I'll finally get a moment to breathe. I may just skip NaNo this year.

On the plus side, my MFA program confirmed we're able to travel to Buenos Aires this summer, which is exciting! I'm looking forward to finishing the program and not doing formal education ever again. A class here or there? Yes! A conference or two? Absolutely! But no more degrees. I deal with enough alphabet soup in my day job, I don't need to add to it with letters behind my name.

If you've recently joined my email list, I apologize for the radio silence, but hopefully I will be sending out a new newsletter soon!

It has been a busy couple of months for me. I finished my pre-edits for my debut novel in January and am waiting on the first developmental edits from my editor. Then at the end of January into February, I finally started  doing my first full revision of my second manuscript: When Cardinals Appear (formerly known as The Winter Visitor). I sent those along to a developmental editor I hired through Critique Match and now I'm working on finishing my third manuscript: Snow, Sand and Sense! I'm hoping to finish the first draft by the end of March. And then, I'll spend April editing one or all of the three projects!

All of this is occurring while I'm doing some serious writing and editing in my day job as well. We are working on drafting a new proposed rule in my agency and I've been busy drafting new language and figuring out where it should go in existing regulations. I'm so excited to be working on this because it was the whole point of obtaining my first master's degree! I've been with my agency for 3.5 years now and this is the first chance I've ever had at drafting regulations. While it's a completely different kind of writing, I am tapping into my creative side a little through wordsmithing and considering logical outgrowth to help us prepare for the public comment period.

In addition to the above, I'm working toward my second master's as I'm set to graduate in July. I'm still seeking authors who found an agent and/or editor through a Twitter pitch event and will have a published book by 4/15/2022. I'm going to start seeking out authors on my own via Twitter, specifically through quote retweets on the #PitMad ending announcement. But if you'd like to volunteer, please reach out to me either in a comment here or at info@keschenckwrites.com.

Speaking of that #PitMad announcement, that was a huge shock to the writing community. I saw such an outpouring of love for the people who created and ran it for the last decade. I will forever be grateful to #PitMad for helping me find my publisher. For those who are seeking other Twitter pitch events, please note that on April 7th, #moodpitch is happening, which allows for mood board images with pitches. I'm planning to participate. I'm also hoping to start seriously querying When Cardinals Appear later this spring, so even if I don't get any love during a pitch event, I'm going to work to get this book out there!

Hopefully I'll have news on my debut novel to share in the coming weeks as it's tentatively set to be released in September. Stay tuned!