Story Street Writers’ Goals and Hopes for 2025

The New Year is here, the earth is revving up to go around another try, and we’ve got to find something to make the trip worth it. Here’s some things that your Story Street neighbors are resolving, or else just hoping, that 2025 will bring.

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Alex:

My 2025 Goals are:

1. Submit to 50 literary magazines (a mix of fiction and poetry). As Bethany Jarmul explained on a recent webinar, the number of submissions is within our control — which makes it a quantifiable, achievable goal. My goal before has always been ‘Get Published!’ But any acceptance, any publication, isn’t really in our control. So now I’m calling publication my hope, while this quantifiable submissions target is my goal.
2. Finish my Hong Kong underworld novel.
3. Finish my Hong Kong professor novel.
4. The MAYBE goal: maybe start querying agents with my fairy tale novella.

My 2025 Hopes are:

1. Publish a short story in a literary magazine (aka, get my first fiction acceptance).
2. Publish a few more poems.

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Michael:

1. I’m going to put a real effort into finishing my middle grade novel. I’m currently in the midst of restructuring and organizing what I have, and learned some great lessons that will probably make some good Story Street articles in the future. (hint)
2. A writing focused podcast I’ve been working on that I would really like to launch off the ground. Hopefully, you can expect to hear some news on that soon.
3. I’m going to pick one or two of my short stories that, despite all my doubts and procrastination, are really probably as ready as they can get, and, taking Alex’s advice, will submit to as many places as I can.

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Jozzie:

My 2025 Goals are:

1. Finish the very rough first draft of my historical fiction novel on my typewriter by June.
2. Finish what I’m calling draft 1.5 by rewriting each page of the first draft as I move them to Scrivener.
3. Polish and submit one or two novel excerpts.
4. Submit to literary magazines regularly.

My 2025 Hopes are:

1. Publish a novel excerpt.
2. Publish at least one other piece of writing (poetry or prose).

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Eileen

My 2025 Goals are:

1. Write and Publish 33 travel and humor memoir articles to my Substack this year.
2. Write at least weekly in my journal.

My 2025 Hopes are:

1. Finish a draft of my novel-length memoir.
2. Publish a travel article to a major media outlet.

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Michele

My 2025 Goals are:

1. Finish my novel and prepare my manuscript for submission.
2. Write my query letter and begin submitting my novel to literary agents.
3. Submit finished short stories to ten markets at a time.

My 2025 Hopes are:

1. Find an agent for my novel.
2. Publish 3-5 short stories.

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