*malinda lo [ASH], kathleen duey [SACRED SCARS],
holly black [TITHE], me, kami garcia [BEAUTIFUL CREATURES].
fantasy writers in a large gathering at rock sugar restaurant.

just back from scbwi los angeles and had a wonderful, exhausting
time. i’m wondering when i’ll recover. returned and jumped
right into mommy mode, picking the bublets up from summer
camp (last week, eee!), grocery shopping, a large stack of bills, etc.

also waiting for me is the sequel. i really missed
it, but didn’t have much time to dwell these past
days while i was gone. i’ve found myself a bit emotional
and reluctant to tackle the last scenes and pages. but
i do and must be done by the end of this week–rough
draft wise.

the last panel i attended was career planning as an
author led by holly black. (who is super sweet
and nice. we totally fangirled megan whalen turner
together. seriously.) she had a list of ten scenarios and
we had to number them from most desirable to least.
here is what my list looks like :

1. writing a critically acclaimed, award-winning book.

2. writing a series / several books with a huge fan base.
i don’t know about HUGE. but a good sized fan base,
that would be lovely.

3. writing a book that is read through the ages and taught
in the schools.
i would love it to be read for many years to come. not
sure about taught in schools thing–given the topics
i tend to write.

4. being able to live off the earnings of my writing alone.
this would certainly be nice. i’m obviously not feeling very
practical and should put this at number one.

5. having your book translated into many languages.
yes, please!

6. getting a movie made of your book.
i think Silver Phoenix is perfect for the cinema. =D

7. networking with other writers.
love fellow writers. but not sure if this is as career
related–more like a fun side perk?

8. becoming famous because of my work.
being famous is overrated.

9. writing one single perfect book.
this actually is a very very bad thing.
just to write ONE book? even if perfect? i think
i’d rather write several imperfect books. i don’t
believe there is any thing such as perfection in any
book. tho we all strive for it.

10. writing a hundred books and publishing all of them.
uh. yikes? i’d have to strike a deal with the devil
in order to accomplish this one.

so what about you? are your rankings much different?