I am making faster than expected progress in paying off debt. I may be out of debt completely earlier than my initial estimate of the end of 2023. If so, I can begin saving for retirement earlier. I am in my mid-30s and I'm hoping that saving for retirement now will wind up being enough, by the time I turn 65. Some people I've spoken to about the issue have scoffed at 30 years of savings being enough, but between savings (invested), as well as my union pension and my government social security, I'm hoping it'll be enough.

I've passed 90 submissions on my novel, and I've yet to get even a single request for the manuscript. I'll have to wait and keep trying. Many of those submissions came in quick succession recently, meaning not enough time has passed to receive a reply yet. So it's possible one of these 90 could wind up being the one. I doubt it, though. My plan is that if I can't get an agent by the end of the year, I will try submitting to small presses directly. Major publishers do not take submissions directly from authors, so that's not an option. I've changed the title in the hopes that the new one will be more catching. A title is important, I suppose.