Welcome to 2013 (One Day Early)

source: photo.elsoar.com

Hello and Welcome to 2013, Everyone! I hope everyone came through the Mayan End-of-the-World okay. If you're reading this, I'm assuming that's a yes. :D

I know 2013 doesn't officially start until tomorrow, but I have a weirdness about starting things in the middle of the week. I think it may be a rare form of OCD. (And by rare, I mean common.) So, I've been offline for over a week (SOOO weird since I've been on every day without exception for the past seven months) but now I'm back! Feeling refreshed after a break and ready to tackle the new year...

And I'm starting on Monday.

So, just a few things today. I'm going to list my Resolutions for 2013. Nothing personal on the blog like weight loss or finding a way to marry Chris Hemsworth. Just things pertaining to writing, reading, blogging, marketing, etc.

I'll also introduce some new blog features. So let's get started.

New Years Resolutions -- 2013

wisegeek.org

Reading: 

This year, it's my goal to read at least 50 books. Now I know most of you book bloggers out there are used to reading several books a week, but I am author. I have writing, editing, and marketing to do. Not to mention I'd like to have a life at some point. So, I have very little time to read. However, I'm no longer working a day job so I'm going to try and read at least one book per week from my TBR list.

In addition, I want to be reading one classic novel and one personal improvement book at all times. I'll be reading them slowly--just a chapter or a percent per day. So, I'll probably only read 2-4 of each this year, depending on length. I figure I'll set up my months like this:

Week 1: a Dystopian or Fantasy novel
Week 2: a Historical Fiction novel
Week 3: a Mystery/Thriller/Crime Drama novel

as these are the genres I write.

Week 4: Freebee. Something of another genre or one of the above--just whatever I want. Or, if I want to take a break, I'll do it during this week.

source: 123rf.com

Writing: 

My goals in this area are many and varied. My first novel, Persistence of Vision will be released nation-wide on January 29th. I'm hoping to get the 2nd installment of the Interchron series out by the end of the year. It's nearly ready to send to the publisher as we speak.

I also already have a second novel, Citadels of Fire, Book 1 of Kremlins, slated for release from Jolly Fish Press in September of this year. It's the first of a trilogy. Kremlins is an interesting case because I wrote it as one continuous story, but it was too long to publish that way. I had to break it into three separate installments. So, while the second and third books definitely need some work, for all intents and purposes they are already written and just need some editing love. My goal as concerns this series to get both the second and third parts of this edited and ready to turn in to the publisher.

In terms of planning, I'd also like to get books 3, 4, and 5 of Interchron planned and outlined and perhaps the third book completely written.

I'm also working on an epic high-fantasy series that has to do with dragons. I'm not sure I could get an entire volume written this year, but I'd at least like to get the series planned out/outlined and, you know, if I could get book one written, that would just be a happy bonus! :D

I'd also like to foray into self-publishing a bit this year, even if it's just in small ways. I want to get to know every part of the industry. In the next couple of months I'm going to publish a small anthology of my own short stories and simply upload it to amazon, using it both to make a little extra income and to explore that aspect of the industry.

Are my goals ambitious? Obviously. A little unrealistic in their scope? Probably. But I believe in reaching for the stars. Even if I can get half of this stuff done this year, it will be a very productive year.

Marketing:

source: avtecmedia.com

I'd like to reach 500 followers on Facebook, 5000 followers on Twitter, and 1000 followers on my blog. I think these types of goals are good to set, even if you have less direct control over who follows you, because it gives you something to aim for and makes you unconsciously (if not consciously) aware of what works and what you can do to improve your social networking.

That's most of my Resolutions for 2013. What are yours?

Of course, talking about blogging is a great segue into the second part of my post: New Blog Features.

New Blog Features, 2013

You may notice that the page about my Persistence of Vision Art Competition is gone. I'm officially cancelling it. I just didn't get enough interest. I'd hoped to use it to promote my book, but hey! You win some, you lose some. Besides, I've gotten an awesome response for my book's blog tour (which will begin January 14--more on that next week) and it's going to be really long-running, so I'll still get plenty of exposure. :D

I'm going to start doing two new sections on my blog: Announcements/Entertainment News and Glorious Gadgets.

Announcements/Entertainment News will be for my own announcements, those of fellow authors and blogger buddies, and other fun stuff I just want to feature. You'll probably see a lot of movie trailers and announcements. I like to keep up with pop culture and movies/T.V. are just another story-telling avenue that I love to follow. :D Of course not every post will feature this section. It will only appear when I have something in particular to put there. :D

Glorious Gadgets will be a section where I feature cool stuff I've found. Most often it will be gadgets, software, apps, etc. that help make life easier or more fun!

Finally, I'm re-vamping my Thoughts for Thursday meme. Check out the tab above to see what it's all about. I'm really just adding prizes to get more participation. I've been a bit inconsistent about having a linky list in each post, but I'll always have one, now. Anyone can contribute a quote via linky (on their blog) or just in the comments section. I'll read every quote contributed and decide which I like the best. This will just be based on my own tastes. Whoever contributes the best quote for the week will get a small prize. (Very small. Probably just a bookmark.) But, every 3 months, I'll have a drawing. Everyone who has won the weekly prize in the last quarter will be automatically entered to win a free book or amazon gift card. This will be a 1 in 12 shot, so pretty good. I'm hoping this will encourage participation in this meme.

source: yogaspy.com

That's pretty much it. All other aspects of my blog(s) will remain the same. Happy New Year's Eve, Everyone!

How about you? Doing anything to re-vamp your blog this year? What are your New Year's Resolutions?

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