New Year's Resolutions. Bah. Who has the time on Jan. 1? With the kids out of school, and still decompressing from the holiday whirlwind, I barely have the mental fortitude to make a grocery list, let alone list out my life goals for the coming year.

You didn't make any either? Don't worry....

According to a New York Times article, a third of the people that made New Year's Resolutions will break them by February, and by July more than half will have abandoned that hangover-induced list.

I prefer Anytime Resolutions. Better known as Goals.

Want to join me in putting more Happily in your Ever After? It's simple--follow these 3 steps:

1. Pick five areas of your life to improve.  More than that, you lose focus. Check out this bit on Oprah's website. I structured my goals around the "Absolute YES list" which has made it easier for me to say NO to all the things that don't relate to my goals.
2. Use S.M.A.R.T. goals--
• Specific: Don't just put "Lose Weight", but put "Lose Twenty Pounds", or better yet, "Lose 3 Pounds a Month." Studies show the more specific your goals, the more likely you are to achieve them.
• Measurable: Break your goal down into measurable steps. For example, one of my goals is to achieve PAN status with RWA. As my publisher puts out the royalty reports each quarter, I can track how my promotional events are working for me in my efforts to sell my book. Then, I can adjust (or sob over a glass of wine) accordingly. 
• Attainable: Pretty obvious, but worth repeating. Make goals that stretch your limits, but are achievable with solid effort.
• Relevant/Resonate: This is where most goals fall flat. Visualizing that goal should give you a tingle of excitement. Six years ago, my goal was to get a publishing contract. I visualized my book-signing party, where I was swanning around in a designer gown, champagne glass in hand, as I greeted my guests on the front lawn of the Pink House (a historic, reportedly haunted Victorian in my hometown, which you can see here) . Well, I did get that contract and champagne (yay!) but no designer gown and Victorian landmark signing party. Maybe when I hit my five-year goal: appearing on the NYTimes Bestseller's List. Someday I'll have that drink on the Pink House lawn!
• Time-Bound: Have an end-time for your goal. This helps you avoid goals like "Exercise More Often," as this is a life-style change, not a goal. A fitness goal would be "Get Fit Enough to Run the Disney Marathon by January."
3.  Post Your Goals for Accountability! Publish them on Facebook, on your fridge, bulletin board, bathroom mirror. Everywhere. Even your blog. ;)

Without further ado, here are my 2104 goals...

1. Fitness/Health--

• Attend kickboxing/bootcamp classes 3 or more times each week to be ready for obstacle race in February, then schedule race for summer/fall.
• Strive for five fruits and veggie servings every day. Track how many on my fit app daily.

2. Writing--

• Write for 45 minutes every weekday until Novel #4 is completed, and send to my editor at TWRP (then cross my fingers for contract #4!).
• Attend one writer's conferences this year.
• Read (or listen to) 52 or more books this year (1/week). Then review them on Goodreads!
• Hold two contests for my readers (one in Feb, one in Oct), revise blog/website to include reader enhancement experiences, increase newsletter subscribers to 200.
• Create four webinars (one/quarter) to give back to other writers, and four vlogs (one/quarter) just for my readers to enhance their reading experience with me.

3. Family--

• Write/work on writing related things during the week, and on the weekend before the family is awake. Then, it's technology blackout until Monday morning.
• Focus on the QUALITY of the time spent, vs. the QUANTITY.

4. Leadership/Volunteer--

• Designate 8 hrs/week to handle leadership responsibilities for the organizations I lead. Stick by the parameters so the organizations don't take over every other goal on this list.
• Cut volunteer hours to 5/week.

5. Say NO--

• Last but not least: Say NO to the people, things and distractions that take away from my goals this year. And after you say NO, don't feel guilty. This is a YES list. Not a NO list.Cherish friends and family in my life that add to my Happily My Ever After. The ones that suck the joy from my life...this is a new year and a new Dylan. I will be purposeful about with whom and how I spend my mental energy.

What are your goals? Feel free to share them on this blog! Because goals are the way to...
Happily my Ever After,
Dylan

Creating an Author Facebook Page

After years of avoiding it, I finally created the dreaded...

Author Facebook Page 

Yes, it's true. I caved.

Despite the fact that I'm notoriously irregular updating my own personal Facebook page, I went out and cluttered the web with my new "Author" page. It just got to the point where I no choice. Here's why...


3 Clues That It's Time to Create an Author Facebook Page:

1. When readers and fans begin to find your personal Facebook page it's pretty cool. At first. Then, you get that one fan who is a little creepy. Maybe he posts something like, oh, I don't know...like he hoped to see me at the next book signing to get tips on writing sex scenes... and suddenly you realize how much personal stuff is just sitting out there, like chum floating in the ocean, ready to be snapped up by the first hungry predator. (Yeah, that was a true story. *shudder*)

2. You want separation between your treasured new fans, readers/author friends from...well, you know. From your paranoid co-workers, your psycho boss or the crazy [insert relative name here] who uses Facebook solely to post the score from her billionth game of  Farmville and rant about politics and religion. Sometimes in the same post.

3. When you are serious about taking your writing career seriously, and you want a way to measure your success. I don't know. There was something about watching those "Likes" pile up in my Author Page that felt so different from my personal page. I've been published since my debut novel, "Despite the Ghosts," came out in 2010 but I can honestly say this little step made me feel like more of the real deal. And I just loooove the Insights section of Admin panel. Nothing helps illustrate success like a good old-fashioned chart!

Go ahead and create that extra FB page, my writer and author friends.  It's like the motto of the Borg (Yeah, I like Star Trek. So sue me.), "Resistance is Futile." 

Happily Writing My Ever After...
Dylan


Dying to see my final product? Go to www.facebook.com/DylanNewtonAuthor -- and at the very least you can snicker at my profile picture. 

Life Goals for 2012...Better Late than Never

New Year's Resolutions. Bah. Who has the time on Jan. 1? With the kids out of school, and still decompressing from the holiday whirlwind, I barely have the mental fortitude to make a grocery list, let alone list out my life goals for the coming year.

You didn't make any either? Don't worry....

According to a New York Times article, a third of the people that made New Year's Resolutions will break them by February, and by July more than half will have abandoned that hangover-induced list.

I prefer Mid-Year Resolutions. Better known as goals.

Want to join me in putting more Happily in your Ever After? It's simple--follow these 3 steps:

1. Pick five areas of your life to improve.  More than that, you lose focus. Check out this bit on Oprah's website. I structured my goals around the "Absolute YES list" which has made it easier for me to say NO to all the things that don't relate to my goals.
2. Use S.M.A.R.T. goals--
• Specific: Don't just put "Lose Weight", but put "Lose Twenty Pounds", or better yet, "Lose 3 Pounds a Month." Studies show the more specific your goals, the more likely you are to achieve them.
• Measurable: Break your goal down into measurable steps. For example, one of my goals is to achieve PAN status with RWA. As my publisher puts out the royalty reports each quarter, I can track how my promotional events are working for me in my efforts to sell my book. Then, I can adjust (or sob over a glass of wine) accordingly. 
• Attainable: Pretty obvious, but worth repeating. Make goals that stretch your limits, but are achievable with solid effort.
• Relevant/Resonate: This is where most goals fall flat. Visualizing that goal should give you a tingle of excitement. Three years ago, my goal was to get a publishing contract. I visualized my book-signing party, where I was swanning around in a designer gown, champagne glass in hand, as I greeted my guests on the front lawn of the Pink House (a historic, reportedly haunted Victorian in my hometown, which you can see here) . Well, I did get that contract and champagne (yay!) but no designer gown and Victorian landmark signing party. Maybe when I hit my five-year goal: appearing on the NYTimes Bestseller's List. Someday I'll have that drink on the Pink House lawn!
• Time-Bound: Have an end-time for your goal. This helps you avoid goals like "Exercise More Often," as this is a life-style change, not a goal. A fitness goal would be "Get Fit Enough to Run the Disney Marathon by January."
3.  Post Your Goals for Accountability! Publish them on Facebook, on your fridge, bulletin board, bathroom mirror. Everywhere. Even your blog. ;)

Without further ado, here are my goals...

By the end of 2012, I do solemnly resolve to:

1. Achieve RWA PAN level through royalty earnings by increasing my online presence (see goal #2), speaking engagements, and marketing efforts.
2. Establish online brand (Website, Facebook, Pinterest, Blog, GoodReads) and have tools in place (Smart phone, iPad) to ensure weekly updates that further my writing and life's goals.
3. Inject more fun into life by doing at least one activity with my daughters and/or husband that is different from the normal routine on a weekly (and when larger--monthly) basis.
4. Scrapbook one page per week that captures our crazy, beautiful, blessed life so my family has a tangible way to reflect on all that makes us perfect and flawed. 
5. Get an agent or publishing contract for paranormal romance "Despite the Fangs", or my young adult paranormal novel, "Cassandra's Awakening" by submitting to two agents/publishers per week, as well as attending seminars/conferences/groups that will further my publishing goals.  

Subscribe to my blog. Keep me honest to my goals. Post yours below!

Together, we can put the Happily in our Ever After!
Dylan