Well, what do you know? 2012 is almost here. I hope you are looking forward to a bright and prosperous New Year, in every sense of the word, which, for us writers, means accomplishing some of the things we were not able to accomplish in 2011. I still haven’t fully recovered from the Christmas rush, but I thought I would take some time to focus on what I hope to achieve in the New Year.

Before the year is out, I vow to clean up my inbox. A messy inbox slows you down and confuses you. Then I’m going to sit down and write my goals for the New Year. Heck, I’m here, aren’t I, so why not do it now? That’s goal #1 right there. No more procrastinating! Okay, here goes:

Market Women For All Seasons : Visit bookstores, contact book clubs, women’s groups, radio stations and newspapers.

Finish writing Coming Out of Egypt: This is my romance novel that I’m revising and since it’s a revision, I’m setting a deadline date of April 30, 2012. Submit to publishing houses.

Finish In The Promised Land, sequel to Coming Out of Egypt and submit by Dec. 2012.

Query health-related and women’s magazines at least once a month.

Post to freelance writing blog 3x week; to Christian blog 1x week.

Begin affiliate marketing in earnest

Write and market a health-related ebook (if time permits).

So, what about you? Have you made any goals yet for 2012? If you haven’t, you can still do so after the ball drops or after you get back from watch night service or that party. But don’t put it off too long. The sooner you get your goals down, the sooner you can start working on them and the sooner your success will come. Let me know what your goals are. Happy New Year!!!

Today I’m starting a new weekly post on things that I saw or read during the week. Most of the content will be writing-related, but there will be other things of general interest as well. As always, I invite you to add your thoughts and any other tidbits of interest you may have picked up.

The first one is Mashups

Do you know what a mashup is? No, it’s not a car wreck nor a new mashed potato recipe. I saw this in the USA Weekend supplement of the newspaper and according to the paper, a mashup is two unrelated tales blended (or mashed) together in a tongue-in-cheek retelling. USA Weekend featured a mashup of A Christmas Carol, calling it Scrooge vs Aliens. In the story, er mashup, Scrooge is awakened by lights flashing in his room and a hand like a tentacle drawing his curtains aside. The Thing looks and speaks like an alien and Scrooge is scared out of his wits. The mashup continues along the same vein as the traditional story, but in the end Scrooge defeats the alien with the help of the paupers and Tiny Tim, son of Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s employee. The story ends with Tiny Tim embracing Scrooge and saying, “God bless us, Every One.” And Scrooge nudges the alien’s body and whispers, “Even you, my friend. Even you.”

The author Ben H Winters has written two other mashup novels, Android Karenina and the best seller Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. You can read more about this mashup in usaweekend.com.

My other noteworthy read of the week is an inspirational piece that every writer can use. It has to do with the success of Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield’s Chicken Soup for the Soul books. According to the piece, these two gentlemen had a difficult time getting anybody to publish the book and an even harder time getting anybody to buy it. Sound familiar? Then one day they got a piece of advice from a teacher called Scolastico. It was this: If you would go everyday to a very large tree and take five swings at it with a very sharp axe, eventually, no matter how large the tree, it would have to come down.” Hansen and Canfield developed “the rule of five.” Every day they did five specific things that would move them closer to achieving their marketing goals, including getting even gas stations, bakeries and restaurants to sell their books. Today, Chicken Soup For The Soul has sold over 112 million copies in forty-one languages. It’s not impossible. Just start swinging!

My final read has to do with things that concern everyone, whether you are a writer or not. With Christmas on our doorsteps, cosmetics are among the most common gifts you may receive. When you are left with odds and ends of perfume, shampoo, conditioner nail polish etc., what do you do with them? Here are some tips:

Spray clean sheets and pillow cases with left-over perfume before getting into bed. Use them in your bath as well. Spritz cotton balls and use them to freshen your lingerie drawers, closets or gym bags.

Left-over shampoo makes good laundry detergent for bras and cashmere sweaters. Don’t throw out your old hair conditioner. Use it as a shaving cream.

What can you do with nail-polish? Color code your keys, luggage handles and those manila folders with your writing projects. I’m sure you can come up with other ideas.

So, that’s it. “God bless us, Every One.” Leave a comment and let me know of any interesting reads you’ve had this week.

From now until Dec. 20, I’m making copies of my book Women For All Seasons available at a reduced cost. Women For All Seasons is a Christian non-fiction book, targeted to women of all ages and stages of life. It is based on stories of women from the Bible, and I’ve featured women who are young, single, married and widowed. In other words, women who reflect the different seasons of a woman’s life.

Are you a young woman, wondering what is your purpose in life or whether you should trust God and risk losing everything you cherish, maybe even your life? Read about Mary and Esther. Are you a married woman struggling with issues such as parenting, or step-parenting, and keeping your marriage going? Read Rachel and Hannah. Are you an older woman who thinks that maybe your useful days are over and you should take a back seat in your church or community? Read Naomi and Sarah. Are you a young woman in search of Mr. Right? Read Ruth. Are you a woman who has been ridiculed and ostracized as a result of your past? Read Mary Magdalene.

These are just some of the issues you will encounter in this book, but I guarantee you that every woman will see herself in the pages of this book. My goal in writing it is to first of all encourage you to read the Bible and to make it easier for you to digest its content. I have used a light and engaging style, like you would find in a novel or magazine and each story is written from the point of view of the main character, making her seem like a true flesh and blood person. The selection of Bible stories in the book demonstrates the importance of trusting God when we go through the seasons of life. Women For All Seasons will make a wonderful addition to your library, or if you belong to a women’s Bible study group you may find this book helpful.

So, take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to get a copy of this book in time for Christmas by clicking on the link below.

If you have ever read any of my posts, you would know that I’m always harping about the need for writers to carefully proofread their work before putting it before the public. Recently I came across a discussion on what are some of the best ways to proofread one’s work. Most of the writers who contributed admitted that they sometimes made errors on work they had submitted to a client or to an editor. Some of these errors had to do with giving erroneous information (a no-no), others had to do with confusing dates and times and a few mentioned typos.

Many helpful suggestions were given, some of which you may have heard before, but the following are the ones I find work best for me: (more…)