#AtoZ : A to Z Challenge Sunday Summary

        Our fellow co-host from Retro-Zombie has been turning out some beautiful blog art for those who want to adorn their sites with A to Z decor.  Check the tab at the top of the page for additional selections.

      We're looking for you to start promoting the A to Z Challenge outside of the blog circle that includes you who have joined already.  There are an untold number of bloggers who would love to do what we're going to do this April, but they don't know about it yet. When it comes to telling others, it starts right at your own blog.   Have you been helping to spread the word about the A to Z April Challenge?   It helps the cause when you tell friends and post publicity articles on your blog.

      Here are a few that I found this week:

      Lucy Adams announced her intentions to return to do the Challenge of 2012.  We're glad to see you back Lucy.  And thanks for that rousing plug for A to Z.  I was surprised to learn that Lucy published a Kindle book based on her posts from last year--the third A to Z inspired book that I'm aware of.  Take a look at ABC Book of Literary Devices.

       Joyce Sully from Small Wonders is also going to be joining us in April.  How do I know?  She announced it in her blog!  Welcome to the April fun.

        At Older Mommy Still Yummy Monica tells about her experience in last year's Challenge and provides words of encourage to those who are considering this year.  Nice job Monica!

          I absolutely adored the alphabetical call to action from Anna Smith at Universal Gibberish.  Go by and say hello after you read this for yourself.

         Passionate Musings did some ruminating about the Challenge as well.

          Ella at Ella's Edge found her topic for the letter Z.  She provides a peek into her April plans.

         Cherie Reich is offering a promotional opportunity for published or soon-to-be published authors on her blog Surrounded By Books.    Don't pass up this one up if you want to get your name out there a bit more.  Free promotion?  What's not to like about that?

        Since we're on the subject of getting yourself promoted, if you missed my discussion of this topic earlier in the week please check it out starting with Tossing It Out and following the link trail from there.  Self-promotion is nothing to be ashamed of nor be intimidated by.  In fact, for authors or anyone with something they want the world to know about, if you don't promote it yourself it may not get done at all.  Helping to promote A to Z will get your feet wet and make it easier for you to promote yourself later.   Stephen Tremp has already stated his intentions on becoming a "publicity hound".

        The A to Z Challenge announcement can also be found at Lady Reader's Bookstuff, The Written Word, and Rebekah Loper,

        Show your support for all of these A to Z Challenge allies by visiting their blogs, leaving a message, and giving them a follow.

         Tracy Jo at Brand New Day dropped a teaser in her blog that she has an A to Z video forthcoming for the A to Z Video Contest.  I'm anxious to see what she'll come up with.
 
         We're still accepting submissions for the A to Z Video Contest and you can find details in a tab at the top of the page.  To inspire you here's an entry received this week from Dale Smurthwaite from Smurfin' the Web.   Enjoy:





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Training for the A to Z Challenge: Guest Post from Journaling Woman

         A couple of weeks ago, Teresa from Journaling Woman published a post that offered some great tips on meeting the Challenge in the best blogging shape.   It was entertaining and funny, but on target as to some of the things challengees will want to consider as they approach April.   Teresa has given me permission to reprint her post on the A to Z Blog.

Lee at Tossing it Out is the man behind the scheme. He thought up this challenging blogfest and it’s been a hit ever since. And he’s recruited some of his friends and fellow bloggers along the way to help. Beginning January 30^th you can sign up.

Now, I don’t join blogfests often. There’s the commitment issues. There’s the “marching to my own drummer” philosophy. But sometimes you long to belong.

And that’s where the Blogging from A-Z Challenge comes in. To get prepared, I’m in training. Here’s my workout plan.

Exercising

Fingers stretch out. Fingers pull in. Repeat eight more times. Then—stop.

Resting

·         Get eight hours of sleep.

·         Dream each night about a dancing alphabet.

·         Leap vigorously to catch random letters in your dreams since you will need them to complete A-Z.

·         And even if they struggle and bite to be free, catch them. It’s well worth it.

Mental Games

Repeat daily: A-Z is only one month. Not even a month. Only 26 days. It’s a challenge not a marriage. You’re only committing yourself for 26 days. Consider it a very long date.

 Read

·         The Little Engine That Could (I think I can, I think I can)

·         Old A-Z posts for ideas. New A-Z posts for ideas.  (This helps you know you’re not alone.)

·         Gone with the Wind (“I can’t think of that right now, If I do I’ll go crazy. I 'll think about that tomorrow.”)

Nutrition

·         Eat chocolate – lots and any kind is fine.

·         Drink coffee. Lots. Coffee helps with memory. True story, I think.

·         Eat fried foods to store fat because writing is a lonely and cold profession. You’ll need the comfort of fried food.

Write

Write random ideas. Write conversations. Write grocery lists. Write until you find your theme. Then…write it for real.

And that’s my training workout for the Blogging From A-Z Challenge coming to a blog near you April 1-30.  I’m stoked. I have a theme. I’m getting prepared.  

Now go visit the Blogging from A-Z Challenge site to learn more about it. Get outta here--go!

Related articles

• Memoir Through Journaling: guest Teresa the Journaling Woman (wrotebyrote.blogspot.com)
• The Lazy Blogger: Hosting Guests on Your Blog (breakthroughblogs.blogspot.com)

Get Yourself a Theme Song!

Many of you have already planned your A to Z posts. However, I’m sure some of you still wonder what the heck you’re going to do for the Challenge. I understand - I’ve been in both situations. And in case you’re wondering, planning posts around a theme was much easier than winging it!

The first year, I don’t think any of us really knew what we were doing. The closest I came to a theme was that my posts were all entertainment related. Movies, music, games - you name it. For Q, I blogged about Q*Bert and “Q.” Yes, the crappy 1983 movie “Q!” I was desperate…

The second year, I realized I needed a plan of attack. I was a co-host last year as well, and I knew I couldn’t be floundering around for post topics. I at once hit upon the idea of featuring two blogger buddies per letter. Some of the letters were challenging, but I stuck with my topic until the last couple letters. (Thank you, Matthew – QQQE was a much better choice than “Q!”) As an added bonus, everyone really liked my Challenge theme.

You may think A to Z a challenge enough without adding the limitations of a theme. But choosing one overall subject for your posts really allows for a lot of creativity. You could select any topic under the sun and run with it. The only limitations are in your mind. A theme also helps you to plan ahead for each post, which frees your time during the Challenge to visit other blogs.

So, start brainstorming now! Avoid total brain freeze when you reach the more difficult letters. Believe me, you don’t want to post about crappy movies like “Q.” I’ve already done that!

Ninja Captain and A to Z Challenge Co-Host
Alex J. Cavanaugh


And related to today's topic comes another entry to the A to Z Video Contest.  Today's submission comes from Dale Smurthwaite at Smurfin' the Web.   Hop over to his site and say hello.  If you are interested in knowing more about the A to Z Video Contest click on the appropriate tab at the top of the page.   Now rock out to Dale's video:






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A to Z Challenge--How to Wing It in Style: guest from Jamie at Mithril Wisdom

        Jamie Gibbs from Mithril Wisdom is no stranger to the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  In this guest post Jamie provides some excellent Challenge wisdom that may alleviate some stress come April.  

A to Z Blogging - How to wing it in style

It’s certainly no secret that I rarely prepare for blog-type events. I’m usually the one frantically hitting that “Publish’ button mere seconds before each deadline (and on one occasion, several days after it). I enjoy the spontaneity of winging it and the thrill of the unexpected when I blog with little planning. However, writing by the seat of your pants does not mean you should walk into the A to Z Challenge blind. A small amount of planning can go a very long way. Here’s a few tips to wing it without making a fool of yourself.

●        Know your theme

            Even if your theme is to have no theme, make sure you know the general feel of the posts that you’ll write. Things will be a lot easier when you’re sitting at your keyboard, struggling to find that elusive ‘Q’ topic, if you know that whatever the ‘Q’ is, it needs to be in the realm of, say, Aztec gods (and the answer, of course, would be Quetzalcoatl).

●        Prep each day with one word

            You have two whole months until the Challenge starts, so grab a pen and paper, and write the alphabet. Go on, do it, don’t be shy. I’ll wait. I’ll just busy myself thinking about dragons.

Right, done that? Awesome. Now think about a single word to go with each letter (sticking with your theme). I hope you left enough room next to each letter to write the word itself. I probably should have mentioned that earlier. Hmm . . .

It may take some time, but using those single words will make your posts so much quicker to write each day. Even if you still haven’t thought of any for the elusive ‘Q’ by the time April rolls around, you’ll have 25 less posts to worry about because of your list.

●        Read around. Read widely. Read everything!

            The A to Z Challenge is about community above all else. There are hundred of awesome bloggers who are participating, and it would be a shame for you to miss out. Don’t just read the blogs you know, or those who comment on your posts. Don’t just focus on the blogs that are similar to your own. You’ll be surprised how much inspiration you’ll get from reading outside of your comfort zone. Even better, you’ll meet new friends along the way. Everyone’s a winner!

Good luck to all of you, and extra good luck to my fellow winging bloggers. I look forward to seeing you blogging by the seat of your pants - and doing it in style.

Related articles

• Inspiration for your posts (a-to-zchallenge.com)
• alexandra heep (a-to-zchallenge.com)
• Tell Me About This A to Z Challange (a-to-zchallenge.com)

Telling the Rest of the World: Publicizing the Challenge

Image via Wikipedia
       Li from Flash Fiction requested that we address the subject of getting publicity for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  As an author, Li recognizes that participating in an event such as the April Challenge can add something extra to her writing resume and even more so when people know what the A to Z Challenge is.  How do we go about getting the word out?

       Many of you have already been publicizing the Challenge on your blogs and that is something that is greatly appreciated.  It because of the bloggers like you that the list grows with new participants.  Don't stop promoting the Challenge to other bloggers.  Let's get as many participants as we can.

       But what about the bloggers who aren't part of the community in which we blog?  There are millions of bloggers out there and most of them don't know about the A to Z Challenge.  And how about those who don't have blogs (or at least not yet) who just enjoy reading things on line?   How do we tell those people about the A to Z Challenge?

        One way is getting the word out through the media.    There are many outlets out there through which you can spread the news about A to Z:   newspapers, newsletters, magazines, radio, television, and so on.  Why would we want to do this?  My answer is to be a part of something notable.

        Many of you blog in order to promote yourself or some product that you represent, such as your books or other creations.   When you are attached to something big you gain additional recognition for what you are doing outside the Challenge.  Even if you aren't promoting anything in particular it's still fun to have the bragging rights of being part of something that others have heard about.  If an event or movement that you are a part of "makes the news", you are a part of something noteworthy and you can use that to your advantage.

       In the interest of keeping this post short, I'm going to quickly offer some ways you can help spread the word about A to Z in a bigger way than just on your blogs.

       Here are some things you might try:

        1)    Contact someone you know who has media ties.  Perhaps you know someone who works for a newspaper or radio station, publishes a local newsletter, or is affiliated with an online news distributor.   Let them know about the Challenge.  Be excited about it and ask them if they can help by featuring it in the resource they work with.   Offer to write the story for them.

       2)   Ask someone who knows someone.  Maybe you're part of a committee or have kids on a sports team.  Find out who submits news releases to media outlets and ask them if they can help you make contact.  Or there might be a neighbor or relative who has contacts that can help.  Check around. Be creative.

        3)   Keep your eyes and ears open.  Your local newspaper probably offers a forum for making announcements--add your A to Z announcement for local bloggers to see.  Put up notices on public bulletin boards at libraries, student centers, and other similar places.  Find any opportunity you can to tell others about the A to Z Challenge.  Last year my daughter in New Jersey called me in Los Angeles to tell me about a radio talk show where the topic was blogging.  I got on the phone and before I knew it I was on the radio talking about the Challenge.  Within an hour of that appearance I received several emails about the Challenge from people who had heard me and we saw a spike in sign-ups.

       4)   Be a publicity hound.   Some of you may find self-promoting to be a distasteful activity.  Do it vicariously by promoting the Challenge.  You can drop your name in as a participant and still gain some recognition for yourself.  Get your blog address published and you might get some visitors you might not have otherwise had.  For those of you with product, you may gain new customers.   Self-promo is not a dirty word--it's a necessary part of building your platform.

       These are a few ideas that you can try, but it doesn't end there by any means.  Use your imagination to come up with ways of getting the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge more widely known.  Then tell us about your experiences and send us your links.   We'll tell your story here.

        Last year I offered a series about getting publicity.  This information is not only useful for getting A to Z publicity, but also for promoting your own interests.  Here are the links from last year that you might want to read for more information:

http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-challenges-reaching-for-stars.html

http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/2011/03/making-news-why-you-should-be-promoting.html

http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/2011/03/easier-way-to-get-news-story.html

http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/2011/03/press-release.html

http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-story-should-i-tell.html

        Here are a couple examples of good press stories:

From Alana at Writercize:    Benefits of Blogging Challenges

Nicki Elson at Not So Deep Thoughts had this one from last year:  

Author Invites Local Bloggers to Join International Blogging Event

             Try it and let us know about your results.  Have you used press releases to promote yourself or something you were involved with?  What are some other ways you can suggest publicizing A to Z beyond the blogs?




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