Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Want to Join Us for the ULTIMATE ROAD TRIP?

Hi Guys, and welcome to the 2013 Post A-to-Z Road Trip!


Feel free to snag this badge for your own blog!

Despite quite a bit of late snow here in Colorado, including a lovely blizzard on May Day, I'm totally ready to get back on the road. Blue skies, black roads, yellow lines, and the sound of my tires on the pavement. I want to feel the heat, smell the wildflowers and chlorine.

But most of all, I want to visit the rest of the A-to-Z Challenge participants. I definitely didn't have time to visit everyone during the Challenge, so now is the time. 

What are the technicalities? There aren't many. The linky opens today. Sign up if you'd like to come with us on a summer of fun, visiting fellow A-to-Z'ers, discovering new blogs. We'll close the linky in December, meaning you can waffle all the way until then. And though it will be closed in December, that doesn't mean you have to stop. The linkies will still be available for visit up to the 2014 Challenge.

We'll have occasional check-ins, but there's nothing required of you other to make whatever effort you like to visit participants of the 2013 A-to-Z Challenge.

We won't be alone on this road trip. No, Tina will be revising her role as my lovely co-host, and Nicole will be joining us for the first time this year! 

As we get started, Tina has some pointers for you, and Nicole's got something to say, so I'll hand the floor over to them. 

See you on the road!

~Shannon, The Warrior Muse


I'm excited about this 3rd road trip! First of all, did you know that it was because Shannon and I organized the Post-Challenge Challenge in 2011 that we got chosen as co-hosts? Pretty cool. Then in 2012 we renamed it the more apt “road-trip”. History lesson over! We're really glad to have Nicole to take some driving shifts.  The more the merrier the trip!

Tips for the road: you're in charge. Want to visit one new blog a day? Want to visit hundreds of blogs a day? No problem. You're driving. Unless you hitch a ride with a friend, which I think is a good idea. Accountability and all that, not that this is a diet or a competition or anything. It's just some friends hanging out and continuing visiting.

Some strategies you might want to try:
Visit all the blogs with your same category
Visit all the blogs whose names intrigue you
Visit all the even (or odd) blogs
Start from where you left off and keep on truckin'...

Whatever you do, don't forget that this trip is a journey, not a destination. Signing up on the linky doesn't mean you're committing to visiting ALL the blogs. All you're saying is, “I ain't done yet.” We'll have some encouraging rah rah posts along the way, and a chance for you to share your best “finds” along the road. Personally, I like those little Mom and Pop cafes that are off the beaten road, and the food is real and so is the atmosphere – so cool but unknown blogs that need some customers!

Keep track of your finds, give us a holler if you run out of gas or need your tire changed. We're here as your guides – we've journeyed similar roads in the past! Good luck, and drive carefully.



Maps - Check! iTunes – Check! GPS - Check? Water – Check!

I’m ready to hit the road with Shannon and Tina for this Post A-to-Z Road Trip that’s taking us over some commenting highways, down a few tweeting tunnels, up through subscribing/following bridges and back again. One of the most exciting things about this trip are the fellow drivers and carpools accompanying us as we stop in towns all across the country to find out what each and every person in our alphabet network is cooking up on his or her blog.

Want to know a secret? We’re also taking advantage of some uncharted territory – back roads and routes that have little to no traffic signs – which means there are no set rules for how or where you drive your vehicle, no speeding limit for how fast or slow you go and most importantly, zero guidelines for where you choose to park your vehicle throughout our cross-country journey. I’ll be offering up some refreshments at rest stops, accompanied by tips and tricks that you can use to keep you on course – until we’ve racked up enough miles, stories and traveling buddies that will get us through another 26 days of blogging in April or any other month for that matter.

Honk if you’re packed in, gassed up, buckled up and ready to join us on the road for some sing-a-longs, games, rest-stop snacking and much more cruising through lanes of A-to-Z blogs!

~Nicole, The Madlab Post





Sign up here for the Post A-to-Z Road Trip!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Submissions Open for Your Best A to Z Post of 2013


Sandra Tyler of Woven Tale Press is inviting A to Z submissions from 2013 to appear in an upcoming edition of  The Woven Tale Press:

In honor of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge which annually spurs so many bloggers to persevere in writing daily for an entire month, a special edition of The Woven Tale Press is planned, to highlight some of the best of this year’s A-Z challengers’ posts.

The Woven Tale Press is an e-magazine  an eclectic monthly culling of the blogging web; too many well-conceived and artful posts are relegated to their archives too soon.  Posts ephemeral, but meant to be indelible.

So to prevent your posts from gathering dust in those archives, submit your favorite 2013 A-Z post from 2013 for consideration at:



To read the most current issue of The Woven Tale Press, click on the cover below:




Important Update from the publisher:


The Woven Tale Press has been blessed with so many terrific submissions! However, 
despite so many submissions, many are duplicate letters.

So A-Z challengers who have not already submitted, consider submitting your best of letters:

B, D, G, H, L, O, Q, S, T, U, W

Enhanced by Zemanta

Friday, May 3, 2013

Challenge Reflections Post Linky List Opens

Be sure to save badge image and download it into your sidebar.

The Linky List went live Thursday night and is now ready for sign-ups.   The List will remain open for the next week and will be accessible in the above tab labeled "2013 A TO Z REFLECTIONS SIGN UP/LIST".


Important Note!!     Please Read


before signing on to the list!!

 
          This list is intended only for those who are posting an A to Z Reflections post.   Please post only the link to your Reflections post and not the URL address of your blog.  If your intent is to add a link to your advertising site or just to get your blog noticed, be aware that those links will be removed from the list when discovered.   If you have any problems with your entry or accidentally enter the incorrect link, please contact us.  Refer to the "Contact Us" tab for contact information:




Remember to add the link to your exact post when entering it on the list!




Be sure to visit others on the list to see how their experience compares with yours.  Leave a comment so they know you stopped by.    Interact and network!   And you can still follow blogs that you aren't following already.  If you do follow a blog, let the blogger know that you've done so and you may get a new follower as well.

Have Fun!



Enhanced by Zemanta

A to Z Reflections Post 2013 Now Open

For the benefit of those on the other side of the world and anyone who has a Reflections post ready, here is the Linky List.  

      This list is intended only for those who are posting an A to Z Reflections post. Please post only the link to your Reflections post and not the URL address of your blog. If your intent is to add a link to your advertising site or just to get your blog noticed, be aware that those links will be removed from the list when discovered. If you have any problems with your entry or accidentally enter the incorrect link, please contact us. Refer to the "Contact Us" tab for contact information:


For list go to:  http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/2012-to-z-reflections-linky-list.html

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

It's Not Over Until It's Over! Time to Reflect

The "I Survived" Badge Is Ready!
      Thanks to our in-house art guru, Jeremy Hawkins from Retro-Zombie, we have available for all of you who finished this year's A to Z Challenge a badge for you to proudly display on your site to show all the world of your amazing April feat.  Congratulations to all of you!

The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge Reflections Post 2013

         By now you have probably heard mention of this Reflections Post.  Those who are past A to Z participants are undoubtedly familiar with this Reflections Post and may have done one in previous years.  For those who don't understand what this is all about, I'm here to explain it to you.

          The A to Z Reflections Post is a post presented on your own blog site giving the A to Z Team, the other Challenge participants, and any other readers your thoughts about this year's April Challenge.  The way you present your post is up to you.   Essentially you can take the same approach with this post as you did your other Challenge posts.

          We are looking for feedback about the Challenge.  Tell us what you liked and didn't like, what worked and what didn't.   If you have suggestions about making future A to Z Challenges better, this is a good time to let us know.  You can highlight other bloggers who you felt did an outstanding job or direct us to specific posts that particularly impressed you or that you found to be very helpful.

          In other words, we want to know how the A to Z Team did and how the Challenge worked for you.  If you'd do it again, tell us why.  If you would never consider A to Z again, let us know what would make you feel that way.

         Please put up your Reflections post between now and Thursday May 9th.  After your post has gone online you can add the link to that specific post to the Linky List once it has opened starting Thursday night.  Enter the link that goes directly to your Reflections post and not your general blog address.  The list will remain open for entries for one week and will be accessible for the remainder of this year.

         The list is intended for A to Z Reflections posts only.  Any links to advertising sites or non-relevant posts will be removed from the list.    And remember that these posts will be directed to a diverse audience of varying ages and sensibilities so please respect others by refraining from posting obscene materials or hurtful attacks upon others.  We want a productive interchange of ideas that can lead to positive innovation.

Coming Soon!  The A to Z Road Trip!

       Details for this will be coming on this blog in the next few weeks.  Be watching for more information about this event.

       If you still have questions please let them be known in the comment section.  

Enhanced by Zemanta