Whether you woke up this morning elated or devastated by last night’s election results, here is one thing I want us all to celebrate: See Jane Write member Jennifer Dome King has just released her first book, a book that grew from her blog. And I hope her story will inspire you to soon write a book of your own.
Why I Vote
Though I need a shirt that reads “Since 1965,” I proudly support StyleBlueprint’s Women’s Votes Matter campaign. With the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920, women finally secured the right to vote. But for decades women (and men) of color would continue to be disenfranchised by literacy tests and other measures specifically designed to prevent racial minorities from voting, especially in the Deep South. With the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 these tactics were finally outlawed. As a black woman from the South, I cannot and will not take the right to vote lightly. And so I will wear this shirt today as I go to the polls to vote.
30 Things I Love Right Now
(1) The exquisite shade in the above photo. | (2) The Boss Babe blog.| (3) Being recognized by AL.com as one of 30 Women Who Shape the State. (4) Being written about in The Birmingham Times — which happens to be the first newspaper I ever wrote for at the age of 19. | (5) Going for evening walks with my Beloved. | (6) My See Jane Write Facebook group. It’s lit, as the kids say. | (7) She Reads Truth. | (8) Blue Bell ice cream. | (9) How to Get Away with Murder. It’s back and it’s as crazy as ever. | (10) Daydreaming about all the ways I could grow See Jane Write. | (11) Realizing that I have finally replaced my lack mentality with an attitude of abundance . | (12) Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham. Thank you for helping me raise over $1,000 for this organization which works to help move women and their children beyond poverty. | (13) Cleaning my classroom every Friday. It somehow makes Monday mornings not so rough. | (14) Narcos. I know I’m late to the party and honestly I only hopped on this bandwagon because someone in my Twitter feed compared it to Queen of the South. My feminism colors my choices even when I’m watching TV shows about drug dealers. | (15) Women I once admired me from afar are sending me friend requests on Facebook. | (16) Late night Bible reading. | (17) Hot dates with my Kindle. | (18) Seeing See Jane Write members landing writing gigs again and again and again. | (19) Essie nail polish. | (20) Making money through affiliate links. Passive income, baby! | (21) It finally feels like fall. | (22) Pimento cheese from John’s Diner. | (23) H.E.R. Again I’m late to the party, but I finally took a break from listening to Beyonce and Solange to check out this EP. | (24) Westworld. This show is weird AF, but it’s so interesting. | (25) Skirts with pockets. | (26) Printed pants. | (27) Being a coach for budding boss babes. | (28) Being “Blogalicious.” | (29) Saying out loud that I want to build an empire. | (30) Believing that I can and I will.
What do you love right now?
#Blogalicious8: How to Pitch Like a Pro
Don’t hate me, but I have an idea for yet another challenge for the women of See Jane Write.
This month I’m challenging you to #bloglikecrazy, to publish a new blog post every day for 30 days. But one month soon I’m going to challenge you to #pitchlikecrazy.
You can blame Roni Faida Clark of RoniTheTravelGuru.com. This weekend at the 8th annual Blogalicious conference Roni led a value-packed workshop called “How to Pitch Like a Pro” at which she gave 10 tips for pitching to brands.
#Blogalicious8: How to #SpeakBeautiful
This weekend I’ve had the privilege of attending the 8th annual Blogalicious Weekend, the premier multicultural women’s blogging conference co-founded by Stacey Ferguson, a.k.a. Justice Fergie.
Yesterday’s agenda kicked off with a special talk presented by Dove and its #SpeakBeautiful campaign, which seeks to change how we talk about beauty online.
The presentation began with words from Luvvie Ajayi of the wildly popular blog Awesomely Lovely and author of the New York Times Best Seller I’m Judging You.