Happy Halloween, babes! Thank you for being a part of my squad.
Since it’s the last day of month, let’s take a look back at my best blog posts and most exciting announcements of October.
The Best of October
#bloglikecrazy
The 2015 #BlogLikeCrazy All-Stars
Each year, I challenge the women of See Jane Write to publish a new blog post every day in the month of November. I call this challenge #BlogLikeCrazy. And I’m so glad that every year a few ladies (and gentlemen) accept.
Today I salute the #BlogLikeCrazy All-Stars for 2015 — the bloggers who succeeded in giving their readers new content every day in November.
The #bloglikecrazy All-Stars
Each November I challenge the women of See Jane Write to #bloglikecrazy, to publish a new blog post every day for a month.
Today I’d like to take a moment to salute the women who stuck with it and gave their readers 30 posts in 30 days.
Jennifer Dome King of Stellar Fashion & Fitness
As you might have guessed from the title, Jennifer’s blog is about fashion and fitness but is also about so much more. Jennifer says she wants her blog to motivate her readers to “become stellar people.” Whether you’re trying to become more physically fit or learn how to dress in a way that truly expresses your personality, Stellar Fashion & Fitness needs to be in your blog roll.
Irene Latham of Live Your Poem
Irene Latham is a poet and novelist whose blog Live Your Poem encourages readers to do just that. How can you live your poem? “Cultivate a secret life,” Irene urges. “Take the road not taken,” Irene challenges. And “when the time comes, let it go, let it go,” she says. For musings on books, writing, and living a life worth writing about, you need to read Live Your Poem.
Leslie Golden of The Books That Follow You Home
For some people books may just be words on a page. But to Leslie Golden books are magic and that’s what her blog is all about. Leslie’s blog is about books “that follow you home,” books whose stories and characters become a part of you. Leslie blogs about all types of books — fiction or non-fiction, classic, modern or indifferent, genre specific or fusion — “as long as they’re good. Good enough to be thought about, good enough to be re-read, good enough to be shared.” If you love good books, Leslie’s website will become the blog that follows you home.
I also want to give a shout out to Edward T. Bowser of Soul In Stereo. Since he’s my better half, Edd is basically an honorary member of See Jane Write. Every year the hubster blogs like crazy with me and my Janes on his music blog Soul In Stereo. Edd has an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture and one of the reason his blog has become so popular through the years is the fact that he never pulls any punches. If you want honest rants and reviews of hip-hop, R&B and even current events, you need to check out Soul In Stereo.
Thank you all for blogging like crazy with me this year!
What did you learn from this year’s #bloglikecrazy challenge?
Today marks the end of #bloglikecrazy — See Jane Write’s annual challenge to post a new blog post every day for 30 days in the month in November.
Usually I survive #bloglikecrazy by planning ahead. I usually spend October brainstorming ideas for dozens of posts and will even start drafting some of them. That wasn’t the case this year. Because my fall has been so busy, I was often developing the idea for and writing a post the same day I published it. But I’m glad things turned out that way because this year’s #bloglikecrazy taught me something valuable: When it comes to writing and blogging, I actually do know what the hell I’m doing!
I suffer from major impostor syndrome, that feeling we women often have that tells us that we’re not good enough and that we don’t deserve the position or power that we have. I often feel this way about writing and blogging. Because of the popularity of See Jane Write, people in Birmingham regard me as a blogging and writing expert, a title I often shirk because I don’t have a New York Times best seller on my resume and because I don’t seek to make money from my blog through advertisements or sponsored posts.
But when See Jane Write members emailed me questions about blogging (questions I had promised to answer in the form of blog posts this month) I could answer their questions thoroughly and easily. I didn’t have to consult any “expert.” The answer was already beneath my curly coif! And on days when I didn’t have a question to answer I was able to easily come up with a blog post idea and write it quickly and concisely while still making it an interesting, inspiring, or informative narrative.
Who knew that, of all things, this year’s #bloglikecrazy challenge would help me overcome my impostor syndrome!
I’ve realized that I may not know everything, but I know a lot, and I’m smart and resourceful enough to figure out and learn the things that I don’t.
What did you learn from this year’s #bloglikecrazy challenge?
What blogging & writing conferences should I attend in 2015?
Believe it or not, 2015 is just around the corner. Now is a good time to figure out which conferences you will attend next year. Here are ten writing or blogging conferences to consider.
Food Media South: The popular food blogging conference FoodBlogSouth (originally organized by Shaun Chavis and Jason Horn) is now being hosted by the Southern Foodways Alliance and has been renamed Food Media South. Set for February 27-28 in Birmingham, Alabama, FMS will explore storytelling in the digital era. Speakers include Dorothy Kalins, founding editor of Saveur magazine, chair of the James Beard Journalism Awards committee, and producer of beautiful books; Chuck Reece, editor-in-chief of Bitter Southerner; Erika Council, proprietor of the blog Southern Souffle; Roscoe Hall II, proprietor of the site Punk as Food; and Bill Addison, restaurant editor of Eater National.
The Southern C Summit: Connect, collaborate and create in a niche environment with like-minded creatives at the Southern C Summit, an annual conference organized by The Southern Coterie. The spring 2015 summit is set for April 30 – May 1 and will be held in Charleston, South Carolina. The conference promises engaging educational sessions and panel discussions with branding, marketing and social media leaders. Evening events and gatherings offer the opportunity to continue networking all while engaging in meaningful conversations in a fun intimate setting.
Y’all Connect: Y’all Connect Presented by Alabama Power is an annual blogging/social media conference in Birmingham, Ala. The event offers practical takeaways in corporate storytelling from the nation’s digital marketing experts. Next year’s conference will be held in June.
The Bloganista Mini-Con: Back in July See Jane Write hosted its first conference and it was a huge success! In 2015 we hope to make the Bloganista Mini-Con bigger and better offering inspiration and information for fashion, fitness, lifestyle and business bloggers. More details coming soon!
BlogHer ’15: In 2015 the BlogHer Annual Conference will be held July 16-18 in New York City. BlogHer is one of the biggest blogging conferences on the planet. Last year’s speakers included Jenny Lawson a.k.a. The Bloggess, media mogul Arianna Huffington and actor/activist Kerry Washington.
WordCamp Birmingham: WordCamps are informal, community-organized events that are put together by WordPress users. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other. WordCamp Birmingham typically takes place in late summer.
Blogalicious: Be Blogalicious is a network with three major goals: 1) to be THE go-to destination and resource for influential multicultural women social media enthusiasts from all over the world to collaborate, connect and uplift one another; 2) to showcase the value of the demographic in today’s marketplace to marketers; and 3) to serve as a think tank and mouthpiece for causes, policies and issues affecting the multicultural digital space. The annual Blogalicious Weekend conference is usually held in the fall and is one of the best conferences I’ve ever attended!
Alabama Writer’s Conclave: The Alabama Writers’ Conclave was organized in 1923 and has been in continuing existence since. The Conclave is responsible for nominating, for the governor’s appointment, Alabama’s Poet Laureate. Members include fiction and non-fiction writers, novelists and short story writers, poets, writers of business and scientific works, freelance journalists, romance writers, publishers, patrons, and teachers.Through the years, the Conclave has moved its conferences around the state to provide writers everywhere better access to its resources.
Blogging While Brown: Blogging While Brown is a conference and a community for emerging leaders in digital media and social change. Since its launch in 2008, Blogging While Brown has grown to become the premier blogging conference dedicated to education, collaboration, and innovation among bloggers of color. The conference brings Black social media experts, speakers, and independent content creators together to expand their influence in social media and technology. The conference offers an opportunity to learn tools and strategies to build engaging and dynamic online platforms, leverage online engagement for offline results, and create sustainable business and activism models. The 2015 is set for June 19 and 20 and will be held in Austin, Texas.
Romance Writers of America: If you are a career-focused romance writer, then this conference is for you. This annual event gives you the chance to get down to the business of being an author. Expect education and information, networking with fellow writers, and interaction with editors, agents, publishers, booksellers, and other romance publishing industry professionals.
What conferences do you plan to attend next year?