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WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!
I've Won--And So Have Seven Others!
Just wanted to let everyone know that I've won one of the eight prizes offered in the Win Up to $500 Writing About Cell Phone Users and Abusers! contest hosted by Brad Shorr at Word Sell, Inc. What a wonderful surprise it was to visit Word Sell a few days ago and see my name listed among the winners! (I was one of three people who won $100! There were also a $500 grand prize and four $50 prizes--a truly generous lineup of contest prizes!) To see a list of all eight winners and their respective prizes, see Brad's post, Announcing! Cell Phone Contest Prizes. (Be sure to visit Word Sell often for Brad's insightful advice on how you can use the written word to effectively market yourself, your ideas, products, or services.)
Contest Details and Links to Individual Entries
Winners were chosen by random drawing after penning posts about cell phone use and abuse, which they published to their own blogs, as their contest entries, sending links to Brad. In case you'd like to read the fascinating entries, Brad has also published a Cell Phone Users and Abusers Contest Roundup post containing links to all the entries. This group of blog posts represents a host of perspectives on a topic which is redefining modern life.
A Contest Highlighting Dr. Mike O'Malley's "Cell Hell" Book
The Cell Phone Users and Abusers contest was held to publicize Dr. Mike O'Malley's new book, Cell Hell: 55 Cell Phone Users You'd Like to Silence, which provides an entertaining look at the people who annoy, irritate, and sometimes even place us in mortal danger through their appalling cell phone habits. My own entry was The Cell Phone: Both a Blessing and a Curse.
If you have a cell phone story to tell, Dr. O'Malley is interested in receiving your stories of cell phone abuse. Visit his website to send him a message via his contact form.
Just had to share this wonderful news with all of you!
Thanks for reading!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Have any thoughts to share on this contest? How about other contests you've entered? How do the prizes offered in this contest compare to those of other contests in which you've participated? Do they seem especially generous, average, common, or rare, based on your past experience? Have you ever won a contest? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Please note: If the StumbleUpon and other social bookmarking buttons aren't visible, please click the "Add Comments" link beneath this post. Thanks!
It Couldn't Have Happened to a Better Blogger!
Michele Tune is a wonderful blogger--in more ways than one. First of all, she's an excellent writer, which makes her blog a delight to read. And secondly, she's a beautiful person--friendly, caring, giving--which makes her a delight to know. She's the blogger who came forward recently and generously offered to write a guest post here at Writer's Notes to help me out due to my personal and family illness. Here's her guest post: That's What Bloggers Are For!
And the Winner is...Michele Tune!
Michele also recently entered a contest put on by Rebecca Laffar-Smith at Writer's Round-About, in which she was required to write a review of Rebecca's blog, post it to her own blog, and then submit a link to it for voting by Rebecca's readers. It was a close and anxious race, as Michele and another contestant, LaskiGal, took turns repeatedly gaining and losing the first place position. When the final results were in, Michele had won by three votes (29 to LaskiGal's 26). Congratulations to both ladies: to Michele, who won a $100 Amazon gift certificate and LaskiGal, who won a $50 one! Congratulations also go out to Melissa Donovan, who won the third place prize, a $25 Amazon gift certificate, with 25 votes! Here's Rebecca's post presenting the contest results: New Design Launch - Contest Results!
Thanks for Supporting a Great Writer and a Wonderful Person!
I'd like to thank all my readers who visited and voted for Michele's post--or Stumbled it--after I announced the contest in a note at the end of her guest post. Thanks so much for helping an excellent writer/blogger--and fantastic person--win a much-deserved prize! Michele plans to use her gift certificate to buy books to help her grow and improve as a writer. I'm sure it will be an adventure! Happy shopping, Michele! We're glad you have this opportunity to develop your already-considerable skills--even if we do love you just the way you are! Hope LaskiGal and Melissa will also enjoy their Amazon shopping sprees, getting whatever makes them happiest! (There were five fine entries to the contest. It's too bad everybody couldn't win!)
Thanks again, everyone!
Jeanne
P.S. Don't forget to visit Michele's blog: Writing the Cyber Highway. I'm sure you'll love reading what she has to say!
P.S.S. I know you'll enjoy Rebecca's blog, as well! So, why not drop by Writer's Round-About for a visit?
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add? We'd love to hear your thoughts! Why not congratulate Michele on her awesome feat. She had some pretty stiff competition!
A Fantastic Valentine's Day Surprise!
Yesterday I learned that, thanks to visits by my loyal readers, blog buddies, non-blog buddies, definitely non-blogging family members, and even one of my pastors--along with the readers of Matt's blog and a number of the aforementioned people who saw fit to Stumble my post--my Five Ways to Make Other Bloggers Absolutely Adore You! guest post came in first for the number of unique visits received by the Valentine's Day deadline! My post received 635 unique visits between January 22nd when I submitted it and February 14th when the Blogging Fingers Guest Posting Contest ended. Not a huge number over a three-week period, but "huge" enough to win.
Thanks to All Who Helped Me Win!
Many thanks to everyone who visited my contest post! (Some of you even visited more than once, which I appreciate, though only your first visit was counted.) To all who visited: You are the ones who made it happen! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! And special thanks to everyone who left comments on my post! Thanks so much for cheering me on! I also received encouraging e-mails from many of my blogging friends and from others, as well, which helped keep me optimistic to the end. Extra special thanks to all who Stumbled my post! Thanks to each and every one of you for helping me win!
Thanks to Matt for a Prompt Payout of the Prize Money!
My prize was $50 for receiving the most unique visits to my post and $10 for submitting one of the first entries to the contest. (Actually, all contestants won the $10 prize, since the number of entries was low.) Matt deposited the prize money ($60) into my PayPal account promptly yesterday, exactly as promised. Thanks, Matt!
A Great Experience!
I really enjoyed having the opportunity to enter this contest, which I'd decided to do almost on a whim, not really expecting to win. I simply made up my mind one day to just go for it and then sat down and wrote and submitted the post. It's been a great experience having a voice on another blog with a whole new readership, and it was a privilege to compete with the other fine contestants. Guys, your submissions were great! Let's hope Matt decides to do this again soon.
A Growing Interest In Guest Blogging
One thing this contest has done for me--aside from providing a few needed dollars--is give me a taste for guest blogging. I definitely plan to do more of it when I can manage to find the time. It's a great way for a blogger to spread her wings and explore--new audiences, new expectations, a new angle or new focus, maybe even a new topic. Who knows where it could lead? I guess only time will provide the answer to that question.
Thanks again, everyone, for your support!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? What do you think of guest posting? Have you done it? Do you enjoy it? Why not share your experiences--and links to your guest posts--in comments?
Yes, I Won!
I found it most ironic that, not long after completing and posting my blog entry about MOUTH FULL OF BULLETS, a website that publishes crime-related stories, poems, and articles, I received a phone call from Ron "R.D." Peters of Iron Pyramid Publications informing me that my flash fiction piece, "Confession," a--you guessed it--crime-related story, had just won his website's current Writing Contest.
What a Surprise!
I must confess I was quite amazed by this turn of events, simply because, while I'd figured the story was worth entering into the competition, I truly didn't expect it to win--though, of course, I hoped it would. There's simply too much good fiction out there--and my story was, after all, competing against 63 other stories, many of which were very good. So, needless to say, I felt quite honored to receive both an e-mail and a phone call from R.D. this morning telling me not only that my story had won, but that it was 'superb' and 'writing at its best'! That was truly a great compliment!
You Could Win, Too!
The main reason I share this story here, however, is not simply to tell you that I have won the latest competition at Iron Pyramid or to gloat over the fact, but to share with you what R.D. told me this morning about the next short story competition he will be sponsoring on his website very soon. I was, in fact, surprised to hear how soon he's planning to do it all over again--but pleasantly so: it will run from April 1st to April 30th, 2007.
[UPDATE 3/19/07: I've just learned that the new contest is open NOW, as R.D. has apparently decided not to wait until April 1st to begin accepting submissions, after all. So, if short stories are your literary 'cup of tea,' sharpen those pencils, fire up those computers, and get a head start on your entry! As far as I know, the deadline is still the same: April 30th.]
R.D. also said, in response to my question to that effect, that he is giving some thought to the possibility of offering a Poetry Contest in the not-too-distant future; that is, however, not actually on the drawing board as of yet.
Some Contest Info
Iron Pyramid features 'dark tales,' though the contest is open to all genres! (However, according to R.D.'s Craigslist post publicizing the recent contest, neither erotica nor vulgarity are welcome and, if posted, will be removed from the Forum and disqualified from the contest.) If you haven't already got a story or three written and ready to go (multiple entries allowed,) you have several weeks in which to work on it! Check out the site for samples of the types of writing found there.
Site Navigation Tips
Iron Pyramid's contests are found in the site's Forum, which is where you'll also find info about upcoming contests. The Writer's Contest has its own section on the Forum page, which is where you will be expected to post any entries you'd like to submit for consideration as part of the competition. Check out and familiarize yourself with the Forum page, so you'll be prepared to post your entry when ready to do so.
Other I.P. Posting Opps
In addition to the Writing Contest, there are quite a few other categories in the Forum, such as Poetry, Politics, Business, Humor, and many others too numerous to mention, in which writers' thoughts or works may be posted--so be sure to check these out when you visit, as well.
Give It a Try!
Iron Pyramid Publications' Writing Contest just might be your way to get some well-deserved and much-craved recognition for your work. So, why not check it out!
And good luck!
Jeanne
P.S. Forgot to mention that there's a $50 prize--and no entry fee!
Check out Short Stories: 10 Tips for Novice Creative Writers. It's a great guide to short fiction writing!
And here are two online guides that can help make you more short story contest savvy:
1. Short-Story Competitions: Increasing Your Chances of Winning.
2. Writers-Editors.com Contest Tip Sheet.
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