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WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!
Two Fantastic Sites That Are Hosting My Work
Just wanted to share with my Writer's Notes readers that I have two guest posts appearing so far during the month of June: one at Writing the Cyber Highway and one at Writer's Resource Center.
Writing the Cyber Highway: A Favor Returned
One guest post is already up at Michele Tune's blog, Writing the Cyber Highway.
Here's the link:
Motivation to Write: Is There a Magic Formula?
I've really enjoyed writing this post on motivation for Michele, who so kindly came to my rescue a while back when I was ill, penning a wonderful guest post here at Writer's Notes without even being asked to do it. That's just the kind of blogger--and person--Michele is! That's why I'm so happy to reciprocate. (See Michele's guest post here: That's What Bloggers Are For.)
If you ever have trouble motivating yourself to write, you might just want to follow the above link and check out the lessons I've learned about this topic that's so critical to the success of every writer. Hope you'll enjoy reading this piece as much as I've enjoyed writing it. And hope you'll get lots of new ideas about how to discover--or generate--new motivation for all your writing projects!
Writer's Resource Center (aka PoeWar): An Opportunity to Help Out
My second guest post is scheduled to run tomorrow, June 4th, at John Hewitt's Writer's Resource Center.
Update: It's now June 4th and the post is up, so here's the link:
7 Secrets to a Striking Essay
This post presents seven helpful essay-writing techniques that are applicable to many other types of writing, as well. I hope you'll enjoy it--and even more so that you'll get something of value from reading it.
I wrote this post in response to a request by John for enough guest posts to run through the month of June to help him take a much needed month-long vacation. I was honored that, in addition to his general call for guest posts, John also sent me an e-mail inviting me personally to submit a post. (How could I refuse?) Seriously, though, I'd already planned to submit a post but really appreciated John's reminder. It's definitely an honor to have my work appearing at John Hewitt's Writer's Resource Center!
WRC Post Involves a Contest With an Impressive Grand Prize!
What makes this WRC "gig" even more special, though, is that John is offering a $250 prize to the writer whose guest post receives the most traffic during the first week it graces his site! That's definitely a prize worth pursuing--even if I would have submitted a guest post anyway! So, I'd like to ask my readers to stop by WRC to check out my post--even if you aren't that interested in essay writing--though I promise that you will take home some helpful tips for other types of writing, as well. (And don't forget to tell your friends! I need all the help I can get! In fact, a Stumble wouldn't hurt, either (wink, wink), if you really like my article--or if you just want to be nice. I would be forever grateful. Certainly hope you will like my post, though.)
WRC Consolation Prize Is Generous, As Well
John is also offering a $50 prize in a random drawing he'll hold to determine which lucky guest blogger among all those who have responded to his call for vacation relief will receive the "consolation" prize. The two monetary prizes John is offering are more than generous and have certainly provided a wonderful incentive for bloggers to participate. It will definitely be fascinating to see who wins them! Of course, it would be even more fascinating to be who wins (one of) them! Time alone will tell who the two lucky winners will be!
Stay Tuned for John Hewitt's Guest Post Here at Writer's Notes
John has also graciously offered to write a reciprocal guest post here at Writer's Notes as soon as he's able--so we've all got a treat in store after John's vacation ends. I know he's a busy man, however, and certainly don't want to put any undue pressure on him. Though it's difficult to wait, I'm sure we can all be patient until John gets back into the swing of things in July and manages to find a bit of extra time to write a guest post especially for us! I know it will be well worth the wait!
Hope you'll visit my guest posts!
Jeanne
P.S. I haven't forgotten my comment recognition post this month, but have simply been so busy that I haven't gotten to it yet. (Would have posted it today, but wanted to announce my guest post at Writer's Resource Center, since it's set to go live tomorrow, as well as my guest post that went live yesterday at Writing the Cyber Highway. Hope everyone will forgive me for being so late with my thanks! I'll do my best to get that post up tomorrow. I'll also resume my Guide to Polished Writing series soon after. Thanks for your understanding!)
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The Contest
Wanted to share a gift, of sorts, given to me by Dan at dcrBlogs. Actually it's more of a consolation prize for my non-winning entry to his recent What is This Blog All About? contest. In this contest, Dan asked his writer-readers to write a description of his blog and offered a $10 prize to the blogger whose description he chose as most accurate and well-written. (Entries were left in comments and may be read at the above post.)
The Winner
In a later post, What You Think This Blog is All About, Dan reveals his choice for the winning entry: the one submitted by my blogging friend, Lillie Ammann of A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye. (Congrats, Lillie on a job well-done!)
The Consolation Prize
In the above post Dan generously offers the Good Buzzz Blog Award to the non-winners:
Good Buzzz Blog Award
This award is “for blogs that have generated a happy hum in the blogosphere. Whether it be for their blog in general, one outstanding, unusual or controversial post, or for something cool the blogger has done. Or even for recognizing some promising, brand-new blogs.” Dan received it back in November, and he's kindly decided to pass it on to us, because he considers our taking the time to submit our entries to the contest to be "cool."
Thanks, Dan!
I'd like to thank Dan for the consolation prize, as well as the lesson learned through my submission of an overly lengthy entry--despite what my intuition tried to tell me! Nevertheless, like Dan, I, too, love Lillie's description and readily concede that the best entry did indeed win! Many congratulations to Lillie Ammann on an excellent description of an excellent blog: dcrBlogs!
Till next time,
Jeanne
How much thought have you given to your blog's description? If your blog is listed on Technorati or anywhere else, that description represents your blog. Does it make people want to visit? Any thoughts to share about this topic?
Khanna's Dishonesty and Ulterior Motives Exposed
Phil, at Contest Blogger has exposed Ashwin Khanna's so-called $2500 Blog Extravaganza for what it apparently actually was: a totally fraudulent attempt to gain backlinks to his blog in order to raise his Technorati ranking and authority. And it has--enormously! For details, please see Contest Blogger's "I Told You So" post.
The Contest Blogger Counter-Contest
In response to Khanna's blatant con, Contest Blogger has decided to run a contest of his own: The Ashwin Khanna Revenge Contest, which any blogger who was conned into giving link love to Khanna through his fake contest can enter. The prize ($100) is quite a bit lower than Khanna's promised windfall, but, unlike Khanna's, presumably this prize will actually be delivered to the lucky winner.
Contest Requirement: A Link to Contest Blogger
The only thing Phil requires of the conned bloggers is that they change the links they gave Khanna, redirecting them to the Contest Blogger home page. (I have given this a great deal of thought and have simply decided to remove the links to Khanna's blog from my previous post announcing his "contest" (actually, more like con test). After careful consideration, I've decided that, since I'm generous with links anyway, I don't mind linking to Contest Blogger--In fact, he deserves the links for exposing Khanna's fraud--yet I've decided that, rather than doing so in the Khanna announcement post, by changing the link, I would simply link to Phil's blog in this post. (Perhaps Contest Blogger himself has taught me not to be so quick to jump on the bandwagon.)
Are You on the List of Defrauded Bloggers?
At any rate, Contest Blogger has posted a (very long) list of the blogs/bloggers who were conned by Khanna (which you'll find in the Revenge Contest post, linked to above). If you're on the list, you're eligible to enter his Khanna counter-contest, should you be so inclined.
Apt Acknowledgments
Thanks go out to Phil, at Contest Blogger, for his expose of this fraudulent contest. In addition, I'd like to thank The Contest Winner, whose modified post, Ashwin's Blog Extravaganza!! Win $2500 (which also lists all affected blogs/bloggers), originally alerted me to the con, via my Writer's Notes' Technorati Blog Reactions list.
Again, I'd like to offer an apology to all who entered Khanna's contest as a result of the announcement posted on my blog.
Apologetically yours,
Jeanne
Another interesting blog post, adding to the Khanna conversation, can be found at the following link: Honesty is the Best Policy – Not for Ashwin Khanna!
8/28/07: Just thought I'd link back to Ramblifications, a blog that shared a little link love with me and all the other bloggers who've written posts about being conned by Khanna.
Did this post make you think? Don't leave me lonely--Please comment!
McGrath Dot Ca (formerly Steve's Tech Blog) Hosts Another Blogger Contest with a Cash Prize
Since I've been writing on the subject of blogger contests that have monetary prizes lately, I'll tell you about another such contest that I just came across: The Blog About My New Download Site and Win $100 Contest, being held at McGrath Dot Ca (formerly Steve's Tech Blog).
A Little Background
For quite some time, Steve has dreamed of owning a freeware/shareware download site, and, apparently, his dream is becoming a reality. Now that his new site, 1 Cool File is up and running--and acquiring new software every day--he wants the world to know about it!
Hence, the contest.
Requirements to Enter
To enter, bloggers simply have to copy and paste the following paragraphs from Steve's contest blog post into one of their own blog posts. (Don't forget to add all the links when posting the quoted text.)
Steve is launching his brand new site: 1 Cool File. It is a directory of cool files(shareware, freeware, plugins). For example, you can try a new media player after you have just finished a music download. You can add your ebook about making money or a screen saver. That’s not all, it has a section just for blogs(plugins). You can also rate a file or make a review about it. It does support PAD files so tell authors about it.
And just by linking to the contest post, I can win $50. You should read the contest post to win 2 other prizes of $25/each if you don’t have a blog. If your entry is before the next Google page rank, Steve will double the main prize. So, don’t wait to long. It’s coming soon!
And one more thing… You can read Steve’s blog while there.
Not a Blogger? You Can Win a Prize, Anyway
While bloggers may win $50 (or $100 if they enter before the next Google page rank update,) non-bloggers who visit and register for free membership at 1 Cool File, will be entered into a random drawing for $25. And another random $25 drawing will be held among all who point out "relevant" errors they find on the new site (with a few limitations that Steve mentions in his blog post). So, pretty much everyone has a chance of winning something, whether or not they have a blog, which sounds like a pretty fair deal.
Contest Details
Deadline: August 31st, 2007
All prizes paid in Canadian dollars.
All prizes paid via PayPal.
Want More Info? Visit Steve's Site
For more details about the contest, please visit McGrath Dot Ca.
What have you got to lose? Even if you don't win, you'll have found one cool site that will be offering an increasingly great selection of freeware/shareware that can satisfy most--if not all--of your software needs.
Happy "shopping"!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Don't leave me lonely--Please comment!
ASHWIN KHANNA CONTEST WAS A FRAUD!
NOTE: (August 24, 2007) I HAVE RECENTLY LEARNED THAT THE ASHWIN KHANNA $2500 BLOG EXTRAVAGANZA WAS A FRAUDULENT ATTEMPT TO GAIN BACKLINKS FOR KHANNA'S BLOG AND, THEREFORE, ALL LINKS ORIGINALLY PLACED IN THIS POST WILL NOW BE REMOVED. AT THIS POINT, I WILL LEAVE THE REMAINDER OF THE TEXT OF THIS POST INTACT; HOWEVER, I MAY LATER OPT TO DELETE IT ENTIRELY. MY APOLOGIES TO THOSE WHO ENTERED THIS FAKE CONTEST AS A RESULT OF READING MY BLOG POST!
Ashwin Khanna's $2500 Blog Extravaganza
Ashwin, over at Ashwin Khanna Dot Com (Link removed) is hosting a $2500 Blog Extravaganza, in which one lucky blogger will claim the $2500 prize. What does a blogger have to do to enter? It's pretty simple: Just post the following text on your own blog:
Over at Ashwin’s blog (Link removed), you will find one crazy blog owner!! You can win $2500!! To enter just copy this text and paste it in your blog!! But hurry, this competition will not last long! So get posting!
It's as simple as that! (What a wild way to attract traffic!)
Contest Details
Closing date for this contest: August 20th
Payment Method: PayPal
PayPal, Ashwin, Here We Come!
So, if you don't have a PayPal account, I wouldn't waste a minute heading over there and signing up!
Then, I'd high-tail it over to Ashwin's blog to enter this one-of-a-kind Blog Extravaganza! It may be a while before you find another opportunity this sweet--and this easy to enter!
The Contest: Only One Good Thing You'll Find at Ashwin's Blog
And, while you're there, you'll definitely want to check out Ashwin's insightful content, which can help you more smoothly navigate the often-complex pathways of the blogosphere.
You might also consider requesting a free review of your blog--though only blogs which cover suitable topics (such as blogging tips and advice for making money online) will be considered. You'll also have to do a bit of minor hoop-jumping (i.e., subscribing to his RSS feed, mentioning that you got a free blog review at his site, and posting a few links--one to the $2500 Blog Extravaganza and one to his home page--all of which seems pretty fair, all things considered.)
$2500, Anyone?
So, why not enter and give yourself a stab at $2500? Even if you don't win, you'll have discovered a site you can turn to again and again for good, solid blogging and online moneymaking advice--and that, in itself, could prove invaluable to you down the road.
Keep your fingers crossed!
Jeanne
*Many thanks to my "blogging buddy," Melissa Garrett, at The Silver Tongue (and Little Woolgatherings) for this timely contest tip! (Note: The Silver Tongue will be moving soon, (as will Little Woolgatherings,) but the new link isn't active yet. I will update the link in this post, as well as the one in my sidebar, once Melissa has everything squared away at her new site.)
Did you enjoy this post? Don't leave me lonely--Please comment!
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