ROWND TWO TWITTER PARTY

We are back to start another exciting round of ROW80!  To kick us off, we are having another Twitter Party gathering.  Here is Barbara McDowell to take over the blog and share the details.

~*~

Once again, it is party time!  On April 4, the #ROW80 hashtag is going to kick it up old-school and hold a 24-hour celebration for:

• All the participants who just finished Round One of ROW80.
• Anyone who plans to post their goals and dive into Round Two.
• The amazing people who supported the ROW80 writers throughout the year.

Party Details:

• Theme: “Throwback Party”

Oh yes, we are going WAY back.  This party is a celebration of generations, music, and fashions.  We want you to come on Wednesday ready to kick it like you used to “back in the day.”  All outfits are welcome, my co-host Lena Corazon is stirring up some wicked cocktails to last all night, and I’m morphing into DJ Barbara to spin a playlist for all decades.

• Date: April 4, 12:01 AM to 11:59 PM EST in the U.S.
  This will also be the first day of Round Two check-in so there should be a bevy of ROW80 peeps and friends wandering around the blogosphere.
• Why: For the ROW80 celebration of Round One, a kick-off party for Round Two, and a get down groovy time for all supporters.  Don’t be shy.  Anyone can participate in this Twitter party whether it is just popping by to say hello or being the last one dancing at 11:59 pm.
• Where: The party will be held at the #ROW80 hashtag.
  Include that in your Tweet and join in!  What is a Twitter party?  This is where we all stop in to the #ROW80 hashtag all day long and play and party together—sharing news, pictures, music, and merriment. It’s going to be a great time! Please promote it as much as you can between now and then.
• Blog with Photos Competition:  From April 2 to April 8, we want you to keep the party going and post some “Throwback Party” ROW80 celebrations.  This can be separate posts or part of your check-ins this week.  Just make sure to include some pics that reflect the theme and let your party monster rage.  Whatever you want to do to work this into your post, go for it.  We trust you are a creative bunch.  Then, we’ll review them and decide on the best to spotlight in a post.

To enter the Blog with Photos Competition:

• Create a blog post that reflects the “Throwback Party” theme.
• Creativity is a plus as are great pictures.  We know there are some folks holding a treasure of pics showing them in their glory with bell-bottom, platform shoes, biker, poodle skirts, and tie-dyed ponchos.
• Lena and I will look at the comments on our ROW80 blogs for recommendations of top picks as well as review them all for inclusion of top picks/faves in a mashup and for your vote.

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link for the blog competition and view this Linky Tools list of other ROW80 partiers!

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Thanks, Barbara!  Y’all, this should be TONS of fun and a GREAT way to spread the word about A Round of Word in 80 Days.  I encourage you all to JOIN THE PARTY!

Sign Up For Round 2!

Sign ups are NOW OPEN for Round 2!  Now, as I say elsewhere, if you happen to find us after the official start day (April 2nd), feel free to jump on in.  For now, you’re just declaring your intentions to join us.  There will be an official START DAY linky where you will link to your specific goals post.  For now, just link directly do your blog in the linky below (that would be the thing that says “CLICK HERE”), not in comments.  Yep, if you want to participate you have to have a blog.  See the FAQs.  And come hang out with us on the #ROW80 stream in Twitter.  The veterans will help you newbies learn the ropes!

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list of other ROW80 participants…

ROWers ACTIVATE! It’s TIME FOR ROUND 2!!!!

GO GO GO! Voting is live at DABWAHA for Round 2 where I face off against VERONICA ROTH! Let’s give her a run for her money!

It’s happening from

MIDNIGHT until NOON CST

Be sure to go cast your vote from every IP address, computer, or phone you can find! Let’s show ‘em what our network is made of!

#TeamKait!

Calling All ROWers! Voting TODAY for DABWAHA!

Calling all ROWers, friends, readers, and fans! Today is THE DAY! (I’m excited, you’re just going to have to deal with all the capslockiness and exclamation points)

Voting between Red and Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed In Blood begins at 12 noon EST CST (THIS HAS BEEN UPDATED) and runs until midnight EST CST.

We have 12 hours to do this, y’all.

I am, predictably, on the road for the Evil Day Job (they have no respect for my need to stage a coup today), so I am COUNTING on all of you to help spread the word and get folks TO THE DABWAHA SITE and VOTING between 12 and 12. Remember, this all happens TODAY, March 15th from 12 NOON EST CST until 12 MIDNIGHT EST CST. You’ll be seeing tweets and FB posts and assorted other stuff I was able to schedule in advance. Feel free to RT, reblog, repost, or just poke people with a cattle prod to get them to the polls!

LET’S GO TO THE MATTRESSES!

#TEAMKAIT

Unscheduled Announcement By Your Fearless Leader

Okay, so this has nothing to do with normal operations here at ROW80.  But I started ROW80 as a community of other writers to help support each other through all the trials, tribulations, and joys of the writing life.  It’s grown by leaps and bounds over the last year and I’ve met so many awesome and wonderful people.  And lest you think this is leading up to some announcement that I’ve had something awful happen and I’m shutting down the site, FEAR NOT.  We are not going anywhere.

WE ARE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE JOY STUFF!

So unless you were living under a rock (or were, you know, not online yesterday), you probably saw the news flying by on Twitter that my YA debut Red was nominated as a finalist for DABWAHA.

For those of you not in the know, DABWAHA is the Dear Author Bitchery Writing Award for Hellagood Authors.  Every March Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and Dear Author team up to present a Final Four Style Tourney for books.  Same kind of concept as basketball but with votes instead of an actual game.  From the DABWAHA website:

We’ll put out a slate of 64 picks.  8 categories and 8 books in each category.  In each category, the books are seeded 1-8.  The books then face off against one another with book 8 going up against book 1, book 7 going up against book 2, book 6 going up against book 3.  And so on and so forth.

The books compete against each other through the use of a poll and readers pick which book is going to win.

This would be awesome under any circumstances.  The nomination is beyond epic because, as far as I can tell, I am the only indie author in the field.  :GULP:

Now I’m up against Rae Carson and Veronica Roth (among others), so I know I’m not going to win my category.  I’m just NOT THAT WELL KNOWN.  As I said before, it’s a total honor just to be nominated.

But let’s face it.  I’ve got a competitive nature.  :mischievous gleam:

I think with the support of the awesome people of my networks, I might possibly stand a chance of at least making it out of the first bracket (assuming it’s not Rae or Veronica I’m immediately matched up against).  That’s where you come in.  I mean, seriously, what is the point of building a community if you can’t mobilize them?

So ROWers I am ISSUING A CALL TO ARMS (or, you know, to vote).

There are a lot of steps to this depending on how things go, so I have created a brand-spanking new, special DABWAHA Newsletter that you can sign up for to be notified of what to do where and when.  This is separate from the ROW80 posts to your inbox.  And it’s separate from my normal newsletter (if you happened to be signed up for it).  I normally only send out newsletters when there’s a new release (so a couple times a year).  The DABWAHA Newsletter is a time-limited campaign that will involve periodic blasts over the next 2 weeks.  I promise, I’m not normally all up in your inbox.  Once the DABWAHA Tourney is over, the emails will stop.  Remember, this is totally separate from my normal newsletter, so if you still want to receive notices of new releases and, you know, news, be sure you’re signed up here (for the regular newsletter).

Now, you don’t actually get anything out of this.  I don’t have prizes or anything (that would be considered bribery, which would be very unsportsmanlike).  All you get out of this is a chance to earn my undying gratitude and an opportunity to help me try and show up the big girls.  Let’s show ‘em Red is the Little Indie (Book) That Could!

Between now and March 13th, you can help by ENTERING YOUR PICKS per the instructions here on the DABWAHA website.

Feel free to tweet, FB, share, reblog, or flag down total strangers to squee.  Whatever you gotta do to share.  And don’t forget to sign up for the DABWAHA Newsletter!

Rockin’ The ROW Winner!

So you may recall that at the beginning of Round 4 we kicked off with the fabulous Rock the ROW twitter party.  There was, in fact, a photo competition for which the prizes were ebook copies of the following:

Kait Nolan’s Red, Susan Bischoff’s Hush Money and Heroes Til Curfew, Lauralynn Elliott’s Dark Relic: Vampire’s Curse, Claudia Lefeve’s Parallel, Cate Morgan’s Brighid’s Cross, Stacey Wallace Benefiel’s The Toilet Business, and Vicki Keire’s Gifts of the Blood and Darkness in the Blood.

>.>

I kinda totally forgot to post the winners.

:ducks:

Sorry, y’all!  It got busy!  Thanks, Jenny, for reminding me.  But anyway, without further ado, here are the poll results where you, fabulous ROWers voted on your favorite Rockin The ROW photos.

First place by a landslide is Natalie Hardford and her guitar.

Second is Barbara McDowell planking (my personal favorite).

Third is a tie between Lena Corazon and Tia Bach (and also technically Barbara again but since she won second we’re gonna strike her from the three way tie).

So here’s how this is gonna work.  We have 7 prizes (okay yeah there are 9 books but Hush Money and Heroes Til Curfew go together, as do Gifts of the Blood and Darkness In the Blood, so we’re gonna count those as sets).  First place winner gets to pick 3.  Second picks 2 from what’s left.  And the third place winners each get 1.

Winners, dash me an email at kaitnolanwriter (at) gmail (dot) com and we’ll start getting prizes sorted out.  Authors donating prizes, dash me an email with the relevant coupon codes for your book.

Thanks everybody for Rockin’ the ROW and making Round 4 such a superb success!

Yes I’m, Stuck in the Middle with You: By Kerry Meacham

I’m not sure when Kait is going to post this, but I hope it’s in the middle of ROW80.  You see, I’m not a great middle guy.  I start strong as hell, and if things go well in the middle I finish strong.  If they don’t, I typically quit.

I’m a great planner.  Get me interested in something and I can come up with some of the best kick ass goals you’ve ever seen.  I can dream up things that really get me going, and I’ll start out like a fox with his tail on fire.  My wife has tolerated my numerous “goals” through the years.  They take on a surprisingly similar nature.

• Initial interest
• Dipping my toe in the water
• Intense research
• Goal setting
• Buying of all things required
• Okay, buying of all things not required too, but are they cool or what?
• Start out like gang busters

Here’s where it gets interesting.  I’ll slowly ramp down and quit, or I’ll slowly ramp down to a realistic level, keep going, then finish strong as hell.  What makes the difference between the two?

I’ve looked back over the years at my successes, and there does seem to be a pattern to the differences between the two.  The great thing is that ROW80 falls within the pattern for success, IF YOU LET IT.

The four different things I’ve found that help me be successful with my goals are:

• Planning – ROW80 has a pre-start plan with your initial goal post (Ha-ha, football reference.  I kill myself. J)
• Accountability – ROW80 has a regular check-in twice a week.
• Support – A support system is integrated into ROW80 (plus a ROWbro/ROWsista if you’re so inclined).
• Adjustment – A way to adjust is also integrated into ROW80

 

Note the acronym PASA.  Okay, everyone that knows me can stop snickering.  I am the acronym king…so sue me.  Now I don’t speak Spanish, but I think “que pasa” means “what’s up” or a somewhat similar greeting.  I’m running with it, even if it’s wrong. J

Planning

Setting goals is the initial step in ROW80.  You look at what you want to accomplish, break it down into what you think you can do in 80 days, tweak it here and there, and post it for the world to see.  This is where I was successful in one NaNoWriMo.  I pre-planned the hell out of it, because the first year I didn’t and failed.  Similarly, the third year I tried NaNo, I didn’t plan well and failed.  Those of you who have seen my goals for Round 4 know I’m going for NaNo again this year.  I’m taking a NaNo Road Map class in October so that I plan things properly.

Accountability

Twice weekly check-ins drive the hell out of me.  In Round 3, I don’t know how many times I would wait until I had “caught up” before I would post my check-in information.  It killed me to have to post that I was behind on my goals.  The few times I did, it inspired me to be back on track by the next check-in.  If we don’t have some way to measure ourselves along the way, we can get so far behind that we become discouraged.

Support

ROW80 is built to support the people that participate.  Other people read your check-in posts and comment on how well you’re doing.  I always appreciate those that stop by and comment on my goals and how I’m doing, and I try to support as many people as I can along the way.

I also highly recommend finding a ROWbro/ROWsista.  Gene Lempp and I partnered up in Round 3, and again this round too.  We helped each other with goals, we were cheerleaders when required, and we were “no, that’s not acceptable behavior” kick-each-other-in-the-butt-coaches too.  Gene did a post regarding this à “The Buddy System.”  THE KEY WITH A PARTNER IS COMPLETE AND TOTAL HONESTY.  I can’t emphasize this enough.  Gene and I weren’t jerks to each other, but we gave each other permission to call the other one out if we saw them veering off course.  I know some of my WANA711 buds (all ladies) have a ROWsista thang going on.  It’s not a necessity, but it sure does make things easier.

Adjustment

Nothing is more deflating to me than having a grand plan, only to see it get skewered by life.  The great thing about ROW80 is that adjustment is built in.  Soooooo, if you have life that comes along after day 20, just make an adjustment and move on.  It’s difficult to do this for those of you that are hard-headed. *whistles and looks around so as not to make eye contact*  USE THIS PEOPLE!!!  It’s built into the system of ROW80.  When I changed my direction in Round 3, it was like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders and I finished strong.

So “que PASA?”  “What’s up” with you this round?  What things help you when you’re stuck in the middle?  I hope you’ll enjoy the middle and finish strong fellow ROWers.

~*~

Kerry Meacham

ROWnd 4 Twitter Party

I can’t remember who I saw do the ROWnd, but I liked it, so I’m stealing it.  Thanks to whoever had the clever.

Now I’m pausing to let Jenny Hansen take over the blog for some TOTALLY EXCITING stuff!  Take it Jen…

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The party is coming! The party is coming! On October 5th, the #ROW80 hashtag is going to light up like the stage at a teen rock concert. There’s going to a be a 24-hour celebration for:

• All the participants who just finished Round 3 of ROW80.
• Anyone who plans to post their goals and dive into Round 4.
• The amazing people who supported the ROW80 writers throughout the year (y’all REALLY deserve a drink!)

Party Details:

• Theme: “Rock the Row”
  However you want to work that in is great. I leave it to your outrageously creative imagination!
• Date: October 5th, 12:01 AM to 11:59 PM ET in the U.S.
  This also happens to be the first day of check-in so there should be a ton of ROW80 fun happening around the blogosphere.
• Party will be held at the #ROW80 hashtag.
  Fire up your Tweet Deck or HootSuite and let’s get jiggy with it.
• Photo Competition:
  You can start now…we won’t tell. Start digging for or taking photos that reflect the theme. We’ll do our best to gather them and decide on the best to spotlight in a post at the ROW80 blog. Once the readers vote, prizes up for grabs include Kait Nolan’s Red, Susan Bischoff’s Hush Money and Heroes Til Curfew, Lauralynn Elliott’s Dark Relic: Vampire’s Curse, Claudia Lefeve’s Parallel, Cate Morgan’s Brighid’s Cross, Stacey Wallace Benefiel’s The Toilet Business, and Vicki Keire’s Gifts of the Blood and Darkness in the Blood.
  
• Friendly Blog Competition
  We will also post a mash-up of favorite ROCK THE ROW posts at the Row80 blog.

Jenny Hansen is developing some polls ready so everyone can vote on these things.

There’s also going to be dancing! Jenny made a ”Rock The Row” playlist! All these details can be found at her ROW80 post. Co-host Nicole Basaraba’s post can be found here.

What is a Twitter party?

This is where we all stop in to the #ROW80 hashtag all day long and play and party together – trading news, pictures, music and jello shots. It’s going to be a great time! Please promote it as much as you can between now and then.  Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list of other ROW80 Partiers!

~*~

Thanks Jenny!  Y’all, this should be TONS of fun and a GREAT way to spread the word about A Round of Word in 80 Days–particularly as we are fast approaching the season for That Other Big Writing Challenge.  I encourage you all to JOIN THE PARTY!

Some ROW80 Site Changes

Since we continue to have increased traffic to the blog and people showing up after Rounds have begun, I have made a change to the structure of the ROW80 website such that the direct address (http://aroundofwordsin80days.wordpress.com) takes you to a static page that describes briefly what the challenge is and what the rules are.  Obviously we want to answer the questions for new peeps, but I wanted to make it easier for them to find the information they really need on the front end.

The main ROW80 blog can now be found under the heading “Blog” (I know, it’s revolutionary), which you’ll see in the menu bar at the top of your screen.

I’m also trying to make the page less busy, so I’ve moved to a 2 column instead of 3 column layout.  Same info is still there, you just may have to scroll down a little bit to see it.

Don’t forget to make your final check in for Round 3!  It ends this week on September 22nd.

Social Media and #ROW80

So we are not all the most stellar at getting around to praise people as often as others might like.  And if somebody posts their check in late, well, they might get missed.  It happens.  We’re human.  But you know what?  That’s where social media comes in!  If you’re on Twitter you can see all kinds of cheerleading going on under our #ROW80 hashtag.  But anyway I thought it would be good to create some linkies where you can ADD YOUR social media links so peeps can find other ROW80 peeps on whatever platform of choice.

Okay so I’m still trying to FIGURE OUT this Google+ thing.  I started a ROW80 circle but apparently you can’t share circles, so if you’re on Google+ and wanna find your fellow ROW80 peeps, check out THIS linky

Click here to enter your Google+ profile link and view this Linky Tools list of other ROW80 participants…

If you’re into Twitter, you can, obviously follow the #ROW80 hashtag, but you can also properly FOLLOW your fellow ROWers!

Click here to enter your Twitter profile link and view this Linky Tools list of other ROW80 participants…