The May Blogathon is back!

Tomorrow is the big day--the start of the 2010 May Blogathon. Initiated three years ago by Michelle Rafter at WordCount, this is a special event for writers who met on FreelanceSuccess. We wait for this event. In fact, some of us, like me, CAN'T wait for it. So I've initiated a few extra blogathons on my own, as some of you may know.

For those of you who don't, tomorrow begins 31 straight days of blogging. A group of more than 70 freelance writers will take on the challenge this year to blog once a day for the month of May.

Michelle has organized another great event this year; she's offering prizes, blog post ideas, special days for guest blogging--and so much more. She even had one of our fellow blogathon participants, Ron Doyle, design the official blogathon badge (see above). That's a first this year. So I'm inspired just thinking about all that waits ahead for us.

If you're asking: what's the point? The point is to help us all find ways to make the blogging experience work for us, both individually and as a group. Whether that means showing us that we can blog regularly without it killing us, that we can find time to post comments on other blogs, that we can learn new blogging skills (how do create video, for me, some day) or that we can attract more readers, that's what the blogathon does. It opens up room for more creativity. It allows us to find new ways to share a message. It gives us the opportunity to provide information to our readers that is valuable, entertaining and informative. By inviting others to participate with us, we can't help but take on the challenge to grow and learn.

That's what happens during the blogathon.

I hope you'll stick around for the next 31 days. You're going to meet new people, learn new things, and hopefully be entertained.

My theme for the month--INSPIRATION--comes from the ASJA writer's conference I just attended in New York City. I want the inspiration to continue, beginning tomorrow.

See you then.

When was the last time you challenged yourself?

It's time for...

Question of the Day!

When was the last time you challenged yourself to push it to the limits?

That's about to happen in my life as I start off the summer with a Query Challenge competition. Members of FreelanceSuccess.com take on this challenge every summer--and sometimes a few other times during the year. It's where we break up into groups of 10 or more writers and commit to writing as many pitches as possible during the eight weeks that the contest lasts.

We get points for pitching (introducing ourselves and/or submitting ideas to editors) and points for scoring assignments. It's a lot of fun, can be a lot of pressure (especially for the newbies), and it's very high energy. I'm co-captain of my team (QC5) and will be spearheading the motivation. My team consists of some international journalists, one who lives in India and one who lives in Tokyo. I find that very interesting. It's the first time I've ever been on a team where there was global participation. Cool!

We begin on Monday, ending the first week in August. I'm hoping to get out 20 pitches a week. One writer wants to double her totals every week throughout the entire competition, which I think is amazing, considering that she wants to begin with 20. Yikes! Typically, you can maintain a fair amount of work if you engage in sending out five pitches a week on a regular basis. Of course, they have to be targeted pitches. So, 20 to me is a rather high number in and of itself. Going any higher is astronomical. But, the end result from this competition is that the writers get work. They really do. And that's what it's all about--marketing.

So I'm looking forward to what's ahead.

How about you? What are you challenging yourself to do--or do more of--this summer?

Join us in the fun--It's Another May Blogathon!

The fun begins today!

Online friend and fellow freelancer Michelle Rafter has initiated the second annual Freelance Success Blogathon. (She calls it the WordCount Blogathon, as that's the name of her blog, and she's the founder. I refer to it after the site where all the writers congregate, and where it all began. At any rate, for the next month, those of us who belong to this professional writers' site we lovingly refer to as FLX will be blogging daily, or at least be making the attempt to do so. And since I've been in limbo for the past month, it's perfect timing for me to get back on track here at BIKE WITH JACKIE. I've been having way too much fun as @bikelady on Twitter.

According to Michelle's list, we have about 29 people participating (I think there are more.), including some non-FLX freelancers who signed up through WordCount. She says there's always room for more. If you care to join us, let me know, and I'll pass your name, your blog's name, and the URL along to the rest of the gang.

If there any typos, we'll try to correct them as we move forward. Michelle did her best to compile the list. And note: This is my first official post for the May Blogathon.

Here's how it works, as I recall. Each one of us on the list below posts the names and URL's of our blogs on each site. Then we attempt to blog every day during the month of May. During this time, we also attempt to visit each other's blogs, read the posts, and post comments. If you join us, you'll likely get pulled into the energy.

With bloggers who write about anything and everything (good/bad parenting, recipes with yummy pictures, writing about writing, books that travelers read, self-help and spiritually empowering topics, creativity and crafts, etc.), it should be a fun month. Be sure to check in, visit the other blogs below, and tell me what you think.

Here's who will be joining us:

Vera Marie Badertscher - Travelers Library - Books and movies that influence travel.
Heather Boerner - Serenity for the Self Employed - Advice for the self-employed among us.
Jane Boursaw - Film Gecko - May Movie Madness and other film-related stuff.
Danielle Buffardi - Horrible Sanity - Random thoughts of a mother and freelance writer.
Sona Charaipotra - Sona Charaipotra on Entertainment and Travel and Food.
Rosie Colombraro - Trust the Universe - There is always a Plan B.
Sue Dickman - Life Divided - Food, gardening, travel, books and more.
Jackie Dishner - BIKE WITH JACKIE - Improve life with BIKE, the spiritual navigation tool.
Kelly Estes - Big Government in Your Wallet - A political blog
Jennifer L.W. Fink - 'Bout Boys - With 4 boys between 11 and 3, this writer knows her subject.
Sydne George - I'll Have What She's Cooking - Good eats.
Debra Gordon- Wine on Tuesdays - About wine and the drinking thereof.
Nancy Hall - Floating Ink - How to fit making art into your every day life.
Heather Holliday - Zazou Marketing - Putting your best words forward.
Elizabeth Humphrey - The Write Elizabeth - Introducing creativity into daily life.
Leah Ingram - Suddenly Frugal - Tips for living well frugally.
JoAnn Jagroop - This Dame Cooks - Recipes from Alaska to the South Pacific.
Lisa Mann - Sonoma on the Cheap - One of a series of "On the Cheap" travel blogs.
Amy Rauch Neilson - Amy on Amy - She launches officially this month.
Jennifer Netherby - Jennifer's Writing Blog - Musings of a freelance writer.
Sarah E. Ludwig - Parenting by Trial and Error - A real parent's blog about parenting.
Kate Reilly - Polka Dot Suitcase - Finding fun in everyday life.
Melissa Sais - Digital Mom - Raising kids in a digital world.
Brette Sember - Martha and Me - One Martha Stewart makeover every day.
Jodi Torpey - Western Gardeners - Jodi's gardening blog.
Sarah Webb - Webb of Science - Where science meets life.
Kathy Summers - Eco Pregnancy and Baby and Health Writing Hints.
Joy Manning - What I Weigh Today - A weight loss success blog.
Michelle Rafter - WordCount - A really helpful writer's blog.

Till tomorrow, happy blogging, everyone!

An addition to my Blogroll

I've never thought about doing this till today, but it makes sense to me for some reason (I can see clearly now?)...But I thought I'd announce from here on out when I add a new blog to my Blogroll, you know, to introduce you.

Today, I've added the Crystle Ball to the list. Owned by Chrystle Fiedler, author of the soon-to-be-released, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Natural Remedies, this blog will focus on mainstream and alternative health, as well as self-help topics. And since Chrystle writes about the mind-body connection, which we talk about a lot here, I thought she'd be a good fit. Plus, she's a colleague of mine from FreelanceSuccess.com, which I refer to frequently as well, and you can't go wrong with these folks.

If you want to take a look at the other blogs on the list, they're on the left-hand side of the page, under the title, "Blogs that make you go ummmm."

Blogathon: Take 2

Thanks to Michelle Rafter and her idea for the Blogathon I participated in May with a group of writer friends from Freelance Success, Michelle included, I decided to approach the idea with a group of speaker friends from NSA Arizona. They thought it would be a great idea, so here we are. For the month of July, we plan to post at least once a day on our individual blogs. Take a few minutes to see who we all are and what we're all about:

Jackie Dishner, that's me. I have this blog, BIKE WITH JACKIE. And I'm just this week launching my new travel blog, The Phoenix Traveler.

Susan Ratliff is a trade show expert and a great motivator to others. She's got great ideas for increasing your visibility at Bling My Booth.

Andrea Beaulieu is a highly creative woman who teaches you how to find your authentic voice. She also encourages you to live your life at its best at Conspiracy of Love.

Mimi Meredith inspires you to create better lives, workplaces and communities. The Blooming Blog helps spread her message.

Beth Terry shares her commonsense solutions to everyday work and life issues at Corporate Cowgirl. She's also an inspiration to her fellow friends and colleagues.

Vickie Mullins creates things: your office collateral, your newsletters, and really special books. She talks about it all at her two blogs: Mullins Creative and Vickie Mullins.

Michelle May, a physician and author helps you eat for the right reason--because you're hungry. She talks about diet and food and how consumed we are about all it at at her blog in the East Valley Tribune newspaper.

Arlene Rosenberg helps her clients achieve personal and professional rewards. Her blog, Leading Achievers, shares inspirational stories behind her work.

Stanley Bronstein is a motivational speaker who helps businesses perform at their best. Click on his name to check out his words of wisdom.

Suzanne Holman is the million dollar productive coach. She helps you achieve the millions that you deserve. Learn more at Lessons for Your Million Dollar Life.

And these other four individuals from Arizona will join us shortly:

Suzy Allegra
Suzy Graven
Maggie Hunts
Barbara Kaplan

Be sure to visit regularly. I'll keep you updated on what my friends are doing with their blogs. We'll work at scheduling interviews and guest blogs, and we'll try to keep it interesting for you.

Till tomorrow,
~Jackie