Suess's Pieces

I’m getting some great info from the writing contest survey, and several readers expressed an interest in advertising their blog or business during the event. Basically, there will be two ways to do this: through the writing contest eNewsletter or in the Suess’s Pieces sidebar.

Purchase an eNewsletter or Sidebar Ad Now

Ad Prices

• eNewsletter Text – $7
• Sidebar Text – $10
• eNewsletter Image (125 x 125) – $20
• Sidebar Image (125 x 125) – $30

How to Purchase and Ad

1. Click on the link above and fill out the form.
2. You will be directed to PayPal to finish your transaction.
3. That’s it!

Other Important Details

• Ads will be displayed in a section titled “Sponsors.”
• Image ads will appear above text ads and will be displayed in the order received.
• Text ads will appear below any image ads and will be displayed in the order received.
• The ad form closes on February 29, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. No purchases will be accepted after this time.
• Suess’s Pieces sidebar ads will appear in the sidebar for all official event posts published in February, March and April 2012 and will remain on those pages indefinitely.
• Ads in the eNewsletter will appear in all eNewsletters published in February, March and April 2012. (There will be a minimum of 5 issues)

Although I’ve made every attempt to ensure the form works properly, please let me know if you have trouble making a payment by contacting me at emily@emilysuess.com.

Thanks for your support!

Image created using www.istockphoto.com.

Okay, so here’s the thing. I haven’t exactly decided on a name for the March writing contest yet. But let me dive right in to what I can tell you about it.

The contest format will be pretty simple. Basically it’s a writing contest for bloggers similar in many ways to the Writer’s Week contest held last September, but also different.

• Entrants will compose a blog post of no more than 750 words to be evaluated by a panel of judges.
• Limited to U.S. and Canada residents. This is strictly to control the size of the event, as I’m working through the AWAI copywriter’s course for a review series. (That’s an affiliate link, but you might want to hold off on any purchases until after my review is published.) When Writer’s Week returns in September, I will host another worldwide writing contest.
• Judges will award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes. Prize donations are still coming in and have not been finalized. But more about that later this week.
• No online voting this time around. Judges decisions are final.
• Instead of being given a choice of writing prompts, entrants will all write on the same theme. They may approach that theme however they choose, so long as the entry is a written entry posted on a blog.

There will be additional requirements, but I don’t want to bog you down with all of that yet. For now, just know that it will be free to enter and it will be fun!

Writing Contest Dates

If you’re a planner, you can mark these dates on your calendar.

Contest Begins & Official Rules Posted: March 15, 2012
Deadline for Entries: March 31, 2012
Judging Period: April 1 – April 15, 2012
Winner Announced: April 30, 2012

Help Me Name the Contest

I know, right? A Name the Contest contest. That’s so meta.

I’ve got a few ideas, but none I’m in love with. If you’re feeling clever, you can leave your suggestions for the contest name in the comments on this post. If I choose your submission, I’ll brag about you and send you a $10 Amazon e-certificate.

UPDATE: The contest’s name was revealed in the Writing Contest eNewsletter!

You might recall that a few months ago I promised you another writing contest was in the works. This week, I’ll be publishing several posts about the March event, which will be open to bloggers in the U.S and Canada. Here’s the post line-up:

Tuesday: General Contest Info

Wednesday: Information on Advertising Your Blog or Business During the Contest

Thursday: Call for Additional Prize Donations

Friday: Call for Judges (A guest post will also be published on Friday)

Saturday: General Q&A

2 Things You Should Do Now

• Check back each day, or subscribe by email or RSS for contest info.
• Complete the writing contest survey, if you haven’t already.

A guest post by Jeff Gregory

I guess I see my writing as a beautiful woman that I am trying to figure out how to court.  But like anything worthwhile, she isn’t making it easy on me.  No, writing is evasive.  She wants me to earn her affection.

I first caught a glimpse of her when I was in the third grade.  She came out in a writing assignment.  The teacher, I think, was merely interested in my knowledge of subjects, predicates, and verb conjugations.  Little did either of us know that she ignited a spark in me – a literary puberty, one might say.  And as puberty would have it, I was confused about what it was that I wanted.  I wasn’t prepared for the wiles of Writing.  There she was, but not with blonde curls and blue eyes summoning the wild oats of a young buck, my seducer was the thrill of a boy’s adventure in a cave in the forest – flowing from my own hand with a life all its own.   Then she was gone.

I never totally forgot about her. Years later, she spied me from the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.  In eighth grade, I dreamed up a Star Trek novel.  I made it through about seven chapters before my young mind was distracted by something else.  Yet, I was enthralled by bringing life to people and adventures.

My crush could not stay away. In high school, I wrote a poem.  It was similar to Poe’s The Raven.  It was a dark story using rhyme.  For the first time, writing batted her lovely eyes at me.  A friend of mine insisted on keeping the poem.  That was the first time I knew the romance was on – that this could be the love that I waited for.  However, waiting wasn’t enough.  I had to win her over.  The chase was on.

In college, my flame had transformed into somewhat of an intellectual.  An associate professor sat down and taught me to write essays in my freshman year.  I loved the structure, the rules.  My romance could actually have a formula – something that wouldn’t fail me, like math.  Two plus two is always four, right? On that stage it never did fail me, but I realized a romance is not really a romance if I only get to see her at work.  She wasn’t mine yet, so I continued the pursuit.

Jeff Gregory does freelance writing and was formerly a weekly sports columnist for The National Indoor Football League.  He is currently the executive director of the Henderson-Henderson County, KY Human Rights Commission.  You can read his Psychosomatic Wit at http://psychosomaticwit.blogspot.com.