3 S.R. Johannes: "Thanks for following this Turkey" Contest!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

"Thanks for following this Turkey" Contest!

I've changed it up a bit this week. Tricky right?

The "Marvelous Marketer" series will start up again next Monday after the holiday.

Why? Because today is my "Thanks for following this Turkey" Day.

In honor of Thanksgiving week, I wanted to thank each of you for reading my blog, commenting, giving me encouragement, and for actually coming back :) My blog has evolved over this past year and would not be what it is - without all of you.

But for some reason just saying "thank you" didn't feel thankful enough. It didnt seem to capture how much you all mean to me.

So... I wanted to thank you by offering something. Something more personal. Maybe send out some more of that positive Karma LILA forked out a while back. :)

Yes it my "Thank you for following this Turkey" Contest!!

To win, you must do 2 things:

1. You must be an official follower of my blog. Sorry but only loyal followers are eligible. If you are just stopping by, you can sign up on the left hand side. I do have a 30 day guarantee. If I dont' make you laugh or smile in 30 days - you can unfollow me.

2. You must add a comment to this post telling me one thing you are grateful for that relates to writing. yes it has to be about writing. Maybe a rejection, a critique partner, a book you just read. Its time we show thanks for one good thing that has happened in our writing process. W all have at least one! So Share it!That's it!

I will leave the contest open until midnight Pacific time on Wed night. I will draw a name on Thanksgiving Day and post the winner next Monday.

The winner will get a one hour free marketing consulting session and a book. Now, I want to do something that appeals to unpublished and published writers to be sure everyone is included.
  • If you win and are an unpublished writer - You will get an hour with me to brainstorm on pre-published branding, creating a platform, or get a query letter review on how to better market your book to agents. You will also get a copy of Christina Katz's book: Getting known before the book deal."
  • If you win and are a published writer (have a book out or coming out) - You can get advice on branding, marketing, social networking, marketing plans. You will get a copy of The Complete Guide to Book Marketing
Thank again and good luck :)

Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!

51 comments:

Martha Brockenbrough said...

I'm grateful for the people I've met pursuing my writing dream. They inspire me; they support me; they make me laugh. I feel like I've finally found my tribe.

Gail said...

Shelli: This is fabulous! I'm thankful for all your useful advice, for cluing me in to Christina Katz's book (got it!), and mostly I'm thankful for being able to see the progress I've made in my writing process from last year!
Happy Turkey Day to you and your family!

Paul Greci said...

I am thankful for so many things when it comes to writing, I'll just name three.

I'm thankful for my wife, who not only provides encouragement but expert critique; she is a writer, too.

I'm thankful for my agent, for her talent and expertise, and for believing in me as a writer.

And I'm thankful for the wonderful writers I've gotten acquainted with via blogs and other online forums. (Living in Alaska can be pretty isolating at times!)

V. S said...

Your blog is wonderful and usually makes me smile, at least once :)

I am grateful for my characters, they are all sorts of wonderful! I am also grateful for every friend I have who has taken the time to read my story and give honest feedback.

It means so much to me and I love you all!

Barrie said...

Are I actually for the first commenter?! I am very very grateful for my critique group.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I found your site and became a follower last week. I am thankful for my writing group, they helped me get started on this journey of trying to get published and actually getting paid for writing. They have taught me so much.

Unknown said...

I am grateful for so much related to writing - my wonderful critique partners in my two critique groups, my uber-encouraging spouse and family, the books I read that continue to inspire me to be a better writer, and I'm grateful for blogs like this that give fabulous advice and encouragement while fostering a supportive community for writers. Thank you!

ClothDragon said...

I had already "followed" through rss feeds, but I added my image to the list at the top.

One thing I'm grateful for is that part of my job as writer is that I can label my obsessive reading habit "research" and it really is helpful to know what else is out there in my genre so it's not entirely misrepresented.

I am unpublished currently and already have Katz's book, but the rest of it sounds neat!

Kelly Polark said...

You are generous as usual, Shelli!
I am thankful for my writing group. Just last night I sent them a picture of us with "I am thankful for my writing group" in the subject line. They are so supportive, intelligent, helpful!!!

PJ Hoover said...

ooh, I'll play!
I'm grateful for wanting to keep writing. I can't imagine how people feel when they give up!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Jennifer said...

I am thankful for an awesome online writing community. I am amazed at the encouragement (and education) I get from other writers.

Jessie Oliveros said...

I am thankful for writing because it helps me be creative, I can always grow and get better, and I get to meet awesome people.

Sherrie Petersen said...

How very generous of you! I am incredibly thankful for my critique group. A year ago I desperately wanted to be in one, now I'm in almost a dream group. I'm very thankful.

Unknown said...

Great contest! Thanks for thinking of us unpublished writers as well.

I am thankful that my hubby is supportive of my writing. He takes my goals, time commitment, and professional development seriously.

And any man that would read first draft chick lit to encourage his wife is a hero in my book.

Sandi said...

I'm thankful for my critique group who gives unselfishly of their time and talents. Without them, I would have given up long ago.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Writing has helped me understand this crazy thing we call life. And writers who blog add such depth to that understanding, whether they are giving technical advice, emotional support or just lightening up the daily grind. My in-person crit groups are awesome, too. I live to write and I love the writers I've met. Life is good.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Patti said...

I'm grateful for the technology that brought us blogs because I've met so many people and learned so many things in a short period of time.

Jessica Leader said...

Arg--just wrote a whole thing that disappeared! So I'll be briefer:

-Thanks to my partner, amazing critiquer and brainstormer

-For my editor, Kate Angelella, who is fun and approachable, and my agent, Elizabeth Kaplan, who helps me see more about my work with one phrase than most people do with ten minutes of talking

-For my critique group, Jenn, Darcy and Emily, who keep me laughing

-For the Vermont College MFA community, who inspire me to read and write better and reassure me that I'm not alone

mary.anne.gruen@gmail.com said...

You come with a 30 day guarantee? LOL

I'm mostly grateful for the Muse. She's a real pain at time, but I know I'd feel truly alone without her.

I'm next grateful like V.S. for my characters. It's been great knowing all of them. LOL

Mary Witzl said...

I'm in: I like the sound of your book.

I'm thankful that I can look at what I've written now and spot what is wrong with it after, oh, two or three weeks. I couldn't do that before; everything I wrote seemed great.

The longer I write, the more I find to be grateful for!

Diana Paz said...

Oh yay, I'm a follower, and you've made me laugh plenty :)

I am thankful for my writing because it brings me laughter, joy, and excitement, and because the more I write the more I learn about myself. I'm also thankful for my rocking critique partner, Wendy. Lastly, I'm thankful for your Supermom vs. Good Mom blog post, Shelli (it's writing related! I'm working on how, but I'm sure it is!). Thinking of that one makes me feel better at least once a week!

Larissa said...

I'm grateful for the awesome children's writing community I have found: Verla's, on Twitter, blogger, and my critique group. They have all taught me so much, and writing would be very lonely without them.
:)

Valerie Kemp said...

What a cool contest!

I'm grateful for the community of YA writers that encourage, educate and inspire me every day to keep going towards my dream that used to seem impossible.

Unknown said...

Hi Shelli :)
I hope you have a wonderful week and a Happy Thanksgiving. I love writing. It fulfills me. And I love reading. Books can transport me, move me, teach me and affect how I view the world and myself.
:)
All the best,
RKCharron
xoxo
PS - Posted about this on my blog.

Tricia said...

I am grateful for writing because it helps me make sense of the world.

I am grateful for my family's willingness to indulge my dream of writing a novel.

I am grateful for many, many writers and their stories that have carried me thousands of miles away from home while I still lounge on my sofa.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Thanks for such a great contest - you are the best! :)

I'm thankful for flash drives that allow us to take our work with us when husbands take our computers.

I'm thankful for our mind-bogglingly fabulous community of writing bloggers - don't know where I'd be without ya! ;-)
www.shannonkodonnell.blogspot.com

Sarah Campbell said...

I am thankful for a new critique group my friend and I started up yesterday. She's already been a great support and inspiration to me and now I hope to return the favor.

I am also thankful for me editor, Andy Boyles, who really understands my work and pushes me to do my best.

Kristin Tubb said...

What a great idea, Shelli! I'm thankful for:

-a family who supports my obsession with writing
-a SuperAgent who thinks my ideas don't stink
-having worked with some of the most wonderful editors in the business
-my awesome critique group, who could keep a monkey with ADD focused :-)
-all the wonderful writers, who make such gorgeous books that allow kids to laugh/cry/know they aren't alone

Jenna Wallace said...

Shelli, you are truly the best!
I am thankful for the opportunity to do what I love for a living. And I'm thankful that I am part of this great writing community.

Tess said...

Love this contest! What cool prizes!!

I am a happy follower already

and

I am thankful for writing because it restores my sense of self.

yes. that's it.

Tara McClendon said...

Cool contest. I'm thankful I'm developing thick skin--the ability to see my work objectively rather than emotionally. I still love the emotional connection to my stories, but I know it's objectivity that allows me to take my writing to the next step.

Elana Johnson said...

Dude, I don't just follow, I stalk. There's one good thing about my OCD right there. ;)

And I'm thankful for the support of my writing friends. They stuck with me through seven hellish months of querying, two rounds of agent-requested revisions and put up with whiny emails. Without them, I'd be adrift in the pool of writing funk.

So yeah.

Happy Thanksgiving!

david elzey said...

i am grateful for my wife, understanding that my writing was important and willing (actually, she had to push me pretty hard) to let me go back to school and write. it's an incredible leap of faith that she's entrusted me with, and there isn't a day that i don't marvel at how lucky i am to have her support.

i know it's corny to thank one's spouse or partner, but that's the one resounding thing that keeps all my other thankfulness in place.

Tamika: said...

I agree that this writing community has enriched my life in ways I am so thankful for. God has such a way of opening doors and bringing all the right people into your life.

I hope to look back a year from now and beam with the same gratitude that I feel today.

Thanks for sharing such awesome prizes!

lisa and laura said...

We're thankful that we have the most amazing beta reader on the planet. She's completely honest and forces us to be better writers.

Great contest, Shelli! Happy Thanksgiving!

Robert W. Leonard said...

I think, as silly as it sounds, I'm most thankful to my writer friends I've made on Twitter this year. They keep me going quite often!

Also, is there something more I need to do than click the follow on your blog? I swear I've done that 3 times now and it never seems to stick. Maybe it's my Google, because it never saves my thumbnail image either. *ponders*

Thanks for the giveaway!

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Shelli--You made me smile today. I love your thirty day guarantee. I'm pretty sure I've been following you long enough to be considered loyal. :)

Things to be grateful for in my writing adventure:
1. Having a story published in Knowonder magazine this year.
2. Having a great critique group.
3. Belonging to a great blogging community that is there when I need help or support.

Have a wonderful, safe, and love filled holiday.

N.H. Senzai said...

I'm grateful to all the writers who I read as a child -- their words helped me through difficult and good times, inspired me, taught me, and set the foundation for me to follow in their footsteps. Now as a fellow writer they lend me their support again - which is thrilling! (Tamora Pierce told me that it was part of her nefarious plan to get her readers to become writers so that she had good stuff to read in the future!)

NH Senzai

Robyn Campbell said...

I'm thankful for my bloggin' buds. I have learned so much from folks like you. I really appreciate the way the blogging community gives back.

Where would I be without all of you? I'd be in SERIOUS poop. :)

Happy Thanksgiving Shelli.

DL Hammons said...

Hey Shelli,

I guess what I'm thankful for is the support you and other bloggers have offered me by subscribing to my own blog. Everytime it happens its like getting pushed on a swing, the exhileration gets my juices flowing and motivates be to keep going. Thanks for that!

Anonymous said...

Hi! I'm not entering the contest, but I do want to wish you and your readers a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Every year about this time, I open up my blog and invite GUEST-POSTERS to contribute. Please let me know if you'd be interested!

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Lisa and Laura--How did you find a Beta reader?

Catherine Denton said...

I'm thankful for thick, sliding pens. Pencils. Large erasers. Bottles of ink. Quills.

And paper. Lined, blank, purple and parched.

To unveil my thoughts.

Anonymous said...

I am so thankful for my agent's honest criticism. Her revision notes for my current work in progress, although hard to swallow at first, have really pushed me to make my writing better.

Lisa Schroeder said...

I am thankful that I have my first MG novel coming out next year - it's a dream come true and I'm SO excited!!!

Happy Thanksgiving sweetie - you are beyond awesome!!

Deb Salisbury, Magic Seeker and Mantua-Maker said...

I'm grateful for my supportive family, my writers groups - Forward Motion and QueryTracker - and for blogs like this one, where I learn so much.

Thank you, Shelli!

Beth Barany said...

I'm grateful to my critique group, Kay and Patricia. Just knowing that they are there, waiting for my submission for next month's meeting helps me get back to the manuscript.

And thank you Shelli, for all your generous and useful information.

Beth

Adrienne said...

Great contest!
I'm thankful for the support of the online writing community.
And for the new self-checkout at the local library that scans a whole stack of books at once!

Crystal said...

I'm grateful for having Internet access, without which I could never have created my blog & gotten connected to such wonderfully inspiring writer friends, such as yourself, Shelli!

Have a great Thanksgiving! :)

Jennie Englund said...

A crazy good editor suggested I try the voice of an unreliable narrator.

I had never thought of that.

Incredible!

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