Now it's May and time to reflect on this challenge. 2013 was my first foray into the A-Z Blogging Challenge and I learned the insanity of it is not just writing the posts but also visiting other blogs, reading them and leaving comments. But I enjoyed all of it, despite the tiring times and frustrations I'm happy to say the benefits far outweigh the hard work and stress. What benefits you ask? I'll list four.
1. Finding new blogs and bloggers. Including Erin Shakespeare.
2. Increase in readership and followers.
3. Challenging myself and following a theme straight to the end.
4. Being a part of something so major, well done and loved. Arlee Bird created something special and the co-host and A-Z team help keep it all together and running smoothly.
What I didn't like? My pet peeves were people posting non-related A-Z posts in the middle of the challenge and sites that didn't work properly and CAPTCHA.
My theme this year was my upcoming novella Sacrifice Her (Fall 2013). I plan to self-publish and in April I filled my posts with many things relating to the characters, city and culture within the story. Readers responded positively and I'm happy to say I did both a great job in getting all my posts out and doing some much needed early promotion. O is for Old World and A is for Age received the most comments and I nearly lost my mind when my just over one-hundred followers blog hit the two hundred mark. Then passed it. Thank you A-Z Blogging Challenge.
So at the end of the day I did it. While I'm not participating again next year I must say doing so this year was both fulfilling and worthwhile. What about you?
To post your own reflection go here.
I just posted my reflection on the A-Z. And I hear you with the Word Verifications. Gah! ;)
ReplyDeleteCaptchas are so annoying. Luckily I mostly didn't hit blogs with them activated. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou doubled your following - that is awesome! Glad you participated this year.
ReplyDeleteErin is the best! It's was hard, but so worth it :)
ReplyDeletei am thinking of not doing it nxt yr too. things have gotten even busier & i felt like i lost a whole month of work!
ReplyDeletethx for visiting me so much!
Congrats on surviving the challenge! I sure do appreciate you stopping by amidst the business. And I have to agree - Erin is awesome! Glad you found her. :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing! I'm glad you got a lot out of it.
ReplyDeleteLast year was my first time, and it helped me find new blogging buddies. Although through the course of the year, that list of 30 people eventually dwindles down to 5 or so.
ReplyDeleteIt's tough keeping up with blogging. But it's worth it.
Um, I am so impressed by your dedication. Because I got none! Well done :)
ReplyDeleteYeah. I hate when people have their captcha turned on --even when they're told not to do it. ugh
ReplyDeleteCaptcha is awful. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteHi, found you from the reflections linky list. Love the WIP info - they sound fab :)
ReplyDeleteSuzanne @ Suzannes Tribe
I'll bet you know your characters and world even better now.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think the biggest challenge is not your own posts but the visiting and commenting on others. Congrats on finishing! You say you're not doing it next year...but you might change your mind by then. ;)
ReplyDeleteI did A-Z last year and loved it. It was a neat experience to be a part of a challenge like that. I DO hate the captcha codes though. They are miserable :(
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your little snippets. They were wonderful. Sorry to hear you won't be doing it again next year Sheena. I looked forward to reading more from you, as well as seeing your up-lifting comments. They made my day!
ReplyDeleteYou didn't participate--- you rocked it! Loved reading about your creativity!
ReplyDeleteI think my biggest peeve about this challenge is the people who don't make an effort to visit other blogs. But... whatcha gonna do?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on rocking the challenge :)
Captcha... argh. Glad you were a part of the challenge this year.
ReplyDeleteDon't know what captcha is, but it sounds annoying. :) I'm so glad I did this challenge, and it was great learning so much about your book. Writer’s Mark
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed doing AtoZ. ;)
ReplyDeleteHello there. I saw you over at Lynda Young's. I gave the challenge the flick for the first time. Glad it's over. Your novella sounds interesting. Good luck with the self publishing.
ReplyDeleteThe challenge is definitely a challenge. It's good that you were able to do some advance promotion. I'm looking forward to your success.
ReplyDelete