http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/good_day/Pink-Glove-Boxing-20101019-ktbcgd

Though I am passionate about keeping this a space for me to write and share my editorial journey, I find it falling wayside to all of the projects I have immersed myself in.  Though I am writing about what I believe in – does it mean I love it less because it has taken the backseat?

Of course not.  But the excitement of all of these other projects and contributing opportunities where I am talking about a lot of the same topics as I would cover here has made me distribute all of the ideas floating around in my head to blogs elsewhere.

I think writing about what you believe in is important.  Over the years I have had so many opportunities to meet some incredible bloggers.  Want to see some great ladies writing about their experiences?  The Stratejoy ladies are still keeping me grounded with their great posts.  Interested in supporting a blogger who wants to spread happiness?  Vote for Leland here so she can spread some joy at the Good Mood Blog.  Enjoy reading about how technology and higher education are evolving and can work together?  Read Tech Academy by my newest blog friend who is turning her passion into a remarkable career.

It is fellow bloggers such as these who are so passionate and keep me writing and aware that this space is important, too.

You can check it out on their digital edition here: http://www.austinwomanmagazine.com/digital_edition.html - pages 48-51!

I already paid the registration fees for the 5K, and fundraising is not mandatory, but in celebration of my 24th birthday I decided I would use the occasion to ask my friends and family (and now, blog followers) to donate whatever they can spare, whether it is $0.50 or $1 to $5 to however much they can to my efforts in the LIVESTRONG Challenge.  The funds help the Lance Armstrong Foundation continue their great work in cancer research and help.

Last year I volunteered for the event and am yet again a member of the Local Organizing Committee, and am so blessed to be able to run the 5K this year.

So, if you can, please donate: http://austin2010.livestrong.org/aaericks

THANK YOU!

I will have a link for you all when it becomes available.  This is my first article to be published in a magazine that is not my own, so I am very excited.

As I contribute to the site I will make sure to let everyone know.  I am currently working on expanding where I am contributing and freelancing and will be providing updates along the way.

I encourage you all to sign up and play with your craft.  Let’s make writing fun again!

The activity of blogging itself is steadily growing, with companies even hiring people to blog for them (like myself) and more and more users signing up every day.  I am hearing friends talk about blogs they reading and no matter the topic I am still always up for discussing anything related to blogging.

I am a part of the community ‘20 something bloggers‘ and have grown to love being a part of a community.  Not only can I be a part of the large group of 20-year-olds that blog, but there are groups and breakdowns to join so I also get to talk to other Austin girls who blog and meet people around the city (speaking of, Hipstercrite we still have yet to meet in person).  I have even been able to make blog friends with people who are not in Austin (Laurie – I am looking at you) and can Skype, read and interact with others who share my interests and passions too.

I even found my series of guest bloggers through blogging communities and have been able to write guest posts for other blogs because of this, too.  So if you love to write and are looking to branch out on other topics, take the time to connect with others and do a blog swap.

Blog communities offer a place for feedback and support.  Sharing and help.  And they are really the only people who understand my love for blogging, and who will talk about it with me day or night (which my boyfriend probably enjoys).

So try to find a community to join.  If you are a 20-something like me, join 20-something bloggers or if you are older you can check out the new ‘30-something bloggers‘, female bloggers can check out the popular community ‘blogher‘ or if you are really brave, start a community of your own!

Tonight, my deadline food consisted of their amazing Strawberry Fields salad (greens with strawberries and cashews), a black bean burrito, my usual glass of Riesling and two mini-desserts – one, a chocolate chip cookie and the other a brownie topped with a fresh raspberry.  I finished the snacking off with some Triscuits and brie and my night was complete.

I not only attribute my success of this month’s copy to my brand new cloffice, but also to my deadline food, which always helps keep me focused as my brain-food.

What do you like to eat while you write?  Is there any certain food that helps you think or helps you get comfortable?

The show featured designers Rachelle Brton, Margarito Alonzo and Linda Asaf and also had an area for shopping, a few bars and great conversation.  As a member of the media I was lucky enough to receive a VIP “Swag Bag” full of great products and gift certificates and I am already in love with the ‘evie evan’ peppermint chap stick I got.

The great event was put on by the Young Women’s Alliance which is a non-profit organization in Central Texas empowering young women to develop personally and professionally through leadership and service opportunities.

We enjoyed the event and message so much, we may actually be joining the Young Women’s Alliance within the next few months.

More photos from the event:

Hey, Guys.

I know you were all expecting Ashley today, but she’s probably off doing something cool and productive, so you get me. Apparently Ashley was looking for someone employed in the marketing field to guest-post for her, so shegot stuck with entrusted me to take over her blog for a day. I’m pretty psyched- I’m always down to help out my friends, and her blog probably has a lot more readers than mine does, which means extra traffic for me.

Anyway, here’s my story:

I was one of those nerds that declared my college major while I was still in high school. I chose Communications, but realized that unless I wanted to be a journalist, I really couldn’t do anything with it. After enrolling in an Advertising/PR class, I realized that I wanted to switch to Marketing. I thought it was one of the easier majors. Haha! I’m a dumbass. I didn’t know it was in the Business department, and I would have to take all the math and finance classes. I suck hard at math, but somehow I managed to do really well in all my classes and even minored in Economics. I know, I’m insane.

During college I also did the night-job deal- I Assistant GM’d at a local bar. I put my educational skills to use by doing basic bookkeeping, pouring drinks (hey, college has to teach you something, right?), and booking localcover bands to play for us on the weekends. Once the bar closed, some of our acts still used me to book them into the other bars in the area and to pass their merchandise around to the patrons, and I realized that I was pretty good at this- I may as well get paid.

I “borrowed” money from my Dad (read: he’s still waiting) and made up business cards and merchandise of my own, and had our family lawyer purchase an LLC. I made my business a MySpace page (I just TOTALLY dated myself), but not an actual website or anything like that because I’m technology retarded. I went out to live music venues and passed around my card to bands that I thought were worthy of my time, and artists actually found me through my MySpace page as well. Pretty soon I had eight acts under my belt, and I had expanded from one state to the entire Northeast. Don’t even ask me about sleep.

My “big break,” if you will, came when an indie band from New Haven, CT contacted me- their singer was a friend of a friend, and the band was booking a cross-country tour that would span the course of the summer. They planned on starting in New Haven, going all the way up to Maine, and stopping in 35 states through California. I would make 25% of what they made through merchandise sales and audience draw. The tour was moderately successful, and pulled in enough cash to convince me that I could survive living in New York City.

Having your own music marketing firm where you’re the only one behind the wheel definitely has its perks, as well as its drawbacks. I get to go to a crapload of awesome, free live shows where I would normally be charged up the ass, and I meet a ton of cool people, a lot of whom I keep in touch with. I’ve even become friendly with some of my clients, going for pizza before shows or celebrating birthdays. We’re usually pretty close in age, so we like a lot of the same stuff.

The music business is also a lot less corporate than say, the hedge fund world- the weekend hours kind of suck, but I also get to sleep until noon on Mondays if I feel like it. Also, no one yells at me if I drink on the job- actually, they think it’s kind of weird if I don’t. Say yes to Jim and Johnnie!

The main problem I face, though, is getting taken seriously. The industry is mostly male dominated, from the artists, to the door guys, to the talent buyers, etc. 90% of the time, when I collect the bands’ payment at the end of the show, I get asked which one of the guys I’m dating (the answer is none- don’t shit where you eat). Then I explain that I’m their manager, and I’d like our compensation, and I get that look like, “oh, how cute.” It doesn’t help that I look like I’m 15, and I shouldn’t even be allowed in the bar area, let alone collecting money.

It’s pretty obnoxious, but the bands that I work with never seem to have a problem with this- it’s usually the venues that give me a hard time. My clients don’t try to get in my pants, and even their girlfriends and their wives are usually OK with it- most of them are pretty nice to me. Also, once everyone else realizes how hard I work and that I get results, all their misconceptions make them feel like total douchebags, so it all works out.

Aside from those minor annoyances, though, it’s a pretty awesome job, especially in a big city. The best thing about combining music and marketing is that I get both the corporate world and the entertainment side. Once the legal and technical stuff is taken care of, I actually get to enjoy myself at work, and none of my friends can say that.

To get more, check out her blog here!