C’mon, Be a Quitter! (All the Cool Kids Are Doing It.)

So I’ve been quitting things for a while now.  I’ve also been loving all your fantastic comments and e-mails and Twitter convos, and I have to be the clichéd blogger here and say that my readers are unequivocally the nicest, smartest, boldest, most insightful, and most collectively kick-ass lot I have ever had the privilege of knowing.

Except that in this case it’s not a cliché, because it’s obviously true.

And the more I get to know you all—read your thoughts, check out your blogs, interact with you—the more I realize what an amazing community I’ve somehow managed to gather here.  There are some truly awesome people reading this little blog of mine, and it seems like a shame not to showcase that more.  Plus, I am oh-so curious to hear what kind of tails you’ve managed to kick in your own lives.

And so, I am hereby making my official call for readers’ Quit post submissions.

If you’ve been inspired to quit something, have been thinking about quitting something, have succeeded in quitting something, and you’d like to share it with us, I’d (we’d) love to hear about it.  Let’s inspire each other.  Let’s mingle.  Let’s boast about our triumphs.  Let’s be a community of quitters.  Because everything is better with cohorts.

If you’re interested in submitting your own Quit post, here are a few tips and FYIs to keep in mind:

Reader Quit Guidelines

1.                  You can’t do a quit that’s already been done before, by me or by another guest poster.  (Sorry.)

2.                  It can be something you have quit or something you’re resolving to quit.

3.                  Nothing is too big or small, too silly or too solemn. All I ask is that you mean it, whatever it is.

4.                  Your post should include: What you’re quitting, why you’re quitting, how you’re quitting, and…that’s pretty much it.  Beyond that is up to you.  It’s your quit, baby.  Tell us about it however you want.

5.                  Basic guidelines: Word count should be between 500-800 words.  Please divide your post up into subsections with headings to make it easier for people to follow.  Please include a bio of 2-3 lines (feel free to link to your blog, Twitter, etc.), as well as a pic of your lovely (or handsome!) self that I can include.  You have the right to choose a pic for the post itself, too; should you waive this right, a pic will be provided for you courtesy of Flickr and moi.

5.                  Be open to the possibility of edits, but I promise I’ll be nice about it. I once had dreams of copyediting, and to this day I still circle punctuation mistakes in my local paper in the hopes of one day sending my clippings to the editorial department in an envelope asking for a job.  So be prepared for some comma correction and grammatical polishing, if needed.  But anything related to content I will not change without first checking with you. Actually, I won’t change it at all.  That would just be wrong, and I’d be majorly p.o.’ed if anyone did that to something I’d written.  I may suggest places to rewrite or expand, but only where I really feel they’re needed.  As aforesaid, the quit is yours (baby), so I won’t try to cramp your style.

6.                Along those lines, be yourself! If you’re snarky, be snarky.  If you invent words sometimes that aren’t technically words, don’t hold that in (editorial junkie though I am, I can appreciate creative license).  If you like to intersperse offbeat graphics in your writing Mars Dorian-style, by all means, do.  Whatever your jive, let it shine.  This isn’t just a chance to share each other’s quits; it’s a chance to get to know each other as a community.

And that’s about it.  Please send your submissions to kelly@cordeliacallsitquits.com—I can’t wait to read them!  I’m really excited about this feature and hope you enjoy it as much as I know I will!

Image:  josh-n

Related Posts:

• Reader QUIT: Twitter (by Tatiana Christian)
• Reader QUIT: Second-Guessing the Path I’m Meant to Follow (by Brooke Law)
• Reader QUIT: Feeling Guilty (by Lindsey Morningstar)