Our Attendee Spotlight is:
Nakia White who's blog is Zora.Toni.Maya.
What do you hope to experience at Blogging While Brown 2013?
I hope to leave the conference having a better idea of how to position my blog so that I can readership. I also hope to establish connections and build relationships with other bloggers from across the country.
Why did you decide to start a blog?
Back in 2005, I began blogging on myspace as a way to share my funny post- college dating experiences with friends who'd moved away after graduation. Eventually, my readership expanded and I moved away from Myspace and in 2007, created my own space, sugahoney.com. In early 2012, I began posting book reviews on Tumblr and received a lot of positive feedback, which made me switch gears and combine sugahoney.com with a new blog idea, ZoraToniMaya.com, named after three of the most influential writers in my life. Since January 2013, I focused primarily on literature, but sprinkle in a few personal love and life experiences at ZoraToniMaya.com.Are there specific types of bloggers you are interested in connecting with at the conference?
I am very interested in meeting other book bloggers, personal bloggers, bloggers on the West Coast, and other bloggers generally interested in good writing.
What are your top blogging tips for other bloggers?
I have always believed that the only way to succeed with blogging (or anything) is to have a passion for it. Not only like to write, and the theme(s) you write about, but LOVE it. The kind of love that wakes you up out of your sleep to jot down an idea or finish a post. This kind of love results in consistency. And I think that as long as you're consistent, you're preparing yourself for the next level.
Where do you see you and your blog in 5 years?
I would love for my blog to be the premiere site for online Black literary news and book reviews. I'd also love to review books for other well established sites and magazines, like MadameNoire, Clutch, VIBE, Essence, and Ebony.
Do you need something from your fellow bloggers to take your blogging to the next level?
Any advice or training sessions on Wordpress, or design tips would be a godsend.
