The following is a guest post from 20SB sponsor and former member Paul Angone. We’re thrilled to help him launch his upcoming book, 101 Secrets for Your Twenties. Read on for details about an exclusive publishing opportunity from Moody Collective as well as a chance to meet Paul in person this July.

There are two cold hard facts I learned in my twenties:

1. Your twenties can be really hard.
2. Starting a successful blog and getting published in your twenties is even harder!

Today I am excited to shine sweet rays of light on both these facts!

First, I get to help take the sting off twenty-something life with my upcoming book, 101 Secrets for Your Twenties, which is being released on July 1st. As anyone who has been following my story knows, less than a year ago I wrote a post on All Groan Up called 21 Secrets for Your Twenties, which went viral thanks to readers like you, and now has been viewed nearly a million times all across the world.

Second, as part of my three-week book launch tour, I will be speaking in to the 20 Something Bloggers community on July 2nd in Chicago to share inside secrets on how you can leverage your blog into a book deal. More details will be coming soon, but if you are in Chicago, put July 2nd on your calendar. I’d love to connect and share all my secrets with you in person!

Then, to tangibly help you get a head start on breaking into the publishing world, I have worked out an exclusive opportunity with my publisher Moody Collective to have your writing go straight to their desk and into a published book! No agents, proposals, or 10,000 Twitter followers required.

Let me explain.

101 Secrets for your Twenties Writing Contest

I am very excited to announce the 101 Secrets for your Twenties Writing Contest, where you have the opportunity to submit your #1 Top Secret for Rocking Life in your Twenties. Basically, if a struggling twenty-something was sitting across from you at a coffee table, what one piece of advice would you give them? Even if you’re a twenty-something yourself, what’s one thing that is really helping you through?

Your entry can be funny, engaging, sarcastic, serious, or light-hearted. Anywhere between 50-500 words. It’s that simple. Your entry will go straight to Moody Collective for possible publication in the expanded 101 Secrets for your Twenties ebook, along with your article, bio, and website featured on All Groan Up.

I already have a few surprise prominent bloggers and authors who will be appearing in the expanded ebook and now I want to give you the opportunity to be there right next to them.

Submit Your Twenty-Something Secret

Submit your twenty-something secret entries to Moody Collective at moodycollective@gmail.com by June 24th, 2013. To read the full contest details and submission guidelines, please go to the complete 101 Secrets for your Twenties Writing Contest page.

Gain amazing exposure from a targeted twenty-something audience base, be featured next to other published authors and prominent bloggers in a published book, and have your writing reviewed by a publishing house who is solely focused on publishing books for the next generation of leaders, influencers, and creators.

You never know where this could lead. I can’t wait to read your secrets and share some more of my own with you July 2nd in Chicago!

The post 101 Secrets for your Twenties Writing Contest appeared first on TwentyTwenty.

It’s been a quite a while since we’ve had a tie. We have two Featured Bloggers for the month of June! Congratulations to Carley and Sarah!

In Carley’s own words:

I started blogging…  a LiveJournal back in the day, so unofficially since I was about 15 years old. Ha, kidding. In all seriousness, about three years. I’ve had Findingravitiy up and running for a year and a half, and before that, I kept a travel blog while I was overseas.

I’m known for… in real life or in blog land? Well, in real life I’m excruciatingly clumsy. I pretend it’s endearing, but you may not agree once I’ve dropped my ice cream in your lap. On the blog, I HOPE that I’m known for my honesty. I try to write in a way that feels more like we’re having a conversation.

I’m working on… a new job in Brooklyn (YAY!!) so I’m currently focusing on making the transition from my previous job in Manhattan. I also have a few writing publications and creative collaborations in the works, so I’m really excited for the next few months.

I’m currently addicted to… Ben Howard, Ed Sheeran, and…Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. (Those three things are pretty much a constant in my life). And also, I just bought overalls from Free People and I’m pretty sure I’d shower in them if I could get away with never taking them off.

I find joy… when I’m spending time with my family and friends. I hope that’s the most overused answer in the book. Everyone deserves to have friends and family who are as supportive as mine have been. They are everyday superheroes.

My favorite plugin/widget… I work in social media, so I really like that there are widgets for all of my social platforms. It helps me stay connected to all of my readers outside of Findingravity.

I can’t do without… Moleskin notebooks. I always have one on me. I like that they are small enough to shove in my back pocket. I also can’t do without having my headphones. I’m definitely one of those people that has a tough time on the morning commute without music. Music helps me focus and make sense of things. Music is life.

I’m most creative… NOW! I’ve never felt more creative in my life. I’m in my twenties, living in my dream city, and I just want to create stuff, and write stuff, and photograph stuff. Whether it’s sitting down to write a blog post, kicking back with my guitar, or taking off with my camera, this is definitely the most creative I’ve ever felt. And yeah, it can be exhausting, because creativity takes work. It takes sweat, tears, real people emotions. I think there is this stigma that creativity is this hippie-dippie movement, but it really takes time and dedication.

I admire… anybody who says, “yes I can” when somebody tells them, “no you can’t.” It takes guts to go out there and prove people wrong.

Make sure you add her blog, Findingravity, to your reader and follow her on Twitter @carbarton.

——

In Sarah’s own words:

I started blogging…   on 11th June last year, so it’s almost my anniversary.

I’m known for… personally I’m mostly known for drinking copious amounts of tea, having a slightly unhealthy obsession with dinosaurs, and being really, really clumsy. Blog wise I guess I’m known for being pretty blunt about my mental health and having an opinion on pretty much everything. I’m also told I’m pretty funny.

I’m working on… at the moment I have the pretty modest ambition to write another two posts to make a total of 150 by the time my blog turns a year old. I have a bunch of other projects on the go but their having to take a back seat at the moment while I move to London next week.

I’m currently addicted to… Battlestar Galactica. People should really have learnt by now that they didn’t ought to give me boxsets if they don’t want me to basically disappear for three weeks. Although, with this one, a surprising number of people have been randomly dropping by house wanting to watch it with me.

I find joy… when I’m dancing. Or eating spaghetti and meatballs. Or in Rio.

My favorite plugin/widget…  I don’t really have a favourite widget. Tag clouds annoy me far more than a rational person should be annoyed by a widget though. I really don’t know why. Oh, I love my post slider at the top of my blog. Does that count as a widget? I’m actually terrible with technical side of blogging, I don’t know what anything is really called or how it’s supposed to work. I’m just making it up as I go along.

I can’t do without… I can do without mushroom. And cheese. And people who walk really slowly in front of me when I’m in a hurry.

I’m most creative… when I should have been in bed three hours ago. Or in the swimming pool, I always end up having loads of ideas when I’m half way through my laps and so can’t write them down.

I admire… I’m really impressed by people who are tidy and organised and seem to have their shit together. I’m never going to be one of them though.

Make sure you add her blog, Make-Up and Mirtazapine, to your reader and follow her on Twitter @makeupandmirtaz.

Want 20SB to recognize one of your favorite bloggers? Get your vote in for July! You may just be the next featured blogger!

The post June’s Featured Bloggers: Carley and Sarah appeared first on TwentyTwenty.