Month: May 2020

covid 19

Self Publishing is Fun?

carolyncordon

For my most recent writing project, the publication of an Anthology about how the Covid-19 is affecting people, I’ve had some decisions to make, and have been umming and ahhing about them. One of these decisions has involved thoughts about proper compensation for contributors to the anthology “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing in Response to Covid-19”.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Some of the contributors are new to such things, and are thrilled to be having their words published in such an important book. Others are glad such a book is being printed, and are happy enough about that, with no call for compensation. There are contributors from overseas, not just Australians, and some of those overseas contributors have indicated happiness with just being in the book, with no expectations beyond just being in the book.

I’ve been pondering these matters, thinking about what I can afford, what my costs are, and how much I can afford. I’ve self published several books, so far, and have never ended up out of pocket in any major way. That is, unless I factor in my time, of course. But a writer is who I am, and writing is what I do, so I’m enjoying myself, doing the various things needing to be done.

So I’ve thought about it, and I’ve decided to provide a free copy of the book to all contributors, but will ask for postage and handling from overseas contributors. I am funding this Anthology out of my own pocket, and don’t want to send myself broke. I can afford a certain amount, but not too much … So I will cover the postage and handling costs in sending these free copies of this book to contributors who live in Australia.

So that’s that. There will be a book launch, I hope in the early part of 2021, and books will be available there for contributors, (one free copy), as well as copies available to all others there for the launch. Copies will also be available at the launch for contributors to purchase at half price, for them to keep, give to others, or sell, at whatever price they want to ask. (As long as they don’t sell them at the launch, when I’m also trying to sell books).

Copies will be available to contributors from overseas, on payment of postage and handling costs to my designated account. Unless of course they come to the book launch, when they will get their free copy! (joke there, of course!)

And there’s one really good thing about being involved in the publishing of this book – I now don’t have to think about how to spell PLAGUE!

As always, I welcome further comment about these thoughts of mine.

covid 19, poetry

Another Poetry Related Role

carolyncordon

So not only am I a poet, and President of Adelaide Plains Poets, I am also the competition secretary for that same writing group. Our writing group holds an annual competition, and has done so since around 2005. There have been many poems received from that time, and handed on for judging, then awarded. As the Competition Secretary, I am the fortunate person who gets to read every single poem entered in all of these competitions, and I have certainly read some truly awesome poems!

Every year, I know from experience, there will be a deluge of entries arrive in the mail, in the final weeks of the competition for the Open Section, and the numbers will be more than adequate for the judges to choose the awarded entries between a goodly number of poems, so that winning in our competition in the Open Section really means something significant in terms of literary quality, and so is deserving of the significant prize-money earned.

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And on looking back at numbers of poems received at this point, for years in the past, it certainly looks as though the numbers this year, despite, or perhaps because of, Covid-19. Many of us are staying home, and writing … With the theme of the competition this year being “Vision” I’m wondering whether later entries may look at this terrible virus, and the way it is being dealt with, through a visionary looking glass, and comment through their poetic words …

And if they do so, I may well put on one of my other hats, that of an editor of an Anthology concerning Covid-19, which has been the subject of many of my recent posts on this website. If any of the entries do touch on the subject of this Anthology, and I feel the quality is high enough, I will certainly approach the poets if they would like their work to be considered for inclusion in “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing in Response to Covid-19”.

This poetry competition is for Australians only, and the Anthology is open to anyone and everyone globally, and there have already been worthy submissions from both Australians, and writers from other countries … And with the closing date for submission of work for consideration to the Anthology (31 July 2020), being after the closing date for the Poetry Competition, there will be no clash. The judging will be over, and winners announced before the book submission closes. It is hoped the two things might enhance each other …

And speaking of ‘enhancing’, one of the reasons Adelaide Plains Poets holds this annual poetry competition, is to improve, or ‘enhance’ the way poetry is looked upon by people in the Adelaide Plains region, which includes Gawler, and the Barossa regions. And in particular, it is hoped holding the two Student Sections (Primary School, and Secondary School), it is hoped to pique interest of students, in poetry. I know our judge for these sections is particularly interested in reading these entries, being a former school teacher herself, and maintaining interest in this sector still.

At the moment though, this section of the Adelaide Plains Poets Poetry Competition, has very few entries, and unless the numbers of entries don’t dramatically increase, it will hardly be worth judging, which wold be a sad thing indeed. With so many schools being closed down in Australia,, this has been a difficult time in regards to getting the word out to the various schools and their students. I hope this can be changed, and ask that anyone reading this who knows Australian Primary School and Secondary School Students to please pass on news of this competition. There is honour in being awarded because of your literary talents, in addition to the generous financial award the winners will be given, if their poem is chosen as one of the three best entries in their section.

Entry form and guidelines can be found at this site, and if you are an Australian citizen, I encourage you to take a look, and enter the competition, as well as pass the news of this onto any students you know, who may be interested in being involved. And of course if you know, or in fact are, a school teacher in Australia, this competition is a worthy one for students to enter. It is an easy process, and there is no entry fee for the two Student Sections, unlike entries in the Open Section.

Poetry can bring forward creative abilities and ideas, formerly unrealised, and with our world potentially looking toward a different way of being, the theme of Vision, is one we all need to be thinking about, long and hard, as we look to the post Covid-19 future …

covid 19

Poetry and Prose in My Life

carolyncordon

The first time a poem I wrote gained attention, was when I was in high school, in year 8 or 9, when I wrote a poem about a farmer who was talking to his god, and asking whether the god wanted him to kill his wife as a sacrifice. What a sweet thing that is, not …

It was a rhyming poem, not in any particular style, and not very many lines. But it had pathos, and clutched at the heart in the plea the man was making … I think I was supposed to be writing prose, rather than poetry, and I’m not sure which country’s history this was set in, but I do have a strong memory that it was somewhere in Europe that began with a ‘C’, and it might have been Carthage … I’m not sure.

I’m was more interested in writing poetry, than studying history, and this was a way I could do both of them at the same time, but the ‘writing poetry’ bit is the part that has stayed with me into my life, after stepping away for a time after school, and then stepping back in, when I needed it, to help me get through post natal depression …

And now of course, eight books later, I’m a writer, and while not earning a living with my writing, at least making a little money from it. I sell books, sometimes, and I receive royalties, and both PLR and ELR payments. Not huge amounts of money, but nice little payments any way. As someone I’ve met recently said, not a poet for the money, but for the fame!

And yes, I’m a famous poet, to some extent, for sure. I have several poetry collections to my name, plus other books in prose. I’m also the editor of the popular newsletter “Mallala Crossroad Chronicle”, as well as the president of the Adelaide Plains Poets writing group, that meets every Thursday (Online only at the moment, but at the Prince Albert Hotel in Gawler, usually). So yes, words are my thing, poetry and prose.

And now I’m doing something new, that will bring another book to add to my current list of books published. This book will be “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing in Response to Covid-19” will be an anthology containing the words of many others. and I’m currently asking people to send me poetry and prose, for consideration of possible inclusion in this anthology, which I feel will be an excellent book, with a broad range of responses from a broad range of people, from a broad range of places.

There will be some silly things, some serious things, poetry in various styles, and prose, both fiction and non fiction. These will be considered responses in prose, heartfelt poems, song lyrics about silly things, and quirky words about this strange time. Collecting together all of these words feels like a further extension of my lifelong love of words, and my life as a poet and writer, a wordsmith.

I hope many more people will join in, and help me put out stories about how ordinary people have managed to get through this Covid-19 time, when we are having to stay away from the things we love, in most unusual ways.

So feel free to submit your words for consideration for publication in this worthy anthology: send via email (kittycordo@gmail.com with the subject ‘Plague Invasion submission’), up to three poems of thirty lines, and/or three pieces of prose of up to 2,000 words in total.

I look forward to reading your submission for consideration.

New Ideas

Anthology Ponderings …

carolyncordon

Pondering on various things, including, in particular, possibility of payment to contributors to a book I am creating … I have an amount of money put aside for the creation of this book. If I pay people who send me their work, I may not be able to afford to send a copy of this book to each person who had a submission accepted, at cost price of the book. This is a thing I’ve indicated on this blog, to be what I will do.
*On further consideration, and an investigation of my finances, I can say I will be sending a copy of this book to every contributor for free, and will send copies to contributors in other countries, not Australia, for the cost of postage.*

At the moment, money is not a huge worry, so I won’t be left bereft, homeless and starving, that’s for sure. I will be able to pay to have this book printed, once it is all put together, I’m confident of that, as I am confident I am capable of putting this anthology together, in a way that will seem to be reasonable. The set out of the book is sensible and will look ‘proper’ for what it its.

Destitute?

And at this stage, I don’t know how big that book will be, so don’t know what the cost price may be … Hmm, decisions, decisions … What I am going to do though is to have each contributor sign an agreement so that they know exactly what they will be getting in exchange for allowing me to use their work, in this anthology I am currently working on.

Clarity is important, I certainly would never want to rip off other writers and poets! There’s more to this book making thing than I first anticipated … Self publishing my own books, using my own words, is much easier! But this is a much bigger thing than my own little books. This involves other people, and their words, and it involves a huge thing that has happened to us all, in many ways …

I had originally advised that I would offer a copy at cost price to all contributors who have their work accepted for publication in this anthology, plus postage and handling. I still think that is a good way to go. Turning words on a computer into books in bookcases takes money, and effort on the part of the publisher/editor, much more work than one might think.

I may end up sending out copies of books to contributors in Australia on receipt of just the cost price, but not contributors in other countries, perhaps, with postage being sometimes very expensive. Or maybe not. Because, of course, with this current lock down time, I’m not spending much money, because I’m not going off to the hotel at least once a week for my writing group meeting, where I often have coffee and something to eat too …

‘something to eat …’

So Miss Moneybags that I am, maybe I can afford to pay for all of this, and if there is any money to be made, it might be from further sales of books, once book launches and book talks can begin happening again. Making money isn’t a major thing, for this book in particular, getting the words out, the various ideas and ways people have about it all, that is the important thing. Because this book isn’t a small thing, this book will be an important historical tome of this strange Covid-19 age …

note, as above – *On further consideration, and an investigation of my finances, I can say I will be sending a copy of this book to every contributor for free, and will send copies to contributors in other countries, not Australia, for the cost of postage.*

If anyone wishes to offer any ideas or advice about this, I’m all ears!

meaning in life, Uncategorized, Writing

Finding Meaning …

carolyncordon

I’m finding some sense of control, as I work through putting together this anthology “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19”. I can do this one thing, and I can stay at home to do it, and that’s what I know how to do, staying home and putting words into order.

my view if I get off my bum and look … part of our front yard

It helps me to do this, and I hope it’s helping those who are getting working on it with me, writing their own story about how their life is right now. These are not good times. Stay safe, maintain your social distance with other people, wash your hands …

And if you write anything that relates to Covid-19, and would like to share your words with others, please consider submitting it to me!

My view out in the front yard again. I love these lovely tall pine trees, that the Galahs also love, when it’s time to check out the pine cones in the trees, to eat pine nuts.

As in the image just above, the creatures are going on with things, finding food and shelter where they can, and they’re not having to thing about this pandemic that humans are having to think about, and deal with. Animals have their own things to worry about, and that road just outside of our driveway, has often been a sad scene, when the Galahs are eating the pine nuts, from cones knocked down onto the road, and fall victim to a car. Life and death, right there …

It saddens me to see that, but well, we have to die from something, and chowing down on food you enjoy eating, would be a good enough time to die. It would be quick, and so painless, I hope. I wouldn’t want to die that way, and really, can’t see any point in thinking about how I may eventually die. I just hope it doesn’t happen for a long, long time.

But back to more positive thoughts. I hope we can get through this together, doing the best we can. And I want to catch up with friends again, and share hugs with them!