Month: June 2021

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Launch Of Covid-19 Related Anthology

carolyncordon

Things are moving ahead! Today I saw the completed version of the front and back cover of the Anthology I’ve been working on, and it looks fantastic! This Anthology is “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19”. I put the word out in various places, including this blog, and in the responses came, from may different places in the world, but mostly from my own country, Australia.

I have this book with the printer I’ve used previously for printing my own books, a printer close to where I live and travel to often. They do good work. I have a friend, a fellow member of my writing group, who also uses this printer at times, when appropriate.

I’d asked for both poetry and prose creative writing and received a large variety of different works, some serious, some funny, and others in between. The quality was great of almost all of what was received, and it was difficult to turn down most of what was received …

I’d quite early decided I was going to raise the money to print this book, and give free copies to each of the contributors. So I’ve been saving my money to be able to fund this work, which is completely a work that suits my wanting to help others, in any way I can. Doing good is a thing that warms my heart, and suits my heart and mind well …

So my next job, is to wait … But it will only be a short wait, and then, once I get the email from the printer, I will pick up these books, and gloat about how clever I’ve been, and how wonderfully good it all looks! Then after that, I will give a copy of the book to the Mayor of Gawler, who wrote the foreward of this book for me!

And then. once that has been done, there will be another wait, which will end once we get to the day this book will be launched, on the final day of the Gawler & Adelaide Plains Festival of Words (Recovery). It will be a fine day indeed, with a variety of people in attendance, including a goodly number of contributors to “Plague Invasions”. These people will be given their own copy of the book, whilst there, and what fun that will be, for them to meet with other contributors!

So 25 July is going to be a fine time to think about how we’ve been going with this pandemic, and be glad we can meet with other people again! That’s as long as Covid lets us …

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Why haven’t I Tapped This Resource Much, In The Past?

carolyncordon

I’ve finally written about the animals in my earlier life, and enjoyed it, putting the resulting article, here, on this site, Vocal, a new one for me, and perhaps one to spend more time at, depending on how it goes.

Finding new places, or exploring ones already used are both good ideas, if you’re a freelance writer, and love to share your words with a wide variety of readers … And of course, if you can get some cash, I mean, ‘monetise your writing’, all the better.

This new site, Vocal, is one I’ve seen the name of previously, but I didn’t look any further into it, until I noticed a friend (Hi Marie!), was now using it. So I thought, oh well, Marie had introduced me to Medium another writing platform that pays, in its own way, so what the heck, and had a try.

The experience of getting signed up was easy enough, and If people like my words, and give me tips, or like my writing, the wealth will flow in! haha. There’s a bit more to these things than just that though, there is the task of letting other people now about what you’re doing, marketing your words, in other words.

And as a shy and retiring writer, (it’s true, honest!), the idea of getting my word out about my words is never the easiest part of all of this. My ideal world would be one where a dedicated secretary or assistant would take on this publicising my work/words task, and I could go on just tap, tap, tapping away on the keyboard, producing my worthy writing, and perhaps reading such words at events organised by that same secretary/assistant.

But as is obvious for many reasons, this is not an ideal world, so I have to take on the spreading the word about my words role, as well as writing them, and editing them, them sending them places to get published. and make money.

I’m not reliant on my writing efforts, to have food and shelter, fortunately, and I’m sure, or at least hope, if I was, my efforts would be far more successful than they currently are … But I have books published, and I sell them, sometimes, so it’s not totally pathetic, just a bit of play money, in some ways though, apart from a couple of bigger monetary sources available to me, when I get three bigger lots of money, one is Educational Lending Rights for a book, a school reader, I wrote a long time ago, that was published and is in many libraries in Australia and elsewhere.

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Well I have in fact used this theme a little more, and written more on the subject of ‘dogs’ as well as one other post on Vocal, which was a poem I’m quite happy with, I think. You can take a look here.

If you like it, why not reward me, with a payment, haha, or at least tell me what you thought, anyway!

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Words & Books, and More Words & More Books!

carolyncordon

Writer, Poet, Blogger, Editor, I write things, because words are my main tools for what I love to do, to write, and to speak, and if I’m speaking in public, for a purpose, words will be written, probably to properly say what I really want to say.

And this year is definitely a year of words, and books for me! I put out a call for words to be written and sent to me, and I know have a book on its way to being printed, so it can be launched and then provided to all of the wonderful people who’ve sent in their responses as requested. This book, and anthology of both poetry and prose is a fine look at what creative people thought on, regarding Covid-19, from the serious to the ridiculous, and all things in between.

This book will be launched during the Gawler and Adelaide Plains Festival of Words (Recovery), and this Festival is another perfect storm of words, with writers, and poets doing thier thing in a variety of ways, in a variety of different places, taking words to the community!

And today, I’ll be talking with a friend and one of the things that will be mentioned is another book a book that may well be written, and then published next year, with a launch, perhaps, because, well who doesn’t like to celebrate a new book come into the world?! I love book launches! This book with be the fourth in a series of books begun way back, when my son was at Primary school. He’s now a grown man, working for a living, with his own house … Wow.

And of course, there are the things I do regularly, a writing group meeting every Thursday, Poetry reading every month, and the Festival, an annual event held in July, with the seventh such Festival happening this year 22-25 July. What fun, what lovely words!

And there will be workshops run for that Festival, and I hope attendees might end up writing their own new book, and have a book launch, so I can attend, and feel joyful for having been involved in that new book coming into the world, a precious time for sure!

And of course there are also books in the library, where I visit every month or so, to find some more books to read, then take back again, free of charge. I love libraries, and I’m glad to live in Australia, where our library system buys books, and loans them out to readers the way they do, it’s great!

Yes, I love words, and I’m so glad there are many people in the world who love books too! Do you love books? If you do, leave a message to tell us about it!

One of my books, and a brochure, all about multiple sclerosis, which I’ve written about, raising funds and awareness about my chronic illness …