Category: Uncategorized

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Back Again, Been Playing On Another Platform …

carolyncordon

Being a writer and poet, as well as blogger, that is a thing that interests me, and even though this particular blog is my definitely my favourite one of all of my blogs, it isn’t a ‘money-raising’ kind of blog. That’s OK, there are more things to life than money …

But in this world, too many people tend to value people and things by what they’re worth in monetary terms. I’m not one of those people. I love the way this particular blog, and some of the things I’ve written about here, have connected me to a lovely bunch of people all around the world.

Some of those people helped me with a project I’d presented details of here, and I went on to create something, using their input. It was an anthology I edited, containing creative writing responses to Covid-19. “Plague Invasion” was the name of that anthology, and I am happy with the way it looks, and reads.

That project more or less held me captive, from April last year, up until the book was launched in August this year. So that book is ‘out there’ now, and it was time for something else. That something else, was the online platform Medium. This is a link to my Medium page, if you’re interested in seeing what I have posted there.

The thing that makes Medium different to WordPress, is that I can make money from people reading my articles on Medium. On my WordPress blogs, I may get comments, and have good discussions here, at times, but no money from it, unless discussion leads to something more, like selling a book, or getting a writing related gig.

I’m not actually making mega-bucks on this Medium platform though, although ‘legend has it’ that some people make thousands of dollars a month. So far, that hasn’t been my experience. I am enjoying being a part of that other online writing world though, and have been writing articles on a variety of different subjects.

Anything that prompts more writing, whether something that makes money, or not, I feel it is a good thing. I love writing, and connecting with other people through my words … It is a global platform with many interesting writers, most of them from the USA, I think, but many from other countries too.

I’ve written about Multiple Sclerosis, dogs, writing, making connections with people, health, ill health, Covid-19, Gratitude, and so on. Random? No just an example of the broad range of things that interest me …

I think looking at other options, whatever it is you’re doing, is important if things are beginning to seem a bit ‘same old, same old’. A holiday from WordPress certainly inspired lots of writing, and doing lots of writing always feels like a good thing to me! I’m a writer, I write!

And doing things that feel good, yay, I can sense those healthy chemicals coursing through me! Well, let’s say I can imagine them, rather than actually ‘sense’ them. Is that the same thing? Nearly but not quite, I guess …

That’s fine, almost but not quite is good enough for lots of things! Although sometimes things must be exactly correct. But other times, getting creative, and swapping times, ingredients, colours, temperatures, and so on can lead to even better things. Creativity can be an awesome thing!

So hello to you, if you’re one of my followers/friends and maybe we’ll meet up again on Medium!

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Poetry as a Public Service …

carolyncordon

As I wrote in this post on Medium, getting vaccinated is the way we can all get together again, once enough of us get our vaccination against Covid.

I know some people don’t want to get this ‘jab’, and others aren’t able to get it for health reasons, but I truly believe it is the most sensible way to keep on in the face of a dangerous virus.

The statistics are there, the case numbers are rising in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, most of those who die were unvaccinated … It is a compelling fact.

Get vaccinated. Even though you may still catch Covid, you will be far less likely to die from it, and the effects won’t be as bad as it could be without any vaccination. Even the first needle can help, but full vaccination is the best.

So friends, please get vaccinated, for your own sake, for those you love, and for your greater community.

The name of the poem in the link is simply Covid Can Kill. Read it, share it, comment on it, spread the word. It may save a life. Stay safe, friends, please …

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On Writing A New Poem

carolyncordon

New poems don’t happen every day, not for me, anyway. And since I started playing with a new platform, Medium.com, even fewer poems are being written by me …

But today, after something that happened, I wanted to write about it, and I wanted to make it a slightly funny little thing, and so I came up with a poem, and rather than writing the poem then at some stage deciding what to do with it, I wrote it directly onto my medium page.

This is the link to the poem, feel free to go there and have a read of it! https://kittycordo.medium.com/a-brand-new-poem-is-born-3e620c83e03

And after reading that poem, you can read more of what I’ve written over the five months since I joined Medium, and began posting articles there. I’ve been enjoying myself, and actually making money (tiny bits of it, anyway).

Making money, obviously isn’t why I write. If I wanted to make lots of money with my writing, there are other, far better ways to use writing as a money-making thing. I write what I want to write, what I feel like writing, not what someone tells me to write.

And today, what I felt like writing was a rhyming poem, about a mouse that may or may not really exist. A silly little poem, and one that might make me a silly little amount of money. If I earn more than two cents from this little rhyme, it will make me happy, because I wrote it without conscious thoughts of it being a great poem, just a poem I felt like writing, and it made me happy.

And being happy is a fine thing, isn’t it? Having mice in the house doesn’t make me happy, it makes me cross that these creatures invade my home. And having to trap the mice, because having them in the kitchen could lead to tummy upsets from the diseases the mice might leave behind, well that makes me sad as well.

Mice are such cute little things, with their whiskers, and their long skinny tails, and their big eyes, looking at me … But when I saw, or thought I saw, that mouse earlier today, I felt I had to write about it, and that is what I did.

That is a satisfying thing, to have had an idea, a mini writing project, and to complete it. And I might even make some money from it. That two cents I mentioned, may even become four cents. Or hope of hopes, could this poem go viral? (In good ways, not bad ones) I think sometimes about that time, when something I’ve written has ‘gone viral’, but I’ve never had anything look anything like doing that.

I suspect if I was writing about subjects other than my usual ones, something about marketing, or internet protocols, or such things, I’d have a better chance of my writing going viral, but they are not things I know a lot about, and I’m not interested in learning more about them, nor writing about them either.

So I’ll go on writing about creatures, and Nature, and other somewhat diverse things. And if I attract the interest of just one person, who likes what I’ve written, and leaves a comment, well that is enough. And if I can make two cents from a silly little poem, well that’s two cents I would never have had if I hadn’t posted that poem, on the Medium website here: https://kittycordo.medium.com/a-brand-new-poem-is-born-3e620c83e03

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One Book Launched, What Comes Next?

carolyncordon

I’m thrilled to say the launch of my most recent book, “Plague Invasion” was a success, with many copies of the book finding new homes, and many more to post to their new homes iin the following week or so.

Self-publishing a book needs so much more than just asking for submissions, putting them together, and then have a launch to give a copy of the contributors present, and actually sell some of the books.

So I’ve done that part now, and as I indicated, it was a successful day, with the money taken bringing me closer to breaking even, if I don’t factor in the time this project has taken, and other related costs. I’m enjoying what I’ve been doing, and so am happy to cover some costs.

And one of the costs is to send out books that have been ordered. I have postal addresses, so today I’ll be putting together the books to post, in Australia and beyond.

But I’ve already begun work on the next Covid-related book. Someone (I can’t remember who) gave me the idea for the title, and I’ve already begun a file on my laptop, with some contributions that didn’t get into this first book.

The second book has the working title of “Are We There Yet?” or possibly the slightly longer title of ‘Are We There Yet? Yeah, Nah …” This second, longer title will, I hope, lend a satirical tone to the project, and assist in bringing in a diverse range of creative writing responses.

I plan on this new anthology being ready to launch at about this time next year, hopefully during the Gawler and Adelaide Plains Festival of Words 2022. So I am in the middle of getting all of these copies of Plague Invasion out, but I am also looking to the next book.

Am I mad? Or am I just enjoying myself with this so much, I don’t want the fun to end?! Maybe a bit of both. But if I can do this without sending myself broke, and give some previously unpublished writers the chance to have their work in a book, without getting ripped off, I’m more than happy to do that!

I have a sponsor (my mother), who I acknowledged in Plague Invasion, and she is one of those people who had their written work published in a book for the first time, and she read the short story she wrote at the book launch, a very prooud moment for her, and for me as well!

My Mum is great! I don’t know whether she will get hooked on this writing thing, and want to be in the next book, but if she does write something, I will certainly consider it, as I did for the works published in Plague Invasion.

The book, what will the cover for the next book look like?

I was stunned at the perfection of this book cover, and can hardly wait to see what may happen for the next book. I’ll have to wait and see what works may come in, once I’ve put the call out. Not yet, I need a rest! Patrick Millikan, the young man who created the from cover image has done fine work with this one, that’s for sure!

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I Love Book Launches, Do You Love Them Too?

carolyncordon

I have a new book that is going to be launched soon, and I’m getting excited about it! I’ve been to a good few book launches now, and I’ve loved them all, whether they are for my book, or someone else’s book! Bringing a new book out into the world is a beautiful thing!

This is the book that is going to be launched, “Plague Invasion” and it looks like this:

Looks great, doesn’t it?

This book has I think 43 contributors, and while not all of them can be present on the day, a good few of them will be, as will the clever young man, Patrick Millikan, who produced this awesome front cover for the book. And the book launch will be held at the Prince Albert Hotel, a venue I know well, and I’m going to get there early, and have a nice meal first, I hope lots will be there early too!

The actual event will include announcing the winners of the Adelaide Plains Poets poetry competition, then the book will be launched, and talked about, and book sales can commence. Once that is all wrapped up, contributors can read their pieces that are in the book, and after that, the usual Gawler Poets at the Pub will happen. People will be able to put their name down in our little book, and read when their name is called out.

Fun, fun, fun! The day’s event should be all over by 5pm, then people can go home, with their lovely new book to read, and can think about what was said about a possible new book that may come out into the world next year!

Words work well, and I love to bring books into the world, it brings me joy to help make it happen! I look forward to seeing you at the Prince Albert hotel, if you live in South Australia, or hearing from you here, if you’d like to know more about this anthology.