Tag: anthology

Uncategorized

Seeing Different Things

carolyncordon

Almost every time I switch on my laptop, and check my emails, I see a new submission for the anthology I’m editing. With the closing date for submissions still almost two months away, I’ll have an enormous book, the way things are going …

This Anthology, “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19” has been an idea that gets bigger and bigger all of the time. I thought this idea would attract interest, after all, we’re all living with this terrible and potentially deadly virus, and that sort of thing sure attracts the attention.

Today’s submission grabbed my attention immediately, and there was no doubt in my mind, that this one would be in the anthology, it was different, it was on an issue that hadn’t been written about before, certainly not in the same way, anyway. Fiction is a genre where the writer can sometimes tell a larger truth than is possible with non-fiction, a strange thing, but true.

This current world is going mad, in some ways. Many of us are locking ourselves away to keep safe, which is good, but that could lead to ending up ‘stir-crazy’. Interestingly, the ‘stir’ in stir crazy is a 19th century word for prison. And having to remain at home for such extended periods of time can sure feel like being in prison. I know I’m very grateful that I can go out of my front or back door, and there is a lot there still, that is my place.

Today, I took a photograph of a bee, and being able to do that is a beautiful free-feeling thing to do. I went out onto the front veranda, and saw a bee flittering around a flower, and decided I wasted to try to get that photo. So I went back inside, grabbed my phone, and went outside again. So did I get the photo? You bet! Was it worth it? You tell me:-

The bee, the geranium bloom, the result.

I’m happy enough with this result, the actual bloom is actually pinker than this, but I was using my phone, not a camera. And as you can see from this image, I’m certainly able to get outside and do things I want to do, view Nature, taking photographs and so on. I’ve been looking at ant nests out of the back of my place too, and and part way though writing a poem about these ants. Being able to do these things mean I feel free to do things I like to do.

So for me, staying home doesn’t feel like being in prison, far from it. But I live in a rural area, on one and three quarter acres, where there is a lot of ‘Nature’ there for me to see, photograph, write about. Many people don’t have the same available, far from it, in fact.

The different experiences people are having leads to different kinds of ideas, and different things to write about. I’m hoping to showcase many of these differences. And we all might see the same thing differently too, so one person’s apartment life may give them one way of looking at their current life, while the person in the next apartment may see different aspects of their same life.

This thing, Covid-19, has been an interesting writing prompt, that’s for sure, and the resulting Anthology based on that theme is shaping up to be an interesting book, filled with different aspects of this Coronavirus life we’re all facing.

If you have ideas you’d like to write about, relating to this terrible virus, I’d love to read what you write. Please submit up to three poems of fewer than thirty lines each, and/or up to three pieces of prose of up to 3,000 words in total for all prose submissions. Send them via email to me at kittycordo@gmail.com

covid 19, New Ideas

Responding to Change

carolyncordon

From child to adult, from single to married, from childless to raising a family. Further, not having a job, to being a worker, and from worker to retired person, and many nuances of life in between. On a more ‘right now’ basis, there is not having a dangerous virus to stay safe from, to being here, now, with Covid-19 threatening our lives, our livelihoods, and our lifestyles.

These changes are what I am hoping to capture, with the anthology I am editing, and looking for submissions to. The title for the anthology is ‘Plague Invasion’, with the subtitle of ‘Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19’. In the book are poetry and prose responses to this odd, weird new way of being.

The closing date for submissions is 31 July 2020. but it may have enough words in the book before then. I’m hoping for a good sized book, whatever that means – more than 70,000 words for sure, and up to, I’d say 140,000 words, although that higher number seems a little overly optimistic, but who knows …

I’m asking for up to three poems of up to thirty lines, and had previously been asking for 2,000 words of prose in up to three different pieces, but thinking about that word count, I’ve decided to raise it to 3,000 words. This will assist a couple of contributors, who have written more, great words about the theme, and it will assist in raising the overall word count for the anthology. I like the way this stays with the overall number ‘three’ in there too.

Photo by Nacho Lledò from Pexels

And to be brutally honest, I’m one of the contributors who would have to cut some of the word count of one of my submissions to this project, and I can’t see how to do that, without making one of my prose pieces a lesser thing.

If that is selfish, so be it. This is my project, opened up to others, for sure, but still mine. The more words that are in there, and the better the quality and wider the range of works there, the better it will display responses to the time we’re currently living in.

Responding to change is how we can grow in our lives. Things happen, we react, and we learn now and hopefully better ways. If they turn out not to be better, then we change again, holding onto the best, and moving forward with the new. So 3,000 words for your prose, not 2,000 in total. Editing is a good thing when you write, but sometimes the editing process takes out needed things, and that is bad.

If you’d like to be involved in this project, send your words to me at kittycordo@gmail.com with the subject of ‘Plague Invasion submission’. All contributors who have work chosen will receive a free copy of the book. Australian residents will have their copy posted to them free of charge, others will need to pay the postage and handling costs. Thank you!

covid 19, inspiration

Getting My Words In, and Getting Them Out

carolyncordon

Today I received a book in the mail – a poetry collection, with one of my poem in it. Hooray! and I also received notification that a poem of mine is going to be in an online journal, The Crow. And after having no internet since yesterday afternoon, I was thrilled when we finally got internet back this afternoon!

I don’t know why our internet connection fell down, or strolled away, but was glad that the people at Aussie Broadband, were able to help in getting things up and going again. With the current world of Covid-19 restrictions, and being ‘locked down’ at home, keeping connected feels even more important.

I managed without the internet for those hours, but gosh, I hope that doesn’t happen too often, I like to be able to get connected! A blogger without the internet? It can’t happen! I took the opportunity today in sending an email, to get the word out about the Covid-19 anthology I’m editing too, and the result should be good.

So submissions for ‘Plague Invasion – Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19, are coming in, and I’m putting them into the document, and sending out requests for ‘writer bios’ to go into the back of the book from all of those whose words are accepted. Words in, words out – it’s an ongoing thing. And of course I will be writing some more of my own words for this anthology too.

And of course, getting the word out about this project is important, and that’s why I’ve been promoting it so heavily on my blog here. This is an important project, one of historical note, and in ten years time, we will remember that mad time when there was such a big run on toilet paper, so that the supermarkets had to limit how many toilet rolls a shopper could purchase …

Mad times for sure, and it isn’t over yet. I’m still looking for more writing, in particular prose, and would love to have prose from sports minded people, lamenting the lack of sport, or from medical people talking about the dangerous times they had, working up close and personal with this killer virus, and hoping they didn’t catch it themselves.

Or political people form any of the three level, local, state or federal, something from some people there would be a great addition to the anthology. Time for me to get the word out to the politicians and mayors I know, perhaps …

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.

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!