Tag: self publishing

Writing

My Next Non-Fiction Book

carolyncordon

Today, instead of working on my blogs, or my poetry collection, my poetry chap book, my children’s picture book, my children’s chapter book, or my two novels in progress, I spent my (non-Social Media) writing time today, on my next non-fiction book.

I haven’t been keeping track on the number of words I’ve actually written of this book, but I know that today I wrote somewhere between 500-1000 words for it. I am happy with that, and I may well write some more words on it later on tonight.

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This book is about some of my thoughts about various things that are important to me – family, friends, spiritual thoughts, health, Nature and other things. These are all of the things I think about, when I am simply sitting and thinking, contemplating not much at all, or everything, depending on where my thoughts take me.

This book, hmm, who would want to read this book? It won’t be funny, like my “Buster the Dog” books, and it won’t be all about anything at all, it will be about little bits of many things. Because that’s what life is, isn’t it, little bits of many things. I realise my situation is not the same as many other people, having hours of my day to sit around doing not a heck of a lot.

Having my husband as my carer, who does most of the housework, as well as yard work, makes my life simple, and easy, and I thank him very much for that, often. Him doing basically everything for me should mean that I can do all of the writing I have on the drawing board, shouldn’t it? Sadly it doesn’t work like that. I let things slide by me, and they go on not being done.

And then , with bit of luck, I get on with things, and do a big few sessions with the writing, and get it all done, and then the book is there for me to send off to be published, or printed, depending on which way I’ve gone this time. Self publishing doesn’t scare me, I have more self published books than those published by an actual publishing business.

The important thing for me is that I have a book, a particular book ‘out there’ in the world. Books, words, writing, these are all important to me. One day perhaps I will write the next big thing in literature, with a mainstream publisher, and I’ll be out there, touring the country and beyond, doing author talks and book signings.

It would be lovely if that book is one of the two novels I’m currently working with, but I don’t have a feeling that is going to be the case … This non fiction book, that’s the one I’m liking the most at the moment. But things can change. I let my muse, my head, lead me to where I can get my interest levels up and I’ll sit down here in my writing spot at home, or sometimes at a particular hotel in Gawler, the Prince Albert Hotel, where my writing group meets every Thursday afternoon.

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I feel comfortable in both of those places, so the words can come, I feel creative with my pen, or my keyboard, when it’s going well, the words flow easily, and it feels exactly the thing I should be doing. One day, perhaps I’ll get organised better, and actually begin writing more often, normal working hours even, but I don’t feel that is the way it will work for me. Who knows though?

I have dreams of going away somewhere, where somebody will do everything, and all I have to do is work on my writing. Really though, I already could have that, if I really wanted it. Housework done for me, mostly, and all I have to do is let the dog out and back in again, feed her, lots of days, simple tasks. Our, help with doing the washing, sometimes, and always putting the washing away.

It embarrasses me really when I look at it like that, I should have these books written and sent out to get them published, it looks like I’ve been completely slacking off, doesn’t it? But living my life like this means I don’t feel stressed, and I know how I feel if I’m feeling stressed out, and it’s not a good thing, not at all. So I’ll keep cruising along in life, blogging, writing, engaging with my friends, my peers, my family, and books will come along in their proper time …

If you’re a writer, how do you manage your writing time?

Public Speaker, Writing

3.5% Famous – Aiming Higher!

carolyncordon

In my previous blog post, I wrote about fame. I was going to post some more about the subject, hoping to bring some more insight to the subject, but you know what? I’m struggling to find much in the way of insight here.

I am known to my family and friends, obviously. The people who live near me know who I am, and may or may not know that I am a writer – I expect most of them neither know, nor care about what kind of books I write, or what the content of my blogs is all about.

Certainly some of my neighbours, and people living in the town close to the townlet I live in, know that I and the editor of the monthly newsletter I publish and distribute around town and beyond, every month. And I’ve been on the ABC, talking about things I and members of the writing group I lead, are doing, and so some people will have heard me doing that.

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That’s not fame though, not like authors who are published by big publishers, who give them thousands of dollars in royalties, and take them on country-wide speaking tours … The closest I get to anything like that, is to drive myself to the radio station I’m a volunteer presenter at every fortnight or so, and they’ve interviewed me a couple of times, when I’ve self-published another book …

I do still get royalties for a book I had published by a children’s educational publisher, quite a few years ago. My most recent payment was possibly the smallest one yet, but my book is still out there, being sold. I also have books in (school) libraries, and have received payments from that. That isn’t fame, but it’s being known, which is kind of the same thing, in a way, isn’t it? I think it is. 

At the moment, I have a book I’m reading off and on, by an English person, Caitlin Moran. The book is cleverly titled “Moranifesto”, and is full of amusing and thought provoking things.

One of the thing she writes about there is fame (how coincidental is that?), and she says she is 35% famous. Based on what she writes in her book, I suspect I am around 3.5% famous …

I’m thinking about possible ways to lift my percentage, so that’s a start, well it’s better that sitting on my bum thinking about nothing … I’m going to be seeing some friends tomorrow, and if I remember, I will ask them for some ideas about possible ways I could up my fame percentage … The three people I am thinking about all have higher percentages than I currently have, I would think. We’ll see how those discussions go.

In the meantime, I will post this to my Author Website/Blog, and see if I can get more that a couple of people looking at it, and maybe even leaving a comment … I do enjoy writing though, so it’s not like sitting here on this sofa tippity-tapping away on the keyboard is an onerous task for me, I love doing it.

Writing and talking, playing words, that is certainly one of the funnest things to do, for me. If you ever need a speaker, look me up, I’m 3.5% interesting, and can be quite funny too, and at the moment, my speaker fee is low!

poetry

Sorry for Being Late!

carolyncordon

Well, I’ve been steadily writing, and posting my Poem a Day, for February, as my part of the #poemadayfeb challenge, writing a new poem every day, and posting it to my blog, on this, my Writer’s website. But sadly, yesterday things went a little wrong.

Things got busy, devices weren’t available, so that, while a new poem definitely did get written for the 7th day of February, it didn’t get put on my Blog page here … Never fear though, as soon as I’ve finished typing up this, I will put up that new poem, for the 7th day of February, on the blog!

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I wrote the poem on my phone, and so had it with me when I visited my mother today, and I took the opportunity of having the poem with me, and so I read yesterday’s poem aloud to her. She liked the poem, and was impressed by the way I tied all of my important points together.

Well, I’m sure that’s pretty well what she said, something similar to that anyway. It was certainly approval she gave, for sure, and not wishy-washy approval either, but intelligent relevant kind of approval. Hey, I’m a mother too, I can tell the difference!

I haven’t checked out the prompt for today, but rest assured that I will do that too, after this particular post is finished. I am definitely going to write a new poem, every day in February 2019, and I am going to get a chap book published with all of the poems, whether mainstream publishing, or some other kind. I am impressing myself with the poems I’ve been writing, so far, and I can’t see why the quality would drop!

Once I’ve checked out what the prompt is, I will get going with writing my new poem for the 8th day of February, then post is on my blog page here! Then I will post a link to it on Twitter, and one on Facebook, and how knows perhaps a publisher will see the quality of my poetry, and snap me up as one of their poets!

This has been such fun, I’m almost feeling like a real poet, oh hang on, I’ve been writing poetry for years, I already am a real poet … I have poetry online, in books, in libraries, as well as scribbled on a gazillion notebooks and scraps of paper. Published in books is the best way for poetry!