On the weekend of 14th -16th September I went to the CWIG conference at Reading. One of the many good ideas I took home was the concept of the collaborative blog. (I am indebted to Susan Price and The History Girls for this.)
‘Goose’ illustration by super-talented CWIG committee member Nicola Smee.
What are the advantages of shared bloggery?
- more variety for the reader
- more frequent posts for the reader
- less taxing for each individual contributor
- more readers will come – the followers of the various contributors
I wonder what you’d hear from this?
What might it involve?
Ideally we would want 28 contributors to do one post a month ( as do the History Girls) – the extra days could be covered by guest posts. We could start with one post a week and review in the New Year – or we could trial one-a-day on a rolling basis and see how that turns out.
Nautical bookshelves thrive in my house.
Who takes charge / takes the flak?
I am offering myself as curator in the first instance. I read and research voraciously about the sea and I am willing to edit and post on a simple site.
I don’t want to be Gully-no-mates…
MANIFESTO
- all posts will reflect delight in the sea
- all posts will be suitable for fluent readers – no swearing, no talking down
- writing and artwork in the widest variety of forms will be welcomed – poetry, reminiscences, jewellery, photography, folklore, flash fiction, stained glass…
- concise and attractive posts will be preferred
- all images will be licensed, Public Domain or copyright to the poster – Creative Commons are encouraged
Who wouldn’t vote for this?
- follow & use the Twitter hashtag #seamagic
- ask to join the seamagic facebook group
- email me: kmlockwood AT hotmail.co.uk
- tell anyone you think just might be interested
Pay attention at the back!
- NO commitment yet
- your thoughts are very welcome
- it’s not about direct sales – but contributors can link to their own sites/ books/artwork
What a great idea. I won’t be a contributor but will be a reader. I think that this type of blogging works well and you’ve chosen a brilliant subject.
You already are a contributor by being interested! Thanks, Amanda. You never know – you might manage a one-off mini-post with encouragement.
Such an exciting idea! The sea IS magic — and I love that you’re embracing many different kinds of art. Wishing you lots of luck!
Your encouragement is very welcome – and a guest post would be even more so!
Thanks, Amy.
A wonderful idea – with real breadth. I was at the CWIG conference, too, and have joined another joint blogging site mentioned there. I haven’t written any books that could creep into the ‘sea’ category, even by stretching the imagination to its limits, but I’ll certainly be a reader. Good luck with it.
Delighted to read this – you are contributing by taking an interest! I should also point out that photo-essays, holiday recollections, & reviews of appropriate books would be welcome – and of course, anything you can do to spread the word would be brilliant.
Thanks, Rosemary.
The last sea subject I had to do was for a Bayard game and boy did I struggle with fish faces and fins! Ashamed to confess I’m a landlubber, more specifically a city lover. That’s why I forwarded your FB message to a couple of writer-illustrators who I believe have real sea legs.
That said, I look forward to reading – and commenting too – from dry land!
Bridget – you are so kind passing the invitation on – much appreciated. All readers are very welcome anyway!
Thanks
Such an exciting idea! I can’t wait to see the future posts!
I am so pleased that you like it. I will let you know the launch date as soon as I can.
Thanks!
Lots of lovely potential here, count me in. I never tire of writing about or drawing the sea!