Notes from Jenise’s Journey
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Featured Image: Sedona, Arizona. Image by Jenise Cook
(C) Copyright 2015–Present, All Rights Reserved Worldwide
Welcome to my first occasional Newsletter for 2021! Yeah, I know, I know, it’s May 20th. But, I had promised you I wouldn’t send these out very often.
My Subscribers and Readers Helped Me Win!
In my previous Newsletter late last year, I asked my Subscribers, my Scribophile colleagues, and me readers/fans on Twitter and Facebook to vote for my tiny story “The Author’s New Sight” at the online journal Rejected Manuscripts (RIP).
View “The Author’s New Sight” on my Substack
Because of your votes, my story remained in the top-20 most popular works for all of 2020! The editor, Charlie Taylor, has included my story in the journal’s 2020 anthology, a book published and available for sale.
I’m tickled because it was a silly story about the main character’s fading eyesight, and a miraculous surgery. Now, it’ll live on in a book that may, or may not, earn some royalties.
Thank you to those who voted! 🙂
Okay, let’s get rolling with: Publishing News, Reader News, Photography News, and Creative | Maker News!
Publishing News
Literary Journals
January provided new homes to a few of my works. This is good news because now I’m working harder to get published. Why?
I’m following the traditional publication path for my longer works. This means I submit a story or poem, and wait… anywhere from two-to-six months, and then get a Rejection Email. LOL!
So this year, when I announce a publication in a literary journal, it will mean more to me as I’m now competing with hundreds (if not thousands) of my fellow writers. I’ll be working harder at my craft.
I have a list of my works published in literary journals (updated throughout the year) – take a look:
Self Publishing
Due to 2020’s stay-at-home and furloughed situations around the world, hundreds of people have submitted their works to literary journals. Now, the wait for acceptance or rejection after submission can be from six-to-12 months. For some of my works, I want readers to see them much sooner than that. So, in March, I created new areas on my website where I self publish some of my works.
Select the links to read my self-published verses and stories. I’d love it if you’d write a Comment under any work to share your thoughts. I enjoy the discussions!
Check these new sections throughout the year, as I’ll add new works each month. And, feel free to share these links with others.
Reader News
Free eBooks for My Readers
Free eBooks Page
I created a new page on my website, where I make free eBooks available. For now, I’m using the PDF file format only until I learn how to create the other ePub formats.
Free eBook: Filter Words
The first eBook in this section of my Store is the “Filter Words” guide. It was my first new subscriber gift. Now anyone can download it for free!
It can help you with your writing no matter what you write.
Take a look …. share it with others!
Photography News
New, Free Photos
I’ve added three simple images to my free Pixabay.com gallery. That’s where my iPhone and iPad (and some Nikon DSLR) images have a home.
Select the button to view all my images in the gallery. To download, registration is free on Pixabay.
In 2021. I plan to grow my photography craft in new ways, uploading my SLR and DSLR images to an online store where users can purchase my images.
New Photo “Gig”
Early January this year, Mark and I braved 35 degrees Fahrenheit to take photos for our town’s “Polar Splash”. Yeah, people diving into the town’s swimming pool in the morning, in January, in northern Arizona…brrr!
We had a blast! The people who participated were great fun. The town’s Parks & Recreation staff loved our photos. We did a good job telling the story. (We’re volunteers.)
The good news is the weather’s much warmer, now. We’re looking forward to photographing future our town’s events in more pleasant temperatures.
Note: We’re helping our town’s Community Services to build a library of stock photos for their future use.
Creative Maker News
After my writing and photography, this aspect of Jenise’s Journey is progressing, but at a snail’s pace. I’m fine with that right now. There’s been some interest in my one-and-only Greeting Card (thank you!!), and I plan to add more. Stay tuned!
Join the Creative Journey
Thank you for being here as I continue to take steps on my creative journey. I do keep in mind that when I make plans, God laughs. And, that’s part of the adventure. Mark and I have both learned to be flexible, and we look like pretzels some weeks.
New! – Subscribe to My Blog
I’ll be writing blog posts more often, and I’ve added the Feed Reader URL to the sidebar of my website. You can subscribe using this URL:
Share My Website
Please share my website with fellow readers and authors. If you’re on Twitter, I’m @jenisecook where I chat probably way too often.
Invite New Subscribers
If you know of anyone who might want to join all of us on this journey, feel free to invite them to subscribe. I plan to have new, free offers in 2021.
I can’t thank you enough for joining me on Jenise Cook’s Creative Journey! I’m glad you’re here!
Come along on my adventures.
Select the image to join Jenise’s Journey!
