You'll Know What I Did Last Summer...

... after reading this newsletter post.

This week, I’ve decided to bore you with all the things I’ve been doing this summer while I took my newsletter break. It’ll sound like I was busy, but truth be told, summer is a quiet time for me, and leaves far too much time for navel gazing. I prefer the quicker pace of autumn, the sense that life is kicking back into gear again.

When I wasn’t navel gazing, I was writing. It’s hard to say where this writing is taking me, but when it takes a solid form, you’ll be the first to know. In the meantime, I did things for which I was gainfully employed, or hoped to be gainfully employed.

Judging A Writing Competition

I had a delightful time judging the memoir section of the Write By the Sea competition, with thanks to Margaret Galvin, a fine writer, facilitator and human being. The process was highly stimulating, and culminated in a convivial chat with my fellow judges in a hotel lobby, where we decided on the shortlist.

Congrats to the winners, shortlisted and longlisted entries, and well done to all who entered. Looking at the process from the inside, the only real insight I can give you is that judges choose with their hearts.

So, if you’re entering a competition, write your piece with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind, and draft the feck out of it. Someday, a judge will experience that joyful lurch in the belly that tells them they’re reading a winning piece of writing, and that writing will be yours.

Devising A Writing Course for Entrepreneurs

I really admire the creativity and energy of entrepreneurs, and many of us creatives also have the right to call ourselves entrepreneurs. The snag about being an entrepreneur is that you have to market yourselves, which most creatives find a pain in the arsenal.

If that’s the way you feel about marketing, you may want to join my Bestselling Content Creation course, which aims to take the pain out of writing marketing content.

You’ll have fun creating a story about your beautiful creations, telling that story on different marketing mediums and choosing just the right words to describe your business.

The course starts on Wednesday 2 October and runs for four Wednesdays on Zoom from 10am to 12pm. Cost is €200, so works out at €25 per hour. There are 10 places left. If you’d like to find out more, drop me an email on derbhile@writewords.ie.

Busy With Waterford Music

My content creation role with Waterford Music has kept me busy all summer, as the role has expanded into admin tasks. I mastered the art of making tickets easily available and adding text to posters and flyers. I also picked up useful SEO tips from our web designer. This was on top of my core role of creating and sending out social media posts and press releases.

Photo Description: This is the flyer that I added text to. The concert details are included in white boxes on a blue background, with logos underneath. If you want to know about the concerts, you can email me on derbhile@writewords.ie.

It’s been a learning curve, with just the right amount of challenge, and interesting people to talk to. It’s made me decide that I want to combine my Waterford Music job with another, similar role, but one that would get me out of the house as well.

This role would nicely fill in the gaps for an organisation that needs PR and admin support, and it would give me the freedom to concentrate on my writing when I’m at home.