Literary Pixie

By Sammy Ginsberg

Lol! I wrote that whole thing on Friday, and then on Sunday I checked my teaching email, and I got the job at the high school!!! YAYY!!

I have a job after January 9th! Isn’t that amazing! I will be making the dream come true. I am taking steps. I could go to NYC, but I am thinking to wait to go at another time when I have more money and time, and to book way further in advance. Can I book now?

Now I am dreaming about the infrastructure now that I’ll be working with the students. What is the structure of Los Feliz Writers Festival? I started to look up flat organizations and a holacracy structure as alternatives. I also started reading Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown. I have been avoiding certain things, or spending my energy in so many different places. I have this super clear vision!

About the infrastructure to support writers and teachers of writing (and also readers of writing!). I was working on my memoir Burnt Out Bitch, and now I’m wanting to make that social media manifesto. The one about white supremacy values and how we’re accidentally creating them on social media. Using Instagram like a daily journal. How do we use this tool? Thoughtfully, consciously. In a way that improves our relationships? Deepens them?

A weekly friend group that meets every week for dinner. Isn’t that just beautiful. We are all so busy though!

Am I overthinking my relationships? Instead of analyzing? Take action. Do something fun! I checked out Monica, it seems interesting – but I don’t want to pay for it, and I think that I can create something similar on my excel document.

Did I tell you about my whole thoughtloop with Kickstarter and whatnot. Bad things are happening in the world right now. Suicides and shootings. It’s a scary time. But right now, we are at Shut Up and Write. There are 17 people here!

Oh, I gotta look at Derrick’s letter. I have been wanting to do research into social media. And reading the books! I’ll set the schedule soon. Interesting to read the materials on Ingram Self-Publishing course. I am needing to price things! Is there an MBA for yourself? Can my dad help me do it?

My brain is floating to so many ideas and different things. I was trying to be a better friend and family member. To do my relationship inventory. To send a letter and schedule a call with my friends to check-in.

I am also:

• Thinking of my own artist/author platform
  • Exploring posting on Scribd and Wattpad/ sharing my writing there as well as posting it more on social media!
  • Long-term no deadline until you are publishing your book
• Finishing my memoir Burnt Out Bitch
  • Long-term no deadline although would be nice to publish, but I would like to wait to publish it for a year or two after I have proven myself at CSUN Writing Project and at SCTE (whatever that means) and have secured a long-term job.
• Writing freelance articles
  • This is again a self-imposed thing! Honestly, I think it would help me once the book is done or before it’s done? I think there is no deadline on this just a dream of mine and would help with social media things.
• Submitting my work in publications to improve my platform
  • Again no deadline on these things! This is a project in and of itself, I am still building my knowledge and expertise. I still need to test run, to beta, to practice, to make mistakes and don’t want the attention until I have some more confidence, skills and my team.
• Setting up Los Feliz Writers Festival
  • This is my experiment! I am needing flat organizational structure/ holacracy understanding as well as emergent strategies
• Zine tour with Jennifer
  • I would need to finish a zine that I am proud of and can sell and perform. This doesn’t need to be that long! I have so many things I am sitting on! Just need to be beautifully designed and printed.
  • I would love to visit and perform at zine fests. This seems like a small more possible thing! But what zine? My novel is scary and affects my career. I want to do it well! Also the ending is not written.
• Social media and comms for CSUN Writing Project
  • This has paused thankfully until December, but I do want to do some research on this and write my manifesto and things!
• Organizing a writing retreat with Laura
  • I love this idea! And think organizing it in the summer would be amazing. Although I am going to do the Jack Kerouac thing – so maybe a Spring Break trip or a weekend trip on one of those 3 day weekends? I think I would like to plan this with Laura! I wish I could go to Zion! Is there a way? It would depend on the price. I am not working until the 6th… But I would need to leave on the 5th and drive back from Vegas. I think it would depend on cost and if there was a spot. I will talk to Laura
• Poet Laureate stuff
  • Review the letter and create the contract! Then it is done!
• Working at Skylight bookstore and imagining the teen program
  • This is just some dreaming! You have a lot of ideas, just map them out and put them down!
• Being a teacher again and teaching 9th and ELD!
  • My Perspectives and 9th grade and ELD materials online! Gotta see if I can access them, and have a unit ready to go on my schoology!
• Social media and comms for SCTE!
  • I need to do research for this as well! Can I do the Canva academy? What free resources? What books?
• How to see my grandmas and call my grandmas, and meeting with family!
  • I am needing a weekly call. I’ll set it in my calendar! I miss seeing them!
• Doing social media and helping authors/poets with their platforms and social media
  • This is a very long-term project once I have figured out my own system as well as CSUN Writing Project and SCTE!
• Working with Brian on If These Stalls Could Talk, special edition of the Feminist Toilet
  • This is a project that is now until April! I love this project and want to organize the making of the book – If these Stalls Could Talk, Special Edition and post and email poets and writing and organize the launch party!
• Exploring poetry nights and cultural events in LA especially by writers I know!
  • A lot are wrapping up and I am working nights, but I would love to blog about them. I think Jenn is interested in too. She is making cool videos! Perhaps that is a column on Los Feliz Writers that Jenn does? And we go together? We could create a schedule of the events and orgs as the resources and put that up. I will think about asking Jennifer. Same with all the zine festivals!
• Writing reviews of the books that I’ve been reading!
  • I would like to do this! And submit some to publications as well as do little videos and experiment with a weekly book review! I love this a lot. Since I love reading and I love so many books! I want them to be short though!
  • A 3-2-1. Three takeaways, two quotes, one summary.
• Making the most of my time at Skylight!
  • I think just have fun! Listen to the podcast!
• Additional marketing and publicity for Shut Up and Write meeting.
  • Can you print little posters? I think that is the only thing to do, and put it on the other event listings, and send another email to the email list for Los Feliz Writers!
• Burns Night!
  • Gotta sort the poetry out! I need to apologize to Philip!

OMG That is so so so so so many things!!

Clearly impossible to do all the things!

Some of these things are just easy to cross off the list. I’m gonna move them over. Either way this has been helpful. Also, I sent Laura an email about the writing retreat!