Listen closely. Can you hear it? It’s the sound of holidays fading off into the distance as we head into February and get serious about 2012. Now that kids are back at school and kindy, some of us are back at work and normal life has officially resumed, I have a few things to tell you.
Firstly, Mamamia is launching an ebook publishing division. Yes we are.
This is something we’ve been planning since last year and we’re finally ready to share.
We have several books already close to finished, a few more in the pipeline and a level of excitement that is somewhere around 11 on the dial.
Mamamia Publishing is going to be headed up by Rebecca Sparrow – who will shift from her role as deputy editor of Mamamia and become Managing Editor of MM Publishing. Oh, and she’s having a baby next week. Did I mention 2012 was going to be a big year?
That.
Why are we starting an ebook publishing arm of MM? Bec is the author of several best-selling books. I’ve written 3. We’re both passionate about writing and communicating but as authors – as consumers – we’re a bit disillusioned with the traditional publishing model.
We want to be able to reach a lot of people easily and directly. We want to be able to drill down deeper into some of the fantastic topics we discuss here on the site. And with an audience of 500,000 people (mostly women) every single month, Mamamia is in the perfect position to do that. Which is how the ebook publishing idea was born.
We’re finishing off our first two books which will be released in the next couple of months. We’ll be telling you much more as we get closer so stay tuned. Mamamia Publishing is not going to be just books by me and Bec. Some books will, others will be co-authored with other people and some Bec and I will just commission and edit. It’s already begun and we’re really excited.
Other news? I’ve decided that I don’t want to be a TV Host. Sky News were amazing to give me the opportunity to host a show last year. How lucky was that? A blank page, a genius exec producer in the form of Paul Zorzi and the freedom to do stories, interview people and cover issues I was passionate about. I learned more than I could have imagined and parts of it I really enjoyed.
But what I actually learned is that TV doesn’t feed me – not in the way writing does. I’m a writer. It’s what I love and what I want to do more of. TV is a demanding beast and it’s just not for me. Love doing my spots on Today Show – where I’m in and out in less than an hour. Not destined to be a host. So no more Mamamia on Sky News this year.
This year is about the site, my column and books.
Bring it.
If you wanted to catch some more pics from the Marriage Equality dinner, check out the Star Observer gallery.
How is your week going? What’s been going on?
PS: If you’re wondering what “OMM” means in the comments below, it’s short for “On My Mind”.
Top Comments
Wham bam thank you ma'am! The holidays are over and we are all back to work. Including a bumper crop of excellent stories and news from mamamia.com.au! Thank you team for feeding my brain and knocking it back into gear. Best wishes to the lovely Bec Sparrow for your new baby. Looking forward to MM Publishing too.
Here's what been happening for me - and I don't usually post on open posts, but here goes. My partner and I have been trying to get pregnant. This is my second honeymoon with all this - I have a beautiful almost 9 year-old daughter who I raised as a single mother, and my partner and I and her are all SO ready for a new member of the family, and it's so exciting for me to be able to do this with support, when I am actually ready. It's going to mean a lot to all of us in so many ways. We have tried now for a few months, and up until now we'd fallen pregnant - seen the double lines - twice out of three attempts. The first month was a chemical pregnancy (where despite the symptoms and a positive result, a heavy period soon followed) and last December, I had a miscarriage at about 8 weeks. It was awful, but we got through it together, and tried again a month later.
Yesterday I realised I was un-pregnant for the third time. Another positive result a few days ago, all the excitment of realising the miscarriage would be overshadowed by this great turn around in luck! And then suddenly, the symptoms reversed again, and a test hardly showed a second line, and my period came last night.
I know all the positives - I have a wonderful partner so ready to become a Dad (he's already an amazing step-Dad to my daughter), I have a great job, I am healthy, I am still relatively young (33). But I am disappointed, I can't help it. I am a little bit heartbroken. I am also acutely aware that some couples have a truly hard time of conceiving, but it doesn't lesson the ups and downs of what we're going through... It's just - a real shit. I wish I could just progress a pregnancy!
That does feel a little bit better, just sharing.
Sending positive vibes to you for future attempts :)
Take care!
I'm so sorry for your loss Miss Kate Daily. Sounds like you really need to take a little bit of a break. It's OK to fall apart you know. Plus you are blessed with a daughter and that is so precious. Don't give up hope but also allow yourself time to grieve. Best wishes.