October 2013

DATES & DEADLINES The Latest and the Greatest Your one-stop spot for insights on our most recent Volume as well as updates on important project developments relevant to your user experience. This month, we focus on summing up Surroundings and communicating Website Developments that make life easier on our Contributors.

Submission Deadline Extension! Nov. 1st, 2013 Publishing Date: Dec. 1st, 2013

THE

Empowerment Through Voice

Updates from Behind The Scenes A lot has been going on to ensure the ongoing success of this project. Learn about what we’ve been up to Behind The Scenes to make it all possible.

Continue to Page 4

FVol. 5 - Theme Announcement!

Continue to Page 2

First Draft Submission: Feb. 1st, 2014 Publishing Date: March. 1st, 2014

FEMALE VOICE

Newsletter

Contributor Spotlight! Spotlight stories, recognitions, and testimonials, from the people who make this project possible—our contributors! This section gives you the chance to get to know our contributors on a more personal level and hear what they have to say about their contribution to this project. Continue to Page 3

Continue to Page 6

SEE PAGE 6 FVol. 5

Decided by You! FVol. 6

DREAMS FVol. 4

Go to our ENGAGE Page and Vote On It!

2

October 2013 Newsletter

Surroundings Sum Up

Website Developments Since the start of our website, we have come a long way in developing it to better suit our contributors and readers. One major focus has been making it easy for our contributors to stay informed as we move from theme to theme. We realize that keeping track of deadlines and updates can be the hardest part of any project, and for this reason we have created a one-stop spot for our current contributors to get all the information they need about theme announcements, deadlines, and any other updates that arise. We call it our “Current Contributors” page. To get there, you must first go to our main Contribute page by simply clicking on the large “Contribute” button located on our homepage. This page contains

The Latest and Greatest

Well folks, it’s been yet another wonderful episode in the history of The Female Voice! When all was said and done, we had a total of 15 writing pieces, 5 artwork installations, and one film, leaving us with a grand total of 21 unique pieces to appreciate and enjoy. Numbers aside, it was the content of the collection of work that impressed us! Anyone who has read through the issue can see that each one of our contributors holds a very unique voice, each with their own energy, information, and insight to bring to the table. Beyond the brilliance of each individual contribution is the eclectic nature of the collection—a true testament to what this project is all about! And we give all the credit to our bold and courageous contributors who

We look forward to having you join us for its release on November 1st . Until then, we hope you will continue to enjoy Surroundings.

make it all happen! Thanks to you, we’re all fired up to make the next volume even more intriguing than the last!

‘Surroundings’ Cover Page Graphic by Rashmi Mool

three main sections for the different categories of individuals participating in our website: New Contributors, Current Contributors, and Readers. If you go to the ‘Current Contributors’ Section and click on any of the three button options provided, you will be taken directly to the “Current Contributors” page where you will have everything you need to stay up-to-date on announcements and deadlines. We also have a button where you can submit your work directly to us from there. Lastly, we are in the process of developing production guides to assist you in your creative process. Guides will be released upon their completion.

3

October 2013 Newsletter

In the Spotlight

Lindsay Priefert Nebraska, USA

Contributor Spotlight!

Yes, that’s right! YOU!!!! We want YOU!!! Every woman is different and has her own unique ideas, perspectives, and stories to share. We are not looking just to publish the most articulate authors, nor the most talented artists (although we will gladly take you as well!). It’s not rocket science that we follow, nor a pedigree that we expect. All we want is YOU, for WHO YOU ARE and your readiness to share that person openly alongside the growing community of females doing the same! Bless us with your presence by clicking the ‘Become A Contributor’ button on the right of this column. We look forward to having you a part of our growing community of explorers, creators, and sharers!

We would like to recognize the following contributors for sharing themselves with us on every publication we’ve come out with so far. Your regular participation in this project is our backbone, and your collective spirit the essence of what The Female Voice is truly about! We thank you for your ongoing involvement in this project and hope that your courage will inspire more females to take the leap and join us on this collective adventure!

Recognitions!

Calling ALL Females: We want YOU!

Hannah Kimmer Brittany Green Noel McCully

Lindsey Mueller Monita Mool Melanie McCully T. Ewing

We promise it’s nothing like enlisting in the military.

Go ahead, Click the button!

Lidya Marug

I can point to a few lessons that have impacted me in the past few years: simple is better; stay present; seek and embrace vulnerability. My involvement with The Female Voice falls squarely in the realm of my third lesson. When I’m scared to do something, personal growth is almost guaranteed. When I was first asked to be involved with The Female Voice, I thought “Wow…that sounds terrifying. What could I possibly contribute?” Over the last few months message from the FV team has been heard loud and clear – everyone has something powerful to say, and everyone has the right to share it. While I generally claim my introversion and aversion to “over sharing” like a suit of armor, I’m thankful for the chance to share what I’ve learned with a broader community. Thanks for offering this space for us to challenge ourselves and share what we know, scary as it often is.

Everyone has something powerful to say, and everyone has the right to share it.

4

October 2013 Newsletter Words from Behind The Scenes

The biggest barrier we face right now is

making our website mobile accessible. We are working very hard to make this possible.

News from our Tech-Master Yes! We have a Tumblr Now!

Welcome New Team Members!

Hello everyone! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Tobi Ewing—the new Social Media and Outreach Representative at The Female Voice. A huge part of making this project a success is ensuring that the work we do is actually viewed and appreciated by others. As such, I would like to briefly inform you of the latest development we have been working on to expand our reach as a website. As many of you know, we have been active on both Facebook and Twitter since the launch of our website. We are now proud to announce the third addition to this online repertoire—Tumblr! For those of you unfamiliar with Tumblr, it is a popular blog server known for how it circulates information among its users. We will be using our Tumblr as a way of (1) expanding our readership and (2) connecting with more bloggers and creative folks who might be interested in becoming contributors themselves! We will be posting links to all of the work featured on our website so that our Tumblr followers don’t miss a beat! We hope that this new development proves effective in helping us continue to realize our mission. Check us out at: thefemalevoice.tumblr.com. See you there! ~Tobi

I am very excited to be added as the first male team member of The Female Voice. My mother as my number one inspiration, I always wanted to do something to support the female community. This is my first baby step towards this goal. Thank you and I look forward to contributing my skills to help make this project a success!

We know how frustrating it is not being able to access our website using your mobile devices. We, too, are quite frustrated by it and are working hard to change this. The issue we face right now is that our website contains flash-based features that cannot be supported by mobile platforms. Now and into the future, we will do everything we can to make sure you are still able to access content from your phones and iPads. For now, what we have done is created a FV Mobile button that will be visible on your mobile device when you access our website online. Simply click on this button, and you will be taken to our current volume whose material you will be able to access in full. You may also access all of our work through our Facebook and Tumblr pages where we will be posting all Volume material as well. We hope these features will provide you with sufficient enough FV mobile access for now. Again, we are doing everything we can at this point to improve this matter and hope that you continue to enjoy the experience and spread the good word despite these particular constraints. Warmest! ~Rashmi

Our Tumblr site is up and running! All published

material will now be accessible here in addition

to on our website.

I first want to express how truly blessed I feel to be a part of The Female Voice. I am very eager for my chance to grow and learn alongside our talented team as I become more actively involved in the editing process. Thank you to everyone for the warm welcome. Arvin Arik

Tech Support

Lindsey Mueller Assistant Editor

5

October 2013 Newsletter

Final Words from Sarah It has been an honor to be a part of The Female Voice for the past several months. Unfortunately, at this time, I will be stepping down as Senior Editor. Before I go, I would like to just say a few words regarding my involvement in the project and what it has meant to me.

I’ve loved being a part of this project and working with you all has been the best part. I’ve always loved to read anything I can get my hands on, from books to zines. It’s of my opinion that being able to interact with the author to assist in shaping the story they want to tell is an honor. Thank you for letting me catch a glimpse of your lives and, hopefully, giving you the feedback you needed to get your stories where they were going. I look forward to future issues of The Female Voice and what they will bring.

Sincerely, Sarah Michelle

Thank you for letting me catch a glimpse of your

lives and, hopefully, give you the feedback you need to get your stories where

they were going.

Keeping Everything in Focus

One of the most powerful things we

can do in life is also the easiest—

spreading the good word!

As you can see, a lot has been going on at The Female Voice. In addition to the significant changes to our team, we are in the middle of a handful of other undertakings to keep this project going strong! While there are many areas of concentration we constantly dance between, the centers of focus for the next few months will be as follows:

Building a publishing process and timeline that supports solid turn out for each Volume we produce. We realize that each one of our contributors is unique in her availability and level of personal interest from theme to theme. We also take seriously the fact that it is your work we are publishing, and as such, you deserve the time and space you require to create pieces that you are truly proud of. We don’t want you to ever feel pressured to submit work, nor do we want you to feel guilty when a deadline arrives and you have nothing to show for it. In light of all these facts, our own workload adjustments, and the approaching holiday season, we have decided to extend our publishing dates on the upcoming volumes, as we have done once before. All the new dates and deadlines can be found on the last two pages of this newsletter as well as on the Current Contributor page of our website.

Significantly boosting our exposure to bring in more readers and contributors. Up until this point, the majority of our energy has been invested in building ourselves internally so that when people do find our website they can see, without much convincing, that it is a website well worth spending some time on. In our beginning stages, it seemed pointless to spend much time promoting something still very much in the making. But now, with the New Year approaching (at least in the mind of a publisher) and nearly a handful of publications to our name, we feel it is time to make more efforts to get our name out there. If we can succeed in doing this, then we can confidently work towards our next goal—getting this thing funded! If we can manage to do this, The Female Voice will be more fortified than ever to live out its mission and vision hard-core! And so, here’s where you come in! If you find meaning in this project and want it to help keep it alive, we ask that you please help us to spread the word about it. This is both the easiest and most important contributing factor to our success as a project. The more people who know about it, the more voices we will hear, and the more hearts and minds we will touch. It’s as simple as that. Please help us. Every voice makes a difference. Thank you. ~Hilary

© FV 2013

NEW Submission Deadline: November 1st, 2013

Publishing Date: December 1st, 2013

Tell your Family & Friends!!

ABILITIES What is it that you can do? That you wish you could,

or haven’t tried yet?

Inside of each one of us is a collection of unique gifts and curiosities that make us the authentic person that we are.

What is it about you—that makes you uniquely skilled?

That allows you to do what you do? That brings you joy? That empowers you?

That gives you courage? And others hope?

Have you accomplished something that you never thought you would? Or acquired a skill, not of your own choosing, which has helped you?

Have you discovered things inside yourself that surprised you? Are there parts of you that you know exist, but that have never been fully expressed?

Capable

able I am

I do what I am moved to do. And what I am meant to do,

I do.

Inside my abilities, inside your abilities, inside our abilities Boldly, boldly, boldly,

We live Inside

ABILITIES!

The last thing we want is to be hounding you on Christmas/Hanukka/Kwanzaa/New Years to get a hold of your submissions and final

drafts! That, and we feel this is a great time of year for us to share what we have already done and work on getting more people involved as both readers and contributors. We will continue to provide you with project updates and other ways you can get involved during this

‘BRAKE’ in publishing. Come February, we will be hitting the gas with full acceleration! Thank you all for continuing to put up with us!

Submission Deadline: February 1st, 2014

Publishing Date: March 1st, 2014

© FV 2013