So you plan to self-publish your book? How much do you know about publishing, when your craft is writing?
When you dream of holding your book in your hand you envisage something well-made, with a cover that will draw people to it on the bookshelf, with text that you can be proud of: a book that bookstores and readers will want to have on their shelves.
The problem with self-publishing is that this dream is often not realised. You have probably seen some of the scrappy, amateurish results of self-publishing. Don’t let it happen to your book.
Here is your chance to understand all the steps in getting a book from first draft to a really polished product. Once you understand the process, you’ll have a better understanding of what you can do yourself and where you need help, as well as how to go about getting your book from a file on your computer to a physical artefact that you can exchange for money.
Join us at Better for a talk by Dane Bowman, Project Manager at Staging Post, a self-publishing service bureau at Jacana Media. Dane has guided many authors through the self-publishing process and has in-depth knowledge of all the steps involved. He will also be able to answer your questions about self-publishing.
When: Tuesday 21st November, 17:30 to 19:30
Where: The Studio at Better, 91 Oxford Road, Saxonwold
Do you remember the pleasures of scholarship? Uninterrupted time to read and mull over meanings, the slow unravelling of a complex train of thought, the thrill of an insightful new perspective? Remember when you took time to ponder, to stare into the distance while the ideas sank in? Remember thoughtful conversation, sharing new discoveries, debating and finding connections? Remember the pleasure of coaxing an idea onto paper, the luxury of careful re-writing to get it just right?
Slow scholarship, like slow food, is about valuing the process rather than the product. Reclaim scholarship! Take time out from the madness of students and managers to spend a week on that pile of reading; to becoming reacquainted with your thesis or your book. Use the time to explore a new area of research, to plan a sabbatical or just to breathe and daydream a little. Remember why you wanted to be a scholar.
Slow scholarship week at Better is time to savour the delights of old-fashioned scholarship. Each day will include a conversation about scholarship, time to work on your own stuff, time to share what you have read or are working on, and time to write.
Monday: slow scholarship in a fast-scholarship age
Tuesday: the pleasures of reading
Wednesday: mapping and talking about knowledge
Thursday: asking interesting questions
Friday: crafting a meaningful research agenda
The week will be facilitated by Judy Backhouse, an Associate Professor in Information Systems with a research interest in postgraduate education. She has run research writing retreats, postgraduate training and staff development workshops at Monash South Africa and at Wits.
Better is a beautiful space with warm rooms to write in, a sunny balcony and a large garden. Find your favourite spot, grab the free WiFi and settle in. There are snacks, good coffee and a wide range of teas whenever you want them.
Where: Better, 91 Oxford Road, Saxonwold (entrance in Englewold Road)
When: Monday 27 November to Friday 1 December, 9am to 5pm
Cost: R550 to attend for the week. Add R500 to have lunch provided each day or bring your own if you prefer.
Creating is about joy; the satisfaction when you stand back and look at what you have made. Something exists where it did not exist before and you have made an impact (even a small one) on the world.
I’m not talking about great artists and architects. I’m talking about ordinary people who create because they don’t want to be consumers. They want to produce, to “make their own stuff”. They know that the home-baked pie with the slightly burned edge is better than store-bought perfection. These people cook and sew, knit and crochet, write and blog, draw and illustrate, code and tinker, perform and play, not professionally, but for themselves, for their families and friends and for each other.
Making with other makers multiplies the happiness. Sharing creative projects is an opportunity to forge links towards the common goal of a better world, rejecting mass-production for the individual, the hand-crafted, the expression of human ingenuity and capacity. We want to build a better, connected world.
Better is a gathering place for productive people. Come and meet your tribe here. Bring your thread and fabric, your needles and yarn, your pens and laptops, your brushes and ink or your dancing shoes. Come and share the joy with other makers.
Every Tuesday from 9am to midday is our Craft Morning at Better. Bring your latest project or just come and experiment with the tools and equipment we have on hand. Chat to others and find common ground. If you are new to crafting, you will find others who will show you the ropes. We provide basic art and craft materials, sewing machines, some tools and books for inspiration. Bring specialist materials with you or buy from our kiosk.
Tea, coffee, rusks and fruit are on the house, bring lunch along if you like and stay for the day. We have a great garden to picnic in.
You are thinking about getting a PhD, but you are not sure about what is expected, how to go about it and whether it’s worth it. This workshop will help you to decide, and to prepare an application for PhD studies.
Many people want to get a PhD, to wear the red gown and to earn the right to be called Doctor. But it’s not an easy process. Doctoral education takes three to six years so it’s a big commitment. Many start, but few complete.
This workshop will help you to …
Decide if a PhD really is for you
Understand what a PhD is and is not
Choose a PhD program
Find a supervisor and persuade them to supervise you
Choose a research topic
Prepare your application
Prepare a research proposal
Increase your chances of acceptance into a program
Plan for your life as a PhD candidate
This workshop is a great way to start you PhD studies and make sure you succeed.
Who is it for?
All kinds of people do PhDs. This workshop is for you if…
You are employed at a university and are under pressure to get a PhD
You want to get into an academic career and need to improve your qualifications
You are employed outside of academia and want a PhD to differentiate yourself
You are retired and now have time to explore an area of knowledge in depth
You want to reflect on and consolidate your experience and knowledge in a field
You have a long-standing personal dream of being a doctor
You have applied for a PhD before and been rejected
You don’t have friends and family with PhDs to advise and guide you
How does it work?
The workshop takes place over two days. You must attend both days. It is held at Better, 91 Oxford Road, Saxonwold in Johannesburg. We can recommend accommodation nearby for people travelling to Johannesburg (not included in the fee).
The first day of the workshop will be spent learning about the PhD, how doctoral education works and analysing your reasons for wanting to do a PhD. We discuss how to choose a program and supervisor and go through a detailed process for deciding on a research topic. The day is very hands-on and we will have plenty of time to talk about your specific circumstances. We work through exercises examining what the information we share means to you.
At the end of the first day you will be set homework to do that evening, collecting information for and preparing your application. On the second day we will review your application and discuss how to strengthen it. Then we will spend time writing your proposal, discussing your proposal and improving it. This process also gives you a taste of what PhD study is like. We end the workshop by discussing how you are going to adjust your life to accommodate a PhD.
You get…
Two days with an expert on doctoral education answering your questions
Detailed information about what to expect from doctoral education
A checklist of questions to ask when choosing a program and supervisor
A detailed procedure for approaching a supervisor
A template for preparing a short proposal for your application
Insight into how to find and use academic literature to guide your choice of topic
A taste of what academic research and PhD learning is like
A personal review of your CV and academic transcript to identify strengths and weaknesses
A worksheet that helps you plan your life as a PhD candidate
About Judy Backhouse
Judy Backhouse wrote her PhD on Doctoral Education in South Africa, graduating in 2009 from Wits University. She has run workshops for postgraduate students and academic staff on academic writing. She has also run workshops for postgraduate supervisors at Wits University and at the University of Venda. She has worked as the convenor of a PhD program, including screening and interviewing PhD applicants. This course is a result of seeing a lot of bad applications and wanting to help applicants to improve their chances in applying.
Participants in some of Judy’s workshops have said:
“Judy has an amazing ability to create a safe space. Academic writing can feel so scary, and yet she made me feel that I could do it and that I didn’t have to be afraid of asking stupid questions.”
“This workshop gave me so much direction and clarity. I now know what I need to do next.”
Details
Dates: The course will run in January, July and September 2018 Times: 8:30am to 4:30pm Venue: Better, 91 Oxford Road, Saxonwold (entrance off Englewold Road) Cost: R3850 Booking: Contact Candy on 011 327 6098 or create@better.joburg
We all love a good story and puppets are the perfect way to create characters for your stories. Join us for a day of puppet making and story-telling.
We will show you how to make hand-puppets, finger puppets, sock puppets, stick puppets and others. You get to experiment and make your own. Script your play, make the backdrops and share your stories.
Materials will be provided, but do bring along all your mismatched socks and anything else you want to turn into a puppet. Tea and coffee will be provided and lunches will be on sale, or bring your own picnic. Join us for an hour or two or stay for the day.
The Better studio and garden will be open from 10 am to 3 pm for a fun day of making. Make friends too.
When: Saturday 12th August, 10am – 3pm.
Where: The Studio at Better, 91 Oxford Street, Saxonwold
Cost: R250 per person through Quicket, R300 at the door. Children under 12 can attend for free with an adult.
Booking essential. Call 011 327 6098 or mail create@better.joburg.
Programming is a skill much in demand and lucrative. Do you want to add it to your freelance toolkit?
There are many sites out there that will teach you to code, but which do you pick? Exactly which languages and tools do you need to know? How do you get started? And what is the work really like? Will programming work for you?
Freelance software developer, Andrew Backhouse, unveils the mysteries and guides you towards your bright new future in this morning workshop.
Who: Those with no or limited programming experience who want to explore this as a new line of work
Creating is about joy; the satisfaction when you stand back and look at what you have made. Something exists where it did not exist before and you have made an impact (even a small one) on the world.
I’m not talking about great artists and architects. I’m talking about ordinary people who create because they don’t want to be consumers. They want to produce, to “make their own stuff”. They know that the homebaked pie with the slightly burned edge is better than store-bought perfection. These people cook and sew, knit and crochet, write and blog, draw and illustrate, code and tinker, perform and play, not professionally, but for themselves, for their families and friends and for each other.
Making with other makers multiplies the happiness. Sharing creative projects is an opportunity to forge links towards the common goal of a better world, rejecting mass-production for the individual, the hand-crafted, the expression of human ingenuity and capacity. We want to build a better, connected world.
Better is a gathering place for productive people. Come and meet your tribe here. Bring your thread and fabric, your needles and yarn, your pens and laptops, your brushes and ink or your dancing shoes. Come and share the joy with other makers.
The makers gather at Better every third Saturday of the month for a day of crafting (from 10am to 4pm). Bring your latest project or just come and experiment with the tools and equipment we have on hand. Chat to others and find common ground. We provide basic art and craft materials, sewing machines, some tools and inspiration (full list here). Bring specialist materials with you or buy from our kiosk (list of stock here).
Drinks (tea, coffee, wine, beer) are on the house, there will be rolls and sandwiches for sale or pack a lunch if you prefer. We have a great garden to picnic in.
Itching to get creative? Wanting a totally original wardrobe? Trying to express yourself? Join the warm and wonderful women at Better for sewing lessons. (Men are welcome too!)
Come and learn
to use a basic sewing machine
different stitches and what they are for
sewing seams
making cushions, table cloths, aprons etc.
choosing a dressmaking pattern
to choose fabric and work out how much to buy
to use a dressmaking pattern from cut-out to made up
inserting a zipper
making buttonholes
and lots more…
Learn at your own pace with lots of guidance. We have ideas for easy projects for you to start with, before you move on to more complex ones. Choose what you want to make and take your time learning each step. Get help in choosing fabric and patterns and guidance on how difficult a particular pattern will be.
Better has two sewing machines and the tools you will need. We also provide practice fabric; you buy the fabric for any special projects once you start to get really creative.
Stephanie Buys is an experienced dressmaker and owns her own soft furnishings business, Certain Curtains. She will demonstrate techniques and be on hand to guide you through each step.
Enjoy the company of wonderful people and free tea and coffee while you work.
When: Every Tuesday morning 10am to 1pm in the Better studio (starts 20 June)
How much: R250 per lesson (R150 for members of Better). Pay cash or credit card at the door or make an EFT payment before you come.
Booking essential, so that we can plan effectively. Call 011 327 6098 or email create@better.joburg.
Better is a place for grown-ups to play. You must be 18 or older.
Freelancing isn’t for the clockwatcher. It isn’t for those wanting the ‘comfort’ of a job and a regular salary. It is for the brave, the very admirable bold. It is for those who know their value exists beyond being an employee. We all dream of the freedom that self-employment offers, but we also know that freedom comes at a price.
The path you’ve chosen is incredibly empowering, but it can also be profoundly lonely.
It doesn’t have to be.
Join us at #FirstFreelancerFriday, our monthly social get-together for self-employed freelancers of Joburg to meet other freelancers and hear inspiring stories, struggles and successes.
Remember the chats around the water cooler back in the office? We have wine. And snacks. Haven’t managed to escape the corporate grind yet? Come along, we’ll convince you to follow your dreams. Free for Better members / R50 non-members. Tickets here: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/35530-first-freelancer-friday-freelancer-social/
Flow is a mental state of being fully immersed in an activity with a feeling of energized focus, involvement, and enjoyment. When you are in a state of flow, you lose awareness of all other things. The idea of flow was suggested by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi who argues that being in a state of flow is the “optimal experience” of happiness.
The creative flow playshops are about experiencing this state through drawing and painting activities. These are not art classes; rather they are an opportunity to lose yourself, to forget what is going on around you, while you become absorbed in colour, texture, pattern and the act of making. They work for artists and non-artists alike.
If you think you are not creative, these playshops may make you think again. You’ll discover that you can make beauty without any skill in drawing, or training in art. The end result is not what matters, its the process of doing, so you don’t need to judge the “art” you produce. In fact you are encouraged to use the pieces you create to create subsequent pieces. You will cut them up, repurpose and reinvent them throughout the process.
If you are an artist who needs to loosen up and escape your inner control freak, these playshops allow you to explore the unexpected in a safe space where no-one, and particularly not you, will judge the outcome. Be in the moment. Watch the colour meander across the page, going where it will. Play and experiment with new materials and techniques, just to see what happens. Make a mess, make beautiful mistakes. Remember why you love creating.
About Ira
Ira Bekker used to think that being creative is just for the lucky few until she came across the idea of creative flow and never looked back. She currently works as a textile artist using natural plant materials to print onto fabric and is passionate about leading others up the garden path towards their own creative lives.
Details
What: A series of six mornings of play in the Better art studio, enquire for next start date.
When: Wednesday mornings, 9:30 am to 11:30 am
Where: The studio, Better, 91 Oxford Road, Saxonwold
Cost: R1700 for six sessions (R250 per session, plus R200 for materials). Members of Better pay R1280 (R180 per session, plus R200 for materials)
It is essential to book. Call 011 327 6098 or email create@better.joburg. EFT details here.
Note: Better is a place for grown-ups to play, you must be over 18 to join Better or attend events at Better.
Flow is a mental state of being 
Cost: R1700 for six sessions (R250 per session, plus R200 for materials).