The Christian Article Registry Depository (C.A.R.D.) released last month by the Gold Coast's Josh Hinds and his IT company "Spiders Touch" and already recognised that C.A.R.D. is ideal for editors who are looking for someone to write on a particular subject.
Now they have a wide selection of Christian writers to choose from at their fingertips. Up to now, we have found that internet search engines can only help so much. The person wanting information (on the one hand) or the editor chasing a writer with a particular pedigree (on the other) has to jump from one link to another (it seems to go on forever) tracking it down - and it can be painful, to put it mildly.
This website invites Christian authors and writers to enter their specific details onto C.A.R.D. with their name, profile and article details. Josh Hinds explains that the site is interactive, and it provides easy access by both "surname" and "genre" (or "topic"). The instructions are extremely easy to follow.
So why not sign up a writer friend to C.A.R.D. Along with a terrific photograph.
Photographs
With each C.A.R.D. entry is a photograph of the writer. C.A.R.D. was an initial idea of mine having established Press Service International - the young writer 'columnist' program in conjunction with Christian Today. Herein lies another story entirely. The drama of photographs.
The photographs that came in by the young writers were anything but uniform although 'sample photos' were sent to each fresh young writer. They came back to Press Service International in all shapes and sizes, some full body shots, some at angles, some had photographers standing on the ceiling to get such the 'classic shot', and it turned out to be a dogs breakfast of photographic styles.
So began a long overhaul process which continues so as to get a uniformity of head and shoulder photograph for all of the young writers. These have been duplicated onto C.A.R.D.
It is both drama filled and at the same time, very easy, to get a good head and shoulders photograph of someone. Christian Today's platform from Matthew 5 verse 37, "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No', 'No'" seemed to have a difficult relationship with some of the young writer photographs supplied.
In another words, a lovely image of what each young writer looks like 'today' – this was not to be interpreted as what the young writer appeared as two to three years ago, or as if they were Royals with 400 journalists with long lenses peering at their every move.
The photograph can increase the readership
The point that Christian Today made, was that a lovely photo actually increases the readership of their column. The Christian Today editor has attended several of the young writer conferences in both Australia and New Zealand with his sharp shooting camera (as it were) and even some of those photographs were rejected by some young writers.
These are the steps we undertook to try to retrieve the photograph situation:
1. The Christian Today editor to take fresh head and shoulder photographs.
2. Or, the young writers were encouraged to get someone to take a digital head and shoulder photograph under a tree (removing the shade light issue). Some have done this very successfully.
3. An independent photographic consultant was appointed to help each young writer come up with a photograph everyone could live with. That didn't work at all!
As each young writer in the Press Service International program with Christian Today is a volunteer, the attempt to get a reasonable approach to uniformity has been less than successful. Some young writers are very particular about their image portrayed to the outside world.
At the last young writer conference in September prior to the pizza lunch everyone had their photograph taken (again) and even some of those have been rejected by specific young people.
The lesson: Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating said never to get in the way of a State Premier and a bucket of money - the image of a herd of Northern Territory cattle comes to mind from the film "Australia". Similarly a young writer and a photograph.
The reader is therefore invited to check out the photographs on C.A.R.D. Christian writers, experienced authors and/or editors – you can get your data onto C.A.R.D. – Email or phone Josh Hinds and his team (details below). For information, Josh Hinds and his team can be contacted at:
61 (0)404627299 or at info@spiderstouch.com.au
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html
