Tag: business of art

The Subtle Art of Not Giving Up

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A guest post by Nicole Tone, an author, editor, and all-around wonderful person. Nicole’s latest book, LAKE EFFECT, hits shelves next week! 

In an attempt to try and bring some order to the chaos of my Instagram feed, I’ve been doing a lot of archiving of old pictures lately. All of the ones I thought were so good and cool at the time, I’ve been looking back now and thanking the art gods that I’ve progressed past the days of wine glasses and bad filters. But in my cleaning out of my Instagram, I found pictures of my Lake Effect progress back when I really started writing. In 2013, Lake Effect was barely a first draft I thought I could just query agents with and they were going to help me edit and get the book ready for publishing.

I was Jon Snow. I absolutely knew nothing about the publishing process.

My comp titles in my query were books like The Bell Jar and The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I thought what I was writing was a completely different genre than it actually was. But somewhere, deep down, I knew Sophie’s story was an important one to tell. Sophie’s story wasn’t something I could give up on. Rejection after rejection, I knew that what I had was something special but maybe not something the world was ready for. This was pre-#MeToo, pre-national news covering assault cases on college campuses. So, while Sophie’s story wasn’t a unique one, it also wasn’t a marketable one. Rape wasn’t a subject that was part of the contemporary literature canon despite it being definitely apart of contemporary life.

See, here’s the thing: I’m a survivor of suicide attempts. A victim of sexual assault. The labels I use to describe myself depends on the day. The labels are also the reason I knew I couldn’t give up on Lake Effect. While my story isn’t Sophie’s story by any length of the imagination, I knew her story needed to be told. Years of editing, of querying, of rejections didn’t matter. Well, that’s not completely true. At the time, when rejection after rejection was piling up I was taking them personally. I couldn’t understand no one else thought her story was important.

And that’s the hard part of querying, isn’t it? Feeling like each form rejection that comes in is somehow a commentary on you, on your story, on your writing, on your character’s story. That you — they — aren’t good enough. For me, because I’ve experienced things Sophie experienced, I couldn’t understand why such an important topic wasn’t something anyone want to champion. Was Speak really going to be the only book allowed to be published that tackled the subject?

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But I didn’t give up. I knew in my gut that Lake Effect would find a home somewhere. What I needed was a publisher who was willing to take a chance on the topics covered, and who would be my champion to help me get this book into the hands of readers who would need it the most. What I needed was a small publisher looking to boost voices and stories that were bold and important. What I needed was Pen Name Publishing.

The thing is, all along this whole journey, the thought of shelving Lake Effect never crossed my mind. Something pushed me to keep going, kept telling me this was a book that needed to see the light of day. I’d put too much time, effort, tears, blood, and energy into this book and ultimately that’s what kept me going. Suddenly it wasn’t about finding an agent, it was about finding the best home for me and my book. And I’m so glad I did.

Nicole Tone is a writer, editor, and poet living in Buffalo, NY. You can follower her on Twitter and Instagram @nicoleatone. For more information : www.nicoleatone.com

Social Media By Hogwarts House

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In addition to authoring and brooding, I also am an expert on social media. For today’s blog post, I wanted to have a little bit of fun with social media.

Drumroll…

It’s time for Social Media by Hogwarts House! (yes, the title was a bit of a spoiler.) So, scroll down, find your house, and get your homework to improve your social media presence.

Gryffindor

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Ah, brave Gryffindor.

You’re direct, and focused. Not one to waste time, your social media plan is efficient, and you often use a site such as tweetdeck to manage your site

BUT You lose interest at sites when you’re not “good” at them

Your homework: learn a new site, or skill. Maybe it’s time to tackle Tumblr, or time to work on your coding skills to build a better blog

Ravenclaw

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You have knowledge, and you have opinions. Your social media gameplan is to increase and share those things.

BUT you don’t participate in conversations. You only lecture, link tweets to form mini-essays, and #overuse #any #hashtag #you #can #to #share

Your homework: get social with your social media! Have some fun by complementing other’s artwork/writing/thoughts.

 

Hufflepuff

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Your loyalty and kindness is legendary. Across all your social media platforms, you interact in a kind, genuine way with your friends.

BUT you tend to “follow” more people than you have followers. Content to interact with your closest friends, you have a hard time using social media as anything more than a public version of your Whatsapp/GChat discussion

Your homework: do some self-promoting if you have a book. Or, use a tag like #amwriting to extend your network outward.

Slytherin

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You are flawless.

I kid. I’m a Slytherin too, you see, so naturally, our flaws are harder for me to see. Our cunning minds let us learn new sites easily, and we’re loyal to the friends we meet online.

So what could our homework possibly be?

Uh… we could learn to be a bit humble on social media. No, that doesn’t mean humblebragging. It just means reducing our ego, just a bit, as to not seem like a giant jerk online.

 

There you have it! Is your house accurate? Tell me in the comments!

 

 

How to Jump from One Story to Another

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This is one of those times I’m going to blog about something I’m admittedly struggling with in the hopes it inspires me, (and maybe you too!)

Namely: changing from one creative project to another.

You may have encountered this before. Perhaps you’re trying to draft one story while you wait on edits for another. Or you’ve sent your first manuscirpt out to the query trenches, and now you need to write something new.

Maybe, like me, you’re a debut author who is also trying to write a new book.

It’s not easy, to split your thoughts, your hopes, your creative enegry between two projects. I’ve come up with a few ideas, but I’d love to hear your thoughts too!

  1. Image board!
    I admittedly do this the old-fashioned way, where I print out random things that give me story-related feels, then tape them to a posterboard I hang by my writing nook. It’s a great way to get some visual inspiration. However, most people I know use pinterest… which is the exact same thing, without the whole “attempting not to glue yourself to bits of paper.”
    Here’s a mini version of mine for my new project.Untitled design (1)
  2. Playlist!
    One of my all-time favorite things to do! Simply hop on spotify, or 8tracks, and start adding songs to a list that will give you all the feelings of your main characters.
    Here’s one for my next story: link to spotify
  3. Pretend to be your main character
    Okay. Maybe don’t do this if your main character is a brain-eating zombie or something, but I find a little method acting can be a lot of fun. Maybe it’s eating a food (not brains!) that your character likes, or perusing a store they might frequent. Have fun with it!
  4. Art!
    If you can, draw your characters! Or commission an artist (I’ve found amazing ones on Tumblr!) to draw them for you.
    Here’s a sketch the amazing Linnea did of my new MCs. I love how she captured their personalities too!Untitled

    Okay! So I’ve shared my favorite ways to start a new project. Now, tell me, what are yours?

Business of Art Interview: KT Hanna

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For this installment of The Business of Art, I have the honor of speaking with KT Hanna, an incredible indie-author. Her sci-fi series, THE DOMINO PROJECT, is thrilling. KTs hard work and passion for the story is seriously impressive.
Recently, Kirkus reviewed the first book in the series, CHAMELON and had this to say:

“Hanna takes familiar sci-fi genre elements, such as an outsider network of rebels and emotionless, superhuman companions, and spins dystopian gold… This is a fabulous series opener. A bracing debut that might just knock the wind out of readers.”
Kirkus Reviews

CHAMELEON Domino Project Front with Text 2 (1)

Want to read? You can buy the first book at this link (CLICK!) Or, simply comment on this blog post for a chance to win.

Without further ado, here’s the interview!

C: Hi! Can you tell me a bit about yourself and your career as a writer?

KT:  I’m an Aussie expat and met my husband in an online MMORPG (Everquest 2). I ended up over here in the worst place for my asthma, and have a cat, 2 corgis, and a gorgeous little three-year-old now thanks to him I’ve been writing for a very long time, but have been working at it more seriously for about ten years, and very seriously for the last five. I’ve had two agents, and horrific market timing, so after parting ways with my second agent, I decided to market time myself and release a trilogy that is near and dear to my heart.

C: What skills have you developed as an indie author?

KT: The ability to refresh my amazon page for review numbers over, and over, and… Seriously though – multitasking. I not only have to write and edit, but I have to oversee the cover, and organize promotion, and make sure the books make it to both copy edits and formatting on time… It’s a lot of work, but it’s oddly rewarding.
 (Carrie side-note: KT does an INCREDIBLE job with marketing. Other Indie-Authors should follow her lead!)
C:  I’d love to hear more about how you chose your cover. Could you go into a little more detail?
KT: Actually, I participated in a charity auction and bid on an ebook cover. My awesome cover artist S.P. McConnell, listened to me chat about my book and offered to read it. Then he came to me with a concept sketch and I was sold. His vision of Sai and my world was perfect. He had all the details, right down to the holo equipment in the office, the sheen on the armor, and the way the advertisements reflect off the city domes. I loved the work I’d seen him do, but my cover was even more perfect than I thought.
 

Continue reading →

Not a Clone, Not Alone

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I have a friend who got into a special program at a major company right after college. She, along with ten others, had the exact same job description, and the exact same salary. They were all the exact same age, and lived in the same company-owned housing area. They even had the same company cars. In many ways, they were clones, trained to perform the exact same role with little variability,

I bring this up because… the writing world is NOTHING like this.

Some writers work full-time at a day job, and have extra cash, but no extra time. Some write full-time, but budget carefully.

Some are parents. Some live with their parents.

Some are older, some are younger.

Some have sold ten books. Some haven’t finished their first.

Some are city-folk. Some are small-town people.

All of us are writers. We all dream wonderful dreams and spin incredible stories. We have more in common than we do differences, if we dig down deep enough.

This beautifully multi-faceted community is part of what makes our literature so unique and interesting. If we were all clones, we’d all write the same books, over and over again. Instead, we each write from our own personal truths, sharing and growing along the way.

However, sometimes, in the stew of peoples making up the writing community, it can feel like you’re the only one who’s different. The only carrot among potatoes. Maybe you’re the youngest one in your writing group, or the only one without a significant other. Maybe you had a kid and you’re suddenly in a different time in your life than you’ve been, and it seems like every other writer has plenty of freedom. Maybe you feel lonely, because you live hundreds of miles from any other writer.

Maybe it just seems like there’s a “popular club” and you’re not part of it. It’s not true. You belong here. You’re as much a writer, as much part of the community as anyone else.

Social media can be cruel. We all share the best parts of our lives, buffing and photo-shopping away countless imperfections. We humble-brag and white-lie our way to perceived happiness, all the while battling self-doubt and insecurity.

The independent writer might secretly be as lonely as the remote one.

The writer with an adorable-on-paper significant other might be contemplating a divorce.

We compare our worst days to other’s bests, and we beat ourselves up because of it. We judge and critique others who are not like ourselves, instead of seeing each person as a main character in their own story.

 

Let’s stop. Let’s be kind to each other. When you feel excluded or alone, please know, you are never alone. Someone out there cares about you, even if you’ve never met them. Together, let’s write a new story. Of belonging and acceptance, of building each other up and respecting our differences.

Let’s bond over what we have in common. Our story-telling talents.

I’m going to try harder to do this in the new year, and I invite you all to do the same.

Six Ways You’re Annoying on Twitter (and how to stop)

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Twitter can be really fun. However, it can also feel like walking into a rowdy Wild West bar… that’s on fire. People shouting, hashtags flying about, auto-dms punching you in the face…

Here are my biggest pet peeves in the wild world of Twitter and some way to avoid them.

 1. Auto-DMs

These, for me, are one of the most annoying things out there. It’s like waving to someone across the street and having them chase you down, throwing buisness cards like ninja stars at you. Not fun.

Quick-fix: Turn off the auto-dm and focus on making real connections.

 

2. Humblebragging

“My hubby bought me a latte and a donut, AND people think he looks like James Franco. #blessed”

“I never work out but somehow always fit in a size 0. #luckyme”

“Ugh, having a ten bedroom mansion makes it SO HARD to find a missing sock. Thank goodness for the maid. #crisisadverted”

“Only spent 813 bucks at Whole Foods! That’s what I call pennypinching. #success”

#shutupplease #nobodycares

Quick fix: It’s one thing to share good news. It’s another to constantly mention things that a lot of people don’t have. Ask yourself if you’re sharing a good thing or if you’re bragging to make yourself feel better.

 

3. All Output

Read my book! Read my blog post! Read my joke! Read my mind! LOOK AT MY PHOTOS! LOOK AT MEEEEEEEEEE

(As an extrovert, I’m guilty of this one.)

Quick fix: Try to respond to your friend’s tweets too, or retweet their interesting blog posts. You don’t want your feed to be all you tweeting. Interact.

 

4. Shouting at Celebrities

Just. Don’t.

J.K. Rowling will not blurb your book. Jennifer Lawerence will not marry you. Robert Carlyle will not give you Once Upon A Time spoilers.

Quick fix: First, ask if your tweet is polite enough you’d send it to a coworker. Then, make sure you’re not the 357th person responding to the celeb’s post.

4. Too many hashtags

I #wrote a #book. It’s #fun #magical #YA #Checkitout #amreading #amwriting #amhashtaging

It’s hard to read tweets like this. I catch myself scrolling past them because they look like spam. Also, if you use more than four hashtags, Twitter will actually flag the tweet as spam and not show it in searches, etc. Use minimal, powerful hashtags. (For example, don’t hashtag common words like “book”, instead use tags like #amreading)

Also, respect hashtags created by others. If you see people tweeting thoughts with a hashtag on the end, perhaps like #yesallwomen or #mswl, don’t just assume you can use the hashtag for whatever you want. Some are part of a converstation started by specific people, about specific topics. Some are only used by certain people. For example, #askagent is only for when agents are going to answer questions. Don’t put it on your tweet about a book.

5. Putting other books down/linking authors to negative reviews

*please note, this doesn’t mean “thou shalt not negatively review books”

What this means is A. derailing a book conversation.

Person A: I loved Harry Potter! Best book series ever

Person B: Me too. I wish Draco had a better arc

Perscon C: Fav books ever!

Person D:* tags everyone else in the convo* HARRY POTTER IS STUPID AND YOU’RE ALL STUPID FOR LIKING IT.

Yeah. Just don’t. If the person isn’t asking for opinions on the book, you don’t have to tell them yours. Likewise, be careful about tagging authors in your tweets. If someone is asking for book recommendations, and you tag the author, you’re bringing that author into a conversation where people could end up stating why they don’t like that author’s book

For example

Person A: I need a book with beagle puppies as main characters

Person B: Wishbone series!

Person A: Cool, but I’m looking for books.

Person C: I love BEAGLE MYSTERY MURDERS by @PUPPYAUTHOR

Person B: Yeah but @Puppyauthor writes the STUPIDEST BOOKS EVER.

@puppyauthor goes and cries in a corner.

Quick Fix: Be polite

6. Not Giving Credit to Artists

Twitter person: HEY LOOK AT THIS GREAT ART!

NO IDEA WHO PAINTED THIS BUT IT’S REAL PRETTY, RIGHT?????

Quick tip. If you want to retweet some cool fan art, FIND THE ARTIST. You can use google image search to do so. Not doing so is really unfair to the artist who has done so much work.

So, there’s my biggest pet peeves on Twitter. What are yours?

You Are More Than Your Book

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When I was younger, I could never finish writing a book. Even after I typed “the end”, I’d find a sequel to write, or a spin-off series. In fact, the first seven manuscripts (mind you I started these when I was in 6th grade, so manuscript might be too kind a word) were all directly connected to each other,  featuring the same characters and settings. I simply couldn’t let them go. Their world had become my own.

As my writing journey progressed, that emotional bond to my writing amplified. In fact, some days it seemed my self-esteem was entirely tied to how well my edits went on my book. I’ve noticed this occurring to other writers too, on many different parts of the publishing path. Some might measure their self worth in that request/rejection query pie-chart. Others, in how sizable an advance they receive or how many twitter followers they have. If one is self-published, it’s easy to obsessively watch sales, and let each one impact one’s mood.

But that’s not healthy.

We writers are more than the sum of our manuscript words, or our query stats or our books sales. We are members of families, artists, career-people, athletes and artists.  We’ve achieved so much in our non-writing lives. We’ve bought houses, landed promotions, learned dance moves, taught our dogs to fetch…

We are more than our writing.

So, right now, wherever you are in the writing journey, pause for a moment. Make a list. On paper or on the computer. Include ALL the wonderful things you are, and ALL the things you’ve achieved. Then, keep that list close. Whenever you’re having a bad day editing, or don’t have any book sales, or get a query rejection, review that list.

My list is pinned above my desk. One item on it is “I am a knitter.” And sure enough, I’ve found, on days when the writing is crappity-crap crap, I should pick up my knitting needles to create something new. Something awesome. Something unrelated to my words.

You can do that too. You created amazing words, yes. But you are also an amazing human being, made of so many more parts than just your writing.

 

Go Home, Self-Promo, You’re Drunk

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We’ve all seen that meme of something obviously wrong, and the caption, “Go home, BLANK, you’re drunk,” right? (If not, scroll to the end and witness some lovely examples.)

Well, I’ve got some bad news. Your self-promotional strategy may be drunk too. Pull up a chair, pour a drink of your choice, and listen a metaphor story. Or, scroll past to get to the handy tip sheet on Twitter self-promo without a storytime.

***

Jill is throwing a party. She’s invited friends, including Author Friend Amy, and Bookstore Owner Brandon. Amy has recently released a book. The party starts. As the guests arrive, Amy greets each one with a handshake, and the exact. same. message. “Hiya! Thanks for coming. Buy my book!”

No one listens to Amy. After all, they’ve just met her.

The party kicks off. Someone asks, “Hey, does anyone know anything about ballet? My daughter was–”
“THERE’S BALLET IN MY BOOK!” Amy shouts, sprinting across the room. She’s got the sharp hearing only a desperate, post-launch author could have. “ON PAGE 17! BUY IT!”

No one listens to Amy. The conversation was about ballet shoes. Not books.

Jill, trying one last time to help her author friend out, sets the table so that Amy sits next to Brandon. He’s enjoying his pasta, and hoping his sales clerk isn’t putting copies of Fifty Shades of Grey in the Children’s Coloring Book section again. In other words, Brandon has had a rough day.

“Hey Brandon!” Amy shouts. “HERE! Have ten copies of my book! Autographed! You can give them to anyone!” Amy drops the books onto Brandon’s plate, splattering pasta everywhere. Even if he had liked Amy’s book, he will now always remember it as the book that ruined the one peaceful meal he’s had this week. He had been planning to reach out to Amy, but not until after his dinner.

Brandon the bookseller does not listen to Amy.

The party melts into drinking and dancing. A lovely time is had by all. Except Amy. She’s shouting at no one, standing in the corner. “BUY MY BOOK!” “LIKE ROMANCE? SO DO I! BUY MY BOOK!” “AMAZON loves my book! Here’s a link!”

No one listens to Amy. She is babbling to thin air, about a book no one’s even had a chance to ask her about.

***

This situation may sound extreme, but it’s a mirror of a tactic many author use on Twitter. The insta-DMs as soon as someone follows them, the inserting a mention of their book into every conversation mildly related to them, and the never-ending promotional tweets. This won’t sell any more books than Amy’s attempt will. No one likes to be constantly pitched at, shouted at, or bulldozed over.

Plus, even when I do read a tweet of a book that sounds cool, I view the author’s Twitter page to learn more about her. If her whole page is all promo tweets, I’m less likely to connect to her, and far less likely to buy the book. Selling is about a personal connection. Volume of exposure can’t beat quality of engagement.

Here’s a handy guide to sober up your self-promo

  • NEVER auto direct message new followers.
  • Have at least five normal tweets or replies before sending out another promotional tweet.
  • Don’t jump in unrelated conversations or hashtags to pitch your book.
  • If someone reviews your book and you want to signal boost it, do so once, then keep it on a list of reviews links on your blog.

Promoting yourself on Twitter is a dance, not a boxing match.

If you ever feel like no one listening to your promotion, don’t be like Amy at the party and shout louder. Instead, work on making real, honest connections with other writers, booksellers and readers. Just think of how much more effective that party would have been if she waited until Brandon the Bookseller asked her how she was doing. Then, she could have said, “I’m doing great. I just released a book.” And Brandon, having consumed a yummy dinner, and not having heard thirty shouts about her book already, could say, “Excellent. Would you like to host a workshop and book signing at my store?”

Bam. Success. Well done, sober Amy.

And now, for those drunk memes as promised. (That’s the only reason you kept reading, right?)

.

Recharging Days

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Writers write everyday is a common adage among the author crowd. I’m not so sure it’s true for the rest of the creative world. Surely, an actor is no less an actor if he doesn’t act in a movie every day of his life. Nature photographers can’t photograph beautiful flowers on days the weather is all thunderstorms and hail.

I think the true statement is this: when on deadlines, a writer writes every day.

Deadlines aside, it’s important, I think, to take a break from the project you’re working on sometimes. Even more important if you’ve been working on it for a long time, and you’re hitting a huge stumbling block.

Maybe you’ve sent out 280 queries and haven’t heard from a single agent.

Maybe you’ve been trying to fix a plot hole for six months and your betas are still getting lost in your story’s confusing narrative.

Maybe you’ve totally lost the idea of the story and every word seems like gobbleygook.

This need for space and time away from your art isn’t just a creative person problem. Many professionals tout the benefits of a mental heath day, like in this article from INC.com and this one, from the Huffington Post, provides clear examples of signs you need a break.

So, take a day to clean the house, or go for a run, or knit. At least, that’s how I spend my days off. You might have different hobbies. Clear your mind, and tackle some non-creative pesky tasks on your to-do list. I keep a tab of “worn-out day activities” on my to-do list app, (the incredible 2Do app if you’re curious) so that on mentally rainy days, I can still feel productive by completing little tasks.

But.

Here’s my warning. It’s very easy to let one recharging day become a recharging week. Or a month. And then, suddenly, you’ve lost your flow on your project, and you have no interest in ever putting your butt back in a chair. So, the minute you decide it’s a recharging day, grab your phone or computer, and add a couple timers scheduled for tomorrow and the next day. If you have the functionality, add little reminders about how much you love your creative endeavors. You can even add reminders of what you need to work on next.

Here’s a screenshot of my phone for tomorrow, since I took a break today.

Motivation!

Motivation!

So, that’s my plan to give my brain a break, without losing my place in my writing. What about you? When do you know it’s time for a break? How do you get back to work?

We are stronger than our insecurities.

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A long, long time ago, I promised a post on self-doubt, and how to overcome it. I asked you lovely readers to open up about your fears and worries in the creative world.

And you did. I learned so much from all you, everyone from writes who have never let another person read their story, to published authors working on multi-book deals. Everyone faced very similar fears. Don’t believe me? Check out the word cloud below. Those words showed up in the majority of fears, regardless of “success level.”

wordle

No matter the specifics of the fears, (will anyone like it? will anyone buy it? will I ever make money from it? will I ever find friends?) all the fears came, like many do, from a place of…well, insecurity.

I say that, not out of spite at all. I’m one of you. I’m a ball of insecurity and fears, never sure if I’m enough, if my words are good enough, my jokes are funny enough, my friends like me enough. Every fear you’ve felt, so have I, and so has the rest of the community. Maybe that’s why we’re driven to be creative. We’re looking for “enough.” We’re trying to create something we’re lacking. Maybe that’s why we play gossip games on Twitter, or start cliques. Not because we’re mean, but we’re scared and alone, lashing out like a cornered cat. We’re so sure we will never be enough that we turn our fear on our own creative works, bashing them and calling them stupid.

Here’s the thing. You are enough.

Say it with me.

You are enough.

In your worse moments, when it seems like everyone’s doing better than you, or that you’ll never catch up, that you’ll never have a good day again, or learn the skill to take the work to the next level, say that little phrase. You are enough.

Our business can be a cruel one. It’s full of critiques and rejections.  Some can be helpful. Some can be hurtful. We’re surrounded by our creative idols, whose books fill our shelves, and successes our dreams, and some days it seems like we’ll never be half as talented as them.

Here’s the thing. Your art may always be incomplete, but you are not.

You are complete. You are enough. and WE (notice that word was missing from the word chart) are all in this together. WE can help each other. WE can drive away fears and insecurities together.

We are all enough. Our art is good art. We’ve got this.

❤