198. Why I self-published.
10/10 would recommend.
Dear reader,
For the past 3 years, publishing every week has been a way to think through important ideas. Expressing them to you is an important part of expressing them to myself and in that way making them actually useful.
While away from desk, I am sharing some of the most popular and satisfying posts from 3 years of writing to you.
The SneakyArt Post is
a publication about secretly drawn art of the world and the best ideas from my journey of self-education as a writer and artistcurrently on summer break.
Today I re-share a popular post - about self-publishing my first book of SneakyArt in the town of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA.
I quit my PhD to be a full-time creative. The big goal was to become a novelist, and publish the story that had lived in my head for 3 years already.
… After quitting the PhD program, I worked obsessively on the novel. I wrote and re-wrote, imagined and reimagined, edited more than I should have, changed my mind too quickly for my own good, and produced five separate but incomplete drafts. But I kept hitting a slump.
I realized that I was not able to motivate myself to work for long periods in a vacuum, on projects that pay off only after many years (if at all). I was better suited to work with a quicker feedback loop. [Continue reading]
🎙 Listen to the story of how I quit a PhD program in Neuroscience so I could be a writer instead.
By the end of summer, I had spoken to over 500 people, sold hundreds of prints, and learned some invaluable lessons:
(1) I pitched SneakyArt over 500 times. Every pitch was a little different, tweaked according to what I thought might pique that person’s curiosity. Their facial expressions and comments were my instant feedback. And I began to learn what people cared about. [Continue reading]
✍🏼 Also read Insider #21 - the Path of an Accidental Artist. This Insider post has been brought out of the paywall as part of my promise to ‘learn in public’.
The support of paid subscribers allows me to keep my best writing free for everyone.
My potential audience was limited to the people who lived in or around town, and those who came to study at the local university. It was too small for a traditional publisher to be interested.
But that didn’t mean the book did not deserve to exist. SneakyArt of Eau Claire has two types of audiences - those associated with the town of Eau Claire WI, and those who are fans of my work. While I cannot change the first group, everyday I make the second group a little bit larger! [Continue reading]
🎙 Listen to Ep 62 with Christina Wald, where we talk about her considered thoughts about the current publishing industry, experiences with self-publishing and crowdfunding, and working as an illustrator on traditionally published projects.
If you like to play games, self-publishing is a lot of fun. You get to play many tiny games, with interesting creative choices to make at every turn. [Continue reading]
In the paywalled section of this popular post, I share all the steps of my self-publishing journey and lessons from selling the book directly to customers.
This month with Insiders:
📸 I share experiences from North America’s first sketchbook festival, Sketcher Fest, taking place this weekend in Edmonds, Washington.
🎙 I share links to bonus commentary from the SneakyArt Podcast, where I speak with guests of the show about publishing their work.
✍🏼 I continue last week’s AMA (Ask Me Anything) thread
📫 We do another free art giveaway!
Thank you for reading. I am glad to have a space in your inbox.