Right, I know that this will come as a surprise to many of you because I did not advertise this one but yesterday, Tuesday the 28th , I held a pop up stall at the Barclays in Dereham.
If you are a small business and your local Barclays is part of this scheme I really do advice you to get in on it. My local Barclays provided a table free of charge and opposite the glass front door so people could see me the moment that they walked in. All I had to provide was my stock and a chair to sit on.
It went fairly well. I managed to sell two of my books and five postcards in total. The two books went in the morning with the postcards following in a steady-ish trickle. Had a period between 12 and 2 when things went pretty much dead but I've come to expect that. What made hanging on in that period was that I was having to sit there and consider routes to the nearest lady's room on account of a sicky feeling stomach. I've been having nothing but trouble recently with indigestion and it is really beginning to get me down as I have enough problems finding food I can eat with my list of food alleges without having my stomach decide it's going to rebel at the slightest thing.
Still it was a good day, with over twenty pounds collected, though most of that is expense money, especially as I have now dropped my prices. Still it is a fair lump to the account and will hopefully mean that I will soon be able to start stocking different merchandise, which hopefully in turn lead to better sales. I have to hold up my hand though and admit that ,as of yet, I have not started producing the hand made cards. I know that it will probably be my greatest earner but I am still looking for that time turner (if anybody knows where I can collect one please let me know). I have come to realise that there are only twenty four hours in the day and I have to spend eight of them asleep to be up to producing anything. Sigh!
I think one of the most wonderful and frustrating parts of the day was when a businessman (who else would be dressed in a very sharp suit and carrying a brief case) enquired about my products and we talked over my inspirations. Having enquired about one of my bigger prints and the price of it framed (£7-£9) he went to withdraw the cash for it, only for the machine to tell him he had to go on the Internet for some reason. However, instead of buying nothing he bought a couple of postcards so I didn't go home empty handed. Curses you computers for denying my a bigger sale!
Any way, for those of you interested the softback version of my book is on sale at
http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/144687/The-Return-of-a-Nagus?src=hottest_filtered
Wednesday, 29 July 2015
Monday, 20 July 2015
Over Price? Under Price? Definitely Over Working
Report on the St Nicholas Church Craft Fair.
Not good. Not good at all.
The first day I managed to sell three postcards and that was it. After one o'clock it just died, we had no new people come in through the doors after that point. The only good thing was that I was able to use the time to work on some manga fan art that I have been meaning to work on for ages. The manga and anime shop in Norwich on Westlegate has a board on which local fans can display fan art, through which you can be contacted about a commission if you leave your details.
In that respect, I'd say the Japanese are much more sensible about fanfiction and fan art than we are. Apparently in Japan you can make and sell fan art as long as you do not make more than something like £1500 a year at it. It seems to me that the Japanese recognise that fanfiction and fan art only happens when your fans love your work that much, that simply consuming it is not enough, they actually have to engage with the world they love.
Second day did not look to be much better. I managed to sell two postcards and then I didn't sell a thing for four hours! Oh, I had people aplenty wishing me 'best of luck' but not giving me any luck because they refused to buy anything. I was very close to putting my head down on the table and sobbing at more than one point.
As it is, one lady saved my day and probably the state of my mental health. She asked me, 'Do you have any paintings of anything local'. I replied, 'well that one is of Swanton Morley church'. To which she said, 'really?' so I said, 'yes, that's pretty much the view I have out of my back garden early in the morning'. To which she replied, 'O.K. I'll have half a dozen'. To say I very nearly gaped at her is putting it mildly. Thankfully I retained my wits and counted out the postcards.
However, even with that wonderful, wonderful lady I still only sold eleven postcards and one T-shirt so I am recalculating all of my prices. I know the advise is that people value more expensive stuff more and think that its worth more but at the moment I can't get them to buy pretty much anything. Therefore I am dropping my prices of what I sell in person with only the books remaining at the same price. I apologise to anyone who cannot come to my events and therefore have to buy my stuff over the Internet, if Internet buying is more expensive. I cannot afford the monthly payments necessary to have the Premium packages and therefore the websites set the prices.
I am also drawing up a 'sales' poster as that apparently brings people in. It means cutting my profit and therefore my wage, to an absolute minimum but if it gets the sales then ultimately I might actually make more than I am currently.
I also have yet more work to do, on top of rehashing all my prices and therefore posters. The only lady that made any real money there was the lady to my left who makes handmade cards, all of them individual and sells them for £1 each. Having watched her do a brisk trade all weekend, I've decided that I might as well try it. Now I just need some card, some pencils, some little envelopes and some time.
What is this weird thing called free time? I'd like to meet it some time.
Not good. Not good at all.
The first day I managed to sell three postcards and that was it. After one o'clock it just died, we had no new people come in through the doors after that point. The only good thing was that I was able to use the time to work on some manga fan art that I have been meaning to work on for ages. The manga and anime shop in Norwich on Westlegate has a board on which local fans can display fan art, through which you can be contacted about a commission if you leave your details.
In that respect, I'd say the Japanese are much more sensible about fanfiction and fan art than we are. Apparently in Japan you can make and sell fan art as long as you do not make more than something like £1500 a year at it. It seems to me that the Japanese recognise that fanfiction and fan art only happens when your fans love your work that much, that simply consuming it is not enough, they actually have to engage with the world they love.
Second day did not look to be much better. I managed to sell two postcards and then I didn't sell a thing for four hours! Oh, I had people aplenty wishing me 'best of luck' but not giving me any luck because they refused to buy anything. I was very close to putting my head down on the table and sobbing at more than one point.
As it is, one lady saved my day and probably the state of my mental health. She asked me, 'Do you have any paintings of anything local'. I replied, 'well that one is of Swanton Morley church'. To which she said, 'really?' so I said, 'yes, that's pretty much the view I have out of my back garden early in the morning'. To which she replied, 'O.K. I'll have half a dozen'. To say I very nearly gaped at her is putting it mildly. Thankfully I retained my wits and counted out the postcards.
However, even with that wonderful, wonderful lady I still only sold eleven postcards and one T-shirt so I am recalculating all of my prices. I know the advise is that people value more expensive stuff more and think that its worth more but at the moment I can't get them to buy pretty much anything. Therefore I am dropping my prices of what I sell in person with only the books remaining at the same price. I apologise to anyone who cannot come to my events and therefore have to buy my stuff over the Internet, if Internet buying is more expensive. I cannot afford the monthly payments necessary to have the Premium packages and therefore the websites set the prices.
I am also drawing up a 'sales' poster as that apparently brings people in. It means cutting my profit and therefore my wage, to an absolute minimum but if it gets the sales then ultimately I might actually make more than I am currently.
I also have yet more work to do, on top of rehashing all my prices and therefore posters. The only lady that made any real money there was the lady to my left who makes handmade cards, all of them individual and sells them for £1 each. Having watched her do a brisk trade all weekend, I've decided that I might as well try it. Now I just need some card, some pencils, some little envelopes and some time.
What is this weird thing called free time? I'd like to meet it some time.
Wednesday, 15 July 2015
Girls with Autism
No I haven't suddenly become clairvoyant, the TV program of the same name is still on at 10.40pm on ITV tonight but the article I read about it did make me stop and think.
As much as I appreciate the fact that Autism is no longer the elephant in the room, seen, heard but unmentioned, I still feel that it is being misrepresented.
I agree that the autistics that have amazing abilities need to be celebrated so people can see that this condition can be a good thing and the autistics who are struggling beyond belief also need their turn in the limelight so people can understand just how hard this condition can hit a family. I agree with it all but people seem to be gravitating towards believing that you have to be either an autistic savant or a hopeless 'window licker'.
This just isn't the way it is. There are those of us who are walking geniuses and there are those of us who are going to need constant care from birth to death but the greater majority of us are some where in the middle.
The problem for those of us who fall in the middle is that we learn to hide what we are, we learn to blend in, we learn to walk the walk and talk the talk of 'normal' folks. We learn to walk like you, talk like you and all the time we are screaming inside.
I have pushed myself like never before to publicise my book, going to craft fair after convention after fund raiser. I have paid my door fees, smiled the smile, talked to everyone who has come near my stall and managed to sell some of my books and my artwork. And I'm coming home after each one more and more exhausted.
Just last weekend I was at ExiliCon in Cambridge and it was a very gone convention as far as I was concerned. There was a fair number of people without there being hordes, I sold a fair amount of stuff and was told that my postcards are bargains. The train journey there and back was smooth with no hitches and the gap between platform and train was manageable without a ridiculous step up (the Birmingham train stations could take notes). All in all a good day. And I was shattered by the time we made it home. All I really wanted to do was crawl into a corner some where and blub until I'd cried a pond.
But I couldn't. Why? Because of my training.
Sitting in a corner and blubbing until you have cried a pond when you have had a good day is not normal and therefore is not done. Even though I know that it would make me feel better, I can't over-ride the conditioning to 'act normal'.
There are times when I have a raging case of the jealousies at Down Syndrome people. They seem to go through this life oblivious to their differences, accepting the hand that was dealt them without fuss and not questioning why people don't treat them the same way that they treat other people. I can't. I know that there is something that I'm not thinking, not doing, not saying that makes me different from everyone around my and that it makes me an outsider to society.
I know that I am 'wrong'. I don't know how I'm wrong, I don't know why I'm wrong in your eyes, all I know is that some how I am.
To borrow a quote from the great J.K. Rowling:
"It's not so much anything he's done, it's more the fact that he exists."
She could have written that about any Autistic that has made it through state schooling. We try and hide, we try and run but we can never avoid those that would rather we didn't exist.
So the next time you see an Autistic writer, an Autistic artist or an Autistic inventory trying to sell their stuff at a fair or convention, just remember that though we are smiling and chatting and showing off our wears, inside we are a mess of nerves and tension and conflicting instincts all buried beneath the mask of 'acting normal'. We may act normal and you may think 'you don't look autistic at all' but remember, just because we act normal doesn't mean that we are cured, we have just learnt to hide what we are.
Why do we have to hide what we are to get by when people with missing limbs don't?
As much as I appreciate the fact that Autism is no longer the elephant in the room, seen, heard but unmentioned, I still feel that it is being misrepresented.
I agree that the autistics that have amazing abilities need to be celebrated so people can see that this condition can be a good thing and the autistics who are struggling beyond belief also need their turn in the limelight so people can understand just how hard this condition can hit a family. I agree with it all but people seem to be gravitating towards believing that you have to be either an autistic savant or a hopeless 'window licker'.
This just isn't the way it is. There are those of us who are walking geniuses and there are those of us who are going to need constant care from birth to death but the greater majority of us are some where in the middle.
The problem for those of us who fall in the middle is that we learn to hide what we are, we learn to blend in, we learn to walk the walk and talk the talk of 'normal' folks. We learn to walk like you, talk like you and all the time we are screaming inside.
I have pushed myself like never before to publicise my book, going to craft fair after convention after fund raiser. I have paid my door fees, smiled the smile, talked to everyone who has come near my stall and managed to sell some of my books and my artwork. And I'm coming home after each one more and more exhausted.
Just last weekend I was at ExiliCon in Cambridge and it was a very gone convention as far as I was concerned. There was a fair number of people without there being hordes, I sold a fair amount of stuff and was told that my postcards are bargains. The train journey there and back was smooth with no hitches and the gap between platform and train was manageable without a ridiculous step up (the Birmingham train stations could take notes). All in all a good day. And I was shattered by the time we made it home. All I really wanted to do was crawl into a corner some where and blub until I'd cried a pond.
But I couldn't. Why? Because of my training.
Sitting in a corner and blubbing until you have cried a pond when you have had a good day is not normal and therefore is not done. Even though I know that it would make me feel better, I can't over-ride the conditioning to 'act normal'.
There are times when I have a raging case of the jealousies at Down Syndrome people. They seem to go through this life oblivious to their differences, accepting the hand that was dealt them without fuss and not questioning why people don't treat them the same way that they treat other people. I can't. I know that there is something that I'm not thinking, not doing, not saying that makes me different from everyone around my and that it makes me an outsider to society.
I know that I am 'wrong'. I don't know how I'm wrong, I don't know why I'm wrong in your eyes, all I know is that some how I am.
To borrow a quote from the great J.K. Rowling:
"It's not so much anything he's done, it's more the fact that he exists."
She could have written that about any Autistic that has made it through state schooling. We try and hide, we try and run but we can never avoid those that would rather we didn't exist.
So the next time you see an Autistic writer, an Autistic artist or an Autistic inventory trying to sell their stuff at a fair or convention, just remember that though we are smiling and chatting and showing off our wears, inside we are a mess of nerves and tension and conflicting instincts all buried beneath the mask of 'acting normal'. We may act normal and you may think 'you don't look autistic at all' but remember, just because we act normal doesn't mean that we are cured, we have just learnt to hide what we are.
Why do we have to hide what we are to get by when people with missing limbs don't?
Friday, 10 July 2015
Preview Chapter For Sale
Hello everybody!
Have just published a preview chapter at
http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/152643/The-Return-of-a-Nagus-Preview-Chapter?manufacturers_id=7428
This is a 'pay what you want' PDF of the first chapter so if you want to pay nothing you can pay nothing and still get to read the first chapter and see what you think of my story.
Least ways, that is what one of the founding members of Drivethrufiction suggested to me when I met him at the UK Games Expo and I've only just got round to acting upon it. Curse the pile of jobs that is mounting up around my ears, as to add even more to the pile my editor has informed me that I need to add another chapter to the second book. Having face, momentarily, hideous prospect of have to spend days sculpting a whole new chapter from the raw clay of the suggestions she has given me, I bottled out and decided to get this smaller job done first.
If I'd realised how easy it was actually going to be I would have done it ages back. The only reason I haven't done it earlier was because I expected it to take ages to do.
Of course, I do hope that you thoroughly enjoy it and come back for your copy of the full book but even if you don't, please send me a review either at either thevatwork@outlook.com or on my face book page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008627804752
Here's to happy readers.
Have just published a preview chapter at
http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/152643/The-Return-of-a-Nagus-Preview-Chapter?manufacturers_id=7428
This is a 'pay what you want' PDF of the first chapter so if you want to pay nothing you can pay nothing and still get to read the first chapter and see what you think of my story.
Least ways, that is what one of the founding members of Drivethrufiction suggested to me when I met him at the UK Games Expo and I've only just got round to acting upon it. Curse the pile of jobs that is mounting up around my ears, as to add even more to the pile my editor has informed me that I need to add another chapter to the second book. Having face, momentarily, hideous prospect of have to spend days sculpting a whole new chapter from the raw clay of the suggestions she has given me, I bottled out and decided to get this smaller job done first.
If I'd realised how easy it was actually going to be I would have done it ages back. The only reason I haven't done it earlier was because I expected it to take ages to do.
Of course, I do hope that you thoroughly enjoy it and come back for your copy of the full book but even if you don't, please send me a review either at either thevatwork@outlook.com or on my face book page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008627804752
Here's to happy readers.
Sunday, 5 July 2015
Art Galleries And Extra Work
O.K. a new Art Gallery opened on one of the main streets of Dereham recently and as I was in Dereham yesterday I thought that I would pop in and have a look see.
Oh my word, there is stuff in there that is absolutely amazing! Although I'm finally reaching the stage where I can look at artwork like that and not immediately think 'there's no way I'm going to make it in this career', which is a relief.
However, when I enquired about renting a section of the wall, as the Gallery advertises, I suffered a set back. Apparently it has to be 'Original' artwork not (despite the fact that I spotted at least ten pieces up on the wall that said that 'Print' on the label beside them) and they also have to be Bespoke Framed.
Excuse me, but where do you suppose a new, just starting artist who is not getting regular commissions is going to find the money to bespoke frame their artwork? The last time I saw a framing service they were charging £20 for an A4 to be framed. So to get all 12 of my completed originals framed that would be a bill of £240. I don't have that in the business account, at all!
What don't people get? I'm a new artist, I have to display my work so that people will buy it and then I will receive money. However, it appears that I must have money to display my work so I'm running as fast as I can, only to stay stuck in exactly the same spot. Am I the only one who thinks that this isn't right, isn't fair and isn't justice?
I am trying to create myself a job in a country and a world that doesn't have any jobs going at the moment for Asperger Autistic me and for this I am penalised because I didn't have the strength left by the time I finished the AS levels not to have a mental break down, wasn't born to rich parents and don't have a sugar daddy willing to marry me.
The only way around the whole Bespoke Framing thing is if I going out and buy some canvases and paint them up with some original artwork, because the canvases mounted on the walls weren't framed. I know that is output of money but it will probably be a lot less than Bespoke Framing would be and I do produce another load of original artwork. Now I just have to try and find the time in which to do this extra work. (Groans, buries her face in her hands and wishes to go back to bed before she starts sobbing.)
It's an artists life.
Oh my word, there is stuff in there that is absolutely amazing! Although I'm finally reaching the stage where I can look at artwork like that and not immediately think 'there's no way I'm going to make it in this career', which is a relief.
However, when I enquired about renting a section of the wall, as the Gallery advertises, I suffered a set back. Apparently it has to be 'Original' artwork not (despite the fact that I spotted at least ten pieces up on the wall that said that 'Print' on the label beside them) and they also have to be Bespoke Framed.
Excuse me, but where do you suppose a new, just starting artist who is not getting regular commissions is going to find the money to bespoke frame their artwork? The last time I saw a framing service they were charging £20 for an A4 to be framed. So to get all 12 of my completed originals framed that would be a bill of £240. I don't have that in the business account, at all!
What don't people get? I'm a new artist, I have to display my work so that people will buy it and then I will receive money. However, it appears that I must have money to display my work so I'm running as fast as I can, only to stay stuck in exactly the same spot. Am I the only one who thinks that this isn't right, isn't fair and isn't justice?
I am trying to create myself a job in a country and a world that doesn't have any jobs going at the moment for Asperger Autistic me and for this I am penalised because I didn't have the strength left by the time I finished the AS levels not to have a mental break down, wasn't born to rich parents and don't have a sugar daddy willing to marry me.
The only way around the whole Bespoke Framing thing is if I going out and buy some canvases and paint them up with some original artwork, because the canvases mounted on the walls weren't framed. I know that is output of money but it will probably be a lot less than Bespoke Framing would be and I do produce another load of original artwork. Now I just have to try and find the time in which to do this extra work. (Groans, buries her face in her hands and wishes to go back to bed before she starts sobbing.)
It's an artists life.
Wednesday, 1 July 2015
Fair Photos
Right, after far too long I have finally plugged my camera into my computer and downloaded all of the photos I've been taking since May of my various stall at the fairs, rallies and the one convention I've been to.
First up, the display from Diceni May 2015.
My first ever fair and it went very well, with six books selling and a fair amount of interest in my stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed the day, ever if my feet hurt like billie-o that evening. The only down side was that the jigsaw of Dragonic Discussion was a display piece rather than a actual saleable piece as it had come without a box. Note to producers of merchandise, if you advertise as being able to do jigsaws, people expect them to come in a box.
Next was the Eastern German Shepherd Rescue Fund Raiser.
This one was, to not put too finer point on it, an unmitigated disaster. I paid £15 for a pitch that spent most of the day being rained on. I only managed to sell four things all day, not nearly enough to pay back the pitch fee. In short it was not fun.
However, it was made up for by the UK Games Expo in Birmingham.
Despite being horribly long days on my feet and an totally exhausting/terrifying trip there (they obviously don't make train stations with people who are manoeuvring very large/extremely heavy luggage in mind) it was a lot of fun and I did take home a fair sales report. Granted 90% of the money made was expenses but it was still a good top up for my business' account.
I also learn a few thing while I was there, including a better lay out for my stall.
The Friday wasn't the best sale day and when it crept towards an hour and half into the sale time on Saturday I was beginning to panic as I still hadn't made a sale. More out of frustration than with any clear idea in mind, I reshuffled my stock and the sales started coming in. Note to self, customers apparently prefer columns instead of rows.
The most recent was the Swanton Morley Tractor and Bygone Rally.
The first day was made a lot more relaxed by a bigger table, lent by a friend, and our good friend Pat who decided to come along and stay with me as my boyfriend couldn't be there. However, the tables umbrella did not help when the rain decided to pour out of the sky so we had a very interesting time packing up.
This was dealt with on the second day when a load of our family and friends clubbed together to buy us a gazebo.
It was immediately used as it decided to pour it down for half an hour. After that the sun came out so it provided us with some much needed shade. However, the rain clouds didn't seem to leave people's hearts and they continued to have short arms and deep pockets all day. Struggling to make a sale on a sunny day is tiring and a little depressing. You expect to struggle to make the sales on a rainy day but on a sunny day it just gets to you.
Oh one last thing, my self modified top hat.
I had to modify it on account of three people telling me that I looked like an undertaker. Going on the principle of the tale I had to do something.
For those of you who don't know the principle of the tale is this:
The first time someone says, "You have a tale," you laugh it off. The second time someone says, "You have a tale," you begin to wonder. The third time someone says, "You have a tale," you look over your shoulder to double check.
First up, the display from Diceni May 2015.
My first ever fair and it went very well, with six books selling and a fair amount of interest in my stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed the day, ever if my feet hurt like billie-o that evening. The only down side was that the jigsaw of Dragonic Discussion was a display piece rather than a actual saleable piece as it had come without a box. Note to producers of merchandise, if you advertise as being able to do jigsaws, people expect them to come in a box.
Next was the Eastern German Shepherd Rescue Fund Raiser.
However, it was made up for by the UK Games Expo in Birmingham.
Despite being horribly long days on my feet and an totally exhausting/terrifying trip there (they obviously don't make train stations with people who are manoeuvring very large/extremely heavy luggage in mind) it was a lot of fun and I did take home a fair sales report. Granted 90% of the money made was expenses but it was still a good top up for my business' account.
I also learn a few thing while I was there, including a better lay out for my stall.
The Friday wasn't the best sale day and when it crept towards an hour and half into the sale time on Saturday I was beginning to panic as I still hadn't made a sale. More out of frustration than with any clear idea in mind, I reshuffled my stock and the sales started coming in. Note to self, customers apparently prefer columns instead of rows.
The most recent was the Swanton Morley Tractor and Bygone Rally.
This was dealt with on the second day when a load of our family and friends clubbed together to buy us a gazebo.
Oh one last thing, my self modified top hat.
For those of you who don't know the principle of the tale is this:
The first time someone says, "You have a tale," you laugh it off. The second time someone says, "You have a tale," you begin to wonder. The third time someone says, "You have a tale," you look over your shoulder to double check.
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