Uncategorized Archives - Page 3 of 53

October 17, 2019October 16, 2019

The Email Newsletter is BACK!

The email newsletter is back, and I’m happy to introduce some new things to it!

I had put the newsletter on hiatus for a few weeks because of a fatal design flaw in MailChimp’s system. This design flaw deleted all of my subscribers, with no way of putting them back on the list.

So I deleted my MailChimp account, and started shopping around.

It took a little while to find a good substitute – for a hot minute I was afraid MailChimp had monopolized the free email client market.

But I found two services: Moosend and MailerLite.

I tried to make Moosend work, but it kept rejecting every email I tried to use. See, when you send emails, you need to specify who the sender is. And Moosend kept rejecting every. Dang. Email. That I wanted to use.

“This email is from a free client.” “This email is invalid.” Bleh bleh bleh.

So I didn’t want to dick around with them.

After a little more research, I found MailerLite.

And, for what I need it for, MailerLite has been working marvelously.

It’s a bit of a curve for me to get used to: it has different terminology and layouts than MailChimp. And I had been using MailChimp for like 3 years. So it’s still a process to unlearn MailChimp’s clunky-ass design and use MailerLite.

That said, now that I’m getting the hang of MailerLite, it’s smoother to handle than MailChimp. I also have zero fear of accidentally deleting all of my subscribers. And that’s worth everything right now.

Now that the email newsletter is back, I can bring in some new ideas: like exclusive offers for folks I meet at specific events, and even a Patreon-only newsletter.

That said, here’s the thing:

If you were on my email list before, odds are high that you got deleted. My back-up files were very limited. Not everyone was able to get back on.

So.

If you would like to get email updates from me once a week, you can re-sign up at this link.

If you’d rather not, that’s ok too. There’s still Facebook, Instagram, Patreon, and this blog.

(But newsletter subscribers get the news first when I launch KickStarter campaigns. Plus I make announcements of my convention appearances on the newsletter.)

But whatever choice you make is the right one.

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

October 10, 2019October 10, 2019

Coming to Halloween ComicsFest at New Dimension Comics…

IT’S ME. I’ll be coming to Halloween ComicsFest at New Dimension Comics, yo.

Specifically, I’ll be at the New Dimension Comics at the Ohio Valley Mall in Saint Clairsville, OH.

Halloween ComicsFest will be October 26th this year (that’s a Saturday). There will be free comics, scary comics, ALL THE COMICS.

I’ve got some spooooky deals in the works, like

giving a free sticker to folks who buy from the comic shop and show me the receipt (LE GASP!),
framed original sketches (DOUBLE GASP!),
$3 minicomics and zines marked down to half price (GASPIEST OF GASPS)

These deals will be only at Halloween ComicsFest, so if you’re in the Saint Clairsville, OH area, BE THERE, gosh dangit!

But if you can’t make it, there’s my online store, too. Just know that the online store doesn’t have these Halloween ComicsFest deals.

October 4, 2019October 4, 2019

Email Newsletters Are On Hiatus

So I HAD an email newsletter. The service I used was MailChimp.

I logged in this morning, thinking, “Hey, I should delete the unsubscribers from my contacts. That should improve the open rate on my emails.” So I go to the menu showing all of my subscribers, including unsubscribes and bounces. I go to check the box to select the unsubscribes on the page shown to me.

Little did I know: clicking the “select all” button selected ALL of my contacts, not just the unsubscribes shown on screen.

And, well, all of my contacts got deleted.

Active, inactive, and unsubscribed people – all gone.

THREE YEARS OF WORK. GONE.

Due to a clunky mechanic through my email newsletter service, I have permanently deleted all of my subscribers.

I can’t contact support to fix this because I was on the free member plan. Tech support is only available for people who pay for a monthly plan.

There is no way to get them back on again. So I have to start over. From scratch.

And I’m going to start over with a different email client.

Please bear with me as I get this fixed.

Words cannot describe how disappointed and angry I am at this.

October 3, 2019October 3, 2019

September Convention Reviews in 1 Paragraph or Less

Let’s get right to it!

WEST VIRGINIA POP CULTURE CON

They changed the dates this year and that affected attendance HARD. Had a great time, saw cool peeps, and got to hang out with table buddies whom I would totally have a corner booth with again. Also, corner booths are where it’s at.

8/10, PLEASE get the old dates back!

SMALL PRESS EXPO

HOLY BANANA PANTS a dream come true for me. Had the best table neighbor and assistant, KickStarter gave me incredible freebies, and everyone was AWESOME. But got a case of the con crud after.

11/10, sales were worth the sickness. Wanna’ go again.

FLAMING RIVER CON

Oh good lord I can’t sum up my feelings about this show in a short paragraph. I need a full-on review.

Spoilers: it was emotional chaos.

I can’t number this/10, most likely not going back next year, sorry.

PARKERSBURG POP CON

While tables were REALLY affordable at this show, low attendance was a concern. At least I shared a table with Ben Wright-Heuman again, and our table neighbor helped out by lending me an extra card table for the event.

meh/10, I might actually skip this next year. We’ll see.

That’s all for now! Next I’ll review Youngstown Indie Creator Expo, which is happening this Saturday, Oct. 5.

Thanks for reading.

You. Are. Awesome.

August 29, 2019August 29, 2019

Is Drawing Everyday a Good Goal to Have?

gouache finger painting sketch of an english garden

I used to have the goal of drawing one page in my sketchbook every day. But is drawing everyday a good goal for me to have?

I thought it was the best way to keep my skills sharp, to build material to put into books, and develop story ideas.

But here’s the thing:

I couldn’t draw one page in my sketchbook everyday. Because LIFE happens.

I had a habit tracker all set up in my bullet journal, and when I looked back on the year so far, I discovered something. When it was a convention weekend, or on days when I was backed up on studio work, I did NOT draw a page in my sketchbook that day.

And you know something? I used to beat myself up over that.

Until I decided to let it go.

I made this decision during my vacation in Philadelphia earlier this month. While I was on vacation, I realized that a lot of daily habits I was holding myself to were hurting more than helping.

And one of those habits was forcing myself to draw everyday.

So, I stopped.

And the funny thing is: now I can’t stop drawing!

When I was forcing myself to draw everyday, I was beginning to resent it. It was like a chore.

Now that drawing everyday isn’t a requirement, I can fill up my sketchbook with whatever I want, whenever I want.

Will this stop me from doing Inktober – the artist challenge of making a new ink drawing everyday? Heck no. I still have every intent of participating in Inktober.

But that’s because I WANT to. Not because of an obligation or a habit tracker making me do it.

That’s just me though! What has helped you with your creative practice? Is drawing everyday a good goal for you? Or is it something else? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading.

You. Are. Awesome.