Authorpreneur Almanac: 365 Adventures in Writing and Entrepreneurship
Evey day this year I am working on my Authorpreneur business and regularly sharing content, ideas, tips, techniques and inspiration for creatives and entrepreneurs (especially writers).
This is the third 365 day project I've done, having completed them for the past three years.
I suffer with 'idea-ism' (hence the name of this blog). Idea-ism is the affliction of having too many ideas.
By doing a 365 day project, I find I can focus my attention and alleviate some of the symptoms of idea-ism and actually achieve my goals. If I don't focus, I tend to get distracted by minutia and the next shiny thing - I move on to other things before seeing through the last thing.
In 2013 I completed my first of these 365 projects. It was called: Project Book 365, something creative everyday with books.
I put a daily update on a Facebook page as I completed each activity:
https://www.facebook.com/ProjectBook365
Projects ranged from deconstructing books, to dioramas in books, book binding and most notably, I publishing my first book, The Bronze Box.
All these small acts of creativity had been packed away gathering dust in a cupboard and this year I'm bringing them back out.
Bristol has more art trails than any other city in the UK, creativity in all its forms is the beating heart of my eclectic home city.
I've exhibited at a couple of trails in the past, but this year will be the first time I've exhibited at Southbank Bristol Arts as an authorpreneur.
Now in its 13th year, Southbank Bristol Arts art trail is one of the oldest and best in Bristol and each year thousands of people flock to this welcoming community on the south bank of the river Avon to see artists in their homes, open studios, community spaces and performances all over the area.
The trail spans the weekend of 16th and 17th May and I'll be exhibiting in the community centre at the heart of this area; The Southville Centre
Check out their website for this years artists listings:
http://www.southbankbristolarts.co.uk/
The trouble is, 365 things is a lot to cram onto a table in a community hall. I've had to be quite selective about what to exhibit. I've tried a few mock ups for my stall:
And I also found some children's books I'd written a few years ago, that my husband helped to illustrate: The Spoilt Princess and Dinosaur Dave. I only have about 3 of each left, so these little beauties are as rare as hens teeth.
The most challenging decision, however, was; which book dioramas to display?
They take up too much room opened up, so in the end, I've decided to pile them all up and invite people to rummage through and discover the secrets inside these books for themselves.
The next problem is what to charge for these random and unique pieces of art?
The physical materials are inexpensive, but making them is fiddly and time consuming and each book is one of a kind.
I've decided to sell these on a 'pay as you feel' basis. In other words, pay what you feel they are worth.
The coolest thing about these dioramas is that when they're on the shelf they just look like any other book, until you open them up...
If you are in the Bristol area during the weekend of 16th & 17th May I highly recommend you visit the arts trail.
There are over 170 local artisans displaying work as well as fun and games and activities for all the family. You can download the trail map here:
http://www.southbankbristolarts.co.uk/download-map
It's free, but bring some cash so you can support some of these local creatives and buy some lovely things or at the very least, enjoy tea and cake at many of the venues on the route selling homemade goodies.
If you do visit, come and say hello to me, I'd defiantly appreciate the moral support. Also, if you tell me that you found out about the trail on this blog, I'll give you a 20% discount off anything you purchase from my stall.
Let's get inspired!
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