Some Notes on having a Newsletter.

And a line in the sand

1. Having a newsletter is having a place to have thoughts, and it’s a good idea to regularly have your own thoughts.

2. These accumulated thoughts are an asset. First, Because you know what you think, and second because you can package these thoughts. On Substack for example your archives are literally a product.

3. Over time you will grow an audience, which is other people who have your thoughts. They may agree or disagree with them, but they have them. This means you are shaping the world because thoughts shape things.

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I’ve been writing here for almost two years, and the daily notes I have written have accumulated to tell the story of how I became a picturebook illustrator. I’m going through them, annotating and adding footnotes to better tell this story. I think it’s a useful picture of

• how a career change in your forties might look like

• what it takes to turn a dream into a reality

• what it’s like on the inside of the industry

• what it’s like inside the head of an illustrator.

• and practical notes on making art

• and making a life with space for art

I didn’t set out to write this ‘Story’, I just wrote daily. And now it exists. And this is a line in the sand of this newsletter.

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Instead of padding that story any further this is what we’ll be doing:

Each week, we'll explore three ‘new’ ideas - one concept, one insight, and one principle - selected to stretch the boundaries of your creative practice. (And if you don’t have practice it will still stretch your creativity.)

I’m hoping to then turn those ideas into a bit of a discussion. If you’re not subscribed and want that you can.

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Meanwhile, you can find me daily on Substack Notes, The new Substack Twitter-like thing.

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