I'm getting published! Twice!

I told you a month or so ago about listening to April Bowles-Olin's "Achieving Your Creative Dreams" talk from the Etsy Success Symposium in February. She really inspired me to set some higher goals for my creative business. I told my accountability partner the very next week that I wanted to be published in 2011. It seemed kind of an outrageous thought to me. Like many other creative types, I discount my own work and have a hard time seeing myself as a "real artist." I just make books. But I decided to go for it and committed to submit a book to GreenCraft, a Stampington & Co. magazine that focuses on art made from recycled and reclaimed materials.

But just a few days later, before I'd even started on my GreenCraft project, I got an Etsy convo from a woman at Lark Publications asking me to submit two of my books for a book they are publishing next year about handmade mini-books. Out of the clear blue sky, just four days after I had spoken my goal aloud to my friend! I was completely blown away. I ended up submitting five books, and two were selected. Not the two she had originally requested but two different books. They chose one of my little record books made from a transparent red 45 record. You'll be familiar with these if you've followed my shop for long.


And also a small variation on my versatile travel journal. What a blessing! The book won't be out until April of 2012. I'll blog about it again when it comes out.


So in March, I followed through and hopefully packed up one of my creations to send to GreenCraft. The submission guidelines said they get thousands of submissions, you might not ever hear anything and they may keep submitted work as long as a year. So I was SHOCKED when I got an email a few weeks later that they had selected my book for the August issue! I'm happy that I'd snapped a picture before I sent it off. It's not a great picture, but it's something!

I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to get my work out in a whole new way! I'm excited for what this year will bring.