From the Compost Heap header. A pencil style illustration of a compost heap with flowers and plants growing around it. A bee buzzes by and a white rabbit hops by.

  • Maker Faire, Autism & New Books

    Maker Fair Check In

    Last weekend I ran a “Make a Zine” booth at the NWA Maker Faire.

    I brought supplies to make zines and also had a display of zines and books for sale. Lots of kids made zines! Three teens. One friend I invited.

    And one college student who made this zine. (I have permission to share.)

    Collaged zine cover reads A thousand miles from nowhere. Handwritten text with dates marked out in red are overlaid with a red flower in a vase surrouned by a handcut white border.
    Handwritten text reads: Ever since I started attending college I knew I didn't fit. I felt like a different species." A collage of bright yellow daisy type flowers is overlaid with a six petaled flower in a peach color. Handwritten text continues: Even now, teachers learning my face first feels like a confirmation, I trample through grass and mushrooms carving desire paths in my wake to get around people moving differently to me. A collage shows a path and yellow flowers, a cup of tea, and a tall glass window with lots of overlapping lines. Text continues: I'm always trying to make space. Space is glued in from a magazine. Writing continues: in a place not meant for me and for a goal I don't yet have. A gift tag is glued in: with love from blank to you. A math equation that means a line rising (I had to ask) points to the back cover.
    Back cover. Handwriting reads: But at the end of the day I sit in chemistry class with a friend. A black and white silhouette of a figure before a window is glued to the page and below it a rainbow.

    Thanks to everyone who dropped by my table.

    The whole event was a great experience.

    Full transparency: I didn’t make any money. I lost about $27 based on the table fee alone. But the money goes to a good cause. I’ll participate again next year.*

    The Autism Spectrum

    The zine that was picked up most often during the Maker Faire was my Spectrum zine about neurodivergence. While our goverment leaders are spreading such harmful misinformation about autism it feels more important than ever to do the opposite.

    You can read (and share) the blog version of the zine here.

    Two zines and magazine clippings on a wooden desk with scissors, gluestick and pencils. Both zines titles are cut out magazine letters: Chaos Gardening with leaf rubbings and Spectrum with a hand painted watercolor color wheel.

    I have a few misprints of my Spectrum zine printed on the wrong paper. Completely readable, but the images bleed through more than I like.

    If you would like to distribute Spectrum zines (either publicly or to friends and family) let me know and I’ll send you a stack of misprints for free.

    You can also browse my library of resources for autism & neurodivergence.

    Whatever our world leaders say we are NOT a horror show.

    Our brains are sensitive, but powerful when given needed supports.

    What is a zine?

    I made a special zine for this event (and September’s zine subscribers) called “How to Make a Zine”.

    And a brand new blog post called What is a Zine? where I share resources on making zines and a peek at my own zine collection.

    Read it here.

    Zine collection spread on table. Visible titles include: Offline, Taking Care of Yourself as an Artist Publisher, Practicing Microresistance in Conversations, Tea, Reality Has, Motherlore, etc. Zines are various sizes and colors. Many have black sharpie on white paper appearance. Others are typed. The most visible are a bright neon risograph texture of seaweed (on the artist publisher book) and a composition book style (the microaggressions book.) Links to each zine are listed below.

    New paperbacks!

    I’ve been working for months on a second edition of Discover Your Creative Ecosystem. And the Maker Faire moved up my timeline.

    This second edition has minor edits (most notably an expanded section about purpose), my new headshot, updated bio, and they/them pronouns.

    These paperbacks are printed by 48 Hour Books and live in my closet. They will each be packaged and mailed by me personally. So I’m happy to sign and personalize them if you like.

    Buy a copy here.

    They are $15 – which is the lowest my book has ever been available for purchase.

    Tap below to watch me flip through the spacious full color interior.

    If you’ve bought the original edition I’ll be sending an ebook version of the updated text soon.

    There was a printing issue with the hardcovers, but I should have those back in stock before the end of the month.

    I’ll be updating Self Publishing 101 soon. I’ve nearly finished testing several Amazon alternatives. They all have pros and cons so which printer is best for your book depends on your goals and budget.

    An invitation to draw together. 🍉

    I’m sending this email earlier than usual because there’s an event this week I want you to know about. Hanna Keiner and Logan Juliano, PhD are hosting a meditative drawing livestream on Thursday, September 11 called Where Do You Draw the Line?

    The event is free, but everyone will be invited to take action from my Palestine Advocacy page in lieu of payment. (There are many ways to make a difference even if you don’t have the budget to contribute financially.)

    I’m really grateful for my advocacy library to be used in this way.

    If you host a similar event or link to it please let me know.

    Ink drawing by Hanna Keiner. Sinuous lines that evoke smoke or waves.
    Image Credit: Hanna Keiner

    That’s all for this week.

    Take care of yourselves. I appreciate you.

    Sarah signed with a swoopy S
    FOOTNOTES

    * I enjoyed meeting the other vendors so much I’ve logged in to Instagram after 8 months off social media. I’d like to be able to more closely follow local events and those I met at NWA Maker Faire. This is a trial period to see if curation, boundaries, and tweaking advertisements can make it a more positive experience. I much prefer RSS, but when there is to RSS feed for certain groups and events I am just missing out.

    Read more: Maker Faire, Autism & New Books

  • I’m not a brand. I’m a human.

    Last year I took two big marketing classes by brilliant teachers and I’ve decided to ignore some of their biggest advice.

    Entering my Human Era.

    I’ve decided to stop trying to be a cohesive “brand.”

    Is this a bad idea? Possibly.

    Would I grow faster if I followed branding advice? Assuredly.

    But it is not for me.

    Over the years I have taken dozens of marketing classes for my many creative pursuits: marketing for wedding photography, marketing for bloggers, marketing for artists, marketing for – – yes, this was an actual class – – weirdos. (That one was actually pretty cool and I would honestly recommend, but I’m still ignoring one of the main lessons.)

    What they all have in common is a bit of homework to describe your business in 3 words (usually in the form of a Venn diagram.)

    So I carve parts of my identity away like Cinderella’s sisters trying to fit into the the glass slipper.*

    Black and white illustration of Cinderella with the price fitting the shoe onto Cinderella

    I love a bit of homework. So I go about this bit of self mutilation quite happily choosing fonts and color palettes that best fit one facet of my persona. 

    I think I’m a decade into online marketing classes at this point. Because I’ve been doing this for a while it has become almost second nature. I don’t even question it.

    “Branding” is just… how it’s done.

    After all it’s not that different than the autistic masking I’ve done all my life. Like many autistics I often find my place in social circles by adding “value.” So this concept was something I am well accustomed to. The homework assignment felt like a no brainer. Show people the stuff they want to see.

    Don’t talk about Dungeons and Dragons in polite company.

    I fragmented my identity into the bits that were marketable. Sometimes I might even create two completely separate “brands.” I did this for marketing reasons, but also to appear less “scattered”, “unfocused”, or “flaky”. I see now that I was trying to hide neurodivergent traits that are classically associated with ADHD.

    Right after my masters degree I splintered into two people. The creative one and the geeky one.

    I started a wedding photography business inspired by vintage books. Meanwhile I was making quirky YouTube videos as one half of Swot Sisters. I’ve never found a way for those parts of myself to really inhabit the same space. Even last year I started two separate Substacks.

    An artsy Substack to talk about creativity. And a geeky space themed Substack to talk about neurodivergence (while weaving in lots of Star Trek and Doctor Who references.)

    I finally merged them last month.

    Over the years I’ve gone through a variety of rebrands. But I never found a “brand” that didn’t pinch like wearing a too small pair of shoes.

    Then something extraordinary happened. 

    Even as I lost people who thought I was a flibbertigibbet.*

    I found myself surrounded by YOU. Curious, creative souls who don’t seem to mind (or actually like it?) when I color outside the lines, show the mess, or pilot the spaceship at breakneck speeds. 

    Buckle your seatbelt because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

    I am done with chopping off pieces of myself to appear more “professional.” I’m ready to put on my Frizzle jumpsuit and get messy!

    Ms. Frizzle from Magic School Bus in three outfits all illustrated with outlandish science inspired designs

    Moving forward you can expect more complexity, more mess, and more contradictory humanity here.

    I’m a human who:

    • makes art
    • writes fiction
    • self publishes books
    • reads sci fi & fantasy
    • teaches theatre at university
    • plays video games
    • home educates
    • bakes sourdough bread
    • tends a messy garden

    Who knows what may bubble up next?

    Cheers,

    Sarah signed with a swoopy S
    Read more: I’m not a brand. I’m a human.