One last update before I shift into holiday hibernation. Socializing and changes in routine can take a lot of energy for an autistic. So we really prioritize gentle self regulation in December.
A Correction for the Boundary Zine
Last month I wrote about neurodivergent boundaries and shared a printable zine. I noticed that I accidentally left out the section on social supports (pretty important) so I’ve just updated the post. You can re-read and download the new printable zine here. (Everyone who bought a zine will get a little “tip in” of the missing section.)
Festive Recipe Zine
This month I was going to type up some festive recipes when I found the above image of my family’s cranberry relish recipe. I quickly realized most of my family recipes were from the “back of the box” and went down the rabbit hole to collect them all. These zines are going out to my zine subscribers and won’t be stocked in my shop. Just to minimize computer work for me this month.
I was busy all November fulfilling orders for Entwined & Ember (now out in hardcover and paperback!) Thanks so much to everyone who preordered and supported this project.
There’s now a free ebook option for parents in financial hardship. If you’d benefit you can download yours here – no questions asked. (You can also donate a copy if you’d like.) There are also a limited number of paperbacks donated during the crowdfunding campaign.
A note on publishing for a worldwide audience…
I’m using Amazon to print and fulfill orders for Entwined & Ember. I’ve made this choice for to offer affordable worldwide shipping (we have contributors from several different countries) and to make the book discoverable to anyone searching Amazon.
These were the books I needed as a new mum so I’m keen for as many parents to have access to these books as possible.
I want to clarify that orders placed through my website (or the crowdfunding campaign) are author copies and Amazon does not get a cut.
In case you missed it…
I filmed a zine and art unboxing last month. You can watch it by tapping below.
This week I’ve been soft launching two books that I’ve been working on for six years. I crowdfunded these books last spring and have been working on this project since I was postpartum… that’s been six years. It feels like I’ve finally given birth to twins.
Here’s a bit about the books.
Scroll down for more behind-the-scenes goodness. I probably have enough here for whole email campaign, but I’m sending it one email.
Entwined is an anthology of creativity & motherhood weaving together stories from mothers in United States, Mexico, Canada, England, Qatar, and M’chigeeng First Nation. Every mother has their own creative ecosystem. By sharing our stories we hope to inspire you to entwine creativity and motherhood in your own way.
Ember is an art journal companion to the Entwined anthology. It presents a variety of creative prompts (writing, observation, ideating, dreaming, and making) to help parents kindle their creative sparks. There are two versions Ember for Parents & Ember for Mothers.
Free PDF ebooks are available to anyone experiencing financial hardship.
And a number of paperbacks have been donated & can be claimed here.
Resources for Creative Parents
I spent the first two years of parenthood reading everything I could about parenthood and creativity. I still couldn’t find the book I was looking for so I wrote my own – a massive manuscript that became two books and two art journals.
Click here to read the book launch blog hop. Watch the crowdfunding video below for clips of some of the creative parents involved.
If you’d like to support this indie book project here are some ways to get involved.
Leave a review! (This is the best way to help these books reach more parents. Even if you didn’t buy on Amazon that is the best place to leave a review. If we reach 100 reviews we get an algorithmic bump!)
Buy or donate a copy. (If you’re not a parent you can gift a copy to a friend or donate a copy to a parent in financial hardship. If you would benefit from a free copy yourself you can claim one here.)
Tell a friend. (Share this post directly with a parent who would enjoy these books.)
P.S. For those of you who backed my picture book project – it is also nearing completion. Here’s a peek at one of the illustrations in progress by the talented illustrator Gracie Klumpp.
Instagram (at least the current iteration) is dangerous to my mental health. What used to be a light hearted photo sharing app has now turned into another algorithmic dumpster fire.
I tried everything.
I blocked accounts, “curated” my feed, and did my best to train the algorithm. Near the end I even downloaded a social media blocking app to limit my usage to midday.
I was already struggling.
Then the autism news hit.
Nope. I can’t be here. I’m out.
I naively imagined that the next generation of autistics could grow up with less stigma. To know who they are and unabashedly ask for support.
To see that progress purposefully eroded is gutting.
My nervous system simply cannot handle the horrors and catastrophizing on endless algorithmic remix.
And it’s not just autistics under attack. Every marginalized group is in real crisis right now. Science and education have been defunded.
There is a new fresh horror every day.
Read I’m Fine – a digitized zine about self regulation & advocacy
It’s easy to feel helpless when the world is on fire.
Contact your representatives. Tell them autism is not a disease to be cured.
Preorder How it Feels to Me (a picture book about sensory processing.) This is a crowdfunded project I am creating with autistic illustrator Gracie Klumpp.
We just got a new set of proofs and are feeling very excited about next steps. After changing book binders we are a bit over budget – so if you preorder now it will be a big help.
If you don’t need a book yourself you can also choose to donate your copy and we’ll be sure it gets to someone who needs it.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
Image Credit: Hanna Keiner
That’s all for this week.
Take care of yourselves. I appreciate you.
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.
Here’s an update, on How it Feels to Me, the picture book about neurodiversity I’m co-creating with illustrator Gracie Klumpp.
We’ve reached the proofing stage!
I couldn’t be more excited to share a peek our progress!
Before finalizing color palettes and fonts we decided to order an early proof to see how everything looks on paper. Something I’ve learned about self publishing is that early proofs can really help save time by identifying problems early on before they multiply.
Gracie put together a few spreads to test colors, fonts, and print quality. (Pinch & zoom to really get a good look on mobile.)
Lucky we did because we’ve completely changed our printer! (But more about that later.)
Here’s a really fun spread we’re experimenting with.
This is a visualization of sensory modulation that invites the reader to turn the book upside down to see how the levels change.
The next spread continues on from the first page, “All brains are different.”
“Just like all bodies are different.
We can see some differences, like if someone is tall or has curly hair, but we can’t see people’s brains.”
Here’s one more peek at some of the character work Gracie has been doing. I love seeing the concepts I’ve written about come to life!
These aren’t even finalized illustrations, but I’m already in love.
Two days before my birthday I opened a box to find this beauty inside…
Holding the proof in my hands was absolutely magical. It’s real. We are making this book.
And (unfortunately) it’s more needed than ever.*
Imagine my surprise when I opened the cover found someone else’s book inside.
The first 2/3 of the proof were pages from a completely different picture book. 🤯
I immediately texted Gracie to check the second proof. It had a completely different (but equally egregious) error. That edition had a huge white bar down the center.
The way this printer works these books were considered “final” and not “proofs.” †
Needless to say we are investigating different printers.
The quality will be excellent. We’re very happy with the sample book they provided.
But, the books are going to cost more than we budgeted. We haven’t finalized how much this will be yet. 48 Hour Books just invested in new printers and updated prices aren’t out yet. But the difference is considerable.
We’ll also be required to purchase a full print run (with a minimum of 100 books) rather than print on demand. This is the only way for the price of each book to come even close to our original budget.
There’s also the small matter that each proof will now be $40 instead of the budgeted $20. But this price difference ensures books (and proofs) are made with care.
I’m prepared (and able) to cover the difference in cost, but if you’d like to pitch in you can send donations via Venmo. I’ll share more concrete information about the pricing differences once we have that.
Is this the first time you’ve heard about How it Feels to Me?
Here’s a video from our crowdfunding campaign sharing the inspiration behind the book and our goals for self publishing.
If you haven’t preordered a copy yet you can preorder here.
Changing printers will definitely extend our timeline.
But we’re confident it will be worth the wait.
While we wait for 48 Hour Books to update their printers Gracie will continue refining the illustrations. Allowing me bandwidth to focus on proofs for Entwined & Ember (this is a big year for me!)
THANK YOU SO MUCH, each and every one of you, for all the ways you’ve supported this project!
We appreciate you.
P.S. If you’d like to support the project and don’t need a copy of the book you can also choose to donate a copy which will go to a school, library, or a neurodivergent family in financial hardship.**
* The US Government has recently categorized autism and ADHD as “epidemics” and is spreading harmful misinformation. I addressed it briefly in my new post titled, What is Autism?
† The printer was Ingram Spark, for the curious. We’d already dismissed Amazon for the hardcover edition. (Although we plan to release a paperback through Amazon later on to make the book as easy to find and accessible as possible.)
** If you donate a book we are happy to find the book a home or to send it to the school or library of your choice.
A few years ago I started making artwork with a gallery setting in mind (rather than Instagram.) That completely changed the kinds of things I was making.
This will be going out to my paid supporters this month as an experiment. (You can also order one from my shop.)
I might alternate letters and zines depending on what I have to say.
What’s interesting to me is how much this is about intention.
Once I made the work with an art gallery in mind – I can then share it on Instagram. (My “I’m Fine” cross stitch actually went low key viral.)
But the frame in which I formulate ideas changes what I make.
So when I say I’m going “analogue” I’m thinking of creating physical zines on my typewriter. That’s the medium. I’ll send paper copies to paying supporters.
Once I’ve made that I can then archive digital versions of that zine on my website or Internet Archive (like this). I’ll send fewer emails (monthly or quarterly) that point directly to my website and / or compost heap. So the email newsletter becomes a channel to share my work and not the medium of the work itself.
I’m less and less comfortable having the work that I make live on someone else’s platform and this is an experiment I am excited to try.
I’ve been circling around this idea for months now and I finally discovered Mail Blogvia Independent Creative and it inspired me to give analogue a go.
If you’re considering how creating for the Internet in general is informing your work I’d really recommend the book The Medium is the Message by Marshall McLuhan.
In the Studio ✂️
Meanwhile here are a few updates from my creative ecosystem.
I’m also taking a course on sensory regulation with my partner. David and I are painting these sensory regulation cards and I’m very excited about them. (I don’t have it handy, but let me know if you’d like an affiliate link.)
A lot of creative energy is also going into creating spaces for learning.
And I’m also using our new laser printer to design our own handwriting sheets. (We’re saving the paper for a recycled paper bookmark project I’ve been ideating for about 5 years.)
I also made this Wheel of Time inspired snowflake for WoTtober
In the Garden 🌱
Our garden is completely feral.
But these volunteer tomatoes are VERY happy.
Books 📖
Inspired by Hayley Dunlop I thought I might share more of the picture books we’re reading. This one has been a big hit. (No loose teeth yet, but we’re preparing to understand when it does happen.)
You can see another example of The Medium is the Message by these flashbacks to the time I was a “YouTuber.” I’m exhausted just thinking about trying to mask as much as I did in 2016.
The Compost Heap is free to all. Thanks for exchanging your time and energy. If you’re feeling particularly generous here are other ways you can lend your support.
Entwined weaves together stories of creativity and motherhood from mothers on the west coast of America, to Canada, Mexico, and the UK. Contributors include painters, writers, potters, visual artists, musicians, poets, and multipassionates.
Every mother has their own creative ecosystem. By sharing our stories we hope to inspire you to entwine creativity and motherhood in your own way.
New around here? Subscribe for updates from Sarah Shotts about pursuing creativity as a neurodivergent parent. 💌
Shoutout to all of the contributors! 🥰
I’m so honored to have such a brilliant constellation of mothers involved in this project. There are over 55 mothers involved from the writers and cover artists to our editor.
I’ll be turning into goo next week to recover my energy. (Like a caterpillar in a cocoon.) Even gentle book launches are a lot.
Thanks for your patience with the extra emails. We’ll go back to our normal creative compost heaps next month. I just want this book to reach as many mums as possible.
Cheers,
Originally Published to Kindle Curiosity on September 29, 2024
I’m so excited to (finally) open up preorders for Entwined & Ember an anthology and art journal for mums. This passion project has taken a lot of my energy this year along with 55 other mothers who submitted stories, prompts, and art.
I’ve been working at on this book for almost five years.
Here’s the origin story as documented on Instagram.
If you’d rather read more details about the books you can find those here.
It started when I was seven months postpartum.
“Last week when I was journaling I accidentally started writing a book. It’s a creative handbook for new mums. Not a one size fits all method, but a series of reflections and prompts to help other mothers nurture their inner artist.”
I read SO MANY books about motherhood as research.
Books that affirmed creativity is good for mental health. Books that explained the myth of equal parenting. I read about burnout and overwhelm and “the art of doing nothing.”1 I read The Artist’s Way and immediately put it down because I needed sleep more than I needed morning pages.
I took notes on my iPhone. I journaled. I cobbled together the bones of the book I thought I needed. Starting in January of 2020 I went to the library each week to turn these notes into a book while my mom watched David.
Then COVID quarantine hit.
I started navigating a deep depression. I wrote my way through it.2
By June of 2020 I had a rough draft,
“It turns out the three months I took away from this work were actually very helpful. I’ve had enough distance it’s much easier to make cuts and changes. I’ve also spent that time doing more visual art like pottery and weaving and this is informing my book in a good way… This pandemic is teaching me to honor my creative rhythms and that’s no bad thing.”
I made it through one round of edits before I crashed into burn out. Whatever resilience and hyperfocus had propelled me through the early months of the pandemic vanished. My world shifted into survival mode and my manuscript got set to the side.
When I picked it up again it was like a different person had written it. But that space let me see that my manuscript was actually 2-3 books crammed together.
I took the first chapter and expanded that into my first book Discover Your Creative Ecosystem. I launched that book in autumn of 2022 and met my goal to break even with self publishing costs.
I still wanted the book that I needed as a new mum.
I just wasn’t sure I had written it.
Over the next year I considered a lot of avenues for reviving my “creative mama” book. Meanwhile, I was cautious of centering my own narrative because every mama needs different things. Early on in the process I knew I wanted alternate voices in the book, but I wasn’t sure how to weave them in.
Then I considered an anthology.
It was the perfect solution! I completely scrapped 30,000 words of my own and started reaching out to mothers I’d like to collaborate with. When Twiggy Boyer agreed to be our cover artist my vision snapped into place.
The visual team expanded to include Annie King as cover artist for the workbook, Emily Jalinsky for interior illustrated elements, and Jocelyn Mathewes for cyanotype textures.
Truly a dream team!
It was my honor to curate the stories and prompts that came rolling in for Entwined & Ember.
The last year I have been hard at work creating this book, designing the layout, printing proofs, preparing for the crowdfunding campaign, and sending sooooooo many emails to my collaborators.
This book baby has been gestating for almost 5 years and the last year has been one big “push” process.
I am so excited (and exhausted) to reach this phase.
Your preorder signals “social proof” that this is a trustworthy project. The first 30% of preorders almost always come from people who know you directly. Then pledges tip into friends of friends. So it’s more important to pledge now and share later.
If you don’t need a copy you can donate a book to your chosen library or nonprofit. This was a huge hit for our picture book project last year so I’m offering it again. You can also donate a copy to be made available to a mum in financial hardship.
After reading the the best way to help books reach new readers is to post a review on Amazon (even if you didn’t buy it there). Once a book has 100 Amazon reviews it gets an algorithmic bump which will help new people discover it. If you don’t have an Amazon account you can tell a friend, write a blog post, or ask for a local bookshop to carry it.
I’m so honored to have such a brilliant constellation of mothers involved in this project. There are over 55 mothers involved from the writers and cover artists to our editor.
We need your help to bring this project to life!
Here are the best ways to lend your support: preorder, donate a copy, or share!
Brownie points for interacting with posts on social media. Every comment, heart, emoji, or save helps signal to the algorithm that this is worth reaching more people. If you don’t have capacity to write a thoughtful comment I welcome a string of celebratory emojis! 🥳🌿🥰💫
I’m really excited to bring this to life! If you’d like to chat with one of the mother artists on your podcast, Instagram Live, or blog please reach out. I’d love for this project to reach as many mamas as possible.
Cheers,
P.S. If you haven’t watched the crowdfunding video yet do it now! It took 7 hours to edit and was a hyperfocus delight. There are dozens of short clips of everyday life woven together with a peek at our newest proof.
1 Are you interested in a creative parent reading list? I have all the titles saved here.
2 Shoutout to my fellow hyperfocus buds Alexander Hamilton and Lin Manuel Miranda. (Also, why do GIFS only move half the time Substack?!)
Last week I attended NWA Book Fest… my first appearance as an author. Indeed my first gathering of any kind since COVID times. I wanted to take some time to share about that experience.
I’m attempting a bit of writing today while Davy “types” on his new keyboard and iPad app.
I was so busy the week before I didn’t have any time to be nervous. I practiced my reading a time or two, installed the Square Up app to take credit card payments, and put my books in a box.
There was a little bit of scheduling confusion and the event was running early so I was rushed right onto stage within minutes of showing up.
(Not ideal for an autistic. I’m not gonna lie.)
I also expected to be introduced and had only prepared for a reading. Somehow I managed to introduce myself and my book without rehearsal. I think its down to how often I have talked about my book online. Maybe it does get easier with practice. I wouldn’t say I’m captivating, but I did it.
Right after my reading I had a group of blogger friends show up to hear me. They just missed me because of the schedule kerfuffle, but we took a photo anyway.
Then I did a short signing and sold 4 books. 🥳
(Shout out to my friend Lori Lynn who served as my “emotional support extrovert” and helped me make small talk at my signing table.)
It was really nice to see people respond to my book in real time. One woman immediately connected my book to The Artist’s Way which completely made my day. So thankful to everyone who dropped by to take a look.
Some lessons I learned and will be adding to my self publishing course:
Print a QR code to purchase the ebook. (My hardcover is a deluxe edition and more people might have purchased the digital bundle at a lower price point.)
Print my Venmo code. (Spelling it out did not seem to work.)
Have something to hold business cards / stickers so they don’t blow away.
Probably bring a book holder as well. The books kept tumbling off the table and one or two may be damaged.
Here is actual footage of me after the event. 😂
(That’s Odo from Star Trek Deep Space Nine.)
It took a lot out of me.
I realized that this simple brief appearance pushed me to the edge of my capacity and I definitely should NOT sign up for longer events any time soon. (After two hours I felt the way I normally do after a whole convention. )
I believe this is due to…
More sensory overload on a daily basis from parenting.
Diminished social capacity due to socializing with my toddler 24/7. (I’m just going to call him toddler till he turns 4, ok?)
Not going to any events for 3-4 years during early motherhood / COVID times. I am both out of practice at masking and have no desire to return to that level of social performance.
Not only am I “re-entering” the world after COVID lockdowns, but I’m also learning how I want to show up as an autistic human. What does it mean to attend events without pressuring myself to mask (performing excitement, facial expressions, small talk, etc.)?
Even so I was pretty wiped out afterwards. Here is how I reset the next day:
Time alone in the studio. I laid on the daybed and watched Netflix for an hour and then made a collage.
Time with Davy in the backyard.
A long walk with a podcast.
Reading in the bath.
Playing Cozy Grove with Davy. (More on that below.)
I’m still pretty tired, but I feel more or less human again. If I hadn’t been able to take that time I would have stayed in a perpetually burned out / shut down kind of state.
I still struggle with taking time for myself as a parent, but when I do I am reminded of how powerful and restorative it can be.
Of shoes & ships & sealing wax
Other bits & bobs to recommend this week.
Play
First off, I have rediscovered Cozy Grove. I played this a couple of years ago on my phone, but we just purchased it for the Nintendo Switch and I have been playing with Davy.
It’s a really cute and relaxing game.
You’re a scout marooned on an island haunted by (cute) bear ghosts. You run around the island finding things for them and helping them restore their memories. You can also fish and bake and craft and garden. The music and artistic style sets such an atmosphere. Have a peek.
I’ve heard it’s kind of like Animal Crossing, but in my opinion is cuter and more fun. (I tried Animal Crossing after finishing this game the first time and didn’t connect with it.) If you’re a casual gamer and just looking for a way to relax would really recommend Cozy Grove. 🥰
This post by @worry__lines on Instagram is really good food for thought.
TOO Many Tabs
I’ve invented this section as inspiration to browse and close the tabs I keep open on Safari. I am always dangerously close to the 500 tab limit. Hopefully these creative breadcrumbs offer some inspiration.
Illustration
I absolutely love this 1970’s edition of The Sword in the Stone illustrated by Alan Lee. Merlin’s cottage has always been evocative for me and this is just how I’ve imagined it.
I made this discovery while looking for images of my teacher muses for home educating. A few weeks later I bought a copy from ABE Books so I really don’t need this tab open anymore.
Word Nerd
Etaoin shrdlu was used as a “red flag by typesetters to show an error in text, but sometimes it was overlooked and made it into print.” It is the approximate order of frequency of the 12 most commonly used letters in the English language.” via The Dusty Wheel
—
Wait, this is real?
This tab was open because I saw this butterfly on Instagram and didn’t believe it was real. Fact check!
