3 things to DO on a book cover

You might feel a bit of deja-vu when reading this article - and you’re right! I shared this article two years ago. Since a LOT of new subscribers have joined since then, I figured it couldn’t hurt to share this refresher for the old guard,

3 things to avoid on a book cover

You might feel a bit of deja-vu when reading this article - and you’re right! I shared this article two years ago. Since a LOT of new subscribers have joined since then, I figured it couldn’t hurt to share this refresher for the old guard,

What would you like to learn next year?

As the end of the year draws near, it’s time to reflect and make plans for the new year! I’ve gotten to work with more authors and publishers than ever this year, and I’ve started doing commissions of Dungeons & Dragons characters. I even got to

How is that social media diet going?

In December last year, I wrote an article about my social media diet. Here are some reflections a year on. Changes I made and what I reverted back to: I never ended up taking a complete break I think that once I’m getting booked solid, I’d

Why do artists give ballpark estimates?

“Hi! What does X cost?” Oof, I wish I knew. It would make my life so much easier. Unfortunately, when I get a question like that, I often need more information. To give you an idea why, here are some elements that make up the price

What do tree trunks and keyholes have in common?

Two years ago, I did a mentorship course called Dream Machine with Chris Oatley. A few weeks in, we were asked to do something that is very scary for a lot of people: we were asked to choose what we’d specialize in. Of course, a lot

How to respectfully disagree

It’s probably going to happen every once in a while if you collaborate on projects. You get an email from someone that makes you think “Uh, no way!!”. You totally disagree. And that’s fine! Disagreements can be solved and can lead to better outcomes. Here

How to ask for help (and get the best results)

I’ve experienced it more than a few times: you ask for help, and you don’t get helpful answers. One example: I once asked in a facebook group whether they’d classify urban fantasy as a romance or a fantasy genre and a lot of people responded

Get over yourself! (Or, the hurdle of of self-promotion.)

Just before I ran a Special Offer on my Patreon, I decided to gauge how many people knew about my Netherrealms project. After a couple of days, the results were in: 75% of Twitter followers (that responded) didn’t know what Netherrealms was or that it

The perks of “just starting”

Anxiety is a crippling state to be in. You ask yourself questions: what should I start with? What is the most efficient? Will people like it? What if I have to redo things? I was inspired to write this by Chanda, who wrote two tweets to

Why I left Instagram

In December 2020, I came across an article by Rainylune that made me decide to quit Instagram. To be fair, I’d been thinking about it for a while, because I wasn’t getting much from the platform compared to the time I had to put in. 

How not working can make you more productive

How many breaks have you taken today? We hear it all the time: taking breaks is important. For some hard-working individuals though, this seems very counter-intuitive. How can not working give you more results? Since increased stress and trouble to “switch off” has been a

Appearances Matter. Boast a little!

George Clooney applauded my speech, while sitting 10 meters away from me, front row in a famous theater in Amsterdam. I announced on that stage that Unicef would receive an extra 1,9 million euros funding for a project they were working on. I have worked

My Social Media Diet – Part 4

I was recently a guest on the Art Condition podcast. In that episode, we briefly talked about taking time off from social media and what it brought me. Because people seemed interested and I had more to say on the topic, I started writing with

My Social Media Diet – Part 3

I was recently a guest on the Art Condition podcast. In that episode, we briefly talked about taking time off from social media and what it brought me. Because people seemed interested and I had more to say on the topic, I started writing with

My Social Media Diet – Part 2

I was recently a guest on the Art Condition podcast. In that episode, we briefly talked about taking time off from social media and what it brought me. Because people seemed interested and I had more to say on the topic, I started writing with

My Social Media Diet – Part 1

I was recently a guest on the Art Condition podcast. In that episode, we briefly talked about taking time off from social media and what it brought me. Because people seemed interested and I had more to say on the topic, I started writing with

Survivorship Bias and why we need to be aware of it

There’s this image going around on the web for a couple years now at least, that illustrates the concept of survivorship bias: The story that accompanies this illustration is that of statistician Abraham Wald, who discovered a case of survivorship bias during World War II. Researchers

Urban fantasy: what does it mean?

One of the most confusing genre definitions I’ve come across in book publishing is “urban fantasy”.  While doing my research on Wikipedia, Reedsy and Goodreads, urban fantasy seems to mean a realistic setting with fantasy elements.  However, when reading an article by a publishing Art Director, it

What social media platform should you be on?

Back in spring this was a big question for me. Instagram engagement had dropped by two-thirds for me with the start of the Covid pandemic and I still felt a little uneasy with Twitter. On Facebook I wasn’t getting nearly as much engagement on posts

How to give feedback (for self-publishers)

So last month, we talked about how to filter feedback that we’re given. This month, I’m going to give some tips on how to give feedback to the artist that you’re working with! Be nice You’d think that this is a given, but unfortunately clients that critique

How to filter feedback

You wrote your first draft. You edited your first draft. You sent your piece out to friends, family or beta readers - and the feedback confuses you. Taking criticism can be difficult. Your first reaction might be “But

Why some gatekeeping has a point

Excuse the inflammatory subject line - but I only have so many characters in a title. Let me explain: Self-publishing in its many forms - be it blogging, publishing an e-book, publishing on Amazon or even organizing your own print runs through Kickstarter - have made

Working from home? Here’s how I do it!

I've been more productive than ever with these methods. Time to share! You might have gotten a million tips already about how to work from home in the past week - but just in case you haven’t, I wanted to give a few tips on how

Graphic designer vs. Illustrator – What’s the difference?

As an illustrator, I often get confused with graphic designers or designers in general. I draw, so why can’t I design a flyer, logo or add text to your book cover? The truth is that graphic design is a specific skill set that requires the mastering

3 things to DO on a book cover

Last month, we talked about not judging a book by its cover. The intent is great, but the fact remains that we DO judge books by their cover. It’s even often a snap judgement that takes a second at most. That means that book covers are a

3 things to avoid on a book cover

Don’t judge a book by its cover. The intent is great, but the fact remains that we DO judge books by their cover. It’s even often a snap judgement that takes a second at most. That means that book covers are a very important part of your

Is digital painting really PAINTING?

Lately, I’ve been talking to people about my work more. People who don’t necessarily know how digital art works. I discovered that a lot of them don’t know that digital painting is just that: painting, but with a digital pen and a screen instead of

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