Just Shy of Paradise

Just Shy of Paradise
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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Rejections! Book Give-AWAY for you!

I get rejected a lot. Sometimes I feel like a desperate 16 year old boy in search of a date for the prom. About January I start thinking about what pottery shows and sales I want to apply for. Many people don't understand that artists, potters included, don't just pay a fee and show up at a festival. It takes a bit of research to find the shows that will be best to showcase your work. Then you apply with up to a $50 non-refundable fee to say nothing of the booth fee if by chance your accepted. You send slides (now much of this is online) of your work and your booth. Just a fraction of artists that apply to any given show are allowed in. Now I'm not talking about county fairs--I'm talking about bonafied art fests. They are expensive and difficult to get in.
Sometimes I try out a sale. Two years ago I went to an art festival near where our son lived. It bombed. I could have sold more on my front lawn with a handmade sign stuck to a telephone pole. I wasn't rejected in the application process, but my the numerous festival goers with obvious money, who said things like, "Beautiful work, but I don't know how I'd carry it on the plane." If I hadn't been staying with my son's family, I would have lost money on that sale. Last year, we went through the same thing at a Montana show. This one bombed out because of the economy and the weather. Anyway making and selling pottery is not for wimps. And neither is book writing and publishing. Either way you must be prepared for a lot of knocks along the way. Sometimes I get sick of it all, but then every once in a while there's a silver lining. I hear there's a book give away of my newest book on Good Reads. Sun Tunnels and Secrets. And check out Anne Bradshaw's blog. We'll be giving away my first book "A Question of Trust" there. If you don't win, you'll find it on Amazon or you can order it here.

1 comment:

JoLynne Lyon said...

I'm glad I don't have to travel to Montana to buy your pottery. I didn't know the art fair world was as stubborn as the publishing world--hope the summer went well anyway.