Selling when things are shit
I won’t lie, two weeks ago, we wrapped up Ignite Denver a few days before social distancing was the order the day (we were about two days before the venue decided to close up). I thought, “You know this sucks, but things will continue like normal, more or less. It’ll just be inconvenient for a while.” I couldn’t have been more wrong. We’re now in week two of social isolation and self-quarantine. Everything is closed except grocery stores, pharmacies and (here in CO) dispensaries. 180,000 people in CO filed for unemployment last week. Things are shit. People (rightfully so, I mean tomorrow is scary, four months might as well be four years from now) aren’t thinking about conferences. They’re not buying tickets, not signing up to speak. Sponsors are waiting…
A Year and Decade in Review
Welp, we’ve passed the Winter Solstice, and in just a few hours we’ll be saying goodbye not just to 2019, but to the 2010’s. I’ve never been a resolution maker but I do like to look back on what I’ve done, what I wanted to do etc. So where are we (the royal we)? The 2010’s saw the birth of my professional writing career. Technically I’ve been paid for my writing for years, as a copy and tech writer, a resume writer, etc. But fiction, that’s new. Plus I stopped selling my non-fiction writing services years ago. If you’d asked me ten years ago if I thought I’d be a writer that makes money I’d have laughed. If you’d asked if I thought I could ever make a living as…
I Dug up a Skull Yesterday
We had a really nice day yesterday in Denver. Fifty degrees, sunny, a wonderful break from the very wintery weather we’ve had all, well, winter. I worked on my car a bit, did some Chicago Roboto work, worked on some edits to Space Rogues 4: the Horror Story Job, then went to my garden and dug up a skull. A skull??? Don’t worry, it’s no one you know, or anyone I know. You see, we just had major renovations done to our house, and because our house is almost 100 years old, we found weird things in the walls, a cool walking stick, old newspapers, a door used as flooring. I wanted to contribute The original plan was to find a lifelike skeleton to stick parts of between the 2x4s,…
2018 Conferences, Wrapped. Onward!
Warning: This has little to do with writing. Last week, I wrapped up the last of 2018’s 360|Conferences events. 360|iDev, like her sisters; 360|AnDev and Chicago Roboto did really well this year. I’m three for three, turning a profit. That is probably a head scratcher, “Just now turning a profit?” Chicago Roboto launched in 2017. 360|AnDev in 2016. Not unexpectedly, new events struggle to get their footing. 360|iDev has had profitable years but had a super horrible one in 2017. One Horrific Year In fact, 2017 was seriously the worst year of my life. It was horrible. My closing keynote for 360|iDev 2018 touches on it some, I might release it. Last year I got teary on stage thinking “This might be the last time I see these people.” This…
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