CONQUERING IMPOSTER SYNDROME from the desk of Laura Murray
8 years ago I was the only female in an office drinks for 7 male members of the executive team of domineering male co-workers, just finding and other employees. Little did they know that I
out I was pregnant and that I suddenly had a was on the edge of pre-eclampsia and my body brand new line manager who blocked me off was starting to fail me. 2 weeks later I handed from speaking directly to the two company my notice in on the advice of my midwife and left executive I had previously had a great working the company for good. relationship with. The business started with
two executives, a coder and uber tech dude That experience, plus others before that which
and me, the graphic designer. It was like this had similar feelings towards me being a female for almost 12 months as the business was in designer in a male dominant office, have played the startup, building stage. Near the 10 month a role in what I have and still have to overcome mark a few more employees were put in place in my work and career right now. and by the 12 month point a new guy came
on the block and amidst my first pregnancy he It has led to and can, at times, still provokes began to treat me like the lowest denominator imposter thoughts of worthlessness in my work. in the office. Once I had got over the initial
period of sickness and constantly running Conquering those feelings to the toilet, I got a bit more of myself back
and began to make future plans for me and During those years I made an incredible friend my little family whilst still driving a 45 minute who has been a steadfast supporter of all my
drive each morning, facing discrimination work, a sounding board and an advocate for in the work place and generally feeling a bit my career and without whom I think I may have worthless in my job. At one point, around the given up long ago. 7 1/2 months pregnant mark, I was asked to
make and carry up two flights of stares, hot He is a great source of encouragement and
he also has amazing creative thinking and
Sometimes we have to take a risk and do the
business that inspires me to be bold in my own
step out of an environment that is choking our
has some wild plans and ideas for work and work.
One of the greatest resources of overcoming
unthinkable or the illogical thing in order to creativity and lean into a step of faith where our passion, skills and character can shine.
imposter syndrome is having someone who
I stand by this statement that you are unique
to become better. They ask you the right
what you have…hopefully there’s more than
knows you, encourages you and helps you questions in order for you to explore your skills
and improve them without feeling inferior, they
and there is someone out there who needs one someone.
tell people about you and send you referrals
Never give up on finding that yellow brick
in return and never see you as a threat but a
in a place that squeezes the life from us but
and they give you advice, ask for your advice partner.
“Iron sharpens iron” is a profound proverb
from the bible and it’s so true. Find someone
road, we should never feel obligated to stay we should always feel free to find that wide
open space where our skills are sharpened, enhanced, encouraged and promoted.
who sharpens you when you rub shoulders
Find your iron man or iron woman
down.
As i’ve already said “iron sharpens iron” and
Conquering Imposter Syndrome
male dominated world, the person I mentioned
and get far, far away from those who dull you
Feeling like an imposter in your field of work
or your profession can be a heartbreaking and deflating reality that many people live with on a daily basis.
Fighting a male dominant workplace to get my voice heard ultimately cemented in my mind
although I felt squeezed and deflated in this above was actually a male co-worker. He
didn’t work alongside me in the business/time I mentioned above, but in the years before
he became a great friend, and once I left that company at 7 1/2 months pregnant, he encouraged me to kick start Peanut and has helped me immensely over the past 8 years.
that I would never allow myself to be in that
You need to find yourself an iron man or an iron
well paid and secure job and exchange that to
you. Don’t let dullness be your every day; it’s
position again, that I would sacrifice a full time, be self employed, with uncertain security but with a focus on raising my children with strong
and equal values towards their piers so that
they would never have to feel the way I felt all those years ago.
woman who can stand with you and sharpen
time to sharpen up, let the sparks fly and shine out in all your uniqueness.
Don’t give into to those imposter feelings. The world needs YOU.
Photo source; Unsplash by Etienne Girardet
PODCASTS, PROMISES & CHINESE 5 SPICE. by Carol Barwick
Chinese 5 spice has alot to answer for.
business and had been selected to do a Christian business course called The Lions
I first fell in love with podcasts when I heard where I would learn how to upscale Raise The Horne Section podcast an innovative and and really step into a new thing.
hilarious improvisation show lead by Alex I did step into a new thing but it wasn’t Horne from the Taskmaster programmes. It what I had envisaged... provided me with creativity and originality
every episode, taking celebrities through In March 2020 as I’m sure you’re aware a
a variety of musical tasks and showcasing little thing called a Global Pandemic hit. songs such as the genius “Chinese 5 spice”.
And I got Covid in the first wave in March.
I knew immediately that if I ever had my own It was relatively mild with a bad cough podcast that’s what it would have to be; but felt manageable; however I started creative, original and leaving the listener developing chronic fatigue and thereafter
feeling that little bit better than when they followed a raft of symptoms that have left started!
me a completely changed person 2 years
But when would I ever have time to start a on.
podcast? I ran 3 choirs - community, youth My Raise business crumbled before my and intergenerational - I did 4 story time eyes and new plans needed to be created.
sessions weekly all with self created songs I didn’t feel able to run my choirs online and a bit of youth work for good measure! as this took too much energy, now in very This all happened under the umbrella of my short supply, but I did feel able to manage business “Raise”. I was in the prime of my individual singing lessons so I started doing
those. A few months in a podcast challenge appeared on FB and long story short over the next year I did that challenge 3 times! By the end of the third time and with alot of
help from my friends and the support of The Lions course I was ready to launch my first official podcast episode.
As I said to begin with, my caveat was that it had to be original, creative and leave people
feeling good. I decided that I would write an improvised poem for every guest and that
each episode would be be anchored around one word chosen by the guest. That word became “The Raise Word” a word that raises your confidence and inspires your creativity.
I also asked my 8 year old to do a final thought at the end of each episode. Unfortunately
this was just for the first season as he retired at the grand old age of 9!
Guests are often not ‘known’ but have so
much wisdom and joy to impart and so the word is the key part.
The title of this article is Podcasts, Promises
and Chinese 5 spice and as a Christian I have seen and believe I will continue to see God keeping His promises to me. I see this
continually in His faithfulness and goodness to me in allowing Raise to continue despite my change in circumstances. I see it in my
guests, whether they have a faith or not, and I see it in the Raise community and in the lives changed that people tell me about.
And have I written a poem about Chinese 5 spice? Well that’s been done already, maybe I’ll write one about herbs instead....
INTRODUCING A NEW ERA OF CREATIVITY IN THE UK CHURCH Christian Creative Directory is the No.1 place to find Christian creative professionals and services connecting creatives with businesses, organisations, and churches to champion creativity in the body of Christ. Whether you want more visibility online, resources, expert advice and access to opportunities or you want to list jobs, projects and collaborations or simply search for the right creative for your next idea, Christian Creative Directory does the hard work for you.
www.christiancreativedirectory.com
Photo source; Unsplash by Kelli Mcclintock
ANNOUNCING NEW OCEAN ICONS FOR MAP MAKERS
While creating the Carvik map I realised my map resource kit didn’t have much in the way of icons for oceans or the sea. Even though the maps I draw usually have a lot of water, maybe living on an Island does that to you? But no longer. The Fantasy Map Market has 2 icons packs based on the ocean. More about them in a minute. I’d like to thank my long time collaborator Laura from Peanut Pixels. We’ve worked on these icons together under a joint name of Map Pixels.
WHAT’S IN THE OCEAN ICON PACKS? Here are the two packs: Sea battle map icons Merpeople map icons And if you’d like both packs there is a special bundle called Atlantis which contains both. All of the ocean icons are taken from classical maps or pottery in the public domain. So the Map Pixel team has lovingly traced, cleaned and reproduced the images for use as icons. Which means you get to add a touch of class and antiquity to your maps. Not only that but inside each pack there are 3 versions. PNG SVG ABR – Photoshop brush file We don’t charge you separately. Because I’m sure you have your own favourite tool or technique for creating a map, and I want to make sure you can take advantage of these icons no matter how your make your maps.
Here’s a brief introduction to each pack: HUNT MONSTERS ON THE HIGH SEAS. Sea battle icon pack The Sea battle icon pack is a collection of 36 icons ranging from monstrous sea creatures through to triremes and galleons. So now your heroes can sail the high seas and hunt their own sea monsters in a battle for glory and renown. ADD MYTHICAL SEA PEOPLE TO YOUR MAPS Merpeople icon pack The sea is a powerful and mysterious place, but what’s it like for the people who live there? The Merpeople map icon pack is a collection of 30 icons ready to explore the cheeky nature of these mythical people. Perfect for adding detail to the watery parts of your fantasy map. GET BOTH ICON PACKS IN ONE BUNDLE Atlantis icon bundle The Atlantis bundle contains both the Sea Battle and Merpeople icon packs ~ Nathan Smith (Vancano)
In the past 12 years or so I have helped over 20 authors publish books; whether that be with a cover design, the formatting or both; and also publish it through online resources. Sometimes people come to me with their finishes article and I just smarten it up, add essential details like publishing rights and copyright info; sometimes I literally get a document with words! It’s important to state at this point that I take all measure and manner of starting points and aim to turn your idea into a readable, modern and topic related format so that you are proud of your work. Because at the end of the day my job is the easy one; you wrote it!
HOW DO I PUBLISH MY BOOK?
Saying all this, I wanted to bring a bit of a list to you who may be starting out on your author journey about what you might not have considered when writing your book and how I can help you achieve it. Formatting This can be the most complicated part of the book and is often the thing which most first time authors know the least about. Before I give you a little list let me reassure you that a lot of what I say is something a designer can do themselves but it often speeds up the process of publishing if you can cover the basics. a) Here’s an example of the order of the opening of you book: Inside Cover Page Publishing Information Contents page Dedication Foreward Introduction Chapter 1…
IMPORTANT: Publishing Information; As you write your book you may quote other published works, you HAVE TO include these in a page at the beginning of your book to acknowledge that those words aren’t your own and to give credit to the original author/source. Include the Title, the Author and the year it was published. (Side note: Bible references need to be included with the Bible version, the publishing year and the ISBN if possible) b) Questions to ask yourself before you start: Am I including including page numbers? If you choose to include them put them in the centre of the page or in the far corner/the outside of the page. Am I including the references in the footnote? (Some people choose to include the publishing information or references in the footnotes of the page it has been used on – sometimes this is easier than creating a long list of publishing information/references at the start of the book, other times it can be easier to just include a list – you have to decide how you are going to approach this.) Am I including page numbers in the contents page? Do this right at the end when the whole book is complete as the page numbers may switch and change. Usually the designer formatting the book for you will complete this – but if you are formatting the book yourself then do this as the last job! c) Chapters – depending on what kind of book you are writing depends on whether you want the book to be continuous flow or broken up by chapters. Most modern books, fiction or non-fiction, tend to use broken chapters which means that every chapter will start on the right hand side even if it means there is a blank page on the left. Some people choose to include a picture on the left of each chapter start instead of
having a blank page. Once again, the decision is yours. Once you answer these questions you’ll be at a good starting point to cover basic bases as you write your book. If all of this is confusing then I would encourage you to speak to a designer who can typeset your book for you, give you examples and talk you through all the steps. Artwork For me this is one of the most important parts of your publishing journey. Getting the cover right is vital key and I would encourage you more than ever to use an experienced designer who can untangle your book, understand your themes and the focus and then can interpret that in a way that creates something that stands out, that gives tangibility to your words and makes you proud of your work. There are some key parts, if you do choose to self design, that need to be covered: a) Leave space in the bottom right corner for an ISBN barcode to be added. b) Include a blurb/description on the back of the book – make sure it’s legible and clear. c) You may also want to include a picture of yourself and a short bio if this is your first book. d) Include any logos, pricing or links to key information in the bottom left cover (don’t forget about the barcode) e) Be prepared to trial and error. Publishing When it comes to publishing your book you have a few options: a) Self publish using a standard printer – this means you would have to have a
Continued...
substantial amount of money to get a publishing company to print your book and there would be a minimum order amount – somewhere between 25 to 100 books. You would have to provide the publisher with a print ready document and your cover and then will set to printing. If you wanted a proof copy they would charge you anywhere between £30 – £50 per book. This is probably the least cost effective way of publishing a book but definitely helps a small or medium size business so working out your finances and values are most certainly key when it comes to using this method. Following this you would then need to find places to promote your book, whether that would be going into an independent book store and asking them to sell it, making your own website and self promoting or through social media and accepting payments in different ways. You would have to handle all that yourself. b) Use a professional publishing company – this is probably the hardest way to get published and in the end wouldn’t bring in the big books – unless you are the next JK Rowling of course – but it does cut out a lot of the in-house, self promotion you have to do as a professional publishing company would do all that. You would have to submit your ideas to their directors, wait for an assessment, if you get accepted you’ll sign the book over to them and then royalties will be worked out and they will use their teams to format and design the cover for you – obviously you’d have a hand in the process, your the author, but a lot of the time you’d be on a % based royalty, they would take their cut and they would probably expect you to write
more, publishing solely with them and so the author and publishing company relationship begins. Penguin actually state that most professional publishers won’t accept manuscripts direct from authors and recommend you have a literary agent who would put your book in front of publishers for you. It’s a long winded process but again, it depends on your finances, time and values as to whether you’d like to use a much more well known publishing company who has a reputation and status to become your official publisher. One thing to remember here is that the more people involved the more cuts people take. As an author, finding out all your options, getting a good literary agent, not putting all your eggs in one publishers basket and making sure you are getting the best deal is most certainly a vital factor as you make this decision. c) Self Publishing Online – most commonly used is Kindle Publishing through Amazon; this is by far the quickest and most cost effective way to self publish a book your book. Amazon is the fastest growing online market for authors; traditionally Amazon was all about books and then it became the place to source everything with it’s incredible Prime delivery service; you can get your book to someone within 24/48 hours at no cost to you! That’s right. At no cost to you! Amazon take their percentage from your sales, they offer you an author price for you to purchase however many books you like for yourself and for you to sell AND they sell it for you via ALL their amazon sites. And the best part is YOU control the format, YOU control the cover, the book belongs solely to YOU and YOU control the price.
Amazon will tell you in the uploading process how much it will cost them to print it and how much of a cut they will take so then you can work out how much to charge so that you can make the royalties you desire. Promotion This can be a difficult subject to cover, especially when you haven’t published a book before. If you choose to go down the route of using a publishing company then they will often do all the promotion for you so you don’t have to worry about it. If you choose to use an online publishing product such as Amazon then as long as you include certain keywords (basically themes/subjects that your book is related to) then you will begin to appear in peoples searches. However, if you go down the self publishing route then a lot of the publishing is left in your hands to get the word out there. Using a designer can help to create a promotional package to help people find out about your book. A package might include the following: a) Setting up social media accounts and promotional imagery to post, using hashtags to bring traction so people can find you that way. b) Printed promotion such as flyers and/ or posters – these can be put up in shops that have kind owners who are happy to help you get your book out into the big wide world. c) Websites can help to get you noticed;
building an author website specific to you is a great idea to help people find out more information about you and more information about your book. You can include a free first chapter to entice people to purchase your book and include any signing dates and locations that might be relevant. At the end of the day, how you choose to promote is totally in your hands. Sometimes independent book stores might be happy to put your book on their shelves, hold a book signing and setup a promo stand for you. As with all these things, you won’t loose anything by asking so go do it! Happy Publishing Authors!
BOOK DESIGN with peanut. I need a book cover design!
If you need a high quality cover design that will highlight your books theme and make you stand out on a shelf, we can help. With years of experience taking client ideas and making them a reality, Peanut Designs can offer you a range of choice for all your cover needs. One colour book cover: £150 Photography Based book cover: £300 Illustrated Book cover: £700 Price includes Sourced stock photos. Stock Photo prices can range from £5-£10 per image.
I need my book formatting!
If this is you then you’ve come to the right place. With years of experience of formatting books and providing PDF print quality documents and e-book formats, we can make your book look excellent from the inside out. Word Doc Based formatting no pictures: £300 Word Doc Based formatting with pictures: £400 PDF Based formatting no picture: £500 PDF Based Formatting with picture inserts: £650
www.pnutd.co.uk
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Photo source; Unsplash by Jon Tyson
What is the Christian Creative Network? Christian Creative Network’s mission is to ‘Champion creativity in the body of Christ‘ and we are doing that through a national network of local branches, an online Christian creative directory (launching 2021) and we have a vision to host Christian creative recognition awards.
We believe that the Church is in a Renaissance of creativity, which simply means a renewed interest. There was a time when the Church was leading the way in creativity with architecture, fine art, sculpture and music but that this changed during the Reformation and since then the Church has been playing catch up with the world. We believe that we are at a poignant moment in time where the gap between the Church and the world is more apparent than ever and that its the creative communication of the gospel that bridges this gap. We believe God is restoring the value of creativity to the Church in these days and that’s why as the Christian Creative Network we want to connect, champion and encouraging creative individuals to reach their potential and influence their world for the Kingdom. When creative individuals get together exciting things happen; collaborations take shape, passions are ignited, skills are shared, opportunities are created and dreams are activated. CCN creates an environment to meet and network with like-minded local creatives who face similar challenges and enable them to journey and grow together. We’ve seen people grow in confidence and come alive, creative businesses start, churches engaged and communities impacted. We truly believe that creative communication is key to effectively sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and as creatives are empowered and encouraged in the body of Christ, they will help usher in revival.
FIND YOUR LOCAL BRANCH: www.christianc reativenetwork. com
Why?
Extract from Roma Waterman’s DECLARE
I declare that failure is not the boss of you. I declare that fear does not rule your life. The ropes that have tried to hold you down and keep you back are unraveling. You are not defined by your mistakes - you are defined by God. You are favored and loved. I declare as you read thesewords you will be set free from the expectations of others and yourself. I declare that you will rest in the approval and grace of the Father. I declare you are who HE says you are. Go get ‘em tiger - you are braver and more capable than you think.
MASTERING YOUR STORY from the desk of Laura Murray
What’s your favourite story is the kind of question you ask your kids when they are settling down to bed at night… So what’s the story? In 2021, the answers from our kids often include famous books like Harry Potter, The Famous Five, Twilight, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan and lots of others.
As I continued with my GCSE project, a friend who was a professional graphic designer said “I’ll design you a logo”. Watching him work his magic on a very old Macintosh back then was the start of this new adventure of exploring design, art, But when it comes to YOU and YOUR graphics, photography and branding. business, did you know that IT has a story AND that people want to know about it. The story of Peanut Designs started when I was 15 years old and started my GCSE Product Design course and decided to make POS stuff for a new record company called “Peanut Records” The word and term “Peanut” had just followed me most of my life for various reasons, which I explored with a new acquaintance recently who asked me how I chose the name, here’s a few reasons:
It wasn’t until 3 years later when I was heading to uni that I got my first Mac. A white macbook. I had no idea what I was doing or how to use it but I felt armed and ready to go. University! Three years of misery and torture as I spent lonely days and nights trying to figure out why people were asking me to make things that I had no interest in. Not one course or one person spoke about logo designing, branding or marketing.
– I am naturally small so it was a nick name for a time Leaving 3 years later with a degree in hand, Peanut was slowly growing under the radar and was now – I used the name for work during secondary ready to see some light and formerly become school and it stuck with me Peanut Designs.
– I named my first born Peanut (after my After almost immediately getting my first job, I business) when he was inside entered a world where I was able to explore the things I loved most about design. Logos. Branding. – and lastly; I have a very tiny bladder!! Marketing. Haha!!!! (Sorry) In 5 years of employment at 4 different companies I was able to design 3 rebrands logos, 3 startup logos and brand guides and 1 product branding
design plus I began an extensive Social media campaign to promote a new product (this product is now pushing 6 figures). I left corporate in 2014 to start a family, Peanut was thrust forward and became my sole focus. Let’s propel you 7 years late, and in the height of the covid-19 pandemic, now with 2 kids under my feet, I decide now was the time to reimagine, reword, refocus and reignite Peanut on a whole new level. Peanut, the place where adventures start. Peanut, the place where dreams come true. Peanut . I am peanut. Peanut is me.
So when someone asks “what’s your favourite story?” Tell them about you!!!
Photo source; Unsplash by Maegan Martin
#InsideTheNut
why do wine b design
o I like bottle n? When you watch people choosing wine you often find them wandering up and down the aisle, or in my local supermarket, slowing down, looking up and down each shelf at a steady pace and then staring at one particular bottle that has caught their eye, picking it up, turning it to quickly review the back label and then putting it happily into their trolley ready to buy. The thing I find fascinating about this is that each person standing in the space where the wine is has become accidental design critics. They are instantly transported into a world where each wine variety has a different label and we have to make quick choices based upon what our eyes can see rather than the look or even taste of the product inside the bottle.
and illuninating about wine labels. So what is your expectation on a wine to be based upon the label? If the design is a little more sophisticated, intrecate details and fancy writing we immediately think it’s posh wine! If the label has an animal on it, a Lion, bold and brash in flavour, or a sea creature like a Whale, maybe the wine is smooth and fresh like the ocean. The label design can have an effect on our senses before we’ve even popped the cork.
Pictured left are three wine label designs by controversial So what is it about wine labels that effects a persons choice winemaker & label designer, Andre Mack. He was told his labels looked cheap and therefore wouldn’t sell. to pick one wine bottle above another. Despite this negative review, Mack stuck to his guns and Firstly, familiarity. If a person has bought a certain wine determined to be different when it came to label design. before and they enjoyed it then they will automatically Mack is now a curator of wine for Club W and due to the now success of his original wine label, has created a lean into that. boutique graphic design firm who work with some very Secondly, price. Particularly in the current climate, the large food & drinks companies worldwide. price of a bottle can have an effect on the customers I don’t drink alcohol, so holding a bottle of wine for me choice to buy or not. is all about the look of the label. Maybe next time you go to buy a bottle of wine you’ll try something that looks And thirdly; the design. The wine label design is probably the strongest pull of controversial because the best wine might just be inside. whether a person will purchase that wine or not. And the variety of designs is what I find most exciting, captivating