My First Experience of Making a Webinar

Photo by Yasmin Desai, Monkfeet

Yesterday I had my first experience of filming a webinar. I hadn't planned to do one, but the very persuasive lady at Monkfeet, Yasmin Desai, who had previously booked me for a blog workshop, had asked me if I would be up for it. Monkfeet would be financing it; hiring the room and the production team. It seemed like an opportunity not to be missed.

I said I'd do it in February, she suggested the following week. Did I mention I say 'Yes' to everything?

At the slick and spacious Black and White Building in Shoreditch, I was introduced to the cheerful cameramen, Diogo and Phil. I had spent hours preparing a script and writing bullet points up on my computer so I'd be able to use them as prompts, but I still felt like I didn't know what was going to come out of my mouth when they started filming. 

  

As I sat in front of the camera, my notes flickering on my computer screen just out of sight, it dawned on me that I hadn't memorised a single line since secondary school.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your... what had Mark Anthony wanted to borrow?

It was tough going. I had to stare into the camera and I couldn't glance at my notes while it was rolling.  My mind kept going blank. I only seemed to be able to remember one point at a time. What I found so easy and natural in a normal workshop environment suddenly became such a challenge. Looking back, I think a bit of heating would've helped my memory! Luckily the camera guys were encouraging and as we were all about to flag, the sandwiches arrived.

I spent six hours in the studio filming a one hour blog webinar. There were moments when I thought, why did I agree to this?, but I'm glad I did it. Every step outside your comfort zone forces you to grow.

That night after the webinar, I found my script running through my head so fluently. I thought to myself, that if we were to film it now, I'd remember it all!

I'm curious to see the end product. I'm hoping Diogo will work some magic when he edits it! If you're interested in watching the blog webinar when it comes out, just sign up to my newsletter. I'll be sure to share it soon!

Sign up to my newsletter for further updates!
 

Visit www.monkfeet.com for more info on their affordable evening classes.

Contact Diogo at www.dbpicturehouse.com for more info on making webinars.

Five Years of Blogging!

 

There have been highs and lows!

It's official! I've been blogging for 5 years! Happy Anniversary to me! And since everything is speeded up on social media I'm sure 5 years counts as a golden anniversary, perhaps even a diamond...

 

If you've only just joined in, let me tell you how it began. It was June 2008, a time when you needed to know html to convert an ordinary little word into a hyperlink. I was on a date with a dark, handsome stranger at the Gourmet Pizza Company on the Southbank.

 

I told him I was thinking about starting a blog about working in my Mum's chandelier shop. He, being an enthusiastic sort of bloke, assured me it was a great idea. A week later I wrote my first post. The rest is history. Well it would be if someone added it to Wikipedia.

 

There have been highs and lows on this blogging journey and I thought I'd share five of the most memorable. 

 

 

5th - SHOP GIRL BLOGGED OFF

 

When I wrote this post I was so fed up. I was worried I'd never ever get published and that I'd spend the rest of my life fending off barterers in my Mum's shop. I had no idea that a month later Salt Publishing would ask me to turn my blog into a book. If you are a writer and you feel like I did in this post, don't give up! You never know when your hard work will pay off. 

 

"I won’t be a famous novelist because I’ll be delivering a light fitting. We won’t charge for the delivery since we just want the customer to love us and not go to John Lewis. The customer won’t offer to pay for the delivery because they assume that’s what little shop people do on a Saturday night..."

Read More.

 

4th - SHOP GIRL UNDER ATTACK

 

At Stoke Newington Literary Festival, I spoke on a panel about writing in the digital age. I think it's an exciting time to be a writer. Whether it's a blog to build up a readership, a podcast to share your stories, YouTube for a book trailer for the book you self-published, because perhaps publishers weren't prepared to take a risk on you, with hard work and creativity you can really make things happen.

 

Some writers complain that the internet has eroded the filters keeping the bad writing out. But why waste time criticising other people striving to make the digital world work for them? It takes guts to put your work 'out there'. Sharing my work has been key to my progress and success as a writer, but of course I've had my ego bashed along the way. Shop Girl Under Attack is a blog post about the first 'hate mail' I ever got. If you're going to use social media, you've got to develop a thick skin.

 

"On Easter Sunday I received a mail from someone in my facebook group.
A certain young Californian with a photoshop twinkle in his eye.
'Please get a life,' he wrote, 'because the one you’re writing about isn’t that interesting.'
Oh, I thought, taken aback.
My first hate mail hadn’t come at the best of times." Read More.

 

 

3rd  - SHOP GIRL: TAKE 1, Camera, action!

 

My dream was always to become a novelist but when director Chloe Thomas asked me to write a script for a TV pilot based on my blog, I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass me by. Having a film crew in my shop and actors saying the lines I'd written was an incredible high. Although the pilot has not developed into a sitcom it remains a great moment in my blogging journey. I recommend saying 'yes' to every opportunity that comes your way and trust you'll learn as you go along!

 

“How much do you want this?” my brother had asked me, back in September.
“More than anything.”
And he’d rolled up his sleeves and launched into a speech on how to promote my blog." Read More.

 

2ND - THE BIG ADVENTURE - THE MOST MEMORABLE GUEST BLOG

 

This guest blog is definitely the most memorable. Well, it's not every day someone proposes on a blog, is it? Remember that dark, handsome stranger I was telling you about earlier...

 

"So the ShopGirl bullied me into doing a blog.

Here it is, I am real." Read More.

 

 

1st - SHOP GIRL IS LAUNCHED

 

The Book Launch of Shop Girl Diaries remains the best day of my life. I've just reread my blog post about it and tears sprung to my eyes. The publishers didn't have a budget for the launch so a group of my friends jumped in to help me organise it. I'd almost forgotten how generous people had been. Thank you again, and I hope there'll be another one soon!

 

"The Big day had come:
The Launch of 'Shop Girl Diaries'.
My nerves were momentarily eased by the successful match of my new tights with the dress.
It's those little details that really niggle.
As the Chines proverb goes, 'it's not the mountain that wears you out but the grain of sand in your shoe.'" - Read More.

 

 

A blog doesn't thrive very well alone. It needs its readers, so thank you for all your support over the last 5 years.

 

***

 

 In my workshops I aim to pass on all the things I've learnt over the years. If you feel like starting your own blog, my next Blogging for Beginners and Improvers Workshop is on Saturday 13th July.

 

Check out my Workshop Page for more information.   

 

 

Blog Under the Spotlight: Skull-A-Day

My next Blog Workshop is on Saturday 6th April. Every time I prepare for a workshop I learn so much, partly because social media is always developing and partly because of all the new blogs I find myself visiting. I love coming across original blogs and finding out about the blogger's journey. I'm especially interested in blogs that became books!

 

Skull-a-Day was featured in Blogging for Creatives. It was set up by Noah Scalin, who on the 4th of June 2007 posted an orange paper skull and wrote, "I'm making a skull a day for a year". He made his 365th skull on 2nd June 2008.

 

The project caught people's imagination, and the following year, the blog featured daily submissions from readers. In October 2008 a book based on Skull-A-Day was published by Lark Books, featuring 150 images from the first half of the project.

 

The popular blog is still going strong and Noah Scalin was kind enough to stop by and tell me more about it.

Why skulls?

 

Initially the idea of having skulls as my focus was a completely random thought. It was something that popped into my head and since I like them, I figured it would be fun.  Both of my parents are artists, so I grew up around anatomical imagery and as far as I can tell I've pretty much always liked skulls (I still have a very nice drawing of one I did when I was six). Of course with the benefit of hindsight it seems like the perfect subject matter for a daily meditation on creativity since the memento mori is a traditional art concept of using the skull as a reminder to live each day fully. Of course I'm not smart enough to have actually chosen it consciously for that reason!

What was your motivation behind the blog?

To get myself out of a creative slump. I was really burnt out with clients and not feeling like I was making progress getting people thinking of me as a fine artist, rather than just a graphic artist.

 

How did you promote it?

Initially I just let 100 of my friends know about it and encouraged them to share. A lot of the initial work was done by them really! Most of the biggest early press came through friends of friends.

 

 

Did you contact the publisher or did they come to you? 

I was actually contacted by a book publishing agent who thought it would make a good book and she was the one that helped me craft a book proposal and pitch it. And she's still my agent today! 

 

How do you make money from the blog?

I don't really. The blog is more about building an audience and interest in my work, which then allows me to make money in other ways (books, talks, art sales, etc.). The site is now run by 3 volunteer editors, who were originally über fans of the site, and it's hosted by Blogger, so there are no real expenses (other than everyone's time) to keep it running. We do however run weekly giveaways, and that's an opportunity for the editors to get some free stuff in exchange for their hard work.

 

What would be your advice to anyone thinking of starting a blog?

Set yourself achievable goals and be consistent with posting. Don't try to do great things from day one, just aim for getting it done and getting it out there. The audience will come over time if you keep showing up and sharing. More than anything it's the persistence that pays off.

 

Visit Skull-A-Day 

Follow @Skulladay @NoahScalin on Twitter