https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice en-us 2022-01-14 10:24:17 UTC 2023-02-10 05:06:40 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4dc.png loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029116575 2022-02-04 09:20:16 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029116575 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029116853 2022-02-04 09:20:30 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029116853 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029117033 I contacted Angela Pell (writer of Channel 4's Close to Me mini series) regarding some advice and tips on how to further my career as a screenwriter. Although a lot of what she mentioned I had heard a lot of times before, it does just show to me that in this industry, you really just have to keep writing until something eventually sticks. 

Pell's advice to get another job alongside side writing to keep a stable income I am completely on board with and already trying to get a small part time job somewhere for 2/3 days a week that'll nicely fit into my writing routine. 
Pell also mentioned for me to look into writing classes, as both a way to further my learning, and to connect with other writers. This is something I may look into further down the line once I have got a part-time job, as ones I have had a look at all require to pay, such as the Knowledge Academy in Burton. Although I am thinking of some online classes too, either with Masterclass or Skillshare so that I can fit that learning into my own routine. 

I also asked Pell about her own career, and she did mention that if she could go back, she would get into novel writing instead, as it is something you can self-publish, instead of having to get approval and money from producers and productions. Luckily for me, novel writing is already something I've been getting into since I fell in love with reading. Any kind of storytelling for me I absolutely love, so both novel writing and screenwriting have been great to get into. For me now, writing novels just seems a lot more freeing, and a lot more personal. Whereas scripts require a lot of changes for it to be accepted to adapt on screen, with a novel it feels like that connection from writer to reader is a lot closer, so I have been enjoying that interaction with those who read my work. 

Overall, I did find Pell's work useful, even though quite a bit has been repeated to me in the past, it's always encouraging to hear it from a practitioner, especially when they personally tell you to keep trying. I will be looking further into writing classes, and I'll be working on those descriptions Pell mentioned to add into the scripts to make them more engaging, and most of all, I'm going to keep trying.]]> 2022-02-04 09:20:39 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029117033 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029120510 Following Bethan's email, I have both looked into and submitted a script to the BBC's Writer's Room. I'm also waiting to apply for 4screenwriting this year once submissions are open, as well as sending a CV to World Productions. Even if I get no luck with any of them, it still feels like an accomplishment that I tried and is that stepping stone of confidence for me to contacting these practitioners to share my work. ]]> 2022-02-04 09:23:48 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029120510 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029126623 Majority of screenwriters are freelance. Either they continuously write their own scripts and approach companies and producers in hope to sell it, or for screenwriters who are already well established, a company/producer will approach them with an idea they want them to write. 

I have been interested and pursuing my passion for screenwriting for the past 5 years. My love for storytelling and films is what led me to write scripts. In terms of a career as a screenwriter, it is a slow and unstable income - as Angela Pell mentioned, she's only had 3 scripts sold and there were 7 years between each. Screenwriting is still definitely something I will continue doing, as a screenwriters portfolio is literally just showing all the scripts you've written, so the more scripts I have to offer producers and companies, the higher the chance there'll be something they like. I will definitely need to do more alongside screenwriting however, a small part-time job to have a stable income, several creative jobs on the go to make up for the gaps of less money from scripts. I will also be looking into some of the screenwriters I admire, see how they went from having nothing to producing some of the best work ever written for screen. I am aware of how difficult getting attention to screenplays is, but with it being something I'm highly passionate about, it's something I'm willing and patient for success. ]]> 2022-02-04 09:28:51 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029126623 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029127010 Masterclass offers hundreds of classes by professionals in the industry for £14 a month. I have been interested in taking a Masterclass for quite a while now but I never knew whose to take. I recently found out that Aaron Sorkin and Neil Gaiman  both offer classes for storytelling and screenwriting. I feel like I would benefit with taking both workshops with me wanting to work with both novels and screenplays. 
Neil Gaiman offers help with classes in finding inspiration for your work, how to find your voice, developing your stories, looking into case studies, working on how to write short stories, characters, descriptions and much more. Gaiman's Masterclass includes 19 video lessons that I can take in my own time. Although I am already in the midst of writing a novel, I feel like I will still massively benefit from taking the class, with everything I've learnt so far being self-taught. Gaiman is also an author I aspire to, with being a big fan of Good Omens, Coraline and Star Dust. There is always room for me to improve, and to be getting this advice from someone in the industry will encourage me to improve my work further. 
Aaron Sorkin's Masterclass includes 35 video lessons about story ideas, how to develop characters, incorporate research into the script, film story arcs, group workshops, scene case studies and much more. Sorkin's workshops aid upcoming screenwriters into how to create scripts that will sell, something that I do need help on. I have been writing scripts for the past 5 years, however I've never had any experience in how to sell him, so by having the help from someone who is successful in the industry, I will be able to pick up the skills in how to do so confidently. 

]]> 2022-02-04 09:29:07 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029127010 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029127188 I first got into writing books about 3 years ago. I had discovered my love for reading and enjoyed the idea of reading my own made up stories. It was after the flop of a film I was directing due to actor clashes that I decided I would try to write the film as a short story. Although it was far from perfect and I only personally printed a few copies for close family and friends to read, I really enjoyed writing it and the thrill of knowing others were reading it. 

Since then, I have finished the final draft of my first novel and I'm looking to get it self-published. I also have a fantasy duology and multiple queer romcoms I'm excited to write. I have found writing books a lot more freeing than scripts, as there's no worry of how it'll translate onto screen. It is also easier to make an income from. With Amazon KDP, I'm able to self publish my books in any format I like (Kindle/paperback/hardcover). I'm currently in this process with my first novel and it's a lot easier than I thought. I'm just figuring out what is the best cost for me to charge customers so that I still make a reasonable profit, as Amazon takes a percentage for printing and shipping costs - but that's expected, as any publisher would be taking a percentage of the profits. I am happy with self-publishing at the moment, it allows me to work at my own pace, I get to make up my own book covers and I get the freedom to advertise my work however I like. My current book I am already adverting on TikTok and Instagram by using reels with popular audios and hashtags - with these I include cover reveals, teasers of opening paragraphs, introductions to characters and using my book as a recommendation for readers who enjoyed other similar books. For example, 'if you enjoyed Good Omens, you'll love this book!'

I do feel like in time I would like to be properly published, assigned to a company. That way I'll have a more consistent income, and with deadlines, it'll give me more motivation to see being an author as a job, rather than a hobby I can take my time on. I've submitted my novel to one publisher so far, but I will be looking into submitting to more with the more books I write as my work improves. ]]> 2022-02-04 09:29:18 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2029127188 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2052795591 This is my first try at a creative CV and it's definitely going to be changed in the future once I have more novels and scripts under my belt. I was sure to only add in relevant information that dealt with my creative writing and I hope through the visuals show my niche. The warm tones and vintage style diagrams I added in to show my work usually revolves around how the visuals make you feel; soft and cosy, usually stories of relationships, wonder and self discovery. I am pretty pleased with how the CV turned out to say it was my first try. For future CVs, I feel like maybe I would write less about myself and more about the work I've written, as in a way /I/ am already within those works, so people who look at my CV can learn more about me anyway by looking at what I've written.]]> 2022-02-17 09:20:52 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2052795591 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2052795745 My main strengths for me as a writer is my pure love for the craft and for storytelling. I love reading and I love coming up with my own plots, characters and relationships, and to share them with an audience. Luckily my knowledge of the English language has been over moderately high since GCSE because I simply write a lot, so I have a lot of experience with it. Being so passionate about writing gives me the patience and determination to stick to it to the end and to be able to get through a ridiculous amount of drafts to get to the end which is so satisfying and a very proud moment.

My biggest weakness is definitely procrastination, sometimes I can go without writing for days, or I just sit idly at my computer screen not knowing what to write, which is linked to my writer's block. Although in the end I do always finish my writing, when I do hopefully transfer from self-published to published, I will be put against deadlines, so procrastination is definitely something I need to improve on.  My confidence isn't bad when it comes to writing, but it does leave me nervous when sharing my work for feedback. It does cause me to become protective of my work and take any critique personally. However, I am slowly learning to see any feedback as a way to improve and strengthen my work. 

With novel writing, I have a lot of opportunities I can work on. The biggest one is that I have self-publishing to my advantage. There are quite a few self-publishing platforms, but I will be going with Amazon's, as it is easy to use and is one of the most popular, so readers can easily find my work. I can also use social media to build up my community. I've seen on Alexis Hall's Instagram, he shares a lot of fanart and extra little content of his characters, so that's something I would definitely get on board with. 
I also have a lot of ideas up my sleeve. Over the years, I have had many story ideas spring to mind, as well as characters and bits of dialogue. All of this I have written down for future use, so I now have tons of interesting ideas saved up that I can delve into and don't have to worry about the pressure of coming up with the plot of the next project. 

Although writers in themselves see each other as friends, they have their own community and praise each other's work, when it comes to what sells, there is still competition in a sense. For instance, with my queer YA books, I will be up against other authors in that genre, some of who have a lot more experience and a bigger community than me. The same comes with publishing; with my work being self-published, it will only be able to be ordered online, unlike published books that can be found in stores. However, when it comes to authors in the same genre, I find that I can look at their work as inspiration for my own and see what I can do differently. A lot of book reviews now state "If you like this book, then you'll like this!" kind of thing, so even though other authors can be competition, having such similarities to their work can drive their community to your own. 
Once my books are self-published, I know bad reviews are something that would ruin my confidence, might make me not even want to share my work again. For my own sanity, I would simply not look at reviews, as a lot of authors, directors, performers etc do, as it can just mess with your head. Before publication, I would take on all the advice and feedback to strengthen my work, but once its out in the world, I would let it be on its own, let it grow within the community and where they take it, rather than being bogged down by negative reviews. ]]> 2022-02-17 09:20:58 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2052795745 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2052796107 I looked at what skills are required for a writer for both of books and screenplays and compared them to my own skills with a rating. Overall, my skills match well with what is needed from the job, I believe I would have a good chance at getting a job as a writer with my current skills, however, I'm always up for making improvements to make all my skills a 10/10 rating. For me, this will mainly be working on my procrastination, with that being one of the main things holding me back from meeting my own deadlines and concentrating on my work for long periods of time.]]> 2022-02-17 09:21:10 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2052796107 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2055049574 2022-02-18 11:01:22 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2055049574 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2055049769 BBC's Writers Room had an open call for drama and comedy scripts to offer the opportunity to upcoming writers to have their script broadcasted on one of their appropriate channels. The chosen writers would be offered support in the next steps of their career, offering development of their writing and contacts. 
The deadline was cutting short when I found the Writers Room, so I decided to improve one of my old scripts instead of writing a new one. Submitting to the Writers Room was a lot more timely than I thought it would be, consisting of questions about why I wanted to submit, why I wrote the script that I did and what I could bring to the BBC. I stated to them that I wanted to them because there is always room for improvement, and I want my writing to grow and to gain experiences with sharing my work with others in the industry, such as directors and producers. The script that I wrote, Influence, if one that i decided to improve and submit to them as its a dark psychological thriller, a genre they are well known for with series such as Killing Eve (2018), Happy Valley (2014) and Bodyguard (2018). My script also touched on some fantasy elements and dealt with drug abuse that the BBC is happy to explore. I expressed that I would be able to bring my skills from both screenwriting and novel writing to the BBC, bringing my wide knowledge of writing techniques and story plot methods. 
Since submitting later last year, I haven't received anything back from the Writers Room. However, even though I probably haven't gotten a place, it was still a useful experience to learn how to present myself and my work when approaching these big companies and work experiences, giving me the confidence to submit to more in the future to get my work out there. ]]> 2022-02-18 11:01:30 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2055049769 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2077611653 I contacted Alexis Hall (author of Boyfriend Material, Something Fabulous, A Lady for a Duke) on Instagram, asking if he would be interested in giving me feedback on the final draft of my novel that I have been writing since mid 2020. He agreed and gave me his assistant's email to send over the draft. 

Although he was very busy, Alexis very kindly read the first three chapters and gave me some useful feedback.
In my past drafts of the book, I didn't get much peer feedback because no one I got to read it really knew how I could improve, they would simply say it was good and they enjoyed it, so it was refreshing to get some proper feedback from an author I admire. 

Alexis' feedback on researching more on the university I took on board straight away, looking on the official sites of the university and library to accurately rewrite their descriptions. For future work set in real locations I will be carrying that advice with me to be sure to research about the locations first before delving into writing. 
I also took on his advice to make sure the two main characters POVs are distinctly different. I have been focusing on one character per day so that I don't get muddled up and accidentally cross over characteristics. I've also been listening to specific playlists that match the characters personality to help me get into their mindset. The two characters now are starting to sound like individuals; Dolor is distinctly an uptight, witty Demon, and Miles is clearly a shy, anxious and sarcastic student. 

Some of Alexis' feedback I only partly took on board. His advice to slow the place of beginning I took on partially by slowing down the beginning of the second chapter, taking more time to set the scene and emotions. However, the first two chapters are in Dolor's POV and his style is a lot faster paced than Miles, so I still kept it quite fast paced to keep with his personality. Although, it is still advice I will take on to future work to make sure the reader is able to process their emotions to what's happening. 

Overall, I'm glad I reached out to Alexis for feedback, as I was at a bit of a loss of if there was anything else to improve on before publishing. Seeing how useful getting feedback from other writers is now, I will definitely be reaching out to others in the future and might even try to find some groups to get involved in where I can get other writers to give feedback to future work. ]]> 2022-03-04 09:22:20 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2077611653 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2081415818 https://www.kingsleypublishers.com/

Kingsley Publishers was open for submissions for novels - they are a publishing company I have been looking at for a while as they are ope to international authors of all genres. The publishers required a cover letter and synopsis, as well as the final manuscript of the novel. In the cover letter, they wanted a short paragraph consisting of my name, the genre of the novel, the word count and if it is professionally edited or not. The synopsis, they wanted a brief overview of the plot and events in the novel, including the characters and how the story ends. 

This was my first submission to a publishers and it was quite a nerve-wrecking experience to have my novel out there in the world after three years writing it. However, it was also exciting to think of my book being officially published, and the process of the cover letter and synopsis was luckily something I've done countless times before for uni projects. Before, I was unsure of what publishers required to consider publishing a book, but now knowing it's paperwork that I'm used to documenting, it has put me at ease to find and submit my work to other publishers. Although in the meantime I will still be self-publishing my work, there is still opportunities down the line to get it published. For instance, if my book is widely popular when self-published, it may catch the attention of publishers and they may want to go ahead and get it published through their company. Whether this happens with my first novel or my fifth, time will tell, but in the meantime I can just keep writing what I love and sharing it through online self-publishing.]]> 2022-03-07 11:07:53 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2081415818 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2090164233 With the amount of work and services I have to offer, I believed it was ideal for me to make a website to advertise my work. 
My website mainly consists of my artwork and novel writing - I have a page showcasing some of my best artwork, along with another page showing my commission prices and examples of the kind of work they can get for the different prices I offer. My commissions range from £28 for simple illustrations, to £300 for a full book cover design. I have another slide for my books, giving descriptions about the plots and links to where people can buy them. My contact page gives people links to my email, Instagram and Redbubble for customers to either get in contact for a commission or to purchase existing artwork. I do plan to add a page for my scripts in the future, I just need to look into the best way to present the work, potentially the website showing the names of the scripts with links attached, leading people on to the PDFs of the scripts, which I will be making sure all have my watermark on each page so no one can steal my work.]]> 2022-03-11 09:56:39 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2090164233 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2090286715 2022-03-11 11:41:46 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2090286715 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2090287213 2022-03-11 11:42:12 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2090287213 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2090294630 From the past film teachers I've had, they have inspired me to want to potentially go down the route of that career. I like the idea of being able to share my knowledge and passion with aspiring filmmakers and to inspire them to pursue their dreams, the same way my teachers did for me. 
Ideally, I would want to specialise in screenwriting, storytelling, pre-production and film analysis, as those are my strong suits. For this kind of career, I would look into what teaching courses there are, as well as further film courses for me to widen my knowledge further. I may also look into making my own online lessons to start off with to get the feel for it, making videos of topics that people can work through on their own time. If I like doing that, I will look further into how to become a fully qualified film teacher. ]]> 2022-03-11 11:48:24 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2090294630 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2095701556 I've been submitting some of my best old scripts to film festivals to get my work out there. Even if they don't win anything, having them looked at by judges and producers gets my name and work out there for anyone who may be interested. I've been submitting to a lot more film festivals that require payment, as with free film festivals you can get anyone submitting anything. Paid film festivals are often a lot more popular for professional producers, directors and writers to attend, and I also feel like it shows that I take screenwriting seriously that I'm willing to pay to enter even when there's little chance of me winning. 

I will be submitting to a lot more film festivals in the future, especially when I have more screenplays to offer of different genres and lengths. I'm also hoping to be able to attend future film festivals so I can talk to other creatives, I might find someone who wants to write something with me, or someone who wants to produce my work. For any future film festivals I attend, I will be researching what producers and directors are going to be there so I can talk to them, either give them an elevator pitch or ask for an appointment for a pitch. In the film industry, it is always who you know that gets you places, the more contacts you have, the better off you are, so by submitting and attending to these film festivals, I have a better chance to get my scripts sold. ]]> 2022-03-15 10:53:46 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2095701556 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2125099572 2022-04-01 08:53:55 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2125099572 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2125099941 2022-04-01 08:54:11 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2125099941 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2125100627 2022-04-01 08:54:43 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2125100627 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2125100968 2022-04-01 08:54:59 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2125100968 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2125156090 I have been freelancing in illustration for a while, and recently have been getting a lot of attention for my book covers. The Boyfriend Material book cover I did was simply for fun, but the author loved it so much that he shared it on his socials. From his post, it caught the attention of author, Cathy Yardley. She needed a new ebook cover for her book, Level Up. I had a meeting with her to discuss what she wanted. Her book was previously self-published and the cover for it didn't give it much attention. Now, she is getting it properly published, first as an ebook. She gave me character descriptions, the books plot and what covers of other books she liked. She loved the final cover I came up with, and said if her book goes on to be in paperback, she would come back to me for the spine and back cover for it. 

I never thought of working on book covers, but I really enjoyed it and am opening up to the idea of working on general commissions and book covers as well. Yardley would never have approached me to make her book cover if I hadn't made the Boyfriend Material on my own back, so going forward I will be exploring more things to illustrate that will attract others. I will also slowly begin to rise my prices for book covers. I charged Yardley £130 for the front cover, which is really cheap but with being inexperienced with book covers, I didn't want to overprice myself. However, I am a quick learner, so the prices of my book covers will increase with the more confident I become with them.]]> 2022-04-01 09:38:05 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2125156090 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2136014541 Locally, I'm aware of screenwriters that are in Derby who could be considered as competition. I met with Peter Bonnell, Senior Curator at the QUAD a few months ago, he spoke of local screenwriters he had worked with, producing their scripts for them. These local screenwriters can be considered competition for their years worth of more experience and contacts to have their screenplays produced and funded. 
Going forward, it will be in my interest to widen my contacts by furthering my networking on social media and attending local and national film festivals and other events for the potential of gaining contacts from producers or directors who want to further my work, or work on future projects, or gain contacts with other writers who can aid in my further development in my career. 
Both nationally and internationally, my competitors will be those with a much larger presence than me. Those who have had scripts produced by the BBC, writers who live in or around places like London, Manchester, New York or LA where the film industry is in highest development. 
Although moving to one of these areas would be ideal so I'm more local to the most popular festivals and more successful producers and directors. However, I would prefer to gradually increase my presence in the screenwriting world, starting locally and then reaching out nationally.]]> 2022-04-08 08:24:01 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2136014541 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2136056686 Although authors typically don't see each other as competition, it is still something to look into when starting out. Nationally, there are YA authors such as Alexis Hall, Tanya Byrne and Simon James Green who are all well known for their work in YA queer books, all of them well established published authors with big followings of readers. 
Within this career, it is a lot better to buddy up with competitors than against them, sharing each others work to the world to show support would especially help me as an upcoming author. I can also engage these existing audiences with my work by having similarities and differences to the authors they already love. Such as, focusing on YA queer books already makes my books a higher interest for them to read, as well as using similar tropes such as enemies to lovers or the 'one bed' trope that the readers of these books enjoy. However, to still have my differences that gives the readers something new to enjoy, for me this would be the diversity of characters I come up with, or the different genres I create these worlds within, such as a drama or fantasy. 
By gaining inspiration from competition and gaining friendships with them, there is a higher chance of success and for me to not even see other authors as competition, but as writer friends.  ]]> 2022-04-08 09:06:53 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2136056686 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2156278588 From looking into the early careers of the practitioners I admire most, I have found some comfort into the amount of different approaches they took into the industry. Many of them didn't become successful until later in their thirties or forties, but even before then, they found themselves doing different things for fun and for income. All of these practitioners have shown me that it's ideal to find a part-time job to do alongside my creative work simply to keep a steady income while I work to that success within the industry I want. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll find a part-time job at a video store or bookshop/library like Tarantino and Silvera did, that way even at work I'll be surrounded by what I love.
The practitioner that's given me the most inspiration from learning about their early career is Taika Waititi, purely because becoming successful was never his intention. He never wanted to break into Hollywood and work on big movies, he simply wanted to have fun and create, whether that was with painting, writing, acting or directing, he just did whatever he found fun at the time. I do see a bit of myself in Waititi, with myself having many different interests with illustrating and writing scripts and novels, I never know which one might lead on to a successful career, or which will remain a hobby, but if Waititi has taught me anything, it's to not force anything. So with my illustrating and writing, I've just got to keep on enjoying it, keep on creating and exploring within it, and if I have the opportunity to take it further, to take it. ]]> 2022-04-25 10:22:57 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2156278588 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2163979877 2022-04-29 08:34:13 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2163979877 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2164001969 A while ago I submitted my book, Inferno Hearts, to Olympia Publishers in the hopes to get it published with them. Earlier this month, they expressed their wishes to take on the book under their name, which I was absolutely thrilled by. However, they requested to publish under their hybrid offer, which required me to pay a one-off fee of £2700. With this being an amount I couldn't afford anyway, I had to decline their offer, but I also had several friends and authors I contacted who stated that I shouldn't be paying, that the publishers were taking advantage of me being an author without an agent or assistant. Although it was upsetting that I had to turn down the opportunity, I've still taken away the positive that there are publishers interested in my work and this experience has led me to look into more publishers offers, as well as explore into how and where to get an agent or assistant to help me further with these opportunities. ]]> 2022-04-29 08:53:19 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2164001969 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2171194349 Most of my promotion is for my art business, it is different to promote as a writer, with it just all involving written work - however, my promotion for my work as an author is on my Goodreads page where my written work work can be reviewed. I also keep all the manuscripts and drafts of my novels and scripts to send to anyone I believe can take my work to the net step.

There is a bit of a cross over of promotion on my Instagram. I have an art account where I give updates about my writing and draw character concepts of the characters in my books. However, most of the posts on the account is of other artwork, commissions and updates on stickers and other bits of merch I've got through my Redbubble. My Instagram also has a Linktree link in the bio to lead people on to my website, Redbubble, Etsy and other sites where I promote and sell my work. 

Majority of the artwork I do is of actors, a lot of them are of Richard Madden, which most of the people who follow me are fans of him and his films. With that in mind, my art account's image is revolved around him a lot, with the business name as Madden Arts. I don't have an official logo, but with my profile photo of Richard in my art style, people easily recognise when my account pops up for them. Along with that, across all my sites - and my art business cards which I hand out with each commission - I try to keep a consistent colour scheme of sky blue, grey and some splashes of gold. I chose this theme for multiple reasons - blue and gold are my favourite colours and colour combination, the mix of grey/blue/gold gives a sense of both creativity and professionalism, and the three colours are also the colour theme for my work with Whitewood, which also has a strong presence on my art account, sharing character and world concepts with my followers. ]]> 2022-05-05 10:14:26 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2171194349 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2171196207 I've worked on a lot of art commissions recently, the two most recent being the front book cover for Cathy Yardley's 'Level Up'. It is one of the most successful pieces I've had, for someone to trust me with their book. Yardley sent me all the information I needed on the character descriptions, previous covers she had for the book that didn't do so well, and covers of other books that she likes. I also kept in touch with her throughout the process, making sure she was happy with everything, and took on board any adjustments she wanted, such as with the titles font. For the piece, I did a 50/50 payment, half deposit, half when the piece was finished - I will definitely be sticking to this method, as it keeps both me and the client at piece of mind that I will be completing the illustration for them and not just taking their money, and that they will pay me and not just take my artwork then ignore me.

I also did a smaller but just as enjoyable commission recently for someone's fan-fiction story. She wanted a piece of artwork at the beginning of their next chapter.  She sent me over the scene she wanted me to recreate, and again, I was sure to show her every step of the process so she could make any changes she needed. It was another piece that the client was very happy with by the end of it. 

I have done several pieces for books now, both for enjoyment and for commissions, it is something I'm liking the more I do it. I'm open to the possibility of working on more book covers for authors and even taking that as my profession down the artist route, with it being the best paid of any of my other artwork, and seems to be the most popular too. ]]> 2022-05-05 10:16:21 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2171196207 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2171197262 For my written work, I use both Microsoft Word and WriterDuet. Word is what I mainly use for my novels, it's easy to use, especially when writing out the first draft where I don't need to worry about format or anything, it's easy enough to write out mass amounts on there. Word is also what a lot of publishers recommend when submitting your manuscripts to them, some just want PDFs, some want the Word file as well, especially when it comes to editing. I have been thinking about what other programs I could potentially use that's better for a novel format, any that might be specifically for novel writing. However, I may only use it when it comes to the final draft of the novel so that it is in that correct format for when it comes to self-publishing or if a publisher requires another program to be used, apart from that, I may continue to use Word, with it being simple to use and something I'm familiar with.

WriterDuet is what I use to write scripts. The software is programmed in a script format, so I don't have to worry about getting the layout correct, I can just focus on the story. The program automatically changes between scene, action, character and dialogue to make its use as straightforward as possible. It can also automatically write in characters names and scene locations to make the process quicker for the writer. I've been using WriterDuet since the start of uni, and I will continue to do so as it's easy and fun to use. You can import old scripts into it to change, you can export in many different formats, and you can also pay monthly for unlimited scripts, however I find it easy enough to export a script then delete it off Writerduet to make room for a new one (there's a maximum of three scripts), and I can easily reupload it to the program if I need to make any changes. ]]> 2022-05-05 10:17:38 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2171197262 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2171197530 For my artwork, I used to have a BOSTO drawing pad and Adobe Photoshop to create all my illustrations, however with coming to the end of uni and not having anymore student loan to support the funds for Adobe, it's a cost that I cannot afford on a yearly basis. 
After many months of saving, I now have an iPad Air 4, along with the Apple Pencil and Procreate. Although in the short term, it's been a lot of money to part with, in the long term, I'm saving a lot compared to if I kept Photoshop. I'm still getting used to Procreate, however it is very similar to Photoshop, with many of its tools a lot easier to use. I'm mainly experimenting with the different brushes, downloading as many free brushes I can to see which ones I'm best with using for outlines and shading. My switch from drawing pad to iPad has been a lot easier compared to my original switch from traditional watercolour to digital, throughout each, I've seen a mass improvement of my artwork. Now having Procreate, I'm excited to how my artwork will progress with it.]]> 2022-05-05 10:17:58 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2171197530 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172587433 2022-05-06 08:35:35 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172587433 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172587979 2022-05-06 08:36:09 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172587979 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172606703 2022-05-06 08:53:12 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172606703 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172607052 2022-05-06 08:53:34 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172607052 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172609459 2022-05-06 08:56:00 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172609459 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172609776 2022-05-06 08:56:22 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172609776 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172610318 2022-05-06 08:56:56 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172610318 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172610688 2022-05-06 08:57:18 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172610688 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172611058 2022-05-06 08:57:40 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172611058 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172686606 After uni, I'm hoping and planning to find a good balance between my creative work and with a part-time job to keep me financially stable. I believe around 15 hours with a part-time job would be the best balance for me to be earning enough for bills and to give me more than enough time for my creative work.

Creative wise, I want to continue with my art commissions, especially with book covers. I'm hoping to eventually sell my own stickers and other merchandise through my own store, rather through Redbubble, that way I have complete control over prices, materials and postage. With my writing, I will probably be working more on my novels, with writing them and trying to get them published. My scripts I will work on in the background, still submitting to festivals, and even adapting my books into screenplays for any potential for them to be turned into films or series.

Ideally in the future, I hope to be a published author with an agent and a publisher who offers me enough earnings to live comfortably from. I have plenty of novels in mind to write which I have saved in my notes, so I have no worries for coming up with the ideas, it's simply getting them out there to the world. I would still continue my artwork, offering commissions even as a published author, however it may be more of a hobby with how time consuming writing can be as a full-time published author. I would keep up with my own artwork for my own enjoyment, working on concepts for my book characters and anything else that gives me enjoyment to draw. 

If my artwork took off before my writing with book covers and other work, I would probably use that to my advantage, using my contact with these authors and my illustrations to  push my novels onward.

I have no idea if this plan will take 2 years, 5, 10 or more - but with how passionate I am about writing and illustration, its something I will be striving towards no matter how long it takes, which will just make it that much more rewarding once I've achieved the success I'm aiming towards.]]> 2022-05-06 10:24:20 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2172686606 loganleighbusiness https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2173756402 2022-05-07 09:53:38 UTC https://padlet.com/loganleighbusiness/professionalpractice/wish/2173756402