Ksenia Anske's Blog, page 19

Guest post: Are you a creative or a multi-creative?

Self portraits of Vincent van Gogh and Matthew Gubler

Yo, my loves. I'm starting a series of guest blog posts written by the wonderful members of my team—the very people who are helping TUBE happen.

Please welcome Lilith Matilda Gearhart—artist, activist, advocate, hippie, and the Shipping Goddess who helps ship your books, and the Support Goddess whom you've seen reply to your emails.

ARE YOU A CREATIVE OR A MULTI-CREATIVE?

You might not know who I am, but I know who you are. Aside from being...

Happy New Year, and Thank you

Gif by Oamul

Happy New Year, my loves!

This year wouldn’t be possible without you, and I can’t begin to tell you how much it means, you sticking with me along this wild ride of ups and downs. So many changes have happened that the only thing I’ve learned is this: change is constant.

TUBE has taught me to be humble, to submit to the story and its demands and to understand that if a book takes years to complete, it’s not up to me to rush it. It also taught me to be patient with myself and give...

March 17th date for TUBE launch isn't happening

Gif source

Yo my loves, how is it going? So I have bad news and good news for you. I’ll start with the bad news.

March 17th for TUBE launch isn’t happening.

The deeper into Draft 8 I go, the more I realize that I don’t know squat about the structure of writing a novel. The more I try to force it out of me, the more I see that forcing won’t do squat either because I have to break my bad habits of just writing by the seat of my pants (journaling, which is how I started writing).

I can continue...

How I made a big mistake with book prices...

Gif by Laurene Boglio

When I meet people, and they buy my books in person, I charge them the price that’s on my site, which is $22-25 for novels (that includes the higher-quality printed book plus the kiss and the time to kiss, and the personalized message).

Recently a few lovely ladies whom I sold the books discovered that on Amazon my books are within the $7-9 range and got very upset with me. Hell, I'd be upset too. How could they know I print my paperbacks for a little more money so the...

Selling your books face-to-face without sounding like a TV ad

Gif by Min Liu

Jabe Stafford asked me to write a post about "pitching/selling your book to others face-to-face without sounding like a TV ad."

You got it, Jabe. Here goes.

The reason why we feel sounding like a TV ad when selling face-to-face is because we think we have to sell to the person instead of buying with them.

I’ll explain. 

The typical understanding of selling comes from our experiences being sold to. We only know what we're experienced in life, and because many times we've been bur...

The Art of Selling Art

Illustration by Deblism

My dear friend and writer Lily Gearhart has nominated me for a TED talk by the name of The Art of Selling Art, and I fell in love with the name. It’s what she said I do, teach artists how to sell their art, and there is an art to it (not to twist your brain...or maybe just a little). Plus I promised you this post one post ago, so here goes.

How do you sell your art?

What I’m about to tell you will require you to leave your old life and step into a new one, and in the...

Endodontist turned writer: an incredible story of getting your dream

Please meet fantastic endodontist AND newly minted writer Dr. Randall Rex Calvert who has successfully extracted hidden gold from my root canal (I swear I didn’t hide it there) and will extract more in December (it seems there is a lot!). Randy’s story is so incredible, I want your listening ear. It’ll blow off your socks and inspire you to jump to the clouds.

A few months ago I went to see Randy due to tooth pain (my dentist uncovered the need for a root canal). Randy started the appointme...

My consulting rates! Yes, you can afford to use my brain...

Illustration by Ksenia Kopalova

...and no, you don't need to part with those gold bricks you stashed under your bed. You don't even need to break your piggy bank. All you need to do is decide which one of your organs you can let me harvest, your liver or your kidney...I'M KIDDING! 

You don't need to do even that. I swear.

Here is how this works. 

Thanks to a question from one of you beloved hamsters who watched my very first Facebook LIVE VIDEO on how I got from making $3.40 per hour to $300...

Follow the money, or follow your gut?

Illustration by Raul Nieto Guridi

At one point in your writing career you’ll have to make a choice, and that choice will have little to do with the art of writing and with the business of writing, but a lot to do with who you are and what you believe you can do.

Because it’s all in your head.

That choice will be:

To swim with the other fish or to swim on your own?
To follow the leader or to be the leader?
To copy the tips and the tricks and the techniques, or to make up your own tips and tricks...

On selling books…just a little encouraging message to motivate your butt

Books (Please)! by Alexander Rodchenko, 1924

I can’t stop selling for the life of me. Really, it’s like I was born to sell. I do it with everyone, everywhere, at all times. I used to be ashamed of it. I used to not even understand what it was I was doing. When I was a little girl, I learned to survive by talking people into selling them on the idea of not hurting me. I had to. So I practiced it every day, from very early on. Then, when I understood I could make money with it, I was told it...