| About Laura Bray
I wanted to be a hairdresser and drive a Trans Am. That was my first childhood dream. After receiving a set of Fashion Plates ® for my tenth birthday, I changed my mind and wanted to be a fashion designer. That dream stuck with me until a very mean high school teacher informed me that I had no artistic talent. I ended up getting an MBA and owning a Human Resources firm instead.
In 2004, I had a surprise pregnancy and my life completely changed. At 35, I was forced to take a hard look at what I was doing with my life and realized that I still wanted to do something artistic. I worked through the damage that was done by my wicked art teacher (and my own misconceptions about what I was capable of) and have been painting and crafting ever since.
Since embarking on my career as an artist, I've been published in several magazines, sell my artwork online and in retail stores, and have won awards for my artwork. My artwork is collected worldwide. Since I am an "artist with an MBA" I also publish this free, monthly electronic newsletter geared towards helping other artists make money from their work.
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Welcome!
I'm so excited to present the new katydid designs look to you. As ezine subscribers you are getting the first look & I want to hear back from you. What do you think? I think I'm going to call the new style Elegant Whimsy. I finally figured out Photoshop (kind of) and am furiously redesigning many of the cards in my shop. I have a special introductory offer on one of the new cards below. These cards aren't even in my Etsy Shop yet, so snap them up before everyone else hears about them. This month's article is the final installment about getting your artwork published in books and magazines. I've had the honor of being in a few of Somerset's publications and one of my journal pages is in the 1000 Artist Journals Pages book that just came out. (Scroll down to the events section of this newsletter to read more about that!) I hope you have enjoyed this publishing series and I look forward to seeing your name & artwork in print. Cupcake Love, Laura Bray |
 Publishing Series Part Three: Getting Published in Books & Magazines
After talking to so many wonderful published artists over the past three months, I feel strange writing an article all by my self, but I want you to understand that you CAN get published in National & International publications and in books simply by trying. I did!! Publishers, editors and authors aren't always going to find you. You need to let them know you are out there! When I was talking to Jenn Hayslip of Eye Candy Creations about how she ended up being featured in Romantic Homes (twice!), she told me that she emailed the editors photos and then had to be very patient. It took them awhile to get back to her! Editors are swamped. Magazines and books aren't as easy to produce as you might think. Be professional and patient and you just might see your name in print! As I mentioned above I just had a journal page published in a book. How did it happen? I simply submitted my pages to the author when she put a call out for artwork in forum that I was a member of. Keep your eyes open & network & you will start to see calls for artwork all around you! I have also had a few pieces of artwork and two articles published in the Somerset publications. All I did was go to their website, read their call for artwork and submission guidelines, took a deep breath & submitted my work. It can be very scary to risk rejection, but if you don't submit, you won't be any further along than you are now. My best piece of advice? Follow the submission guidelines closely. Editors get a ton of submissions and you don't want to be overlooked because you couldn't follow directions! Now, for the luck part. You do need to keep your website and any other web presence up to date and fresh. When I asked my EtsyGreeting members if anyone was ever featured in Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion's Noteworthy section, Elizabeth Allen, of Nella Designs told me she was contacted to be published in the section because one of the editors found her cards on Etsy. So make a promise to yourself and submit some artwork today. I would love to hear if you get published. I will be posting about this article on my blog. If you have any questions, comments about this article or want to share some additional tips for getting your artwork published, please leave a comment on this post. |
Shop at OC Baby
I'm a proud member of the EtsyGreetings Team and this month we have all teamed up with members from another Etsy Team so that we can cross promote each other. I was lucky enough to have OC Baby agree to team up with me. We are a perfect fit! If you love baby blankets that aren't too cute (dare I even say that they are Elegantly Whimsical?) then you have to check out her shop here. She has great jewelry too! | | |
