I’m excited to announce the winner of my “Share a Plant Story with Me” contest! Congratulations Amanda Lindley! 🌿🥳 It was incredibly hard to pick just one story because they all made me feel emotional! I felt like I could relate to something in each and every one. Thank you to everyone who shared!💚
Amanda shared with me how when she was younger, she and her dad lived with her grandma and the plants there always stick out in her memory. I loved hearing about how the string of pearls she saw on a shelf there is now so strongly tied to the memory of her grandma. 💚It reminded me of how my mom, sister, and I lived with my grandpa when I was younger and it had me thinking about certain things that feel precious to me because they remind me of him.
Most of the plant stories shared with me were about plants that are deeply connected to family memories—I loved hearing how intertwined they are in your life that way, too. There were others about inheriting special plants, preserving plants for future generations, and plants that symbolized surviving really tough times. They were all told so beautifully!🌿
Hear a Sample from the MY LIFE IN PLANTS Audiobook
One of the most exciting parts of working on My Life in Plants was the process of creating the audiobook version of it. This is the first book I’ve done that had a manuscript, so it wasn’t even on the table before with my other illustrated books. I was super excited for the opportunity with this one!
I worked with an audiobook editor at Andrews McMeel, who did a fantastic job with the project. She left the choice up to me, whether I would want to narrate the book myself or to have the publisher hire a professional voice over narrator. I was, of course, a bit intimidated by thinking of narrating it myself, so we decided to hear some samples from this database of professional voice actors that the publisher works with before making the decision. We came across some really great candidates, so I picked a few of my favorites to have the editor request auditions from. One of them was Taylor Meskimen—her samples caught my attention immediately. There was something special about her voice that captured the perfect amount of youth, vulnerability, and introspection that we were looking for. I decided then that I wanted this book to have a professional narrator.
A few weeks later, we got the audition samples back and it was really fun getting to listen to them. It was also kind of surreal to hear a stranger reading my words to me, and a little bit like someone reading my diary out loud! Taylor’s audition knocked it out of the park—it was absolutely perfect and exactly what we had envisioned for this. So, she was hired as the official narrator and went on to narrate the rest of the book over the coming weeks. I think it’s interesting how her name was the first one I wrote down when I was browsing all of the possible voice actors in the beginning stages. My editor said that you just sort of know when it clicks and you find the right voice for a book, and honestly it was exactly what happened here. I’m really grateful that she narrated My Life in Plants and I can’t imagine a better fit. Below is a sample from the chapter “Daisies” if you’d like to take a listen.
The audiobook version of My Life in Plants is available wherever audiobooks are sold!
Illustration Resources - Part 1
I’ve been working for myself as a designer, illustrator, Etsy shop owner, and author since 2012 (how has it already been 8 years?!) and it’s got me thinking about how much I’ve learned throughout this journey. I went to school for graphic design, and while that gave me a really great design foundation, a lot of what I know now was learned “on the job” when taking on new projects and building myself a self-employed career. I wouldn’t be here where I am today if it wasn’t for the generosity of other people sharing what they know and spending time creating resources that have helped me grow so much. That’s one thing I really love about this industry—there is a feeling that there’s room for all of us. Helping each other out is for the good of everyone.
So, maybe you’re just starting out, or you’ve been in this industry for a while and are looking for something you may not have come across yet. Either way, if you happen to be a creative person of any type, I thought you might be interested in some of these things I’ve learned and some of my favorite people that I’ve learned from. I’m going to try to do a post like this fairly regularly because there’s so much I’d like to share with you.
For this first one, I thought I’d talk about my favorite industry newsletters that I subscribe to. I don’t subscribe to a whole lot because it stresses me out to get a lot of emails, but out of the ones I get, these are the ones I consistently open up and read.
🌸 Becky Simpson’s Creative Nourishment newsletter
Becky is a friend of mine who I met through our mutual literary agent, Laurie Abkemeier. She’s an author, illustrator, and art director. A few months ago I started getting her Creative Nourishment newsletter and every single email has had an incredibly useful nugget of advice and information. She talks openly about the creative process and industry, including things like dealing with jealousy and *actual* pricing numbers for illustration projects. Thanks to the information she shared in one of her emails, I successfully applied for and received a PPP loan which has been a huge help. Before her email, I had previously assumed I didn’t qualify for it because I am a sole proprietor, but her email explained the process and requirements in a much more human way than all of the official websites and such. Her email about jealousy is really helpful, too, and I recall her words regularly when those icky (but normal) feelings pop up. Basically, her newsletter is full of very practical advice that I think will improve your day-to-day life as a creative person.
🌸 The Aesthetics of Joy by Ingrid Fetell Lee newsletter (scroll down to bottom of page to sign up)
This one isn’t particular to the illustration industry, but I often apply the information shared in it to my illustration work. My cousin-in-law recommended this website to me because it’s so beautiful and full of really helpful advice about finding joy. Seriously, go take a look at it. It’s so pretty! Each email is a nice, gentle reminder to prioritize joy in life without feeling guilty about it. It improves my mood because it’s just so pleasant and friendly and not the “make every day amazing/ good vibes only/ blah blah blah” toxic positivity that’s just not realistic. It’s more about finding bits of joy even when everything is not okay, taking in what’s around you, and recognizing the good in what may seem ordinary. When I’m in a good mood, it’s a little easier to create and feel productive. The idea of prioritizing joy reminds me to think about that in my artwork, too. Creating illustrations that bring me joy and amusement are likely to bring someone else joy and amusement as well.
🌸 Juliet Meeks Design newsletter (make sure to check the “art business + painting tools” selection when signing up)
Juliet Meeks is a surface designer and illustrator who is well known for her beautiful floral paintings. I really love her artwork, so I signed up for her newsletter earlier this year to follow her shop updates and get her art business tips. The main thing I like about her art business newsletter is that each one talks about her experience with that particular topic. One of those was where she talked about how doing a 100 Day Project really kickstarted her career and she detailed what that process was like. I love getting advice from artists I admire, and I like it even more when I can hear more about what that person’s actual experience was like. She’s also very transparent about the industry and has shared actual pricing numbers that have been so helpful to see. A lot of her emails about geared towards the surface design/ licensing industry, but there are a lot of helpful tidbits about working as a creative in general.
Share a Plant Story with Me and Win a Custom Illustration! 💐
My new book My Life in Plants is all about the plants that have been witness to the amazing, the heartbreaking, the pivotal, and the ordinary moments of my life. To celebrate the book’s release, I would like YOU to share a plant memory of your own with me for a chance to win a custom 8x10 illustration of the plant of your choice!
Here are some examples of what you could share:
- A plant you remember from childhood
- A favorite memory that a plant is tied to
- A pivotal moment in life and the plant that was witness to it
- A plant that you learned a life lesson from
👉 HOW TO ENTER
From now through Tuesday, Sept. 8th, share with me a little (or a lot) about your plant memory in either an email, a DM in Instagram, a message on Facebook, or reply to my Instagram Story in the “Contest” Highlight. I’ll choose my favorite plant story and will contact the winner directly to coordinate the details of the custom illustration. Once finished, the illustration will be delivered as an 8x10 art print that’ll be mailed to you. Please know that by submitting, you give me permission to share an excerpt of your story (with credit) in an illustrated post on my social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter).
👉CONTEST RULES
All entries must be submitted to me by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on 9/8/2020. The stories of plant memories will be judged by me and one (1) winner will be selected and notified directly on 9/9/2020. I will announce the winner publicly on 9/10/2020. Participation open only to legal residents of the United States who are 18 or older as of date of entry. This contest is not affiliated with Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook in any way.
My Life in Plants: Flowers I've Loved, Herbs I've Grown, and Houseplants I've Killed on the Way to Finding Myself is available wherever books are sold!📚🌿
MY LIFE IN PLANTS is here! 🎉
It’s here! It’s finally here! Happy book birthday to My Life in Plants, and 33rd birthday to me! 🥳
I feel lucky to get to share my birthday today with the release of it. I love this book so much! I know I’m a little biased because it’s mine, but I think it’s pretty unique and there isn’t too much out there that’s like it. I’m so in love with how it turned out, thanks to all the help from my amazing publisher, Andrews McMeel, and my equally amazing literary agent, Laurie Abkemeier. There was so much work and emotion and time that went into this project and I think I really grew as an illustrator and as a writer while working on it. I’m so excited for you to finally be able to read it!
It’s available anywhere books are sold, including local bookstores as well as online retailers such as:
I’ll be celebrating the release (and my birthday) tonight online and you are most welcome to join! It’ll be from 7:00–8:00 PM ET on Zoom. Find out more details on my event page here. Hope you can join me! :)
A Plant Freebie For You - 1 DAY LEFT! 🌿
It’s almost here! My new book, My Life in Plants, will be released tomorrow! I’m so, so excited to share this book with the world and especially with you. To finish off my countdown, my last plant freebie for you is a set of animated plant-themed GIFs to decorate your text messages, Instagram Stories, other social media posts, and many more things!
I have an artist channel on GIPHY now, so these can be used anywhere you’re already using GIPHY GIFs, such as iMessage, Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Reddit, text message, email—basically everywhere! There are also “sticker” versions of these that you can add to your Instagram Stories! To find them, just search for “My Life in Plants” or “Katie Vaz” when browsing GIFs and stickers in any of those platforms.
