I came up with the idea to sew and sell cloth grocery bags because we at Peschel Press wanted a space at the Hershey Winter Arts show (first Saturday in November at the high school if you’re interested in coming out and meeting us). Although we write and self-publish our books (thanks to the miracle […]
Deconstructing cover art can teach you the principles behind good design that you can use to make your own covers, or in conveying your needs to the artist. On the road to becoming an indie author, you have to pick up skills in a number of areas. It is more than learning how to write […]
I taught myself how to sew grocery bags in quantity. I know there are plenty of things that I have missed or don’t understand. There isn’t much information out there about sewing the same thing over and over, especially for the home seamstress. Patterns assume you’ll only make one item and only one at a […]
Watching movies about writers and writing with the non-writers in your household (i.e., non-supportive spouses) might teach them that yes, you really are working.
The five below are part of a longer list we’ve compiled. Some of them involve writers peripherally, while others center on playwrights, journalists, or screenwriters. Many of these films are obscure art house films. Others are not.
We’re nearing the end of the book. This time, we’re going back to the beginning, to explain how Teresa learned to sew cloth grocery bags and the two styles she’ll teach in her book. There’s just two more posts to round out the series: one on Production Sewing and one on Selling Your Bags. Stay […]
We’ve had a couple of event recently at Peschel Press that spurred some ruminations about book shows, capitalism and the writer’s role in the marketplace. This is going to be disjointed post, I confess. We’ve been so swamped with work and book shows recently that I didn’t allot time for writing Monday’s CIA post. So […]
If you have a large piece of heavy fabric hiding in the stash, you can turn it into grocery bags. The length and width will determine how many bags you end up with. This is what I did with one of those pieces. I bought this piece of fabric a long, long time ago; I […]
As a writer, your hands are one of your most valuable tools. The images that appear in your mind won’t translate to paper without being written down. This is where your hands come in; floating over the keyboard, gripping that expensive French fountain pen, or scribbling notes on scrap paper using a pencil stub. They […]
Good panel and gusset layout is critical for getting the most bags from the least amount of yardage. You start by choosing your size panels as they determine how much fabric you will end up using. I always use 13-by-15-inch panels. With their corresponding gusset, they made a nice size bag that isn’t too large […]
Today’s CIA is replaced with my account of the York Book Expo 2017. This was our third appearance at the Expo, and unlike the first year, when I forgot the table banner, or last year, when I screwed up our cookie plan, this one went off without a hitch. The expo was moved from the […]