Career

An Interview With Artist Cheng (Lily) Li

by

I met Cheng (Lily) Li in one of my many rounds of conventions.  She's a
fascinating example of how people can share an combine their loves –
she's both an artist and a Life Sciences Research Assistant at
Stanford.  Not only does she do fannish work, she does detailed
scientific illustration – you can find much more at her website, http://www.lilycli.com/.

A person who combines fandom, art, and science sounds like someone
with quite a story to tell, and Lily was nice enough to let me interview
her.

Read more

Don’t Let Employment Define Your Identity

by

I remember my first layoff in 1996.

It was weird and traumatic.  I'd been let go before, I'd had temp assignments run out, but this was a case of everything just ended.  The company I worked for was gone, my co-workers scattered to the four winds, and I was out of a job.

I'd like to say that immunized me against future layoffs.  It didn't.  There's really something about your job just ending, and not because of anything you did – but because a company collapses, or runs out of money, or just decides to cut staff.  Your job is just gone.

In some cases, it feels like you're gone too.  You're not making money, not doing anything, and you don't feel like anyone.  Like it or not, we define a lot of ourselves by our jobs.

Read more

Book Review: Craft, Inc.

by

Craft Inc.: Turning your Creative Hobby Into a Business
By Meg Mateo Ilasco

PROS:

  • A mix of business and personal advice on turning a craft hobby into a career.
  • Provides excellent examples from actual successes.
  • Covers a wide variety of ground very well.
  • Extremely artistic layout makes it accessible (and a great gift)

CONS:

  • Occasional digressions can break the flow of the book.
  • Small typefaces may make reading difficult

SUMMARY: A useful, friendly, and information packed guide to turning crafty hobbies into paying business

Read more