Diaries have been a thing of my childhood and adolescent years, but not blogs. I've always wanted to try it out, but never gotten to seeing it till the end, perhaps it's because of my perfectionist nature. When I start something, I keep feeling the need to continue until it is 'perfect', if not it ends up becoming a source of headache. Have you ever felt this way too? It is something I've tried to reduce over the years. So here is the first blog post of my life, published on the internet. Not for marketing or for advertising, really, just to let out some of the thoughts on my mind. If you are reading this, thanks for taking the time to visit my site, and my blog.
Recently I found out my book has a slight typo and blunder (internal screams amplifying)-----in two of the pages, there are incomplete sentences, because while checking the files on screen, they seemed perfectly fine, but during a moment of quick edits parts of the text became covered by images, and other text-boxes. A close friend who also contributed her artwork to the book and supported the journey shared the blunders with me in hushed tones. It was alarming and nerve-racking, but it was still something that could not be undone. It felt rather depressing for awhile, because of the expectations I had-----when you've worked so hard for something as best as you could and expected nothing less than perfect, knowing that it didn't turn out to be as what was expected, it can be crushing, would it?
However, shit happens. Lemons happen. So, what should one do about the typos? There were many options, one of the option my friend shared with me was to print word stickers and edit the remaining books. How about the rest of the books already distributed then? Perhaps there could be a broadcast made.
So I played around with my own sticker paper (because the actual stickers required much more time to prepare) and found that drawing onto the page itself gave a much better effect. Better as in much more personal and satisfying. Without a sticker, there wouldn't be a protruding layer, nor a segregated word. It would look like part of the page and even if it's handwritten (with a tiny hand-drawn motif), the quirkiness would add a level of lovableness. When I gave two friends edited copies of their book, it felt sweet. They now have an additional tiny quirk in the book which would hopefully bring smiles to their faces whenever they see the apparent 'typos' and the DIY fixes.
A friend even shared with me that doing this could make the book more 'meaningful', with a special touch. Hearing that made my day.
Now I am considering if I should even order the actual stickers. What about sending out a mass broadcast about the typo and inviting my friends and buyers to write directly in the book; the missing words, and even decorate it themselves, in those 2 blank spaces? And perhaps share their edits on social media with the tag '#Ifixedmytyposongsforjuly'?
Then there would be more fun and creativity. There could even be a contest for the most creative DIY fixes and a prize give-away of my latest art prints (I have an Etsy shoppp check it out~~~). Hahaha the ideas are coming in all at once now!
When life gives you lemons, don't just make lemonade. Make lemon cake, lemon cocktail, lemon jelly and have a lemonade party.
Share your thoughts below, I'd love to hear from you. And if you'd like to get a copy of my book and try the quick fix edit for yourself, let me know ;) (Subtle marketing hahaha)
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