Waiting For My Artist Card: Negotiating Prices in the Age of COVID-19

I've been waiting for my artist card for years. I'm sure there has to be one. There must be.

How do I know this?

I imagine it is sort of like this but with artist stuff on it

Because negotiating a fee for storytelling, or any art, is tricky. For some organizations or people, when they get into the process of hiring an artist, they are flabbergasted at how much it can cost.

Some organizations want an artist to come, but they are annoyed that they have to pay you at all aside from covering dinner.

Some organizations are shocked to find out that you won't come for free or work for a pittance.

Some organizations think they've offered you plenty of compensation and they don't get why one hundred dollars is not sufficient for your time. You are only going to be telling for an hour!

Some people complain that they are hiring you to do something you love, so why are you charging so much?

Clearly, there is a formula on the artist card that must look something like this -

Artists love their work. +  They are only banging on drums/telling stories/singing for x amount of time. + They are only working with families/children. + They are not traveling far. + They really are having fun. + I am offering them exposure. = They really should be paying me for giving them this opportunity.

I suppose that is why some people approach fee negotiations with an artist like, "I guess I'll toss them a bone. I'm sure that will be sufficient."

Luckily for me, I don't negotiate fees. I leave that to The David. I let him wrangle with people over dollars and cents.

Yes, in the best of times, it is hard to negotiate a fee.

Throw in a global pandemic and you make things even harder.

In the before time -

"We have fifteen libraries. We have this much money, how many of them will you visit if we pay you x amount?"

In the now -

Client: "We want a virtual show and we want to stream it to all fifteen of the libraries for two weeks, and we want to pay you as if you have only visited one branch on one afternoon because you are recording the show. That seems fair.


Artist: "Umm. No. I'm sorry. I can't afford to do it like that. Let's talk about a fee for each library in your system. Certainly not as high as if I was there in person. That way, I am in every library, you have programming for your entire system, and I am compensated for the work I am putting into preparing this program for you.

Client: "What? You want us to compensate you for essentially working every one of our libraries this summer even though your show is pre-recorded?  That is unreasonable. The formula on your artist card says that creating pre-recorded virtual programming is much easier and less expensive to produce!"


I really need to get hold of this artist card.

this is the TIR apartment in Jonesboro!

Since it is being used against me on a regular basis, there must be a way for me to use it to help my situation.

I could take it to my mortgage broker. She'd say, "Wow, I didn't know you had an artist card. Considering this formula, I am going to drop your mortgage payments by forty percent!"

How about grocery shopping? I could present my artist card right before my credit card. "Wow! You're an artist who loves what she does. Your groceries are going to cost fifty percent less than everyone else who has to work for a living!"

Oh, at the bookstore! "Wait! You're an artist? Well, here are all of your books at ten percent of what everyone else has to pay for books!"



Yes! My artist card, the card that makes people assume they don't need to pay me, should also alert the people that I have to pay that I shouldn't be charged full price for anything!

Sadly, my artist card has not come, so, I am still in the position of negotiating a fee.

Here is a blog post I wrote years ago with some tips about setting and negotiating a fee.


I reread it this morning and was surprised to see that it still holds.

We have adjusted our fee structure because of COVID.

My travel expenses are nonexistent, but there are other expenses we have to contend with.

We have a pro Zoom account.

We have a premium Vimeo Account.

I upgraded my laptop.

I bought a camcorder.

I bought an external mic.

I've purchased lights, backdrops, frames on which to hang the backdrop, editing software, upgraded the internet to the fastest speeds allowable in my area, and spent hours rehearsing, recording, re-recording in various parts of my house to find the best place to make solid sound without echoing or feedback. I've invested hours and hours in educating myself about how all of this works. We are combining years of education, brand new skills, and our knowledge of our craft to make art in a new way with an unfamiliar tech world.

What a client is getting on the other end of this process is a high quality, well put together, specifically crafted piece that is designed for this particular medium that displays our artform to the best of our ability.

That is no small accomplishment.
That is not cheap.
That is not easy.
That is not thrown together.
That is not an afterthought.

If we charged what our work and dedication is actually worth every single time we stepped into a venue, nobody could afford it.

The price we quoted is already a steep discount unless it is in the six figures.

You are more than worth the fee you charge.

If we do not fight for the right to be properly compensated for our work, we won't be, and nobody will have any idea we should be.

That was true in the before time.

It is still true now.

Then again, my artist card might come today.

Happy making art work for you!

What do you mean I can't go on tour? : Rethinking A Lifestyle!

Worth every second of down time

For my entire adult life, aside from a few years when I was either gestating, giving birth to or using my body to feed and nurture developing human beings, I have been on tour. 

I visit my home for periods of time, but most of the time I am engaging in the rough and ready life of hotel rooms, staying with friends, thousands of strangers, new places, language barriers, avoiding gluten, and generally being a public-facing introvert. Ambivert. Donna Marie Todd assures me I am an ambivert. 

I have been home for four months. That's right - FOUR MONTHS, and I'm not recovering from anything or distracted with babies.

At first, this was not my main concern, because Houston, we have a problem.

My brain went into shock mode for a couple of weeks -

What is going on?

How am I going to make a living?

How long is this going to last?

Luckily, I live with my business manager. Did I say "luckily"? It has its moments...especially since I am doing it full time now.

The David and I

Within two weeks, we'd moved into action mode -

- Find a virtual pathway

- How much performing do I have to do live? Can I pre-record shows?

- Is there a model where we can capitalize on this new situation so we can survive

- What is the next step?

Within a month we not only had a new business plan but a new model that was working well.

We were able to make headway on the money we'd lost when COVID stopped our season.

We started thinking about how our new model translated into the Fall.

We made plans, and begin to carry them out on a massive scale.

- National contact list - go!

- How does this software work?

- Do we need more technology?

- How do we price this?

We made plans about supporting our community - 

- Artists Standing Strong Together!

- Donating to causes we believe in from Food Banks, to Arts Councils, to Storyteller Relief Funds

- Contributing to artists whenever possible

Then something odd happened.

I was suddenly at the end of the planning and whirlwind prep. I looked up into a sea of days with nothing too much to accomplish.

If I wasn't doing anything, it had nothing to do with procrastination. I really didn't have anything to do.

I like procrastination. It means you have duties you are ignoring. What happens when you really don't have anything to do? What does that even mean?

Yes, I could rehearse or write, but I don't actually have any "real" deadlines. 

NO DEADLINES!!! 

HOW DO YOU SURVIVE WITHOUT DEADLINES???

I am not a self-regulator. I rely on my touring schedule to help me remember what day it is! 

I started freaking out a little. A type-A personality without a feeling of impending doom in the pit of my stomach because I've agreed to something that is slightly out of my wheelhouse is a dangerous thing. How can anybody live like that???

No. I was very freaked.

Then, The David took me in hand and told me that it was not healthy for me to be so unfocused.

That's when it happened.

I bought a planner. 

I haven't had one since The David took over my touring schedule almost two decades ago. 

I started writing in it almost immediately. 

I suddenly realized that counter to what I thought, I am really busy. I mean, really really busy!

Apparently, I have board meetings, group meetings, artist meetings, work meetings, programs to write and develop, and things that I need to accomplish.

There is so much more to my life than just touring!

Who knew? 

With my days spread before me like an uninked sea, it occurred to me that this would be a good time to start some good, achievable habits.

I've always had Non-fiction Thursday, but, I thought, what if I expanded this out so that I accomplished different things every single day?

So, I have a new way forward.

Monday - Check-In. This is when I will call people, spend the day on social media. maybe watch some storytelling. maybe work on my projects, maybe not! Ha

Tuesday - Recordings! - If there is something to record from intros to story sets to new stories, or education modules - this is the day I will get that done!

Wednesday - Free Day! Clean the House! Possibly do some reading for fun. Date Night!

Thursday - Non-Fiction Thursday. Blogging, admin, the stuff I won't do unless I'm forced.

Friday - My new day! Fiction Fridays! woohoo! I get to work on fiction all day! That's it! Just fiction!!!!

Saturday - 3 - 5 in Liz Weir's Barn I need that. Otherwise, work on projects Family Game Night!

Sunday - Work in the garden, sit outside, make sure you enjoy the outside...that's all I'm sayin'

I am looking forward to my new schedule. 

I better be.

I doubt I'll be touring again for the next year!

Keep your spirits up!

Wash your hands!

Wear a mask!

Social Distance!

Choose your life! 

You've got to live it anyway, you might as well live it on your own terms!

Happy Not-Touring - 

Skills of a Lifetime Are Useless: Rethinking Performing

I have a degree in theatre from Northwestern University!

I trained with Rives Collins!

I was mentored by Nancy Donoval, Sue O'Halloran, Beth Horner, Jackie Torrence, Janice Del Negro, Jim May, Syd Lieberman, Donald Davis, Jay O'Callahan, Dovie Thomason and many others!

I know how to read an audience. I know how to find the sweet spot in the story that reaches out and grabs people's hearts.

I know how to approach an audience and find a place where we can build a community together.

I know how to use stories to reach through generational and cultural barriers.

I know how to craft stories for different age groups, and adjust those stories in the blink of an eye if I feel the need to do so.

In the world of a global pandemic, none of those skills matter.

Why?

I didn't train to be a sound engineer!

I didn't train to be a video editor!

I didn't train to be a film director!

I didn't rain to design lights!

I didn't train to be a tech director!

I didn't train to design soundtracks!

I know how to tell stories.
I know how to tell stories to live audiences.

That's what I got.

Unfortunately.....

Yeah, typically it is monkeys, but I like frogs

1. I cannot see my audience.

There could be five, or five hundred people in the audience, and I cannot see them. Even if they are on the screen I cannot see them. I have to focus like a laser on the camera. If I don't, it will look like I"m not looking at anybody.

2. I cannot hear my audience.

So many of my stories are about creating communal sounds, chants, calls, and expressions, that without them, the space around me isn't full of anything. It is very odd.

3. I cannot interact with my audience.

I cannot take a quick poll of a raise of hands, point to someone who is having a particularly good time, laugh with someone, share a quick look with a particular person, or identify someone who is lost or looking confused and bring them back into the fold. In fact, I can't do anything at all when it comes to making individual personal connections.

4. I do not have a cohesive audience.

I am at my home, and every other person is somewhere in their own spaces. They cannot hear or feel or sometimes even see other people listening. They are having their own private little show, and they are not drawn in or carried along by the energy of anyone else in the audience.

I don't have one audience I have twenty or more. Each one encased in their own little room.

5. I am a floating head in a box.

I do not have the full use of my whole body. My movements have to be curtailed, I have to be aware of what the camera sees, blurring effects, my background, and anything that comes into camera view becomes immediately distracting because everything else has been carefully eliminated so as not to be distracting!


Luckily, I am not yet dead. This means I can still learn some new things. Actually, it means I must!

We are all on a learning curve.

Nobody knows what this looks like.

I have been recording stories since the second week of March. I finally got the hang of it in the last two weeks of May.

I have done more reading about lights, and movement, and the camera, and microphones, and Zoom, and Vimeo, and who knows what else in the last three months.

I have joined groups, asked for help, left groups, asked for help, started groups, asked for help, cocooned, reached out, gone into despair, recovered from despair, shouted my defiance, sheepishly apologized for being a jerk, learned programs I never knew existed, spent money I didn't know I would ever need to spend, worked through fear, anxiety, worry, and frustration.

Then, days ago, the world turned itself right-side up.

Everything started humming. I have found peace in the storytelling work.


1.  I imagine the person or the audience. I imagine how they are reacting, and I tell as if they are right there with me.

2. I make space for the reactions that I feel belong there.

3. I interact with them anyway, and anyone watching can play or not

4. Every single audience is having their own personal experience, and that is lovely

5. I am engaging in a form of media that more people have seen than storytelling. If this is a way to introduce them to my art form, then so be it.

Most of my shows are pre-recorded.

I started uploading shows to our Vimeo with password-protected content. The client can access the content and share it, but nobody else can. When their time ends, we change the password, and the show goes back under lock and key.

I felt like I was starting to get the hang of it. Then, on Tuesday, a pop quiz arrived.

One of the services I offer to libraries is a customized intro. They give a shout out to the Friends of the library or something like that. It is a promo that's just for them.

One of the things I figured out how to do was detach the audio from a clip and replaced the image. So, I got this idea.  I recorded the shout out, took out the video, and replaced it with the sponsor's logo.

I was feeling all clever. 

Apparently, the sponsor saw it and decided that they wanted something better. They have their own studio department, and they whipped up a smooth commercial for summer reading, sent it to the library, and said they wanted to replace my "commercial" with theirs.

The library sent me the sponsor's spot, said they could do the substitution. All I had to do was give them the footage of the show.

Our new business model does not allow for people who are "renting" the material to download it.

Two months ago, I would have had to wake up my son and ask him if he could do this. Six months ago I would have taken it to my daughter and asked her if she could do it.

This morning?

This morning I downloaded the commercial.

Went into my back up disc, found the original show, put it back on my laptop

Loaded the new commercial and the old footage into my editing software

Replaced the old commercial with the new one

Downloaded the new show onto my laptop

Went to Vimeo and isolated the video that needed updating

Replaced the old show with the new one without needing to change the link, and finished my breakfast.

My old skills are not much use right now, but my new ones?

My new ones are pretty awesome.

Happy Learning!

Other Parts of Life - There Are Wonderful Things Afoot!

There are so many pretty amazing things going on in our world. In North Carolina, it is feeling more and more like summer!




My garden is doing its thing.




My cats are still a little nutty










My daughter is still drawing on herself.



My son sill wears a black overcoat on sweltering days.




Some of you might not know this, but I moonlight as a professor at Hogwarts on the Hill.

I am Professor Melinda Menagerie and I teach Care of Magical Creatures.

This morning I got an email from the Headmistress. They have decided that this year's classes are going to happen no matter what.

Each professor will prepare a packet for the students. The parents will come by Platform 9 ¾  to pick it up on the day in question, and the classes will be available on a private channel.

I live with 2 visual artists and one of them specializes in 3-dimensional digital art.

You know what that means, right?

This year we are totally studying dragons! I'm going to be in videos with dragons! I am going to hold a little dragon!

I get to pick up a dragon egg! No, wait! Maybe we'll make dragon eggs as one of our crafts!







I don't usually do crafts. Never a good time to start!

Actually, I picked up something that I'm pretty sure looks like a dragon egg!



Okay, it is an emu egg, but it will serve!









Hey! Maybe I could make dragon eggs and put little plastic dragons inside so that when the kids get them home, they could use their wands to pacify the eggs, then crack them open and there would be little plastic dragons inside of them.

That could be fun. We would definitely get to work on our wand forms.

That means I could be making dragon eggs this summer!

So many things to do. So many things to do.

I am also going to transfer more stories to video for the fall.

We touring artists are going to be disease vectors, so I doubt our presence will be welcome even if schools do open.

I'm also going to be doing some virtual residencies.

So much planning!

Libraries are still booking shows.

The David is still sending out marketing emails.

Oh, that reminds me - If you want to take a workshop with Sue O'Halloran and the David about this brave new world of virtual storytelling and the marketing thereof, you can sign up now.

Right Now.

The David

Overnight, the world of in-person storytelling, keynote speaking, workshop facilitation and the like disappeared. In this 90-minute webinar, Sue O’Halloran and David Klibanow will offer guidelines on adapting to and prospering in this “new normal” of virtual presentations.

Quality production, entertaining, relevant content, efficient business systems and effective marketing all still matter, but they have morphed into a different medium with its own formulas for success.

A year from now, will you be looking back on all you’ve created and the explosion of new people you’ve reached? Or will you be feeling even more isolated, wishing you had ventured into this new world of virtual opportunity?

There are lots of wonderful things happening. The world has not ended. I am going to get on my bike when I am done writing this on non-fiction Thursday.

Tomorrow is going to be for recording.

Saturday I will be Zooming with London.

Sunday I have set aside for the writing group with incredible women who make me a better writer and a better person.

This is my new anthem...except the part about the trumpet. Substitute telling stories and we are good.





Happy Remembering There Are Other Things!

The David and Sue O'Halloran Are Hosting A Workshop About The Business of Virtual Storytelling! - SAVE THE DATE

Earlier this week a sent out a simple question asking if anyone would be interested in a workshop where The David talked about transforming our business model in the age of non-touring.

The response was not surprising to me, but it was definitely surprising to The David.

Sue O'Halloran

Well, it just so happens that the afternoon after the morning I sent out that query, The David got a call from Sue O'Halloran about virtual work.

Sheila Arnold

Sue has run an entire festival online! She's created hours and hours of online material.

Sue has graciously allowed us to post two of her resources on the most effective way to record online content on our ASST (Artist Standing Strong Together) blog.

I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if the two of them taught something together? Maybe half the workshop could be about creating online material, and the other half could be the marketing and reformation of the business.

They talked about and decided it was a doable thing!

Next, we contacted the amazing Sheila Arnold. 
We asked if she would be willing to host it as an ASST program.

She said she most certainly would!

Next, we needed a date.

So, here it is -

On May 27th, 3pm Dave Klibanow (aka The David) and Sue O'Halloran will conduct a 90-minute workshop on taking your touring artist business virtual.

There will be a charge for this workshop.

$20.00


In the coming days, there will be more information.

If you are interested in the workshop keep your eyes open for the registration information. I will post, and repost and repost again between now and the event.

There is no plan to cap the numbers, at this point. If that changes, we will let you know.

That's the big news. Other than that?

Well...

I recorded hours of content for our virtual business, including a little promo video

- My daughter made a gorgeous map for her beau


My son started creating a ten course online class for middle schoolers and teens who want to do world building in video games.

The David oversaw and organized it all.


Have a great week.

How can it feel like tons of things are happening and nothing at all is happening all at the same time?

Be safe
Social distance
Stay inside
Wash your hands!

Happy Figuring It Out Every Day!

Storytelling As A Business - Let's Focus on What's Next

Almost 100% of my family's income is derived from live performance.

A small percentage comes from my published work, and a small percentage comes in through my husband working PRN as a social worker twice a month. The rest of it? Live Performance.

Within days of the Stay At Home orders, The David, who is my husband and business manager, and I went into planning mode.




The realities of this situation were quite clear -

Live performance was on hold for now and for the foreseeable future.

We looked at our business model and asked some questions:

1. Can DLW Storyteller Inc. change the product we offer in order to sustain this business?

I'm the product because I'm a storyteller.
The answer?
No.

2. Okay. Do we need to change our business model so that we go from marketing a product to markets that already have audiences to creating our own audiences?

Yes, we could.
Do we want to?
No.

3.  Okay. Can we change the nature of the products our company offers to fit the current potential market?

We think so.

4. Excellent! How would we change that product?

We have to go virtual.

5. Excellent! What does that look like? Lots of Zoom shows?

Me - Don't know.
Not a big fan of distance learning.
Not a huge fan of distance telling.
I've done both.
Don't think I do a very good job at it.
In fact, I always feel like I suck.
You don't have one audience, you have forty or more and they don't react to each other because they can neither hear or see each other, and you can't have eye contact, and, and, and...

The David - Okay, Donna, stop kvetching. Artists. Sheesh!

Me - Don't roll your eyes at me. If I gotta do it, I will, but the whole killing me softly and destroying my fragile soul and that. Sigh. I'll adjust as needed, however...100% of our income at all

The David - Really Rolling His Eyes

7. RESEARCH TIme!

While we were researching some options, we got an offer from someone who wanted to market our virtual shows. We were pretty amazed at what he was offering, but we turned him down because he was asking what we felt was too much for being a middle man. We regrouped to think about our possible marketing and product offers.

8. We invested in some new technology, spent time trying to figure out how best to package our new presentations, asked advice, and feedback from people in our industry.

I spent hours making a ton of useless content that had to be deleted for one reason or another. It was extremely discouraging. I was also unhappy with the performances, grumpy about lighting, uncertain about content, and any number of things. So many fails!!!

9. We created a different marketing strategy with the idea of delivering our product in a different way that made it easy for organizations to consume.

10. We did some primary marketing.
The response was good, so we were optimistic.

11 - We launched a targeted national marketing push.

12. The response has been more than I could have hoped.


Our company has rebounded. We are on track to book more work this summer than was canceled. We are currently setting marketing goals and looking for audiences in the fall assuming that public schools are not going to be willing to allow random artists to move from school to school or that public and private schools are even going to be open.

Who knows how that is going to go, but we are moving forward.



- Every artist is going to have to make choices about how they go forward and what works for them. Not all virtual platforms are comfortable for all people. We have diverse skill sets and different needs. Find out how you go forward in a way that fits with your comfort level and abilities. Plan for the future in a world that looks like this.

For us, it means we have an entire branch of our company that did not exist before that we can continue to market even after this pandemic is at an end.


Start asking the questions you need to ask.
Examine your business model.
Consider how your marketing strategies must change.
"Be Bold! Be Bold!"
Failure means you tried, you learned, and you get better! If at first, you don't succeed and all.

Saw a meme the other day...

homemade chocolate recipe

If life gives you lemons throw them back. You deserve chocolate.

I also like:

If life gives you lemons, find yourself some water and sugar or your lemonade is really going to suck.

Storytelling, puppetry, clowning, dance, music, and teaching artists of all types know that our art form is also a business.

Let's focus on how we go forward.

Here is a link to the NSN Storytelling site where you can find a link to the Storytelling Relief Fund set up by Artists Standing Strong Together. You can apply for funding, or you can donate to the fund.

There are lots of organizations that are providing relief for artists. 

Take care of yourself
Be safe at home
Wash your hands
Stay socially distant if you have to go out

I'll see you on the other side of this.

Making Sense of Time in Quarantine - Some Suggestions

Back when I was touring...you know, a month ago...I had this odd thing that happened regularly.

Most of the time, I was on the go. I had shows in the morning, afternoon, evening or all three, and they could be anywhere in the country.


The odd thing that would happen is that I would have the day off, get up leisurely, have my day, and then realize I needed something from the store. I'd get in my car, head out of my neighborhood, and discover that there were tons of cars everywhere! I'd miss light cycles, deal with impatient drivers, and find myself creeping to the store.

I would be so annoyed. "Why are all of these crazy people on the road like this on Saturday afternoon?"

Then, my brain would jolt back into reality: You are the crazy person. Today is Wednesday!


You see, any day I didn't work in the midst of my crazy schedule always felt like Saturday. I was home, my husband works from home, I got two cups of tea, had a nice breakfast, got to do some housekeeping, hung out with my pets, did some writing, and made some plans about shows, or

projects. Sometimes I even gardened, and of course, during the spring and summer, I get on my bike.

That sounds like Saturday.

So, any day I didn't tour felt like Saturday.

I suspect that in some respects, lots of people are starting to have this same odd feeling about time. It is difficult to know what day it is. This time fog makes days seem longer or difficult to grasp.

Sometimes events race and sometimes they plod, but there is no rhyme or reason to it.

Then there is the exhaustion that some people might be feeling.

As a performer, I deal with an odd physical reaction to not touring.

The days I have to get up and get dressed and drive out somewhere and perform, my body is prepped for that event. It is easier to get through the day.

On days I don't have to perform, I feel like a slug!

I suspect that this is because of the lack of energy boost and adrenaline. In my case, the expectation of performance, the routine of the day, the process of work itself, dealing with many different personalities, the commute - all of those things give me a boost.

Interacting with people live and in real-time allows us to share each other's energy. This is why some people make you tired and some people energize you.

Successful performers know how to harness and shape the energy they get from an audience to create a mutually agreeable shared experience. It is exciting, satisfying, invigorating, and exhausting.  It also requires an amazing amount of adrenaline!

On the odd days when I'm not performing, I get sleepy during the afternoon, and I don't always get up easily, or willingly.

I have gotten used to this odd thing, and I try to combat it by making lists of what I mean to do on my "days off" which don't always conform to a regular workweek.

People who are used to their workweek might very well be feeling this odd lack of extra motivation. It is hard to keep track of virtual meetings. Your brain doesn't think they are real.

source

The energy you get from your office environment is not impacting you. The way your office smells, feels, sounds, and interacts with your brain is absent.

There are people who you try to impress, and people who try to impress you. There are co-workers who hug you, ignore you, check on you, and give you that odd five-minute random conversation.

All of it is gone for now.


If you are feeling odd, sleepy, disoriented, and lazy - there is a chance that you are feeling this extreme lack of energy.

I don't know how long we will be out of synch with our lives, but here are some things I have had to do when I am in the throes of time fog from lack of structure.

1. Make a list of what you need to accomplish before you go to bed.
      a.  Put the date and day of the week at the top of the page

      b.  Plot out the day in times, and give yourself a time limit or guess for how long each activity should take.

      c.  Program breaks into that schedule if you can.

 2. When you get up in the morning, go through the same routine you would go through if you were actually going to work, including getting dressed in your work clothes or something comparable.


3.  If you can, have some designated time where you are working, and therefore unavailable to the rest of the people in your house.

- If you and your spouse are home with children, then this might entail taking turns doing homeschooling and childcare.

- If you are home alone with your children, and you are doing all of the childcare and the homeschooling....then you are hereby forgiven for everything. Get some sleep when you can, exhaust as many online services as you can. Lots of them are free. Good Luck! I am sure you are doing the best you can!

4.  When you are done with work, be done with it. Treat it as if you have left the office. Now, do all the home stuff you would normally do.

5. Make sure you get some kind of physical exercise.

6. Make sure you get some sleep!

These are obvious things, but it doesn't hurt to hear them again...and again...and again.

I know there are people for whom this time is especially fraught and dangerous. Just because our economy stopped spinning doesn't mean the things that plague us stopped happening.

If ever there was a time for us to look to our neighbors and help in any way we can, now is that time.



We can get through this. The longer we stay strong, the better chance we have of surviving this, finding a vaccine, and finding a way back to normalcy.

This is not forever...though with time fog, sometimes it feels that way!

Wash your hands.

Don't touch your face.

Wear masks in public.

Stay home as much as you can.

Virtual Hugs if you are a hugger.

Be safe.

Adjusting To Life

Three weeks ago I was exhausted. I was on a twelve-week touring jag with a single week off in the middle of it.

I was planning to be in Georgia, Florida, out in the Caribbean on a cruise ship, in Colorado, Chicago, and who knows where else.


There were keynotes, performances for adults and children, and multi-generational audiences, and I was ready.

I was ready to drive, fly, and boat to places unknown to find people who were happy to share stories with me.

Then.....

Everything.....

Stopped........

Fifteen thousand dollars drained out of my budget in less than twenty-four hours.

Festivals ended. The world shut its doors and told me to stay out...or in.

Megan Hicks, me, Jessica Robinson, Sheila Arnold

My husband and I drove to Virginia for the Woman's Festival. It snuck in just as everything was closing down.












We left VA, came home to NC, and locked ourselves in.









Our son had gotten his first true nibble on a job at a video game company...meeting canceled.

My daughter's university shut down and she came home to do distance learning.

The Mister works as a Social Worker at Duke Medical, got a cold, and was sent home for a week.

In the meantime.........I WAS NOT ON TOUR!


This is not a shocking thing. Nobody is on tour. All artists are in the same odd boat.

Well, there was only one thing to do. I had to make everything start again.

The brilliant Sheila Arnold

Financially, I was all right, but I knew that wasn't the case for lots of performers out there. Something needed to be done.

Sheila Arnold descended from the heavens and said, "Let's go."

Sheila and I started a group called Artists Standing Strong Together. It was a way to gather information about resources, classes, festivals, and anything else we thought our community needed.

A Facebook page was created by Jim Brule, and Sheila stated holding online chats, festivals, and story sharing. Did I mention she's amazing?

Jim holds Sunday classes on using virtual tools.



Artists Standing Strong Together, or ASST (assist)  also set in motion a fund for storytellers who are having trouble, and we intend to keep it going after this crisis is over. It will help new storytellers bridge the gap as they build an audience, and help others if they fall on unexpected problems.

(I promise I will get the links up as soon as we have them!)

I am an introvert by nature. Once Sheila was well underway, I became back-up. I have to be. I am too scattered to run an organization.

Meanwhile, I have been participating in online international festivals, local festivals, speaking on panels and attending meetings.

Finished editing a book. I sent it to my editor. I got more feedback from a friend I trust. Liked the feedback, waiting to see what my editor says. Know what to fix if I need to.

Started thinking about the next writing project.

Kelly Starling Lyons!

I am hosting a Story Lab on the 20th with an amazing author and friend Kelly Starling Lyons! I promise I'll post more about this!!!









I've been recording a virtual artist in residence experience, am currently in the process of buying a video camera because I will be doing more of them, and planning to record concerts for the summer reading series if it has to be virtual...


My family is home! I'm making meals, but am I offering them the healthiest possible things I can? Another trip to the grocery store.

Family Game Night!

Have I done enough baking? I don't see any more of those homemade donuts, I should get on that.

Oh, and I need to squeeze in a bike ride!

How much time have I been on the computer?

My husband works in a hospital. Totally not stressed about that.


MakeShift Recording Studio - No problem. GO!


Upload a new story!




STOP!!!!!!!

I have been on lockdown for three weeks. Some of you have been on lockdown less and there are a few places that have been locked down longer.

The truth is we might be locked down until mid to late May or June.

I am the gremlin that lives inside my head that feeds me messages that make me nuts.

Do more!
Be more!
Give more!

Not doing enough!
Not being enough!
Not giving enough!

Telling the gremlin to be silent is not easy.

Now that my days are unstructured, and my time is my own, I have to remember that I am enough.

I have to remember that breathing is okay.

I have to remember that hot baths make all the difference.

I have to remember that every single day is a gift.

I have to remember that I am only one person.

I have to remember that I am loved.

I have to remember that I am capable.

I have to remember that I am enough.

As we go through this don't forget that you are enough.

As for me?

Well, tomorrow I'm cleaning toilets, vacuuming, washing more floors, doing my daily doorknob cleaning, baking something sinful, reading with my husband, biking, planning some more virtual content, and spending time with my kids.

I'll get back to my frantic pace on Saturday if I have time.

Take Care of Yourself

Wash Your Hands

Pace Yourself

Happy Sheltering in Place!!!