The most nerve-wracking thing I've EVER done? 😱
I think sharing this might be even more nervewracking than launching a book.
Maybe. Maybe not.
A lot of you have already guessed what it is, but if not…
Drumroll please…
Today I am launching my very own range of gifts for writers! 🎉
Not digital gifts, either. But actual physical gifts.
(Namely: t-shirts and baseball caps. And coasters because every good writer needs somewhere to put their cup of coffee).
A t-shirt wot I made. Don’t think modelling is on the horizon for me 😂
I know, this might seem super random.
And I promise, I’m not giving up web design (or writing!!).
The most terrifying announcement I have ever made!
But let me go back to where this all started…
As you can probably guess, I’m a huge fan of technology and always have been.
I’m also a massive fan of Squarespace, who continue to innovate and add new and exciting functionality to their platform, that we can all take advantage of.
And I’ve known for a while that Squarespace has an amazing integration with a company called Printful, who manufacture print-on-demand products.
I’ve seen an advert for the Printful integration pop-up in the back-end of Squarespace many times and there was always a little voice inside my head that kept saying: that looks fun. Maybe I could give that a try one day?
And then one day, I was looking for a t-shirt to wear when I do writer interviews/zooms etc.
Something with a writer pun on it that would make readers smile.
I looked online and found loads of them, but they were all horrible.
And then I remembered the Printful integration. And I decided to design my own!
The next thing I knew, I was deep into the rabbit warren of print-on-demand business research.
And I loved it!
I find it completely amazing that I can design something on my laptop, then have it printed on to a huge range of products that people can then easily buy and wear or use. It’s SO cool.
As you can see, I roped in some reluctant models from my family.
Choosing what to sell
I started out thinking I’d do posters, or mugs, but then I realised that actually, the ideas I had - for quirky, tongue-in-cheek slogans - translated better to things people would wear.
So I started looking at t-shirts instead.
And then I saw the baseball caps and I just loved them.
Even though I don’t really wear baseball caps myself (if you’re looking for logic here, please go elsewhere!)
I’m also planning to launch sweatshirts or hoodies in the coming months, but for now I’ve decided to keep things small with my first ‘collection’ (ho ho ho) and just see how it goes.
If people like the t-shirts, then hoodies/sweatshirts are next!
Receiving my sample merch
I’m not expecting this venture to make me a millionaire, but I have honestly loved the process of designing and refining the products so much, and when my sample products arrived I was so excited.
I wore my ‘unreliable narrator’ t-shirt on the school run that day and felt super proud - I had designed a piece of clothing and I was actually wearing it, something I could never have dreamed of doing, all thanks to the power of the internet.
Mad.
I also wore it on the last day of Harrogate (I had planned to wear it on the first day but it was uncharacteristically hot so I wore a tank top instead!).
Instead, as I waited for my train home at Harrogate station, I posted a selfie on social media and had lots of comments asking where I’d got my t-shirt from, which was possibly the most reassuring thing to ever happen to me.
Sorry I know I’ve used this pic a million times now
You know that thing where you have an idea and you think it’s possibly a good one but then you start to worry you’re delusional? 😂
That bloody imposter syndrome again.
I SO appreciated all those comments on my selfie as it made me realise that my idea wasn’t totally barmy after all.
It was also super fun coming up with slogans - I rejected hundreds and settled on these three to start:
Unreliable narrator
Work in progress
Likeable main character
Three caps walked into a bar… nope sorry, can’t think of a punchline
I’m also thinking of adding ‘Unlikely antagonist’ to the mix further down the line.
I wanted to make sure that the slogans were punchy and also strong ‘in-jokes’ for writers (IYKYK), but that they would also make a non-writer smile too if they saw them.
Designing the pieces took me far longer than I’d thought, and as always, I’m in awe of professional graphic designers.
In the end, I decided to go minimal with a clean graphic font, and let the words do the talking (that’s what us writers do, right?).
Merch for authors!
The best bit is - ANY author with a Squarespace website can access the Printful integration, meaning that if you want to design some merch that relates to your books to sell to your readers, you can!
Just something to think about if you’d like to add another revenue stream - and give your fans the opportunity to take home something that reminds them of your books.
Find out more about Squarespace’s integration with Printful →
I honestly love it.
And I hope you guys do too. I would love to hear your thoughts (all feedback welcome, honestly!), and you can check out the full range - and BUY THEM NOW if you are so inclined!
