• I spent the last week out of London, went to the beach three times and ate fish & chips twice in five days. I am back, as well rested as my glued-together nervous system would allow.

• I spend almost the entire day trying to log into all the social media accounts for a client I’m working for and the two factor authentication drives me INSANE.

• I pop to the supermarket and of course I see two of the most beautiful women in the world (your honour, they were wearing heels in The Big Tesco). I look like a boiled egg.

• Back home, I wash my hair, book a haircut (haven’t had one in 7 months) and an eyebrow threading appointment (haven’t had one in 2 months).

• I reorganise my to-do list, send an invoice, and organise a team for a mahjong event. I slightly mess up on who’s on which day in one message and I am instantly questioning my leadership skills. The team are very nice and chill about it, and I wonder if I should be kinder to myself.

Tues 25 Aug

• A client has booked me for a portrait shoot! For those who don’t know, I specialise in working with camera-shy people.

• My client’s work gets us access to a building out of hours which is amazing, but means an 8am start to ensure complete privacy to make the client more comfortable.

• It’s always an honour when someone doesn’t know me and hates having their photos taken books me for a shoot. A lot of working with camera-shy people is basic kindness and patience, but also being intuitive - sensing what’s working, what’s making them uncomfortable and building a sense of play.

• Afterwards, I sit in a cafe in Somerset House instead of rushing home. What’s the point of living in London if I’m just going to hole myself up in my house all the time?

• I cross the river, pay £5.10 for an iced oat milk chai (sweet, fragrant, with a spice that blooms across the back of my tongue) and am gently drizzled on by the water feature they activate in the middle of the square.

• Big thank you to one of my subscribers who tipped me £10 via Ko-fi and left this hilarious message! I am at a cafe, sipping on my drink in the heart of London, feeling at ease that I can afford to do so because of you ❤️

• I create a contact sheet for the photos, work through some admin and have a meeting.

• Since I’ve been up since 6am for work, I end my working day around 4pm

Weds 26 Aug

• I do some client work at home which takes up most of the day, with a break to get my eyebrows threaded (they’re back to looking excellent).

• In the evening, I get dressed up and head to The Groucho Club for a gathering hosted by The Write Club.

• Upon arriving, I’m told it’s an open mic night. Seeing as I’m already here, I sign myself up and pick one of my poems from my Notes.

• When it’s my turn, I ask the entire audience to please take photos of me and send them for my Substack (I’m always thinking of you guys xoxo). Amazingly, two lovely people oblige!

• My poem goes down very well (it’s about getting older - here’s another performance of it) and people are kind enough to chat to me about it afterwards. The writing read out across the evening is gorgeous.

• I emerge into the balmy night and it is perfect Soho madness:

  • A rollerskating group zips through the streets blasting electro music. A daughter clings to her dad’s backpack as they wheel past.

  • A drunk girl is yelling it’s her birthday. I wish her happy birthday and she ecstatically thanks me and bursts into ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME’ with her group as they pass.

  • A nice man politely asks me out and I politely decline (Cute Sports Guy awaits at home).

• I get home, eat discounted sushi and watch ‘Sex and the City’ on the sofa at midnight.

Thurs 27 Aug

• God, I’m tired.

• It’s a personal social media day (i.e. my own socials and not for any clients) so I sort through my files, organise them and edit some content together.

• I’ve edited my own face and voice for perhaps 10 years now? I remember the absolute horror of doing something as unnatural as perceiving yourself for hours. Nowadays it’s an odd disconnect - I know it’s me but also it’s not at the same time?

• Hilariously, I discover I can be seen at the end of ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ standing right next to Billy Murray. I was in the background on this shoot maybe a year ago?

• In the evening, my friends start texting me “IS THIS YOU??!?!?” The trailer for ‘Youth’ by Sharon Horgan has dropped and I’m in it! This was basically a bumped up background role I shot on last year where we drove round and round in a loop on a bus for a long evening. My instinct is to downplay it to everyone - I will not be in the credits but yes it’s fun to be in the trailer!

Fri 29 Aug

• I check in on my client’s socials and keep it active.

• Ahead of a shoot next week, I get a manicure (very glamorous) and at home I wax myself (less glamorous).

• I head over to a friend’s house to shoot some content for (dropping soon!). We have a quick catch up over tea, and get into the shoot. I gently direct, video and photograph what I need.

• They live near somewhere I used to live so I walk down and pass by in what I hope is a “I’m not a burglar casing the joint I promise” way. It’s so odd - I spent almost a year here. It was home - I slept in its safety, cleaned its surfaces, fought the landlord and worked to be able to live there. I walked in and out of this neighbourhood, feeling the relief of nearly being home after a late night and the drudge of leaving early mornings. And I’ll never live here again, it’s someone else’s home now. There’s no place for me here. I turn around, and go to mine.

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• A few weeks ago, I attempted to host a dinner party. EVERY SINGLE PERSON cancelled with 30 minutes to go. I had spent hours cleaning, shopping, prepping and the meal was fully cooked. I tried to laugh it off, but to be honest? It took an incredible blow to my confidence and mental health, reawakening a lot of old feelings of rejection. Today marks the first day of waking up and feeling okay.

• I’ve been watching Bluey in Cantonese in the mornings as a way to maintain my language skills. I’m very charmed by the two little dogs beating the shit out of their seemingly unemployed father every episode.

• Determined to secure more photography bookings, I resume pitching myself via emails to potential clients. I research, find the correct email, personalise the message and hit send again and again and again.

• My money tracking app has been declining in quality so I pivot to a spreadsheet designed by Cute Sports Guy. The spreadsheet is excellent. My financials are not.

Tues 11 August

• Another day, another self-tape. I dig out some old footage of me doing yoga and a fight sequence I learned from a stage and screen combat class.

• I travel down to Brixton for a costume fitting for an upcoming commercial shoot. London is officially in a drought and it is SO HOT.

• Because I’m teaching mahjong at a private member’s club in the evening and I don’t know when the fitting will end, I carry 4 mahjong mats, teaching sheets and a small suitcase all the way with me.

• The fitting is in a tiny artist’s studio. The team is lovely and we try on at least 10 different outfits, photographing me each time. I change in and out of knitwear in 28 degree celsius weather. Every now and then I pause, standing in my underwear in a strange room, waiting for the breeze to cool me down.

• I wait around while my outfit is approved from some invisible higher power from production. 2 hours after arriving, I’m released back into the world.

• I travel across London to pick up the rest of the mahjong equipment with my co-tutor for the evening, have time for a refreshing iced lemon tea before packing up everything into a blissfully air conditioned Uber.

• The mahjong night goes wonderfully! We’re in a beautiful room with a softly lit bar, lush cushioned sofas, and the most wonderful fragrance we’re not sophisticated enough to identify. All attendees are super engaged and pick up the game quickly enough for them to play semi-independently. There are joyous shouts of victory and cries of despair at losing amongst the rattle of mahjong tiles. The players kindly give us very positive feedback and request for us to come back again.

Weds 12 Aug

• Since I was out late last night, I decide to have a wellness day. I am instantly plagued with feelings of guilt.

• I catch up on sleep, and go to a midday yoga class which helps ease my anxiety. I’ve been going to these classes almost daily for 2 months and I’m genuinely stronger, both physically and mentally. Without it, I would have been haunted by the Dinner Party Incident™️ for months rather than weeks.

• My friend works at a fancy gym and is allowed to bring me into the sauna! We gossip in the sauna and shriek in the cold plunges (I manage to move from 12 degrees celsius pool all the way down to 4 degrees by the end of our session). We’re both wonderfully relaxed by the end of it.

• It’s solar eclipse day! I do some arts and crafts to create two pinhole viewers out of cardboard boxes. We stand out in our garden as the shadows grow long and the moon takes slow bites out of the sun. Dozens of crescent shadows are dappled around us and the world is beautiful in the half-light.

Thurs 13 Aug

• I submit a video cover letter for a personal assistant role.

• A friend on the inside has sent me an admin assistant role before it goes live and I get a submission in early.

• I decide to pause applications for a week. Otherwise, I will throw myself off the nearest cliff in London.

• Emails, emails, emails.

• A friend connected me with a performance artist and I have a call with her. Within half an hour, she invites me to her house the next day to assist on some domestic projects (she needs help organising her books and clothes. I am like a dog hearing all my favourite words). I offer to send her my enhanced DBS certificate to ascertain that I am not a serial killer but she waves me off and sends her address.

Fri 14 Aug

• I’m at the artist’s house. We do some initial clearing up, and then I work alone on clearing up a basement of books.

  

• I spend the day unpacking boxes, reuniting book series with each other, and organising the rest into rough categories. I listen to podcasts whilst working through the books and am accompanied by her cats. They are adorable, love curling up in cubby holes and rubbing against the book piles, so I make the towers smaller to avoid toppling. One dives into a stack of empty cardboard boxes, causing a small avalanche and I rescue him.

• I can tell the artist is happy with the work as she almost immediately asks if I’m free to return tomorrow to work on another part of her house (unfortunately I am not).

• I get home and pack my bags for a short escape from the city (we’re going to Cute Sports Guy’s hometown in Norfolk). As we drive away, the temperature drops and air becomes clearer, tinged with sea salt.

• I have been worrying about my finances yet again. I’ve been freelancing since 2018 but the cost of living keeps increasing and inflation has eaten into my meagre financial progress, so I am re-opening LinkedIn Jobs.

• I’m not spending lavishly nor mindlessly. All my income and outgoings are tracked. I simply am not earning enough and that’s the cold bitter reality. So I better do something about it.

• I apply for part-time roles such as:

  • Administrator

  • Content creator and social media editor

  • Access support assistant for an artist

  • Librarian assistant (I have no previous experience but I like the idea of wearing my glasses on a chain and helping people with their research) (they said experience wasn’t necessary and they would provide training) (I never heard back)

• I go to Erica Hesketh’s book launch at Housman Bookshop - an incredible not-for-profit, radical bookstore. She reads her beautiful poems and signs books while some friends and I discuss dating.

• One of the friends is intimidated by their maybe-date tomorrow evening - the maybe-date person is super cool, has incredible taste in film and the friend is worried about being seen as “basic”. I point out they’re going on a date with a person, not their taste in films. The friend asks if I have an agony aunt column (no but send me your problems because I’m nosy).

• I bump into my friend on the tube! We commiserate over the financial pitfalls of a creative life for a few stops.

• I’ve been paying close attention to how I feel after seeing different people. Tonight, I left feeling soothed and gently inspired.

Tues 28 July

• Another day, another self-tape. I am uninspired by the brand and brief, until I see the buyout (over £14,000!)

• After submitting, I head to a networking for freelancers event. I chat to different organisations while dunking bourbons in my tea. This is an excellent tactic to stall for time and think of something to say, or need something to do so you’re not staring at the other person who’s doing the spiel for their organisation.

• I polish off a few more job applications, a writing residency application, say I’m available for some background work for a movie and submit to a poetry pamphlet publisher’s callout.

Weds 29 July

• Someone cancels a shoot I was going to film for content so I am grounded at home.

• Looking over a playwriting course application, I realise I am too advanced for it (I’ve already written a play). I have to scrap my application and curse that I can never join this prestigious and industry respected group of alumni.

• I edit and post a mini-vlog, which of course does not do as well as an 8 second video of me screaming at a BTS concert (currently it has just under 50k views on IG) (I managed to get money for my BTS tickets by wandering around in the background of an Eastenders’s episode).

• I send several pitches/cold emails putting myself forwards as a portrait photographer and I feel SICK and weirdly ashamed - how to do people enjoy selling??

• I recall a conversation I had with my friend about this - she replied that her partner is great at selling and immediately summoned him to dispense advice. One of his top tips was “you have to go to them” and “see it as though you’re solving someone’s problem”, which I repeat to myself as a mantra.

• I think about the big, time consuming creative projects that I cannot do as I’m trying to survive. It’s hard to work on a play script when the days are creeping closer to your next credit card payment. You can’t work on that novel if you can’t make your grocery budget. How can you develop your social media content knowing you’ll get 400 views and there’s another job application you could be writing?

Thurs 30 July

• I sit on the floor in the corner of the room, adjusting my laptop before entering the Zoom room for an online recall audition (this is for the lead of a small tech ad).

• The audition is based on improv comedy - something I’ve trained in, thank goodness (I did 3 courses completely on scholarship).

• At one point, I have my face pressed against the webcam. I can see the panel laughing onscreen from the corner of my eye. I believe it goes well???

• Since my lights are set up, I get through 2 self-tape requests. I scan the description, look at the mood board (if provided) and change my clothes to suit each brief.

• I edit my tapes, fill out all the paperwork, submit the tapes and forms, then let my agent know I’ve completed it.

• More job applications - a bookshop admin assistant, front of house roles.

• I decide to just tell people I’m looking for part-time work rather than pretend freelancing is going fine. I put a post on my stories and my wonderful, beautiful community immediately respond saying they’ll keep an eye out for opportunities, they’ll put me forwards, there’s something we could do together but it’s not for several months etc.

Friday 31 July

• I have an informal interview for a social media support role (freelance, temporary, fixed term contract). It’s a delightful chance to chat and be deeply nerdy about social media. I forget just how much I know and am capable of, and how much I’ve been underestimating my skillset.

• A few hours after the interview, I get an email - I got the job!

• Later, I get a message from my agent - I booked the tech ad!

• I close all my ArtsJobs and LinkedIn Jobs tabs.

• The relief, like the jobs, is temporary. I wonder what the full impact of lifelong financial stress has done on my ability to feel joy.

• I eat some Percy Pig Party Time fruit gummies, and try to breathe.

If all goes well, I’ll release it twice a month. Please drop me a line if you do enjoy this!

Monday 29 June 2026

• Devastatingly, they are correct. Consistently getting up early to exercise really does work. I’ve wrangled a very cheap yoga studio pass and I’ve been getting up early almost every day to go to a morning yoga session. My sleep is better, my days are longer, and I’m getting fit. Very irritating.

• A self-tape request. The casting team wants close up shots of my hands and my feet/legs WHILST I’m cycling? Do they expect me to have a car and a camera crew to follow alongside me? I send footage of me holding a golf club like it’s a handlebar and straddle a chair, miming some pedalling. Once again, I am struck by the ridiculousness of acting, and how devoid of glamour most of the work is.

• I HAVE to finish my second play for a deadline tomorrow. I drag myself to a local theatre (it has air conditioning and you can use the space to work), and set up at a booth. My notebooks are stacked around me, my laptop is fully charged. I then find the cafe is completely out of oat milk and I must finish a full length play script unfuelled. I am devastated.

• I handwrite several pages, fleshing out several scenes that for weeks have just been noted as ‘[SOMETHING HAPPENS HERE]’.

• At 5pm, I get home, have dinner and set up at my desk. The sound of the World Cup drifts through my neighbours windows and I drag myself through hours of redrafting.

• I finish to the best I can and export the file. It is 31 pages long. I wanted 60. I am in despair.

• I add a title page, and a character and setting sheet. It is now 33 pages. I can do no more. I reason with myself that I’m submitting to a play development programme, so here - a play to be developed.

• At 1am, I submit my play. I go to bed.

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Tuesday 30 June

• I sleep late and attend an afternoon pilates class. We hold a boat pose (arms and legs off the ground, only your butt is on the mat) and the instructor says we’re going to pulse our arms 100 times. I think she’s joking. She was not. My boat sinks.

• Admin, emails, and an invoice is sent.

• I submit to a mentoring for playwrights programme.

• As it’s the end of the month, I do my monthly review:

  • what roles have I taped/auditioned for (mostly football related ads and tech ads. I was asked to tape for a 40 year old and the next week, a young woman)

  • How much screen time and the main black holes (sadly, TikTok)

  • Things I learned and what’s been occupying my mind (should I retrain as a yoga teacher and move to Hong Kong??)

• I spend my evening at a community event, writing letters to political prisoners. I peel off cute My Melody stickers and put them on the paper, hoping it will cheer them up. I hope it reaches them and the prison guards do not reject our letters.

Weds 1 July

• Another self-tape - potentially my tenth car ad request in 2 years? These castings want grown up elegance so it’s a flowy blouse, soft lighting and a warm-but-not-too-bubbly energy. The casting is international so I have no idea if my tape will ever be seen.

• I look over my social media calendar and see some photos I was relying on have still not come through so I have to reshift several ideas.

• As voluntary co-chair of a mahjong club, I put together a quote for a newspaper who contacted us.

• I go into central London - an udon restaurant chain I have a loyalty card for wants to tempt me back after a long absence (an email offered £6 off my next meal). I order a chicken katsu curry udon and they give it to me for free! It is tasteless.

• I bump into my friend Mikey and his friends who have just wrapped a shoot for Koltura, his hanbok brand (traditional Korean clothing). I love running into people I know - it makes the city feel smaller.

• A PR company very kindly invited me to attend drinks and ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ that’s being staged in the West End.

• There are canapes and citrusy cocktails (I go for a mocktail) that match my dress. I eat Korean fried chicken, ungracefully stuff a deliciously fresh salad wrapped in a rice roll in my mouth and chat to the other influencers. I marvel that I am now, for this evening at least, an influencer attending an influencer event.

• We’re seated in the stalls - something I have not had the privilege of since seeing ‘Heathers’ five years ago (my friend Joaquin Valdes was in the cast).

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• The show is incredible. Uncomfortable, thought provoking and devastatingly still relevant. The cast were phenomenal - something that struck me was how they held silence and stillness. At times no one spoke or moved on stage, yet the whole room was mesmerised. A full standing ovation.

Thurs 2 July

• My book haul video went out on multiple platforms. It stalls at 200 views on TikTok, as per usual.

• I attend an arts organisation networking event and hone my pitch - “hi, who I am, what I can offer, is this any good to you?” I am grateful to my past self who went to uni and did not know how to socialise, yet went to networking events just to build up confidence. Years later, I have no qualms striking up friendly conversations with strangers, something my teenage self would be astounded by.

• Then I zip across London to run a cloakroom for a private event.

• It’s a familiar whiplash by now - one day you’re all glammed up to attend an event, the next you’re hanging up coats and tagging bags for attendees going to an event.

• There is an art to a well run cloakroom that desk workers do not understand, yet they are the managers. There is a rhythm and flow, a time to keep pace and a time to tidy. The season and weather will affect how you should space out hangers on a rail, and you must amend the tagging system if it’s mostly bags. You must build a strategy by the mid-point in order to ensure a rapid return of items. Tonight, the cloakroom is run flawlessly (if I may say so myself).

• We’re on our feet for 4 and a half hours, running back and forth, then are released into the night. Most fellow hospitality staff in London have gone home so it’s too late for me to pick up some discounted sushi. I stand at the side of the road as the bus creeps up like a mirage, shimmering amongst glittering red and white lights.

Fri 3 July

• I meet up with my wonderful friend and fellow poet, Troy Cabida! We share gossip and encouragement over drinks (a Bitter Yuzu Spritz) and overpriced chips.

• In Gay’s the Word bookshop, we spot his book ‘Neon Manila’ in the poetry section. I sneak it on display.

• Throughout the day, I’m haunted by an incredibly familiar ghost. It’s the one that follows all freelancers, and likes to say “why are you OUT instead of STAYING HOME and WORKING!! How frivolous! You’re tipping scale from ‘self-employed’ to ‘unemployed behaviour’!!” I’m used to this haunting by now. I remind myself that I deserve to creatively recharge, to strengthen bonds with my fellow creatives, and being out in the middle of a workday is a perk of being freelance - so stop complaining and enjoy it.

I was talking about how I DO NOT want to do Edinburgh Fringe but do I have to do it to advance as an actor and writer? The Fringe can be an incredible way to boost your career but the thought fills me with absolute dread. Let’s sink all my money on a one person show and beg people to attend - all in hopes that someone will discover me or write a good review. And perhaps it doesn’t go anywhere or very far and I will be in debt, back in London with a show no one cares about - not even myself.

I’ve always been someone who has pushed through, regardless of whether or not I actually wanted to do it. Which has been great (sometimes) because occasionally you just have to grit your teeth and do the application, turn up to that shitty job, finish the project you hate and so on in order to put yourself forwards for the opportunity, get the money, get the impressive organisation name on the CV etc etc.

But I’ve been gritting my teeth for so long, it’s wearing me down. What does it feel like to do something I truly want? There’s no one path to any achievement, so why am I working so much on things I don’t want to do?

So I won’t be developing a show to take to Fringe, I won’t be applying to every single opportunity I’m eligible for, I’m not accepting every paid gig.

I’m in this for a long time and a good time, so I’m thinking about preserving my creative resilience and doing work that is meaningful and nourishing for me.

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What I’ve Been Up To

Got to be part of Inua Ellams's poetry panel at Google HQ for WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications Leadership ) Festival of Talent leadership accelerator!

Anonyms is Inua's brilliant live workshop/panel exploring our names and what stories we can generate from them. We wrote some spontaneous poetry onstage in front of a live audience of around 250 incredible women.

In my quest for self development, I enrolled on a 6 week Introduction to Contemporary Dance at Pineapple Studios and had an EXCELLENT time (even though it involved 2 sessions during 2 heat waves).

Delighted to report I am now slightly better at dance.

The lovely Four Winds Mahjong gang did a night at Golden Phoenix in Chinatown! There was food, drinks and of course lots of mahjong. For those who don’t know, I’ve been teaching with them for a few years now and I’m currently the co-chair!

On my vision board on Pinterest, I have a fashion brand that I would love to work with someday. Maybe when I’m a more known actor/writer, they’ll send me clothes for a press tour! Or an outfit for an opening night! Or invite me to one of their events to launch a new line!

Last month, a friend asked if I was available to work at a sample sale. She assumed that, as I’m a freelancer, I could do with the money. She was correct in her assumption.

What was the sale for? That very same brand on my private Pinterest board.

So yes, I have now worked with that dream fashion brand - as a temporary sales assistant during their warehouse clearance sale. Very funny, Manifestation Entity. Very very funny.

I’m choosing to see it as the manifestation working. As the kids say, delulu is the solulu.

It was 3 days of unpacking and putting up clothes, bags and shoes, breaking down cardboard boxes, tidying the floor, helping customers, trying to instigate a Confessions of a Shopaholic-esque fight amongst customers (disappointingly, they were all very civilised and nice). It’s not writing or acting or anything under the creative umbrella and it was physically tiring, but I had a good time eating Percy Pigs and complimenting customers on their choices.

Then I was ill for 3 days with a cold, and laid in bed hating myself for being a weak Victorian child wiped out by a bit of hard work (it was more likely being in an enclosed space with hundreds of people and a virus, rather than physical labour that made me ill). I’m no economist, but the cost-benefit analysis of working for 3 days to be bed bound for 3 days doesn’t look good.

Such is the reality of being a freelancer - no sick pay.

I had an in-person audition earlier this month. Since casting is overwhelmingly self-tape based, I wanted to really make the most of auditioning in-person. I was going to have the script memorised way in advance. I was going to understand the tone of piece and role of the character within the story. I would familiarise myself with the director’s previous work. I was going to be so friendly and lovely and relaxed in the room.

On the day, I arrived at the audition with no preparation done - despite several emails, they didn’t send me a script, any information about the project (TV? Short film? Feature film?) or what the story was. Just a few lines of character description.

I asked the room if that was intentional. They panicked. It was not. I did my best - I was friendly, lovely and relaxed but it inevitably it just felt like I was reading out loud.

That same evening, they reposted the casting call in an industry WhatsApp group I’m in. They updated it to say “preference for performers who could naturally read as subtly Asian mixed heritage or ethnically ambiguous” - i.e. not me.

Recently, I tracked down a vertical drama I shot last year and had a few lines in! Here’s a TikTok I made of me talking about my experience (I loved filming on it)

@kukadoodlesI’m an actor based in London and I did a vertical drama for the first time! Here’s me chatting through my experience on set, what it was like to shoot and would I do it again? (Yes I would please let me be a really mean office worker)

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Over on , requests for my popular Taxes Club for Freelancers workshop are still coming in.

I delivered one earlier this month, and I’ve got an online workshop for Push the Boat Out Festival on 21 May - you can get your tickets here (they have a range of prices for affordability).

On 28 May, I’ll be performing poetry for my wonderful friend K.Blair!!

We’ve been friends for several years and I’m so proud of them on their new poetry pamphlet ‘Death of the Cult Classic’.

Their poetry is incredible and you can pre-order here. You can come to the launch where we’ll be performing!

For those new here, I’m Christy! I’m a writer (poet, playwright), actor, workshop facilitator and photographer. I will also do anything loosely connected to my skillset if it sounds fun and makes money. I’ve been freelancing since 2018.

I do these posts at the end of each financial year in April - here’s 2023-24 and here’s 2024-25.

I make these posts to increase financial literacy amongst my fellow freelancers in the creative field, show all the different things we do to make a living and also cos I’m super nosy and hope that other people will start doing these kinds of posts/share their existing posts so I can have a snoop.

Let’s get into it.

The Big Pie

Last financial year, I earned the highest amount I ever have since going freelance! I earned 19% more than last year so it’s all going uphill waheyyy.

(Drinks will not be on me as this is still not a lot of money lol)

First place - playwriting

Playwriting has contributed to the vast majority of my income. This is astounding as it has never been a category before and I only started playwriting less than 2 years ago.

I applied for the Developing Your Creative Practice Grant from Arts Council England to develop as a playwright last year, and was incredibly lucky to receive it this time (this was my second time applying for it). The grant gives me time to write, funding to see theatre shows, hire mentors and covers material costs.

Less luckily, ACE’s platform crashed and this meant everyone’s results and payments were late. This had a knock-on effect on how I managed work and writing - the grant was supposed to allow me to take on less external work and be able to pay myself to write. Instead, I said yes to a bunch of work as I wasn’t sure if or when I was going to receive the grant, was locked in to doing that work instead of writing when the money did come and now my project plan (which I had to submit as part of the application) is a mess.

BUT I’m here, I got the funding, I have been working on a play and I’m grateful to have this rather than nothing!

My first play was long listed for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting and the DYCP grant allows me to write my second play. Honestly, I’m really astounded at how fast good things are happening on my playwriting journey this early (I’ve been a poet for many years and before that, short stories). Deeply deeply grateful to everyone who’s supported and believed in me.

Second place - being an extra in film & TV

I had some housing issues in 2025 which meant I couldn’t be in London for several months. As a result, I couldn’t take on as many roles as I normally would have so this piece of the pie is lower than previous years.

Also, as of last month, I have decided to retire from background work! It definitely feels scary to leave this behind. It’s been my part-time job and has made up the majority of my income for 4 years. I’ll talk more about why I chose to step away in a future issue but I’ve been wanting to stop for a while now.

Third place - being an actor?!?!

In last year’s issue, I was considering giving up acting. I wasn’t making any money at all, I was getting a self-tape request once a month/every 2 months, I wasn’t working. It felt like an expensive hobby.

Last summer I got a new agent and things have completely changed. I’ve been getting booked for work, I’ve been doing an average of 3 self-tapes a week and now it’s my third largest contributor to my income.

I feel quite emotional about this. In August 2024, after a LOT of hesitation, I put out a fundraiser for my acting development. My beautiful, beautiful community came through immediately and we hit the amount in less than 48 hours. I did the training, it unlocked some huge blocks and after finding the right team, I’m a working actor now. Still at the small roles and beginning stages, but working.

Just endless gratitude.

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Where does it all come from?

Tracking where my work comes from has been an incredibly useful source of data. Freelancing can feel like staring into space and waiting for stars to align in order to work to appear. So, knowing where work actually comes from is deeply useful and I highly recommend it!

This year, we have Applied in top position at 64.6%, followed by Approached at 9.2%. Applied is so high will be because of the DYCP grant, Other refers to front-of-house work I took on and Self refers to the workshops I self-produced and ran.

SA stands for Supporting Artist, the industry term for being an extra in film & TV. I don’t count it under the categories due to the unique way you apply for roles and how it has no indication of your personal efforts. I also don’t count my acting submissions in this total.

Approached is still a reasonable chunk of the pie, so it’s deeply reassuring that people remember me/are hearing about me and want to work with me!

What now?

Looking at this data and thinking about where I want to be next year, here’s some action points I’m pulling out.

I’m deeply anxious about this coming/next year - I’m not going to get another DYCP grant as that’s a one-off, and I’m stepping away from being an extra. So, I need to make sure that gap is being filled. I’m trying to be positive and seeing the gap as “making space for other opportunities to come”, so we’ll see how that goes!

Acting

Fingers crossed work keeps coming in! It’s kind of luck of the draw, so I just do what I can, such as:

• Keep developing: going to classes, seeing shows, etc.

• Writing and performing my own work

Playwriting

This is going surprisingly well (for now at least):

• Find playwriting programmes to join

• Keep submitting to prizes and competitions

• Finish my play(s)

• Submit it to theatres!

Photography

I’m very very stuck with this. This is a cry for help.

I’m a great photographer who specialises in working camera shy people. I have excellent testimonials and portfolio.

I simply do not know how to advertise it any more. I post in networks, I know I need to get my socials up. But I’m so stuck with the outreach.

All my clients have been referrals from past clients or they’re people I know. If anyone has any help or insights, please help me I’m so stuck!!!

Workshops and Other

• Make more social media content. I hate it because talking about stuff I’m doing takes time away from working on stuff I’m doing. Also it’s a lot of work and feels like throwing spaghetti at the wall and down the drain. However it does pay off! It reminds people of who I am and what I do, people say it makes them feel connected and updated. So I need to find a way to make it less agonising. Again, tips welcome!!

• Miscellanea Labs - this is the brand under which I run workshops now! I ran a lot of tax workshops over November and January, and I ran out of steam to keep going unfortunately, but I’m picking it back up.

  Miscellanea Labs

  Miscellanea Labs is a salon for established and aspiring writers working on the page and online! We offer workshops, resources and community to help you rejuvenate, experiment and unlock your flow.

  By Christy Ku

• Freelance taxes guidance - this is my most requested topic under Miscellanea Labs. I run workshops and I’ve made a guide. If you have requests for other practical knowledge that you’d like to learn, suggestions are very welcome.

  ---

After all these years, I still don’t have all the answers! It still feels like I’m doing everything wrong! I still don’t know what to do sometimes/all the time! I’m still asking for help and advice!

But I need to remember I’ve done a lot, I’ve helped a lot of people, I’m still here. That’s got to count for something.

Community is a circle - we help each other. Otherwise it’s a straight line if we only ever give help and never accept it. of asking for help and giving help not a straight line of giving and never accepting.

I hope this was useful! If you’d like to chat, just hit reply and we can be email pen-pals!

• Talking about my housing instability

• Gaslighting myself that I was not a homeless-sad-girl

• Reviewing my financial year

• Debating if I should give up acting

Almost half a year later, I am delighted to be writing this from my new home!! I am no longer drifting around people’s spare bedrooms!! I have a DESK where I can put my laptop and my k-pop photocards so a bunch of Korean men who don’t know I exist can watch over me as I work. The dream.

Miscellanea Labs

She’s here and she’s alive!! I’ve been working on this project for MONTHS and am so happy to share it with the world. I’ll be running workshops under this!

is an online hub for established and aspiring writers working on the page and online!

We offer workshops, resources and community to help you rejuvenate, experiment and unlock your flow.

We’re all about providing the practical so you can develop the whimsical!

You can follow us on Substack and Instagram!

Massive thanks to Make the Jump mentoring programme whose support made this possible, and to Lizzie who did an INCREDIBLE job with the visual branding.

Upcoming Workshop!

I’m running a workshop in collaboration with I LIKE NETWORKING!

We’ll be starting with a quick refresher on how to do taxes, and then we’ll be locking in and co-working together in a friendly space with other creatives, asking each other questions etc.

You can get tickets here, or email me (hit reply to this newsletter) if cost is an issue.

I performed at Latitude Festival!

I performed a poetry set alongside Ger Ellis, and then did a panel talk with the fantastic Desree at Latitude Festival 2025! You can watch my performance and panel chat here.

I love performing at festivals. With big music festivals, you never know what kind of crowd will turn up (if anyone) to a poetry slot. However, Latitude was a lovely weekender full of so many different arts and cultural events, with lots of families attending so we had a pretty strong and friendly audience!

Big thank you to the National Poetry Centre and to Simon Armitage for inviting me!

Me the rest of the weekend lol

Photo by John Kelly. Ger and I were invited by Simon Armitage to perform at his Freedom of the City of London Award and it was from this that we got invited to Latitude!

I’m not quitting acting!

In April I was considering quitting as it felt like an expensive hobby with no returns. Well, after months of cold emailing, I got a new agent and everything changed!

Previously, I was getting one self-tape request once a month or so. With my new agent, I’m getting about 2-3 a week. This significantly increases your chances of actually landing something, and makes me feel way less like someone pretending to be an actor.

In August I got booked on my first ever lead role and was flown out to Bulgaria for a shoot!!

The project isn’t out yet so I can’t share it, but it was an incredible experience, met some of the best people and I feel like a proper actor now!!

Here I am in Bulgaria!

Arts Council England Funding ACHIEVED

That feeling when you no longer have to spend so many days standing in a costume for hours, trying to sit down without the costume department catching you

I managed to get a Developing Your Creative Practice fund!!!

I was rejected before but this time - we got the bag! It’s unbelievably competitive - we worked out you have a 9% chance of success.

I’ve got the grant to develop as a playwright so I now have money and time to write, hire mentors, see plays for research etc.

It’s been an absolute game changer. Previously I just couldn’t afford to go to the theatre, and spending time to write was taking time away from making money immediately. I can now do less days as an extra on film and TV (AKA less days standing around having crew members yell at us) and more days reading and writing!!

I could not have done it without the help, support and wisdom from so many of my creatives colleagues - they all let me read their past successful applications, gave me detailed feedback on mine, advice, recommended mentors, suggested budget and schedule edits etc etc!

Long listed for my play!

Speaking of which, my debut play script has been long listed by the Women’s Prize for Playwriting!!

Last year, as part of the Royal Court Introduction to Playwriting group, I wrote my first ever play. I’ve been reworking it in the meantime and earlier in 2025, I submitted it to this prize. I didn’t think much of it - it’s very competitive and I’m such a new playwright.

Imagine my surprise when, months later, I got an email saying I’d made the long list?? Top 41 out of a record 1275 submissions??

This play is deeply, deeply personal to me so it means so much I’ve made it this far.

That’s all folks!

I’ll be mostly shifting creative opportunities and tips over to the Miscellanea Labs project, so hop over there if you want that. Over here, I’ll continue to give updates and thoughts on the creative life I’m living.

Thank you to everyone who’s been here for me and supported me during this crazy time!

Follow me on Instagram if you’d like more regular updates, otherwise I’ll see you in the next issue!

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It’s April! Which, for most people, means spring. But, because I am a Capricorn, it means another tax year and time to analyse my income.

For those new here - I’m Christy, I’m a creative freelancer (I write, act, run workshops, do portrait photos and anything vaguely adjacent to these). I started doing this last year when I decided I wanted to break out of the daily haze of survival, get my head above ground and gain perspective of what on earth I was doing.

I hope these issues help other freelancers manage their money and if you need help with taxes - here’s my guide! It’s pay what you can, if anything, and is currently at an astonishing 500 downloads.

Oh and remember how in the last issue I talked about being served a Section 21 from my landlord but things pulled through last minute? Well, that pull through fell through last minute so I am currently drifting about - but I am okay!! I am very lucky and have a strong network of friends, family and extended family who are taking turns to take me in. Currently, I’m waiting for another place to be locked down and am anticipating a move in date. It’s been hard to feel very girlboss-independent-creative-entrepreneur instead of homeless-sad-girl BUT we’re getting there.

ANYWAY (again)

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Overall Income Breakdown Apr 2024-25

Overall, I have made more money this year but only slightly - it’s up by 17%.

First place - being an extra in film & TV

The majority of my income at 36% still comes from being a Supporting Artist (SA) aka an extra in film and TV. The industry was affected by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes but it’s been recovering. However, SA work now makes up a slightly smaller proportion of my income as I’ve been expanding my workshops (more on that later).

I’ve been an extra for almost 3.5 years now! I started it as a fun and easy way to supplement my income. However, I REALLY don’t want to become reliant on it as it’s SO unstable, unpredictable, there’s no guarantee of work and it’s not a career. I’ve met a lot of people on set who have been doing SA work for decades and are able to do it full-time.

But, you have no real control and there’s no career progression. You don’t work really hard to be a great SA and they’ll move you up a ladder to a featured SA, then supporting cast, then main cast. You don’t even really get booked that much more in return for “good” work (but you’ll definitely get punished for anything slightly wrong).

In 2024:

• I answered yes to 93 availability requests

• Out of those, I was booked on 10 productions

• The other 83 said no

And to be very real, there’s only so many roles/productions that an ESEA (East and South-East Asian) young woman will be cast in with UK and American productions. I love working as an SA, I love the variety of people I’ve met and the friendships and opportunities that have emerged from those connections.

But, much like any kind of income, you can’t get too reliant on it.

Second and third place - running workshops and photography

Second highest was running workshops, which sits at 27.7%. To break that down further, the majority of my workshop income came from running poetry workshops (62.2% of that proportion). ‘Other Workshops’ includes a social media/IG for writers workshop I run, and other creative related workshops that organisations commission me to do. Training refers to being paid to attend a workshop training for my anti-racism work.

Third highest is Photography at 14.4%. Interestingly, I actually earned more from licensing fees rather than actual photo work. Big thank you to Jon D Barker who is a phenomenal photographer and video talent. He very kindly and generously advised me and answered many questions at the beginning of my photography journey.

For those who don’t know, my specialty is taking headshots/portraits for those who hate being photographed. Licensing has the potential to bring in a LOT of money, and I see a lot of photographers just giving photo usage away because they don’t know!!! Basically, your client pays for a photography session and maybe a few terms and conditions under it (I include a set number of photos that can be used for publicity and social media use). Any other use of those photos will need licensing because YOU took the photo so it’s YOUR photos. So, for example, when publishers want to use those headshots as author photos in books, they need to negotiate with me, set a contract and pay a fee. This is a fantastic resource for more information.

A brief explainer on the other categories:

• Work refers to temp work/anything that doesn’t fall into one of my categories

• Hosting - sometimes I’ll host a live event or poetry night

• Anti-racism - occasionally I work with an organisation to help them deliver workshops on anti-racism, diversity and inclusion. Or I consult on content, marketing campaigns etc

• Personal assistance - I help artists with their admin, organising etc

• Late fee is self-explanatory - I never let a late fee pass me by

A noticeable gap is how a big fat 0% of my income is from acting, which is making me wonder if I should give it up?? Is it just an expensive hobby making no returns?? HOWEVER I calculated all the money I’ve put into acting (headshots, Spotlight fees, workshops etc) and what I’ve earned. We are at a whole £6 profit so it’s all uphill from here babyyyyyyy ahahahha oh god.

Where Does It All Come From??

This is one of the most valuable bits of data I’ve been tracking - it helps me redirect my energy to where it gets the most returns.

With opportunity sources, in highest to lowest order it was: Approached (31.7%), Referred (22%) and then Self and Applied (both at 17.1%). Other refers to Late Fees and that training session mentioned earlier.

Once again, the majority of opportunities come from people just reaching out and emailing me, or from my network referring me. I learnt this last year so I’ve been really working on building and maintaining my network and relationships. I’ve been doing my best to give back, be genuinely interested in other people’s work, supporting and uplifting them.

I’m actually good and should believe and invest in myself?

Self is a new opportunity source, where I began running online workshops myself without waiting for commission or a successful application. This statistic actually made me quite emotional??? It’s much higher than I anticipated!!

So much of freelancing can feel like banging on doors and not being dignified with a response, or receiving rejection after rejection, or being at the mercy of forces beyond your control.

Last year, I didn’t collate workshop income data, but split it across different categories of poetry, anti-racism etc. However, I saw from last year’s data that running workshops had the potential to really add to my income and I’m SO GLAD I started running workshops independently. I originally started as a means to survive but it’s grown into something bigger and has so much potential.

Looking at that orange piece of pie is making realise I need to be brave and invest in myself. I’ve received mentoring and been having conversations with industry professionals which has helped enormously with my workshop practice. I’m very proud of myself for taking the initiative to start, rather than relying on being picked. It’s given me a sense of power and control in this deeply unstable life I’ve chosen for myself. Big big thank you to everyone who’s joined me on these workshops!!

What next?

I’m really proud of how I actioned almost all the goals I set last year. For example:

✅ I’ve submitted way more poetry submissions

✅ I’ve been running my own workshops

✅ I’ve been building and maintaining my network

So what to work on now?

Move more into acting

• I’ve applied for a mentoring scheme (fingers crossed)

• Attend more workshops

• Take on Level 4 aka the boss level of my improv comedy course

• Join an improv troupe/several jam sessions

• Build confidence in my American accent

• Find ways to connect with those in the industry

• Get onto small independent films and adverts somehow???

• Write and create my own work - I think this is key

• Give up if it still doesn’t work???

Increase my photography

• Social media push on my photography IG

• Have a window clients can book on, rather than waiting for people to sporadically appear throughout the year

Workshops

• I need to be very brave and launch a new exciting project for my independent workshops!! More news coming soon.

Actually write

• Protect my writing time! I run a lot of writing workshops but I’m not giving myself time to actually create.

• Perform at poetry nights again!

• Apply for a DYCP grant (again) 🤞

Strengthen my network

• Message/email/check in with my current network

• Have catch up calls and cafe meet ups

• Show up to people’s work, shows etc

• Share their work on Instagram and my newsletter

• Go to networking nights and seek them out

• Keep joining programmes

• Keep showing up!!

Thank you all so much for reading through this issue! I hope it’s useful for you all, and I wish us all an abundance of good work that we excel at and get paid fat stacks for.

You can reply to this email or follow me on Instagram!

Want to know how to make a living as a writer? Make sure you read ’s post (she came to my social media workshop!) - she’s a fantastic writer and I learnt a LOT from reading this!

Katie Scribbles

How I made a living as a writer: 2024-25 edition

Here she is! The big annual post with the graphs! The one where I break down how I make a living as a writer, and where my income has come from over the past year…

Read more

a year ago · 18 likes · 12 comments · Katie Hale

See you next month!

ANYWAY.

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What’s happening?

I’m running a workshop with The Poetry School! Tickets for my session ‘Serving Looks: The Poetics of Clothing’ are available here!

We’ll be exploring personal style, fashion and self-expression through poetry, get inspiration from Dita Von Teese, Kim Addonizio, Truman Capote, Troy Cabida and more!

9 April, 6.30-9pm on Zoom. Dress code? Glad rags optional. Concession rates available—email administration@poetryschool.com for details.

While I’m still taking on commissioned workshops, I’ve taken a short hiatus from running them independently. From Oct 2024 to Jan 2025 I delivered 8 workshops to a total of 115 attendees all on my lonesome. Which was absolute girlboss behaviour but the marketing was EXHAUSTING and not sustainable.

During my hiatus I got onto Make the Jump ! It’s a 6-week mentoring programme for Asian creatives in the UK and connects mentees with experienced industry leaders who are committed to supporting their growth. I’ve been paired with the phenomenal Abigail Sol (founder of Deya and Uproot) who has been SO HELPFUL with my workshop redesign. Big things are happening and I am hammering away at my keyboard - stay tuned to see what’s next!

Make the Jump are a brand new CIC - this is their first year and they’ve done so much already?? We’ve been having online talks by industry professionals twice a week, had a casual networking night to meet the other mentees and mentors, and there’s going to be a big event to finish off the programme (panel talks, networking and fun times). You can get tickets for this if you’d like to come - I can’t make it as I’m moving all my things into storage boooooo.

Fun Stuff:

For those who don’t know, I get very obsessed with The Traitors each year (reality TV gameshow - if you’ve ever played Mafia/Werewolf, it’s that but in real life).

The incredible Elevate East (who supported me for my first spoken word show at their scratch night) are the brains behind The Slayters - a brand new immersive parody gameshow blending The Traitors and EastEnders!

I was picked as a Slayter and made it through to the finale before being voted off at the very end! (Ken was voted out at the very beginning)

News From Friends

• My lovely friend Kath Blair is part of the team behind the Chronic Youth Film Festival at the Barbican! Taking place Sat 26—Sun 27 Apr 2025, the programme looks FANTASTIC.

Next month’s issue will be my annual income breakdown, so look forward to that! See you in April!

Happy new year! (It’s not late, Lunar New Year was - okay, well over a week ago, I am late)

Let’s hit rewind and have a look at what last year brought for me. If you’re interested in an income breakdown, that’ll be in April at the end of the financial year. You can read last year’s issue here!

2024 Big Bonazas

• Climbed through levels 2 & 3 in improv comedy with Hoopla and did two live showcases

• Did an acting course which restored a lot of self-confidence

• Got commended for the James Berry Poetry Prize

• Did the Southbank New Poets Collective which was utterly gorgeous

• Was part of the Milk Tea Films X BBC Laughing Matters Comedy Lab

• Ran 8 workshops independently to a total of 115 attendees in 3 months

• Taught mahjong as a volunteer at events and our regular weekend club, helping fundraise for the East and South-East Asian Community Centre

• Hosted the ESEA Culture Festival

• Worked with the Science Museum as a poet for their zimingzhong exhibition

• Moved back into London!

• Got invited to an evening in the Italian Embassy??

• Did the Poetry Takeaway!

• Hit over 500 downloads on my Tax Guide For Freelance Creatives

• Had 3 poems published and performed a set for Occasians!

• Was part of the Royal Court Playwriting Group!

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Rejection Total

This is for poetry stuff (commissions, publications and publishers), writing opportunities (residencies, programmes etc), article pitches, and real job applications (I got stressed halfway through the year and started looking on LinkedIn).

• 51 submissions

• 4 yes

• 39 rejections

• 5 no replies

I’m impressed with the number of submissions I did and also surprised at the sheer ratio of rejection to yes.

My lovely friend Rachel Lewis over on has this brilliant post on what to do with rejections and how to actually celebrate them.

For a really high rejection to yes ratio, here’s the breakdown from the world of being an extra in film and TV:

• 93 availability requests that I said yes to

• 10 bookings

• 83 no

How it works is the production will send the extras casting team their requirements. The team will then use filters to narrow down who matches, and then just contacts EVERYONE on that list. You’ll respond saying if you can make that date and location. Then the casting team will pass on that list of available extras to the production, who will pick who they want. If you’re chosen, they’ll book you.

You need absolute nerves of steel in this industry my god.

What Do I Want This Year?

• MONEY (I was going to make a cute joke that “haha I was joking but not really” but no, honestly, let’s increase our finances this year I beg.

• Going to aim for 55 rejections this year! Yes, aiming to hit a high number of rejections means you’ll apply to more and bigger opportunities (which might land you a win anyway)!

• I would love to actually get cast in something other than as an extra. I’ve had a lot of chats with people in person about this and received some GREAT advice, so fingers crossed for me!!

• Finish my play! I wrote a full length stage play as part of the Royal Court Playwriting Group. I’ve been editing it and rewriting it, and hope to have it done and submitted this year. It’s to do with time travel and mother-daughter relationships. That’s all I’m saying for now…

• GET ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND FUNDING. I’m going again for the Developing Your Creative Practice Grant for playwriting. Currently I just don’t have enough money to justify a lot of writing days so funding would really help.

• My poetry pamphlet manuscript has been shortlisted and then ultimately rejected about 5 times since 2021? It’s in limbo at the moment and would love for an actual acceptance. The poems are if Stephen Hawking and Taylor Swift wrote space themed breakup poetry.

• I’m also hoping to complete Level 4 (the final level/the boss stage) for improv comedy and maybe join an improv troupe to perform live more regularly!

Thank you all for following me on this really really weird journey I’ve chosen and am apparently stuck on despite my panicked LinkedIn job search. Let’s see how 2025 goes!

News From Friends

Get tickets here!

You can pre-order Elspeth’s book here!

Friends - would you like your thing included? Please drop me an email and I’ll pop it in!

If you’d like to start the new year as strong as me (I’m an inspiration, I know), I’ve got these workshops coming up!

New Year, Same You - Rethinking Resolutions For Writers | Mon 6 Jan 2025, 7-8.15pm

Instagram For Writers - A Deep Dive | Mon 27 Jan 2025, 7 - 8.30pm

Hope to see you there!

• New Year, Same You - Rethinking Resolutions For Writers | Mon 6 Jan 2025, 7-8.15pm

• Instagram For Writers - A Deep Dive | Mon 27 Jan 2025, 7 - 8.30pm

• Reviewing Your Instagram | TBC*

*Currently I’m gauging interest to see if there’s interest in having a small group (around four people per session) where we look at your IG profiles as a group and provide personal feedback. Reply to this email if you’d be up for it!

Acting Training = Run My Own Workshops Or Be Incredibly Poor

For those new to the newsletter/me in general, I’m Christy and I’m an actor. I’ve been stuck at the auditions and self-tapes level with no further success for a whileeeee. Several months ago, I got a MAJOR rejection which, to be honest, kind of devastated me as it would have changed my life.

So, this season I’ve been really focusing on acting training. Thanks to a successful fundraiser and to my gorgeous community, I did a weekly acting course, a short comedy on screen course and a weekly improv comedy course.

Normally, I work as an extra in film and TV to supplement my freelancer income (I’m a writer and workshop facilitator outside of acting). Sometimes you’re booked for just the one day, often you’re booked for a fitting and then you film for a day several weeks/months later. Occasionally, you’ll be asked if you can make multiple days of filming for continuity reasons (they need you for the whole scene) - these days can be sequential but can be scattered across a month, if not several months.

As a result, when I was turning down a day because of a clash with one class, it often meant I had to turn down multiple days of work. Normally I would prioritise getting that bread but this season I knew I had to prioritise training, otherwise I will never improve and move on from walking around in the background.

(If you’re curious about life on film and TV sets, sign up to my newsletter Booked On Set where I ask my fellow extras what they’re reading!)

Booked On Set

What do background actors read on film and TV sets? Join me as I wander around talking to strangers holding books! Issues will be released depending on me getting booked on set so subscribe or follow me on @kukadoodles on IG to get the latest issue!

By Christy Ku

Go Go Fully Solo!

I’ve been wanting to run my own workshops for a while, and I finally took the leap to try and fund myself in lieu of that loss of income.

I’ve been a workshop facilitator since 2020. I’ve delivered them online and in-person for institutions such as the Barbican, the Science Museum, London Transport Museum, Museum of London, National Union of Students, Kakilang, Apples & Snakes, Underpinned and more. I’ve worked with all ages from children aged 7-11 to teenagers and uni students, and lots of grown ups.

Normally, these organisations would come to me with a brief (I rarely have to apply - fortunately I’m justtt about well known enough as a poet and workshop facilitator to be approached or referred by someone else). I would then design and deliver the workshop, whilst the organisation would handle everything else and I receive a flat fee no matter how many attendees come etc.

What and Why?

This season was my first time doing workshops completely solo - so I would need to do the outreach, marketing, set up, sending reminders to attendees, actually running it etc - I had to build the whole infrastructure.

I settled on running two types of workshops. One would be a creative writing workshop as I’ve run so many already and I would get to be fully creative with the exercises and support new writers, which I love.

The other would be ‘how to use social media as a writer’ which is something I’m very passionate about (I was the former head of Features and Interviews for TenEighty Magazine, a publication on YouTube and internet culture. I was also a contributor for Penguin's TikTok channel). I genuinely want writers to feel they can use social media to help get their wonderful work out there, and how to use it well without burning themselves out.

Demand for an Instagram focused deep dive came out of this session, and from that there were requests for personalised Instagram feedback sessions which will be new for Jan 2025.

This Is Very Girlboss Of Me

When I launched the first few workshops, I kept thinking to myself “oooh I’m such a girlboss, an entrepreneur!!” Here I was, running a business. Rise and grind. Hustle life!

I was regularly humbled with FEAR though. What if no one comes? Or worse, only like 2 people as that’s awkward for the attendees too??

I also had the constant anxiety of letting down participants, particularly for the higher ticket workshops. Would they find this good value for money? Would they feel like I’m scamming them?? (There’s a LOT of people who will scam you under the guise of running a workshop and often for social media workshops, they’re just a front for someone to sell you their e-course or e-book and barely teach you anything useful).

On the other side, I was trying to figure out if I was pricing myself correctly, or if I was undervaluing myself.

Supporting LGBTQ+ Folks and Pickle Jars

I chose to run the workshops online as it had the lowest upfront costs, I could run it from home and it would be more accessible to people - we ended up with participants from across the country and they were free to do the workshops from their beds (which I encouraged).

I very deliberately chose to host the ticket sales on Outsavvy as it takes the lowest cut, but more importantly the platform is VERY upfront about being LGBT+ friendly. The website promotes and highlights queer events, and allows you to include optional charity donation box when people buying tickets.

Through my workshops, we raised £24 for charities including: Diversity Role Models, Equality Network, Galop, Mosaic LGBT+ Young Person’s Trust, Stonewall Housing and The Kaleidoscope Trust.

Supporting LGBT+ causes is important to me and this gave me the added bonus of filtering out bigotry. By using Outsavvy, the platform being so loudly pro LGBT+ and adding the optional charity donations, it would have turned off anyone who isn’t going to be friendly and protects the space from the get go - they don’t even come near.

I really enjoyed setting the tone of each workshop to match who I am as a person. I settled on being cosy, comfortable, friendly and allowed my sense of humour to come through (hence the pickle jar with my face photoshopped in it - cheers to Connor for doing that for me (no further context will be provided, you had to be there)).

So? How Did It Go?

We had surprisingly very strong engagement and good numbers every single time! Turnout was great and we had a lovely community each sessions with great conversations and gorgeous sharings of work. Attendees commented on how supportive the space was, even though it was online with everyone muted and videos off.

This whole experience reminded me that you know what? I genuinely really am very good at running workshops! I have that experience built in me, I know how to read and manage and set the space. Because I will always have those concerns about how to best care for attendees and I’m rooted in providing value for them, it will always help me run a good workshop, whether it’s in a lecture style or a creative guided session.

The testimonials and feedback have been absolutely wonderful and I’m so happy that the attendees took the time to write them! You can read them on the event pages!

I Was Home Alone But Never Lonely!

Although this was my first time doing workshops fully solo, I wasn’t completely alone. I was very much supported by my community and got to build a community through these sessions.

Firstly a HUGE thank you to Empoword Slough/Together As One, a charity established in response to gang violence between young people from Asian backgrounds in Slough. I’ve previously worked with their young people and the charity very kindly allowed me to run my first two workshops on their Zoom account. The ticket sales from that gave me the funding to buy my own premium Zoom account.

Getting enough money to handle that upfront cost was a huge barrier which stopped me from running my own workshops for a very long time. I was worrying about getting enough money for that in the first place, and then being stuck never recuperating that money.

I’m an alumnus of a lot of writing/creative development programmes and those with a strong alumnus network generously included my workshops in their opportunities newsletters. Several artists and creatives networks would also share the news in their emails. My friends on Instagram would share my workshops on their stories and helped promote them.

Having so many people being so willing to champion my work was so touching and I felt very supported!!

What’s Next??

As you saw above, I’m running a new creative journalling workshop and repeating two former workshops:

• New Year, Same You - Rethinking Resolutions For Writers | Mon 6 Jan 2025, 7-8.15pm

• Instagram For Writers - A Deep Dive | Mon 27 Jan 2025, 7 - 8.30pm

• Reviewing Your Instagram | TBC (reply to this email if you’re interested!)

I’m going to offer a lot more early bird tickets which are discounted to keep them accessible for more people. So, if you’re following me on this newsletter and my Instagram, you’ll be the first to get them.

To be very honest, marketing is still a gargantuan effort each time and I’m not sure how to make it easier for myself. The dream is that I just post it on my socials and newsletter and we get enough sales, but I’m not quite sure I’m there yet!! If you have any top tips, please drop me a line!

More honesty - the creative writing sessions earns me a LOT less than the social media workshops. At this point, the social media sessions are basically funding the creative writing ones. I’m not going to cut the less profitable one because I do really love running them and we’re starting to have recurring attendees, but I do need to find a way to boost those numbers!

Big thank you to everyone who has ever filled out one of my feedback forms - it’s notoriously difficult to gather feedback after the workshop has happened, so I’m going to ask for people to give testimonials in the chat right at the end as well.

The DREAM is that running these workshops will cover my living expenses so I can focus on my writing, acting and I won’t have to pretend to mine in a quarry for hours in the rain as an extra in film and TV to make ends meet (absolutely based on personal experience).

But for now? Thank you all so much for your support, it’s honestly meant so much this season! It’s been so vital for me to get through these months, which are renowned for being intensely tough on freelancers, let alone for me who was actively turning down work in order to focus on training.

I appreciate you all! Have a lovely winter and I’ll see you all in the new year!

On asking for help (and then actually receiving it)

I’ve been reflecting as I catch up on writing these issues, looking over my notes and observations and honestly? I’ve grown and changed so much as a result of all these classes. I’m a little emotional because my community really flocked together FAST to help me when I needed them.

Initially putting the fundraiser together was so anxiety inducing - what if no one contributes? Or like just one person? Who am I to ask for this?

When the fundraiser for this acting course was successful, it was a mix of disbelief, relief and immediately followed by “oh god what if this course is a scam?? I’ll have wasted everyone’s money, not just mine??”

I’m not an overthinker, as you can tell.

I’m very happy to report that my weekly acting classes are not a scam and they’ve been brilliant. I’ve been learning a lot and my confidence in my acting has gone from rock bottom to fairly sturdy. We’ve been working on filming a scene for the camera and last week I felt a real tectonic shift inside me, something I haven’t felt when performing and I can feel something’s unlocked.

I’m officially at least 25% funnier now

The other courses I’ve been doing have been a bit of a rollercoaster. I knew comedy would be hard before I ever started, years ago, but these courses were a big jump up. I’m extremely glad I did my Level 3 improv comedy course (even did a showcase), and the comedy on screen course (but man, I’m glad they’re done!!).

Some observations and learnings:

• Your team is everything in comedy - the bonds, the dynamics, the trust between you.

• What’s your funny? Not the director’s, not your tutor’s etc. What’s YOUR funny? This is so you don’t lose your sense of self and fall into trying to be someone else’s idea of humour.

• Just say something immediately. The longer the wait until your first word or action, the more tension and pressure and nothing will ever match up to it.

• Classes should be the safest space to be very deeply fucking shit and do everything wrong. This is the place to mess up, receive feedback and learn from it, rather than actually on a job when you’re filming/performing/auditioning.

I don’t know how to categorise these, but these final points were important discoveries for me and here they are for you:

• Return to who you are

• Allow yourself to be changed 

• Meet yourself where you’re at 

My weekly acting class will end early December and we’ll enter the next phase of my creative career. As established, I’m absolutely totally not an overthinker and I’m definitely not pre-emptively nervous about it.

I have to trust that I’m doing the work, that it matters and it’s working.

Other Things

• I run the newsletter with my friend! It’s a monthly community newsletter rounding up all the news by ESEA folks across the country. Subscribe!

• I also run , a newsletter exploring what extras read on film and TV sets. It’s a silly publication and I’ve been having a lot of fun interviewing people and writing each issue!

• IT’S TAX SEASON but never fear - this is a guide I made on how to do taxes as a freelance creative! It’s pay what you can, check it out here or click the image below.

  

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  That’s all from me for now! I’m starting to wind down for the year, so if there’s not an issue I’ll catch you next year.

  Thanks for reading and supporting my newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

The conscious competence theory of learning a new skill

I was greatly relieved to learn about this theory. It’s based around the idea that you start with unconscious incompetence when you’re learning a new skill - you have no idea how bad you are at it. You just do the easy bits and you’re like “wow, this isn’t that hard! How fun!”

And then it gets harder and the conscious incompetence hits. You’re aware of how far you are from being actually good. It’s at this point a lot of people drop off and I’m not surprised.

It feels like being humbled and punished - “how dare you not know how bad you are”, which translates to “how dare you have fun and enjoy learning”.

It also makes me think of all the teachers I’ve had who only worked with those who had a lot of natural talent, and neglected to actually teach the rest. It leans into the theory that talent can’t be taught - but this forgets that skills can be taught.

I’ve been trying to push through and get to the conscious competence stage, battling with the temptation to quit and think “some people are just naturally good and I guess I’m not, so why bother?”. I want to get to the stage where I remember everything I’ve learnt but it’s in the back of my mind, that unconscious competence stage and it’s just pure practice and repetition and - you guessed it - repeated failures until you get it right.

I’m also reminding myself of how I teach and run my own workshops - I don’t mentally check out on any of my attendees if they don’t get something straight away. I don’t abandon them if they’re not as “naturally gifted”. I hold this space and care for strangers, why not myself?

Speaking of which:

News and updates!

• I’ve been running online workshops and I’ve got one more to finish the year. You can use the code FIRSTCLUB for 30% off!

  Instagram for Writers - A Deep Dive | Thurs 21 November 2024 https://www.outsavvy.com/event/22649/instagram-for-writers-a-deep-dive

  

• Very happy to share I've been commended for the James Berry Poetry Prize 2024 with Bloodaxe Books!

• I have a poem out with The Shore Poetry! You can read it online for free, it’s called ‘Monster Buffet’.

That’s all from me, thanks for reading!

A few hours after receiving a rejection for a potentially life-changing role, I got on the train to my new improv comedy course and hoped it would knock the disappointment out of me.

Generally, I’m outgoing and can attend to events and networking nights alone, and know I’ll be okay. But I was still nervous starting this new course - your fellow cohort makes or breaks the experience and there is little you can do to control who you’ll be in a group with. Also something at the back of my head was saying “you’ve just received major evidence that you majorly failed nananana”.

The class kicked off with a deliberately difficult name game where the point is to fail. You play, fail at it, get that failure out of the way and do it with confidence. As your friendly local Capricorn, I can confirm I was still absolutely trying to do it correctly.

I want to transition away from right/wrong and into play. I want to allow failure for myself.

At some point, I decided to just allow the nervousness. Allow myself to be quiet, allow myself the time to settle in, allow the silences during initial conversations - allow myself to fail at socialising (I’ll just aim for “hot and mysterious” vibes).

I’m trying to give myself permission to “fail” that big self-tape. To be asked was BIG. Rejection is better than regret.

Here I am pretending to be a seagull attacking my cohort members (this was during an exercise, not just for fun)

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Upcoming Online Workshops I’m Running!

• Social Media for Writers | Weds 23 Oct 2024 https://www.outsavvy.com/event/22532/social-media-for-writers 

• Everyday Magic - online writing workshop | Thurs 24 Oct 2024 https://www.outsavvy.com/event/22511/everyday-magic-creative-writing-with-christy-ku 

• Wintering Well for Writers - online writing workshop | Thurs 14 November 2024 https://www.outsavvy.com/event/22650/wintering-well-for-writers 

• Instagram for Writers - A Deep Dive | Thurs 21 November 2024 https://www.outsavvy.com/event/22649/instagram-for-writers-a-deep-dive

Writing Opportunities!

• PLAYWRIGHTS: The Royal Court Theatre have created The Writers Card, a free membership which looks like it offers amazing opportunities, discounts and more! Check it out here.

• POETS: Seren Books are looking for poetry collection and pamphlet submissions. More info here.

• LONDON WRITERS: Spread the Word are opening their amazing scheme for Fiction and YA/Children’s Fiction writers! Have a look here.

Updates!

I have a poem out with The Shore! You can read ‘Monster Buffet’ online here. It’s inspired by a line from the film ‘The Menu’ and it’s on performative allyship. Juicy.

Wednesday 18th September 2024, 7 - 8.30pm | TICKETS HERE

“I just want to write - why do I have to be on social media??”

There's increasing pressure on writers to establish an online presence. Does this mean you have to make content? Learn what the 'The Algorithm" is? Do silly dances to sell your writing?? Join Christy Ku for a deeply practical online workshop on how to make social media work for YOU. All writers welcome!

Early bird tickets £5 | General admission £10

Thursday 19th September 2024, 7 - 8.30pm | TICKETS HERE

Haven’t written properly for a few months? Years? Is writing no longer fun? Just haven't been able to find the time? Join me for some gentle generative writing exercises! We'll try some writing and reflection exercises and see if we can pull each other out. Get cosy, get dreamy! All writers (including new/non-writers) at all levels across genres and forms are very welcome! Tickets are pay what you can.

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Fundraiser News

In the last issue, I shared that I was fundraising for a short acting course I wanted to do. Amazingly, I went over the target within 5 days!!!

It still doesn’t feel real, and I don’t think it will until I start the classes in 3 weeks time! Once again, huge huge huge thanks to everyone who contributed and shared.

Getting funding to do The Actor's Cafe course has also meant I'm now able to do another two different courses with much more ease. I’ll be able to do a cheaper Comedy on Screen as well as this longer course, and it’ll be easier for me to continue with my Hoopla Improv courses (I get a full scholarship for that but have to pay for transport myself).

Acting Updates!

I have hopes to do a weekly acting training diary with my progress, thoughts, observations etc so they’ll be coming out here!

New Newsletter!

Booked On Set

What do background actors read on film and TV sets? Join me as I wander around talking to strangers holding books! Issues will be released depending on me getting booked on set so subscribe or follow me on @kukadoodles on IG to get the latest issue!

By Christy Ku

I’m very excited for my new newsletter, Booked On Set! This is an idea I’ve had for a long time (soon it’s going to be 3 years since I started being an extra in film and TV). First issue is out and I’m drafting some more issues as we speak!

Future Newsletter Style

I’m going to be bringing back writers opportunities again, whilst continuing to talk about the realities of a freelance creative life! It’ll still be monthly(ish).

I think that’s all for now - drop me line if you have any requests! See you in the next issue!

For those who don't know, I'm an actor! I've trained with New Earth Actor's Academy, National Youth Theatre and Hoopla Improv. I'm signed with an acting agent, been getting self tapes requests, auditions and shortlisted for roles but I believe I've hit a point where I need training to actually book roles.

I've been wanting to do this intermediate acting course with The Actor's Cafe for almost 2 years but I've not been able to get ahead to cover both my living costs and do the course.

So here I am, asking for my community’s help. If you’re able to contribute, share with a character testimonial or just wish me luck, it would be so incredibly appreciated.

What You'll Get For Contributing:

There are tiers of rewards for contributing! Please make sure you include your email, name (or just let me know) to collect your reward! All rewards are optional!

£20: I'll write you at least 8 lines of poetically positive affirmations (I need to either know you or be able to look at your socials to get a sense of who you are)

£50:

• 2 poems on anything you want, written by me. Can be given as a gift or for yourself!

• 1 to 1 writing session/I provide feedback on a piece of your writing etc (1hr session, remote or in person)

£75: 1 to 1 social media advice (1hr session, remote or in person)

£100:

• For freelancers, I’ll look over your taxes (1.5hr session, remote or in person - I'm not a financial expert but am known for creating this guide on freelance taxes )

• I'll take your headshots/provide product photos (must be London based)

Fundraising Breakdown

I'm hoping to do this course with The Actor's Cafe . I've previously attended a taster session and it's officially recognised as a Spotlight listed part-time acting school so I'm certain about this one.

It's £525 for the course and I'll be attending 9 weeks of the course. Travel will be £9.40 a day, and GoFundMe takes 5%, meaning the total amount to do this is £640.08.

If I go over, purchasing a scene for my showreel is £50 so I'll use the money for that (I don't anticipate going much over).

Thank you, all my love and fingers crossed. I will remember you in my Oscars speech.

I’ll be performing as part of Occasians’ Asian Artist showcase on Weds 12 June! Tickets are free, book here!

Occasians is a platform for and by Asian creatives and artists, founded by my wonderful friend Ray Roberts (who will be co-hosting the night alongside the Queen of New Malden, Becky Lee Smith aka HangukHapa

The lineup looks GREAT and I can’t wait to see you there!

Hello gorgeous people! Thank you for all your lovely words on my last issue, great to hear that it’s sparked you to make your own income report!

Some personal news - I have moved back to London! Here’s an IG reel I made to announce my return.

After unpacking the 600th box, I was thinking about how to root yourself into a city. I moved just outside of London for 2.5 years and I’m feeling quite disconnected. I’m back now - but how do I get in?

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This has been my six step plan at the moment:

1. DMing my friends! I’ve missed casually meeting up with my friends to hang out for a few hours. My friends are often also my creative colleagues, so it’s always a great chance to talk about how the creative world, get recommendations and personal introductions, and of course have a cheeky gossip about the industry 👀

2. DMing people I kind of know! I’m generally quite bold with this - if I’ve met someone interesting at an event/have bumped into them a few times at various occasions, I tend to find them on IG and shoot them a message. How it generally goes is ‘hello, lovely to meet you at [EVENT], [something nice and personal]’ and then something concrete that can lead to action. Either a meet up to chat further, an online call, “are you going to this event if so I’ll see you there” etc. Keep it doable, not too vague and low commitment with no demands to build a relationship. If it flops - it flops! Find someone else who wants to connect.

3. Going to events (as a guest)! There’s a lot of networking events and gatherings in the city. They continue to scare me and make me a little shy (doesn’t help that I tend to go to these events alone as some weird extreme challenge to myself). But, I keep in mind that the organisers REALLY want people to show up and have a good time, so they should be doing their best to help you. Also - everyone there is feeling the same as you!

4. Going to events (as a volunteer)! An underrated tip if you ask me. I’ve been a volunteer teacher for Four Winds Mahjong, a London based mahjong club! You should totally come to our sessions! This has been such a great way of meeting people, chatting with them and gets rid of the fear of awkward silences. If the conversation dies down - just focus on the mahjong tiles.

Me and some of the Four Winds Mahjong crew teaching at ESEA Publishing Network’s Summer Party!

5. Finding events and classes! I’ve been discovering events mostly through email newsletters. Some are through development programmes I’ve been part of, some are for the wider creative community. My top two are ILikeNetWorking and ArtsAdmin’s Anchor. Often when you go to one, you’ll hear about another and so the dominoes go. Eventbrite is also actually really good, so search for events in your local area!

6. Open mics! I used to go to a LOT of open mics back when I first moved to London in 2016. This was huge for my creative career, social life and also friend-making. I’ve been out of the scene for a long time - a lot of nights have died out but like a phoenix, many new ones have surged up. I’ve heard it’s a lot of new young ‘un's on the scene now, so I’m a little nervous but I will accept my new role as a poetry elder.

If any of my creative colleagues are reading this and would like to have a meet up/chat/go to an event together/learn to play mahjong, please drop me a line! You can hit reply to this email.

Until next time!

There’s a FREE guided tour of the Zimingzhong exhibition and creative writing session with the Science Museum on Friday 10 May 2-4pm. Tea and cake will be provided, writers of all levels are welcome for some gentle generative writing prompts!

The Science Museum are very keen to boost engagement from the East & South-East Asian community so please do come along, bring friends, family and parents!! Full info and tickets here!

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We’re a month into the new financial year (for creative freelancers who need help with understanding what that even means, here’s an accessible guide I made on taxes)!

To be honest, I feel like I’ve spent most of my freelance career in a fugue state, just trying to get through each month, panicking when nothing’s been coming in for a while, panicking when money does come in and working out how far that sum will go to patch up the damage caused by the last drought.

More recently, I’ve been better at gathering and sorting my financial data. It’s allowed me to reflect, break down my income sources and get full clarity for the first time.

What I did was look over my invoices spreadsheet, categorise everything and then exported some graphs. Let’s get into it.

Overall Income Source Breakdown April 2023-24

The absolute majority of my income is from being a supporting artist (background/an extra on film and TV). This allow me to sporadically get major chunks of money to supplement my income. This is also kind of terrifying as 2023 was HORRENDOUS due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes that shut down the industry for just under 4 months. You can imagine my overall income took a big hit!

In second is my poetry work, then “Other” (stuff that falls outside of my usual creative practice). I also work as a personal assistant/access support worker for who secured a DYCP grant from the Arts Council last year - I help with admin, access requirements, organising etc (I’m looking to take on more clients as a PA, short term or longer, so do get in touch!)

Acting being 0.3% of my income is deeply humbling I’m not going to lie (I’m laughing really ahahahah) and that was only for a recall fee - so when you do a self-tape/first in-person audition and you get called again for another round, sometimes they’ll pay you a very small fee.

Poetry Work Breakdown

So as you can see, running poetry-related workshops makes up most of my poetry-related income. People just want to learn how to write poems and I’m very good at helping them apparently!

Hosting poetry events is new for me but something I really enjoy, so hopefully I’ll land some more.

Workshop breakdown

I’ve been a workshop facilitator for about 4 years now - mostly in poetry but I also help run anti-racism workshops. The educating side of things is a big deal in the creative world, so I would advise folks to learn how to run workshops!

For General, that’s things like a one-to-one session I gave on public speaking, taking part in a research workshop etc.

Where Does It All Come From??

This was the most critical piece of information I gather from these data crunches!! A lot of freelancing feels like you’re either doing absolutely nothing, waiting for an email to land in your inbox or desperately rattling out applications and cover letters whilst trying not to sound like you’re begging.

I always feel like I wait around too much and need to “look for opportunities” more often. How we look for opportunities is a challenge I’ll cover another time.

It was SUPER interesting to see that most of my income opportunities really do just come to me*, and only 16.2% comes from me actively applying for it. The vast majority comes from people approaching me via email or DMs on IG, or someone recommends me for a project (I love and adore and am eternally grateful to everyone who has referred me and will continue to uplift you anyway I can).

*(I took out supporting artist work because that’s consistently just agencies asking if you’re free, ticking a box to say yes and then they either ghost you or accept you the day before - so it’s not useful data)

What Does It All Mean? What To Do With This Info??

This has really helped me strategise, think about where I want to put my time and energy. It also helps me see what do I really enjoy, and what I want to increase if that’s in my control.

For example, I want to increase my photography, poetry work, writing and acting. I can post more about these subjects on social media to increase attention, I can look for more acting workshops and training, I can also find people who work in these areas and ask them for advice.

Knowing that creative writing workshops are such a big proportion of my creative income, I’m looking to run workshops myself without the commission of an organisation. Normally, a company would get in touch, I would create the materials and then run that workshop for their audience. I’m summoning the courage to create, sort the logistics and advertise it myself (on top of running the workshop itself).

With sources, I’m not going to stop applying for things but I’m going to focus on my current relationships and building new ones (yes, it’s networking time). My next post will probably be about how to network so if that’s a subject you really struggle with, feel free to reply to this email with any questions!

That’s all from me this month, thank you for reading! Let me how you reflect on your income sources, I’m curious! See you next time (or hopefully at the Science Museum!)