Big Magic inspiration, Best-sellers and the joy of reflection
Time to breathe before the New Year
Well hello lovely Scribblers,
This week I’m reading ‘Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear’ by Elizabeth Gilbert - not my usual read, but I’m challenging myself with more non-fiction surrounding growth mindset recently!
It introduces a fascinating concept - in Ancient Rome, people believed a bestselling writer must have a divine “genius” spirit living in their home, inspiring their brilliant work. What pressure relief if we saw success as thanks to a muse rather than our own innate genius! But please don’t wait for the divine spirit of inspiration to visit your house. Or you might never start the joy of writing at all…
I love this in-between time of Christmas and New Year. It is when I do my most holistic and reflective work on Fly on the Wall Press. I’ve submitted my annual hopeful Arts Council Application, and I’m busy doing an annual report - for myself - of business growth and what we have achieved. The year of publishing gets so busy, it is very easy for me to forget what we have achieved; to stop and say, ‘breathe. Things are on the up. Look back!’
Revenue Up 33%
After 5 years of bootstrapping, it was thrilling to see revenue growth over a third, despite us reducing books from 14 in 2022 to 12 in 2023. This will allow us to invest in more authors and books.
10.4% More Books Sold
Across the board, each of our authors achieved more book sales this year. Over 10% more readers are engaging with the type of politically conscious fiction and poetry we champion. I was very proud to see The Process of Poetry, Edited by Rosanna McGlone, become a best-selling poetry craft book on Amazon pre-Christmas!
Reviews in Major Outlets
Getting recognition from renowned publications like The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Herald, and even radio programs like BBC’s Front Row validated the calibre and social importance of our books - and made me do happy dances.
79% More Event Attendees
Through 30 events around the UK, from university classrooms to independent bookshops and Fantasycon, we connected live with over 1,450 passionate readers eager to discuss poignant topics related to our books, from climate anxiety to refugee stories in poetry.
We were awarded £1,000 from Writerz and Scribez to continue our outreach programme in schools and universities. I visited seven colleges and universities in Greater Manchester and Lancashire to talk about Climate Anxiety and eco-literature, complete with a reading list to empower participants after the ‘Finding a Vocabulary for Climate Anxiety’ creative writing workshop.
To celebrate our love of eco-literature, you can find our gorgeous FSC-certified photography and poetry hardback, ‘Planet in Peril’ for just £5 until the New Year here.
As 2024 nears, I want to say what a pleasure it has been to chat to you all, both in person and online, and to share stories with you. Here’s to another year of building compassion and generating important conversations through storytelling! No magic genies required - just the revolutionary act of forging human connection through books.
Happy new year!
Isabelle x