News

January 11, 2024

Work Updates

Commissions

Etsy now charges sales tax. I only found out because a friend placed an order recently. I've thought about pulling all my listings off Etsy because I otherwise haven't had a sale there since June 2019. But, at $2/year for listing fees, I keep it around on the off-chance any friends, family, or random stranger want to place an order through an "official" channel. I tried the "promoted listing" thing once, but that just ran up a huge ad account bill from people clicking on listings but not buying. To this day, out of respect for my fellow artist's pocketbooks, I absolutely refuse to click on any "promoted" listing on Etsy now, and will search out an item manually if I want to look at it.

I'm pulling the commission listings off of eBay. They've been running for nearly a year, and the only message I got was "what size is the $50 drawing?". The title of the listing is "8x10 Professional, Hand Drawn, Custom Pencil Portrait from Your Photograph". I'm sick of eBay users. Not only do they not read the listing description, they don't even read the title where it blatantly says 8x10. *sigh* If anybody needs toner to fit a Konica Minolta BizHub 200, I have some for sale here. That printer was nicknamed Ol' Pokey because of how old and slow it was, and it finally gave up the ghost with mechanical errors I can't repair. So, some unopened toner for sale! Don't message me on eBay if you have questions. I don't receive any notifications that I have a message on eBay. Either buy it, or don't.

Similarly, Helcim ended up deactivating my account due to inactivity. Have I mentioned lately that marketing is not my strong point? Because marketing is not my strong point. The majority of my orders now are honestly just one realtor who orders closing gifts for her clients. Any extras I've gotten lately that haven't been family or close friends has been from putting up random listings on Facebook Marketplace.

The listings on Ko-fi are still good!

* EDIT * Okay, you know what? Screw Etsy. Their seller fees are up to 9.5% + 75¢ per transaction. And screw eBay with their 12.35% + 30¢ fees. Paypal only charges 3.49% + 49¢, so if you wish to commission me, go to Ko-fi (which uses Paypal): ko-fi.com/asheskyler

The Main Job

I am very antsy for work to start. It's January, my finances are very slim, and I could use the distraction. With the IRS delaying their processing dates and refund release dates every year, it slows down my clientele as well, and my January workload has greatly dwindled compared to what it was several years ago.

A few months back, my mobile hotspot at work stopped broadcasting. I do not know why. Customer Service wasn't able to help me beyond "turn it off, turn it back on, um, turn it off and on again?" It was a few years old, so it may have just gave out considering that most technology is designed to break after a few years these days. My work cell phone's hotspot stopped working shortly after. I'm currently screenshotting text messages as that's the only real reason why I keep any old phone going, and I'm going to try a factory reset before considering buying a new work phone.

I'm trying new things with advertising this year. I'm going to mail my first postcards in an attempt to reach out to old clients who have drifted off. I've placed a Facebook ad by "boosting" a post that had a lot of general information and a stock photo. I've reached out to a local "bench billboard" company and hope I can swing the $50/month or $600/year they're asking for. I think I've made decent materials for my ads. I prefer clean, tasteful designs, as opposed to the garbage most tax prep offices put out with garrish colouring, misleading statements, and shocked women holding a handful of fanned-out money.

I'd like to be able to push the notary public thing a bit more, but so many documents brought to me (including those designed by institutions) don't have a "complete" notary statement on them for me to fill out, and it's so heavily pushed that "you cannot make any decisions at all beyond verifying the identity of the signer" that I don't know what I'm legally allowed to correct, and it's just a nuisance.

Another work-related nuisance is sales reps looking right at the "no soliciting" sign on the door and then dropping their garbage on my porch anyway. Nothing turns me off supporting a company or politician like having a mess to clean up. Cold-calling makes me blacklist companies too. They really should just stop obnoxious sales tactics. Frankly, I have a bad taste in my mouth over the ads I've put out and I'd rather just stick to the "refer-a-friend" word-of-mouth campaign since it gets the most bang for the buck, but, my list of clients are slowly dwindling as people retire, die, or move off, and I'm desperate to breathe some life back into the office.

Personal

Court and the custody battle for my kids continues to drag on. The final hearing is at the end of April.

My boyfriend has been my stalwart companion through everything. Before we were even dating, he was at my side through drama. He was the first person to take me to prom (although I asked him out, heh, but prom for adults doesn't have the same marketing as prom for highschoolers, so he gets a pass on that). He was the first to cuddle and kiss me through the New Year's celebrations. He'll be the first person to celebrate Valentine's Day with me! He's really stepped up and tried to be a stepfather to my kids by helping with homework, taking them hiking and to the movies, helping them with their own martial arts training, and indulging in a mutual love of Pokémon. After years of domestic violence, abuse, and many other unpleasant things, it is such a relief to finally have a healthy relationship, and I don't take it for granted one bit. The chaos that's been going on since last May has impacted our free time to train together like we used to, but, we're making plans and getting more aggressive about trying to get training time again. He's my favourite sparring partner, and we both miss it.

Today we sneaked off for a little trip to a hobby shop that surprisingly also carried weapons. Guess who's got a new pair of nunchaku and their very first katana? Damascus steel! I will take a picture at some point and post it here. He says he's going to pay me for half of it as a birthday present. I'm touched. First partner who actually wants to celebrate my birthday and even give me a gift.


Like the story and want to help support it?
KofiSmashwordsCommissions

Read Older News

Recent Artwork

View Character Art


Like the story and want to help support it?

Banner: Buy Ashe (or Shanku or Katari) a coffee (or tea)! Banner: Buy a copy of Just Another Day on Smashwords Banner: Commission artwork from Ashe Skyler.

Piperka.net: Webcomic tracking and bookmark service! Vote for Just Another Day on TopWebComics! Comic Rocket