A cautionary tale?

Elsewhere I've mused upon New Year's intentions, met and unmet. For the past couple years, one of those that has remained unmet is the creation of a decent media kit. Many of us struggle with this whole notion of self-promotion. I've attended some great workshops on the topic, notably those presented by the wonderful Linda Gorham. I've gathered other tellers' appealing brochures for inspiration. I've contacted a couple friends with design services catering to the storytelling world. Have I acted on any of it?

Not yet.

Right now, I'm paying the price for my inaction. Recently, a call came through on the storytell listserv for a festival in Arizona. Now, I realize the chances of being invited out there to be a featured teller are about as good as the chances that it will hit a high of 80 here today---the predictions are for 39. Still, the sun is shining and it is Wisconsin, so one never knows. In that same spirit, I figure that one can never know whether they'd be invited to be a featured teller if the application isn't sent. So I'm scrambling.

I do have a nice black and white head shot already. Thank you to the Wisconsin Humanities Council for pushing me to get that done. Granted, my hair style has changed dramatically at least twice since it was taken, but my face hasn't changed since 5th grade, so that's good. I also have a nice storytelling curriculum vitae, easily changed to suit the purpose. It's that darn brochure!

Oh, I have a brochure. It's very homemade in appearance and I know I need to get something that looks more professional. I just haven't done that, even though it's on my intention list every year. At the moment, I have a tight deadline...April 10. Which means I should really get this stuff in the mail by tomorrow. What to do?

Isn't the internet a wonderful place? I discovered a brochure making site online with some free templates. Granted, free has its limitations, but once I finish adding the text and buying some good quality paper, I'll have a very limited run of nice looking brochures. If nothing else, going through this process has impressed upon me the need to actually follow through on this particular intention this year.

Don't even get me started about demo CDs. One intention at a time, okay?

If you are a storyteller or performing artist, I'd love to hear your experiences with creating your media kit. Comment away!