If you ask my adult children, they think I am evil to even consider using AI. In every Picture Book Publisher’s contract there is a clause that prohibits the creator from using AI in the work the publishing house is buying.
Despite the negative vibes AI receives from my kids, AI is here to stay. We are just in that time frame where we are figuring out how to use it. My question is: How can I use AI so it won’t jeopardize my ability to get my books published?
First, I’ve started using Claude as a coach. What do I need to do today that will generate revenue? Which social media platforms should I pursue? What’s the pros and cons of doing it my way? Let’s brainstorm more revenue ideas for my artwork.
Last week, during a session of doom scrolling, I stumbled across an idea of having deliverables that are due each day. As a Stay at Home Mom for most of my time since becoming a Mom, the idea of deliverables means dinner gets made and laundry gets done. As a soon to be empty nester, my deliverables can look very different.
I’ve kind of been doing the intuitive work approach to my illustration business: What do I feel like doing today? Sure I try to have goals but I’ve never expected that I would get X,Y, and Z done before the end of day. (I usually give myself a list of 10 items and then get frustrated that I can’t get them all done in one day. Then instead of sending out postcards to Art Directors every quarter, I forget and I only sent out one postcard mailing last year.)
I have in the past tried to create a checklist and I got bogged down in the details. In my quest for a deliverables list, I decided to open up a new project in Claude and write in the instructions all of my goals, the specific dates I was available and planned to work in my studio, the deadlines for each project, as well as how long each piece of a larger project would take me. And instead of me sitting down with checklists and calendars for an afternoon or a whole day, Claude spit out a schedule through Dec 2027 in minutes.
I learned something pretty specific. It’s not just my imagination. I really don’t have enough working days (given my stay at home mom status) to create all of my goals in a given year. So I took out a few things and let Claude know which deadlines are non negotiable.
My next day at work, I realized that I had already completed one of the items on the list for the day so I could take an item off the next day’s list to get ahead. There is something powerful about completing your tasks for the day with enough time left over to complete a task you had planned for tomorrow.
Its only been a week, but I’m on schedule with my artwork and instead of writing this blog post on Friday so I can send out a Newsletter with a link to it that afternoon, I’m writing it on Tuesday and I’ll link it in the Friday Newsletter that I’ve already started writing today.