We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rachel St Clair. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rachel below.

Alright, Rachel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Early on in my career, when I was still advancing my skills and before I had taken on any clients, I was told that there are 3 key elements to ensure lasting custom relationships and continued opportunities. They are; being polite, being on time and lastly, having talent. I believe the first two points are as important, if not more, than the third. You can have all the talent in the world but if you aren’t easy to work with and can’t meet deadlines, clients will look for someone who can.

Since hearing this advice, I’ve really taken it to heart and I’m always striving to offer a service that meets all 3 areas. I feel it’s because of this that I have so many repeat clients and always receive new requests via word of mouth.

In my experience, marketing yourself through this lens is the best thing you can do to build a thriving freelance business.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a freelance book designer and typography artist. I’ve been working professionally in this field for the last couple of years and am completely self-taught. Initially, I spent quite a few years getting to grips with different software and techniques, studying from others online and working on passion projects to build my skills.

The first professional project I took on was actually for someone very close to me, which might not work for everyone but was great for me. It allowed me the opportunity to work in a process that was open, constructive and ultimately, a success. I learned a lot through this first project about my own process and what I was capable of in a professional capacity.

It was from this project that I started receiving requests from other authors who had seen and liked my work and my business started to grow naturally.

I love working with authors and publishers to bring a cover to life. Currently, I’m most proud of the work I’ve completed with The Broken Binding, where I’ve had the opportunity to work on some huge titles in the sci-fi and fantasy genre including titles by Tad Williams, Ursula K. Le Guin and James Clavell.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Early on, I really struggled with imposter syndrome and the feeling of not being good enough to be working on the projects I was. It was a huge points of anxiety for me and meant I would spend far too much time stressing over small details and feeling worried whenever I sent off initial sketches for a project. It wasn’t that I was scared of feedback – in fact I always welcome it – but I was scared of rejection or the idea that others would be disappointed in my work.

It took quite a while for me to feel comfortable in my role. Therapy was a great starting point and practicing positive self-talk really helped as well. Ultimately, I had to keep reminding myself that if I wasn’t good enough, I wouldn’t be booked like I was. It was refreshing to reframe things in a positive light and today, I never experience that feeling of not being good enough.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is seeing your work out in the open and people’s reactions to it. I love when a cover reveal happens and people are responding well to the art and design. It’s great to collaborate with other artists as well and see each of our elements come together to build a beautiful edition.

It’s always great to be recognised for the work you’ve put in and I’m overjoyed to know that people have books on their shelves that they cherish that I’ve had a hand in creating.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://behance.net/claymorecovers
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claymorecovers