We were lucky to catch up with Brigitta Blair recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brigitta, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you have any thoughts about how to create a more inclusive workplace?
It’s also important to make sure workspaces are physically and virtually accessible. Something as simple as using a program that enables captioning on videos or having ramps and elevators at offices can make a huge difference.
I once had a repetitive strain injury where I couldn’t test a product I was working on properly without damaging my arm. In response, my company allowed me to create a setting where I didn’t have to click repeatedly with that arm to avoid triggering it. Having a company that supported my need and actively allowed me to improve the product not only helped me, but it also helped others who were experiencing something similar.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name’s Brigitta and I’m an author-illustrator, UX/UI designer, and video game developer. Currently, I’m working as an author-illustrator on my debut middle-grade graphic novel called CRAMMING that comes out with Little Brown in 2027. It explores the challenges of fitting into school, family, and a scoliosis brace. I’m also working on a AAA video game with an incredible team.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
When I started out my journey as a graphic novel author-illustrator, I wish I had known about the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Kids Comics Unite, and Publisher’s Marketplace.
– SCBWI is a great community of kidlit authors and illustrators. They have a lot of webinars, book pitch opportunities, and conferences you can attend to meet others in the industry. Their winter conference is one of my favorites and I love the intimacy that comes from the local regional chapter events.
– Kids Comics Unite is another great resource. It’s an online community of comic creators. Similar to SCBWI, they have a ton of informational webinars. They also have a fantastic graphic novel intensive class and my favorite graphic novel pitch event, KCU Pitchfest, which puts your work in front of a ton of publishing professionals.
– The final resource I’d recommend for people trying to make it in traditional publishing is Publisher’s Marketplace. This is a paid platform database of book deals. It’s generally good for people who are trying to find agents (people who pitch your books to publishers like Scholastic) and editors (people who acquire and edit your book on behalf of a publisher). Before submitting my book to agents, Publisher’s Marketplace was my holy grail for doing research about all the agents I wanted to submit to.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I’ve always been a perfectionist. In the past, I believed a product had to be 100% perfect before shipping. Although I still have those tendencies, I realized that sometimes it’s better to focus on the bigger picture than laboring over one small detail. The reality is, nobody will care about that one pixel that is slightly off as much as you, and sometimes it’s better to prioritize tasks your audience needs over making something of lesser importance “perfect.” At the end of the day, time is money and the more time you spend on a less important task is time and money taken away from something your audience needs or cares more about.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brigittablair.com/blog/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brigittablair/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brigittablair/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrigittaBlair
- Other: https://bsky.app/profile/brigittablair.bsky.social https://www.tiktok.com/@brigittablair
Image Credits
All images were taken or created by me (Brigitta Blair).