End of an Era: Why I’m Closing Q & Q Friday

Since our first video in August 2016, Q and Q Friday has had almost 21,000 views. That’s a lot in a niche industry. A lot in a small country like Australia—with crap SEO. Hear me GOOGLE? Get your bloody SEO sorted! Help the little guys get seen!

We’ve produced 107 videos (so far) and covered all topics great and small, from how to write a book, to how to pitch to a Big Five publisher. From what to wear to a conference, to, um, what brand of foundation I use.

Q and Q Friday has been the lynchpin of the girl & duck community. Many grateful viewers have told me it’s like Kid Lit College. Others say that no matter how many courses they’ve done, or how many conferences they’ve attended, they’ve NEVER learned as much as they have from Q and Q Friday.

Not to mention the benefits the show has had on people’s minds and attitudes. It has really REALLY helped people stay positive. It’s lifted spirits and regularly given people a much-needed giggle.

The show has nurtured, encouraged and inspired many creators to stay in the game long enough to get published.

It’s accelerated people’s learning—in many cases, exponentially.

It’s prevented people from making terrible faux pas. Oh fuck, don’t get me started…

It’s kicked off careers. And reenergised some that had gone wayward.

But do you know what I say when this praise comes rolling in or I receive these beautiful, heartfelt emails?

I say thanks.

Of course I do! I lurve being loved. Better still, I love knowing I’ve helped people! Big time helped!

But deep down I also say, I know!

I know the show is awesome because that’s why I produced it.

I produced it to be awesome.

I knew there was nothing like it out there. Nothing. Zippo. I knew that, unless they had a bosom buddy in the industry, no one would ever get this depth of information ANYWHERE in the world.

It’s bloody insider trading, that’s what it is!

The info I’ve shared on Q and Q Friday has been hard won. It’s all been drawn from my own experience. That’s why it’s passionate, personal and incredibly helpful. It’s helpful, sometimes even life changing, because it’s REAL. It’s not sanitised or neatly packaged, and it’s not dumbed down or patronising.

It has also been drip fed.

Week in, week out, with patience and commitment, we’ve learned together—slowly. So no one got overwhelmed or bamboozled. And everyone grew to understand firsthand that this is a long game.

Say it with me again, people, this is a looooong game!

Because every single question has come from our beautiful community (thank you!), the questions have always been relevant. They’ve never been what I think you should know. They’ve never been about me preaching from on high. The content of Q and Q Friday has always been what YOU wanted (and needed) to know. (Aside from the occasional poem thrown in by yours truly…).

So. Why am I closing Q and Q Friday?

Three words.

Refine. Refine. Refine.

It’s time for me to double down and refine the machinations of girl and duck.

It’s no longer sustainable for me to keep producing Q and Q Friday. It takes a truckload of time and energy, plus a fair bit of cashola to keep this show rolling. And, even though it’s seriously great fun (and it is!), I have to get real.

There’s other stuff I want to do. Other stuff I want to create.

And in order to do that, I’ve gotta go a bit Marie Kondo. Gotta clean things up. Chuck stuff out. Look for the JOY in whatever I keep and send the trackie dacks to charity.

Not that I’m likening our beloved Q and Q Friday to trackie dacks.

NEVER!

It’s pure Prada, darling!

It’s just that it’s time.

Time to let go.

We have one more season left, the spring season,  then it’s time to close the door.

If you’ve been a Q and Q subscriber, if you’ve come along for the ride, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. (And remind you that all the videos will be still available to you, right through 2020.)

We have done a wonderful thing, you and I. We have co-created something special. It might seem like a blip to some. A mere folly. But it will be a wonder and a panacea to many others.

It’s the end of an era.

This is Jen Storer, Children’s Author and Chief Inspirationalist at girl and duck.com, signing off for (almost) the last time.

Much love and shining creativity to you all.

xo

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