I fuck up in hilarious ways. Or at least ways I have no other choice but to find hilarious.
Last week, I was so excited to order some stickers for the Casual Ramble. I used the Canva graphic design platform online to import the images, find the right font, copy over my LinkTree QR code and go to print, all hunky-dory.
In the print, they let you know where any of these elements are going to be cut off; the font and overlaid images mostly and can automatically adjust them so they are not, in fact, cut off from the final product.
I press this button immediately. Last review, all looks fine. Nothing overlaps the edges, everything feels right. Order up! They arrived yesterday, and I could not feel more happy to share them. In response to this, I set them on my dining table and proceeded to go take nap because nothing interrupts the siesta.
When I woke up, I hopped on an afternoon Discord call with some friends because I wanted to show them the stickers. It takes just one look and I already see the problem.
Hey there! Casual Rambler here, just wanting to thank you for reading my blog. I try to avoid marketing myself and I don’t like paywalling content. That’s why most of this website, if not all, is free. However, subscribing to my Patreon helps me keep doing it. Patrons gain exclusive short stories as well as early-access to monthly poetry and photography posts. Thanks again and please enjoy the rest of the site!
Yep, this sucks. The E in Ramble is covering the corner of the QR code, rendering it useless.
This is the work of the automatic adjustment, a testament to my own lack of attention and a lesson how excitement should not overtake precision. But it’s not a disaster. At least I had four different stickers with one counting for a funny novelty.
I scroll through the rest of the goods. I have three different stickers, with one counting as a novelty. The third had been doubled ordered.
This was about the moment I had to stop, take a breath, and talk to myself. This is where these moments are different for me now.
Beforehand, an error such as this would have crushed me. I would have probably crawled back into hibernation, refusing to deal with the issue, regardless of stakes. This not being a high stakes scenario, was still disappointing. I was looking forward to sending out the stickers. New writer, same old mistakes, it seems.
Now all I can do is laugh, “Yep, that happened. What can we do about it?”
To be honest, I don’t expect much to happen. Beyond sending in a refund request that I am quite sure will be rejected, I’m pretty much prepared to make another small run of the second landscapes and just eat the mistake on the square stickers. In fact, I’m just gonna double check the budget on that.
ten minutes later
Yeah, it works; it’s not great, but it works.
Regardless, I’m going to have to wait before I send out the merch. I’m gonna figure out what my final options are and more than anything, I’m going to send out four different stickers to my Patreon subscribers. I appreciate your patience in letting me resolve the issue.
It ain’t perfect, but where I would have let this knock me back a couple steps. I’m trying to teach myself how to acknowledge the problem, and move forward with joy. This just the next part of that lesson.
Editors note: This is probably a good time to mention that if you become a paid subscriber before this Friday, April 4, you will receive eight stickers from The Casual Ramble. Count ’em: eight.
Patrons receive early-access to monthly poetry, short stories and short films as well as exclusive access to Patron-only short stories, poetry, and behind-the-scenes content. Every additional Patron lets me continue my dream of being a full-time creative, and I appreciate your support.
The Casual Ramble 