Wrestling with Longshots

Writing in 2017 has been interesting, but much of it feels the same. I'm still splitting my time between edits, revisions, writing fresh drafts and working on scripts (again). But what it feels like is working, working, working with no way off of the hamster wheel. This feeling keeps gnawing at me that I need to do some big, grand gesture in order to move my career along. I get this feeling every few months, but I have yet to figure out exactly what needs to be done.

I think this feeling is what's throwing me back into script writing. I still have a desire to submit something to Amazon Studios, but silly, always prepared me starting looking at the fine print again. The deal they offer isn't quite what it seems. It's a buyout--which means if they like it and they want it, they can not only block you out of any future script revisions or rewrites (which I expected), but they can also strip your name from the project. So, aside from money, what's in it for me? It puts me in a situation of bragging about getting something made, only to see that I can't prove to anyone I did it.

It's not just script writing either. I've come to the decision that I need to move beyond self publishing. I'm not giving it up entirely (I still have the third installment for Kindle Worlds to release), but I think the next new project that goes out into the world should be presented from a more traditional source. The publishing world isn't the same as it was twenty years ago. You have to have your feet planted in both sides of publishing to maximize visibility and income. Plus, you have to come up with a scheme for a weekly check. Some do podcasts, some sell useless How to Write courses, some super bloggers earn enough from advertising--I do freelancing right now, but there are so many options I feel like I'm not exploring hard enough (except for selling courses--most of them are worthless).

What does this all mean? It means I'm still going to practice drawing, even though I'd rather be writing comics than drawing them. It means I may throw myself into some other creative form if given the chance. It means I have to do what I do best--get creative to find the space I want to occupy. It'll probably cause a few brain freezes along the way (like the one I'm having right now), but maybe I'll be led in the right direction.

Into the Second Phase

Life has slowed down a bit here. Actually, it's more like a standstill. There's the huge dump of snow that we got yesterday, but there's also a lack of work. I actually haven't had a single job 2014, though not for lack of trying. That's what I get for raising my standards. If I don't work for chump change, I apparently don't get to work.

For now, I'm still smiling. But by the end of the week, I may be in pre-launch for panic mode. Even though I'm snowed in, I'm probably staying afloat emotionally simply because I have big dreams. The dreams themselves won't get me anywhere, but if I find the right next step to take, the world's mine. Right??

But I'm not down and out completely yet. I still have my current writing project. I tried to drum up some mystery around it with last week's Instagram post, but I'm ready to reveal what it all means. These seemingly random numbers correspond to haiku. Lots of haiku. In fact, last's year's goal was to write one haiku each day for the year. I managed to write about 345 before my time was up. Out of all those, I narrowed it down to 100 to put into a manuscript.

These 100 (I deleted one so it may only be 99 now) are going to be published as a collection. I plan to self publish through Kindle Direct Publishing because I have never heard of a single publisher that buys haiku-only manuscripts. But if you exist, come talk to me. ;-) KDP also gives me a lot of publishing flexibility without any cost. Soon, it will be available through Amazon as an ebook. And remember, 'soon' is a relative term.

At this point, all of the poems are edited. I just need to complete the formatting, draw (or have someone else draw) a few of them to break up the monotony and then figure out what I want to do with the cover art. I'm a little nervous because I've tried to publish a poetry collection before, and cover art/artwork is where I got stuck last time. We'll see what I can do.

Changing Directions

The work load from daily freelance jobs has not changed much over the week, however, I have been looking into a number of new writing opportunities. Only one of them seems to be a possibility right now, but it could be a great one-time gig that gives me something amazing for my portfolio. Let's hope I get it.

I have been trying to come up with articles on my own that I can sell to various outlets, but whenever I match a great idea to a publication where I would love to see my byline, I start researching only to find a very similar article already published by them. Then it's back to the writer's equivalent of a drawing board.

Speaking of drawing, I finally had the time to draw another comic this weekend. After months of not touching a sketchpad or pen, I was definitely out of practice, so I will not be posting my efforts until I can redraw it two or three times to get it right.

The novel is still going well. I'm not quite half done, but I'm very close to the halfway point. I'm hoping Camp Nanowrimo can get me over the edge. As far as the marketing goes, I'm a little behind on that stuff, but I'm hoping to catch up this week while I'm waiting for all that sweet sweet freelance work to come rolling in (I'm not holding my breath on that one).