It's Been A Long Time...

Anyone else have Rakim going through their brain now?  Good.  Then I've done my job..

I guess it's time for a massive update, huh?  Get some tea, maybe even a tea biscuit, sit back, and relax.  It's going to be a while.

So, like I said in my last post, it's getting busier.  Busy is a great thing, yes?  Yes.  I've made some decisions, and am moving forward with them.  I'm determined to make 2009 my year.  

The last time we talked, I spoke about making a webcomic with friends.  That's still a go.  Actually, if everything goes the way I hope, we should start publishing this month!  I have a GREAT artist in Italy, and she's doing spectacular work.  I'm something of an art snob, so when I say I'm happy to have found her, I'm actually pretty estatic.  

There are five of us, and the goal is for us to publish a page a day of our own stories, and leave the weekends alone.  Five guys, five stories, five days a week.  So far, I have six pages of my horror graphic novel Group penciled and inked.  It just needs to be lettered, and then they're ready to go up.  So, I'm good for six weeks, and I expect to have another page in the next couple of days.  Sorry, no preview art.  When we go live, I'll let you know, and post a link.  It'll be good.

I'm also making a LOT of headway with the other book I want to do with the editor I keep talking about.  He sent the pitch to his partners, who loved the idea of the book I want to do.  I then wrote up the script, and after some tweaks, that was good to go, too.  

Then I didn't hear from him for a little over a month.  I figured it was the holidays.  You know how they can get crazy.  I was going to get in contact with him this week about it, but I was pleasantly surprised when he got in contact with me, saying he was searching for an artist for the book, and may have found someone.  I got a huge file of art to peruse, and liked what I saw.  I told him I liked the artist, and was then asked for some pictures of me in order to make a passable caricature.  What I got back blew me away!  I'm going to be only a little stingy and not share that, either.  The next step in the process is for the artist to draw the pages, and then the editor will go hunt for a publisher, taking the pitch and the three pages of artwork that were derived from my script.  If a publisher bites, I'll then be paid something against the royalties for making the book, and then continue on from there.  And while I'm not trying to count my chickens before they're hatched, I do have plans for the money.  More about that in a little bit.

I'm still writing my Bolts & Nuts column for Project Fanboy, and it seems to be something of a minor hit.  Those of you who come to read it week in and week out, thank you for your support.  I'm doing it for you, and because of that, I couldn't do it without you.  I'm making something of an impact with it, as well.  

The column has gotten one person (that I know of) to change their screen name on DW.  More writers are thinking through their scripts when they post them, and I've noticed the quality of writing is going up some.  And really, I still haven't gotten any negative feedback for the column, which I find to be only slightly strange.  Again, I'm not claiming to be right, or that my way is best.  I'm just trying to help out.  

I've also been getting some editing jobs because of it, which is great.  I've also got to recount something that happened recently, because of it.  I thought it was pretty funny.

This guy puts up a post saying he's looking for a proofreader.  To my mind, everyone needs an editor, and if you need a proofreader, you know you need an editor.  So, I contacted him, saying I was available, what my prices were, and what I could do for him.  He wrote back saying that he couldn't afford what I was offering, but that he would keep me in mind.  Fine.

He gets back to me a couple of weeks later, saying he'd like me to proofread the story.  I told him I'd proof it, do some light editing on it, and give it back to him in 24-36 hours.  And I did.  However, the thing was dripping with red.

His introduction to the story said the story was about one thing, and the story he wrote was about another.  Remember the show Dead Like Me?  The writer said the story was about a guy who died, became a grim reaper, and it was supposed to deal with his feelings about the position and being a serial killer for those who were supposed to die.  The story he told was about a guy who died, became a grim reaper, and "fathered" the next messiah.  Yeah, two different stories.  Not only that, but he had WAAY too much dialogue per balloon, per panel, per page.  It was a mess, really, and unpublishable in that form.  And he said that there was publisher interest in it.  They probably only read a pitch, if that, and didn't read the script.  Craptacular, but what are you going to do?  I got paid, and there was that.

So, I gave it back to him, really going above and beyond the call of duty.  I haven't heard from him since.  Not even a thanks, which would have been polite.  Sure, he paid me for the job he wanted done, and I went over and above, and he probably didn't like what I had to say, but I'm not going to blow smoke up someone's ass just to make them feel better.  That's not how I roll.

Anyway, a few days ago, the same guy posts something else, saying he's looking for someone to only proofread his script.  He's not looking for an editor--he'd already been down that path, and didn't like it too much.  He said he changed some things around because of it, but still, he was only looking for someone to proofread the book.

I guess his ass stung because of the hatchet job I did on his work.  Remorse on my part?  Not at all.  You want someone to kiss your ass as a writer?  Write better.  Tell the story you said you were going to tell.  It's that simple.  

To end the story, yes, I wrote the guy again, saying I'd do the job.  I already knew he wasn't going to answer me, and he hasn't.  Oh, well.  Good luck to him.  

I did something similar with someone else who asked me to look over his manuscript.  We have something of a working relationship going.  He sent me his script for a graphic novel about a guy's emotional trauma about breaking up with a girl, and that was a mess, too.  Again, too many words per balloon per panel per page, and no real story to be seen until we're more than 20+ pages in.  Not good, and I told him about it.  His response was a lot different than the other guy's.  He said thanks, and decided to re-write in order to make it better.  He then decided to set it aside for a while, because he was going to try to make it into a romantic comedy.  I may see it again, who knows.

I've also gotten into writing micro-fiction.  Flashesinthedark.com is a new site that publishes micro-fiction, no more than 1k words, and I've gotten four pieces accepted by them so far.  No, it's not paying, yet, but it could happen.  It's another venue to get my writing seen, so I'm happy about that.

Speaking of my writing, it looks like Cary is going to self-publish Fallen Justice.  Cool.  I have no problem with that.  Looking forward to it, actually.  More things to put on my resume--something I can hand to someone for them to read.  So, I'm pretty stoked about that.

I was also contacted by Jamal to write another Warmageddon story, and finally did that.  He didn't give me a deadline, so I took my sweet time in doing it.  Probably too long, but it finally got done.   If that gets accepted, or if there are any changes and then accepted, it means money in my pocket.  Not a lot, but a paid job is a paid job.

The big thing, though, is that I've decided that I'm going to self-publish.  I've looked at the numbers while I was doing research for my column, and self-publishing makes sense if you have a story to tell, and the publishers have barriers getting in your way.  If you're good, if the story is good, and you market yourself well, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to tell the stories you want to tell.  Especially on the web.

So, that's what I'm going to be doing.  I'm going to get some webcomics done from the money I hope to make from the book I was talking about earlier.  I have a plan to do three different graphic novels, and post pages of them two days a week, and have the seventh day either be a day of rest, or maybe a repost of my Bolts & Nuts column.  I don't know yet.  But, like I said, I publish the pages to the web, and when they're done, I collect them into their respective books, and sell them.  I also plan on hitting conventions and the like with the books.

I figure that I can have at least three books completed and ready to be sold by con season next year.  Probably even make a fourth book, one with a chapter of each book in it or something.  I also have a thought for a daily webcomic, but I'd need an artist for that.  It'll come, once I get the books done.  I have thoughts for a couple of strips, actually.  It's a LOT of work, but if I keep plugging away, it'll get done.

On the homefront, I'm finally off probation at my job.  You have NO idea how much better that makes me feel.  Having a stable job in this economy is a great thing, and I'm happy to have it.  I just need to sign my final paperwork, and it's formal.  

In a bit of sad news, one of our cats died on Thanksgiving.  I miss her.  Her name was Abby, and she was the most dog-like cat I've ever seen.  She'd come stand in front of me, and then roll over onto her back.  She didn't meow a lot, didn't cause any trouble, was just really cool and laid back.  She wasn't old, either.  She caught something, and died from it.  Lenora didn't handle it well at all.  She cried for damn near a week.  It wasn't a good time.  As cats go, Abby was cool.

We have another one, though.  His name is Bear, and was one of Twix's litter.  He's a little spoiled, and seems to meow all the time when Lenora's home.  He's a good cat, too.  Still a kitten, but growing.  He's never going to be huge, but that's okay.  I can handle that.

I think that's about it.  I'm going to try to update this three times a week.  We'll see how it goes.  I'm just waiting on pages of the book to be completed so it can be pitched to a publisher so I can move forward with it.  

Get the new Prince cd when it drops.  I know I will.