I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief.\u00a0 With so much going into the pitching process and everything that has been going on up to this point I decided I will share just a bit about what my plans are going forward.<\/p>\n
You know, I’ve shared the story several times of how I pitched this book 3 years ago and how long and drawn out that process was.\u00a0 This is project I conceived nearly 5 years ago and thus far not much has shown up from it.\u00a0 Tangibly.\u00a0 It has, in the business sense of the word, been a case-study in failing with flare.\u00a0 It’s a book that I have felt so sure of that I have gone to tremendous internal lengths to give this book every shot to succeed in the traditional sense of the word. I just know I have a solid story on my hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I’ve kept it largely to myself because I wanted surprise people with it, unveil it in some grand way when I showed you all a picture of the finished book in hand, but sadly that hasn’t happened.\u00a0 The last few days have been a lot to process.\u00a0 Most of it has felt inevitable.\u00a0 It’s hard getting a book published nowadays, but\u00a0 I do think there are some key take aways for every aspiring artist to consider from my own self-reflection:<\/p>\n
Sometimes You Have To Realize Your Place For Now:<\/strong> It’s enough to make someone go batty.\u00a0 I mean how many times do you have to fall before you just decide it’s better to just lay there and take a nap?!\u00a0 But what if we think of this as failing upwards?\u00a0 Because I’ve been willing to take chances, I’ve pushed myself to learn and explore.\u00a0 I’ve looked at the talented creators I aspire to and said to myself “I can achieve that too!”\u00a0 and tried to.\u00a0 Each failure has taught a lesson, helped me grow as a person and an artist, given me endurance… All of those things to where you stop and realize, you haven’t really failed at all!<\/p>\n I took all of that though and thought to myself, why do I bang my head so much against the same doors?\u00a0 Is this worth it?\u00a0 Is there a better way?\u00a0 A more sane way?\u00a0 Thankfully there is…<\/p>\n It took a great deal of pride swallowing for me to realize one simple thing at this point…\u00a0 I’m just not there yet and I shouldn’t try and force myself to be.\u00a0 When I say that I mean… as a comics artist, I’m really an obscurity.\u00a0 I have no real creditials to my name.\u00a0 No real finished books (even my first graphic novel was just the first in a series)…\u00a0 This whole thing has been and should have been, about learning to be a professional.\u00a0 Gathering the tools necessary to handle the job.\u00a0 And I’ve spent the last year really focusing on that.\u00a0 I’m finally starting to see the consistent professional look to my comics I’ve always wanted and things seem to be moving along quickly with making this book, but I was still holding on to trying to pitch a book the traditional way… That’s not my place yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n I need to be just out there, showing you guys what I am made of.\u00a0 Giving people a chance to read my stories, gather a following and just focus on telling the story.\u00a0 I’ve had a number of great friends share with me their “breaking in” stories about how they landed that publishing contract, or got contacted by an editor.\u00a0 All of them have left me with one bit of advice I just think I (wrongly)\u00a0shrugged off for so long:\u00a0 Just focus on the craft, the work will come to you.\u00a0<\/p>\n So after licking my wounds some, I regrouped and thought long and hard about this book and what it should be.\u00a0 Then I realized it should be my portfolio.\u00a0 My declaration to the world that I’m ready to take on the bigger projects.\u00a0 It should be the place where I put my nose to the grindstone and\u00a0just\u00a0 SHOW you and everyone\u00a0else that I am working on the professional level I believe I am.\u00a0 So I’m bringing it all\u00a0back.\u00a0 Reasserting my goals with\u00a0this project and annoucning I will be self-publishing for now.\u00a0\u00a0 My\u00a0goal is just tell the story.\u00a0\u00a0Get it out there and get as many people to read it as possible.\u00a0 Then, we’ll see where things take me.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Seems simple enough, but failing upwards for me has been a five year process.\u00a0 And now I just breathe in deeply\u00a0and get ready to share with you all, this\u00a0book I have fallen in love with over the last five years.\u00a0<\/p>\n I leave you all with that advice.\u00a0 I feel a bit like Solomon in Ecclesiastes warning the youth to abandon all folly.\u00a0\u00a0You can learn from my experience\u00a0and save yourself some roadblocks and nonproductive work.\u00a0 I’ve worked long an hard at futily in this manner and if I can offer any bit of wisdom it would be:\u00a0 KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON BECOMING GREAT AT YOUR CRAFT.\u00a0\u00a0I have to believe if you do that, you won’t get ignored for very long.<\/p>\n I dont want to say yet what I’m doing with this book, but trust me I’ll let you know when I am ready.\u00a0 It won’t be very long.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief.\u00a0 With so much going into the pitching process and everything that has been going on up to this point I decided I will share just a bit about what my plans are going forward. 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\nI’ve never been one to shy away from taking chances, dreaming big, falling hard and then getting back up again.\u00a0 I believe this is a good thing.\u00a0 I want to be willing to fail gloriously.\u00a0 Like “if I’m gonna go down, let’s go down in style” type thing.\u00a0 So I’ve pitched books, submitted paintings to prestigous contests I probably have no right to be a part of, take business chances and far more often than not, the dream in my head is never fully realized.\u00a0 But point is I TRIED.<\/p>\n