Any time I’m packing an order from our store and I realize that a copy of Hold Horses goes into the box, I feel happy. I wish the occurrence was more common. The holiday shopping season is nigh and I need to be making a marketing push to let people know the book exists. Howard has already blogged about it, but I there just doesn’t seem to be much over lap between his audience and the audience for Hold Horses. Only 350 more books to sell before the project breaks even and I start getting paid per book sold. I know I need to be planning on slow and steady, but thinking like a rabbit just comes more naturally to me.
Lately I’ve found myself thinking about future writing projects for me. I have a middle grade book that is partially outlined and one chapter into a draft. It has been laying idle for nearly a year because I’ve had not mental space for writing. I pulled it out last week and wrapped my head around it again. I even put some more words onto the paper. (Yes actual paper, my office is the wrong mental space for writing, and I haven’t the funds to spend on a new laptop with a warranty.) Middle grade books have fairly low word counts. In theory I should be able to bang it the draft and start working on revisions. But creating the mental space to do it is difficult because so many other priorities rank higher in my life.
The other project that I have been eyeing is a collection of essays taken from blog entries. I’d start with the ones on my website and flesh out from there. I’m more likely to get moving on this one because putting it together will help me to learn some of the features in InDesign that will help with future Schlock projects. I just don’t know that the project will be very saleable when it is done. If it gets printed at all, it will probably end up being produced via a Print On Demand publisher since I can’t picture selling enough copies to break even after a traditional print run. Howard’s audience is not mine and so his publishing experience will not be mine either.
It is a strange mental place to be. Howard creates Schlock Mercenary, so it is his creation. But I know that it could not be created and delivered without my full support. I keep the house running, I manage the schedule, I ship the books, I read the scripts. Through these efforts I feel like Schlock is mine too. Whenever I talk about Schlock stuff I’ve been in the habit of using “we” and “our” as the possessives of choice. But my contributions are not particularly visible. I think that many of the Schlock fans know about my contributions, but that does not mean they feel the same emotional connection to me that they feel to Howard. After all, Howard is the one who makes them laugh every day. It definitely does not mean that the Schlock fans have any emotional connection to any of my non-Schlock projects.
So where does this leave me as a writer? In the same boat with all the other aspiring writers. I get to work hard to create and then work even harder to get my creations noticed and loved by others. Apparently being married to a cartoonist with a large audience doesn’t let me skip as many steps as I would have liked.
Last Saturday I got out into the garden and did a pile of work. Later Howard mentioned that it made him happy to see me working in the garden because he knows I enjoy it. He sometimes feels bad that I spend so much time on Schlock stuff that I haven’t had time for gardening. I do miss having time to garden, but I know I’ll have time again in the future. Our lives are not static. Our business is not static. We’ve just come off of a crazy convention-attendance year. This next year will be one of stability, routine, and getting as many books published as we possibly can. After that? I have vague plans, but there are too many unknowns to see things clearly.
If you want to be a guest at my slwhitman blog, perhaps that would help. We could talk about self-publishing and the exceptions like you–all the work you have to put into it, the way that your family business helps promote the book, how local support like your TV appearance helped, why you decided to self-publish, etc. I think it would be a really informative entry for my readers.
I don’t think not being able to skip steps diminishes your value as a writer at all. Being one of many doesn’t mean being less. There are many, many people who want to be writers. There are many, many fewer people who are willing to make the sacrifices (time, money, and especially the opportunity cost of all the other, more lucrative things that could be done with the energy expended) to get their creations on the market.
I really don’t think the competition is as stiff as people say it is. My experience is that if you’re willing to work hard enough, you’ll have success. So many talented people opt out of writing success by not being willing to put in the time or the work–giving up because they can’t skip steps, essentially. All the writers I know who don’t give up and keep at it long enough have been successful. I think that makes the result all the more valuable, for how difficult it was to accomplish.
I can’t speak for all the Schlock fans, but I can say that in my mind, you are as much a part of the creation of Schlock as Howard is. When I think “Schlock Mercenary,” I picture both of you. As you said, Howard wouldn’t be able to create and deliver a healthy dose of Schlock to us every day if you didn’t keep everything running. (And the work that you do for each shipping party? Holy cow!) Not to mention the fact that Howard has often mentioned how important his family is to him. From what I’ve seen, you and the kids are his inspiration- his muses, if you will. And an artist without inspiration, honestly, is little more than an idiot with a pen and some pretty colors. 😉
Oh that would be fun! Email me and we can work out details…or I’ll just email you.
Succeeding at writing is definitely an endurance game.
Ah, but you are one of the special few who read this blog as well as the comic. Thanks though, it is nice to be appreciated.
I have found that the busier I am, the more creative I am. Currently I’m in school taking 9 credits, working 40+ hours a week and I find that I have written more in the last few weeks than I did when I was only working 20 hours a week and not in school. I don’t why this is, but it is really annoying.
I ended up on your blog because my ex-husband read Schlok. I tried it out a couple of a times, but it didn’t connect, but I like reading your blog because we are about the same age, I’m a screenwriter and director and I have two kids about the same age. I always appreciate your insights if for no other reason than I can relate to what you’re going through. I know that you are going far and I look forward to reading other things from you. 🙂
Well, I read this, Howard’s blog, Blogunder Schlock, and I’ve read a fair bit of your writing. I love “Horses” and bought it (it’s going to my niece in a year or so, when she’s old enough) and the other works of yours that I’ve read I liked. If you get around to more books, I’ll definitely be interested.
But hey, perhaps I’m atypical as well.
Contributions
I think that many people, some of which don’t even read your Blog, can see the amount of work that Howard can expend into Schlock and still have a productive and caring home life. His dedication to not skipping a single day of Schlock and maintaining the buffer is only possible because of strong support.
Of course in his case that support comes in the form of a strong and extremely able wife. I wouldn’t feel badly about not having Horses sell as quickly as Howard’s books, they’re just different animals. Rabbit or turtle, both of these can be successful, one just sometimes takes a little more care and time.
-EricS
I agree with you about the more busy = more creative thing. If I have all day to do one thing, it probably won’t happen, but if I have a million things to do I get 100 things done. The one problem I have to watch out for is that I only have so much creative energy per day. If I use it all up creating a chore chart, writing a blog entry, and rearranging the closet, then I don’t have any left for writing.
Re: Contributions
You’re right. Both the rabbit and the turtle reach the end of the race, but being the turtle just feels like I’m getting nowhere. 🙂