Public Journal Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Canister X

← Older postsNewer posts→

Category Archives Public Journal
Public journal of author and cartoonist, A.P. Fuchs.
On Sharing Information

Posted on May 5, 2018 11:02 am by A.P. Fuchs

On Sharing Information

If you follow my social feeds, you’ll notice they’re geared more for sharing information than simple social chatter. Sure, a few social things come through, but the main point for my social media is to inform and encourage and occasionally bitch and moan with an educational edge.

There’s enough mindless social blathering out there so my plan is to [hopefully] bring something of value to the table instead of me complaining about my kids or whining about the President.

Welcome to my [social] world.

Public Journal 📎and tagged educational sharing information social social feeds social media
On Broadcast Mode

Posted on April 15, 2018 4:39 pm by A.P. Fuchs

On Broadcast Mode

Some people might wonder why I periodically switch to broadcast mode with social media. The answer is simple: eliminate distraction. I program Hootsuite with my social media posts and let it run in the background so I can focus on producing more work in the foreground. It’s tough to constantly lead two lives—digital and physical—so to unplug and take a break from one lets me work on the only life that truly matters, which is the physical one I have on Earth.

Besides, it speeds up getting books and comics to you because I’m spending my time making them instead of writing thousands of words in social media posts.

Opinion Public Journal 📎and tagged Books broadcast mode comics digital eliminate distraction Hootsuite physical social media Writing
On One Thing a Day

Posted on March 22, 2018 1:31 pm by A.P. Fuchs

On One Thing a Day

We don’t always have the same amount of energy every day. Heck, some days it’s impossible to move and get out of bed. Unfortunately, not moving equals not doing anything equals being unable to move your career along. I’ve always maintained that if, at a minimum, you can do at least one thing a day—big or small—to move your career forward, you’re one step ahead of yesterday and one step closer to achieving your goals. You can get some writing or drawing in, or get some marketing done, or drop some books off at the bookstore, or anything else. Point is, just do at least one item a day. That’s at least seven things a week, which leads to 365 things a year.

Now that’s a lot of work.

Public Journal Stuff Writing 📎and tagged achieving your goals Books bookstore Drawing marketing move your career along work Writing
On Competing

Posted on March 4, 2018 1:08 pm by A.P. Fuchs

On Competing

It’s easy to get competitive in this business and try and match the success of your fellow creators. While healthy competition is good, when that competition grows dark and is borne out of jealousy, resentment sets in. It’ll suck the life out of you and your mental and emotional energy will flow to those dark places instead of to good places like creating more work and promoting it accordingly.

Further on competing, your fellow creators aren’t your competition. At most, it can be a little bit of friendly sibling rivalry, but anything south of that and you’re looking for a world of heartbreak and anger.

Put your energy into your work instead of into competition. It’s that simple.

Public Journal 📎and tagged business competitive creators healthy competition mental and emotional energy sibling rivalry success
On Staying Afloat in the Arts

Posted on February 20, 2018 11:10 am by A.P. Fuchs

On Staying Afloat in the Arts

This is a feast or famine industry so it’s important to budget yourself accordingly. Jump on as much work as you can when it’s feasting season and spend and save wisely so that when the famine season comes, you’ll be covered until, hopefully, it’s feasting time again.

It’s important to price yourself accordingly, not only for what your work and time are worth, but also to add in extra for the times that are lean.

Don’t overspend. Don’t splurge because you just got an influx of cash. Save it. Use what you need, save what you don’t. You’ll thank yourself later. Besides, it feels good to have a cushion in your bank account and know that it’s there in case things go wildly south.

Look at it this way: instead of your general money-in/money-out, the formula should be money-in/money-in/money-out.

Capisce?

It’s the only way to stay afloat in the arts.

Public Journal Self-publishing Stuff Writing 📎and tagged bank account budget cash feast or famine
On Ten Superhero Movies

Posted on February 7, 2018 10:39 am by A.P. Fuchs

On Ten Superhero Movies

Below is a list of my ten favorite superhero movies in no particular order.

1. Superman: The Movie
2. Wonder Woman
3. Batman (1989)
4. Watchmen
5. V for Vendetta
6. Iron Man
7. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
8. The Dark Knight
9. Ant-Man
10. The Avengers

Of course, there are many more. I reviewed 100 superhero movies in my book, Look, Up on the Screen! The Big Book of Superhero Movie Reviews. It’s worth checking out if you’re a superhero movie nut like me.

Public Journal Superhero Movies Superheroes 📎and tagged Ant-Man Batman (1989) Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Iron Man superhero movies Superman: The Movie The Avengers The Dark Knight V for Vendetta Watchmen Wonder Woman
On Planning Ahead

Posted on January 26, 2018 1:56 pm by A.P. Fuchs

On Planning Ahead

Usually, I have a mental road map as to where things are going with my career, projects on the docket, and other things that need tending to. Using this foreknowledge, I try and automate as much of it as I can, then clear off the small tasks so I can then work on the bigger projects. For me, this has been a good method to get time working for me instead of me trying to find the time to get it all done.

And, of course, setting up a planned chunk of time to be offline also helps because the Net’s rabbit hole is deep and addictive.

Presently, there are things that are on my “looking ahead” agenda, things in motion, all to be revealed and/or released in due time. It’s all about planning ahead.

Drawing Public Journal Writing 📎and tagged automate career offline projects
On Juggling Multiple Projects

Posted on January 15, 2018 12:56 pm by A.P. Fuchs

On Juggling Multiple Projects

I used to work on one novel, one short story, and a poem at the same time. Then I switched to working on one book and/or item at a time. Now I’m back to working on multiple things at once. It’s a stretch of the mind, to be sure, but also a method of getting a lot done because you are multitasking. These days I usually have one personal project, something freelance, and something art-related all happening at the same time. Thus far, things are working out okay. This will probably change in the future as the project schedule changes, but until then, I’ll stick with this method of working.

On a personal note, I am looking forward to things slowing down a bit. Can only go hard for so long until you burn out and, frankly, that’s already happened several times over. Gonna need time to recuperate but this going hard is all part of my masterplan so you gotta do what you gotta do when juggling multiple projects.

Onward.

Drawing Public Journal Writing 📎and tagged art-related book burn out freelance method of working novel poem project project schedule short story working on multiple things
On Having a Brick in Your Head

Posted on December 31, 2017 11:44 am by A.P. Fuchs

On Having a Brick in Your Head

There are days when your head feels like it’s filled with sand or some sort of concrete lump instead of a brain. It makes you tired and you don’t feel like writing or drawing, and all you want to do is take a nightcap and go to sleep.

But you have to work anyway.

You have to.

Books and art don’t make themselves. You let yourself slide one day, then the next time it becomes two days, then three, then four. Soon, you’ve got nothing to show for your year.

Brick in the head or not, the work needs to get done. No way around it. We live in a society where a lot of people don’t want to work for something. Too bad. Whether you feel like it or not, work is a required part of life and, especially, in the art business where it’s highly competitive.

Do the work.

Lose the brick.

Opinion Public Journal Stuff 📎and tagged art art business Books do the work Drawing work Writing
On Fame

Posted on December 12, 2017 7:14 pm by A.P. Fuchs

On Fame

If you play your cards right, the publishing business can bring you notoriety and fame, whether big or small. For me, except for a brief period when I was starting out, fame wasn’t on the radar. Personally, I’d hate to be famous. I don’t mind my name being famous, but me, myself, and I? No thanks. Life in the all-day spotlight isn’t a want for this introvert. It’s nice to visit fame, like at shows, but when you’re done, you’re back to being Joe Schmoe on the street, which suits me just fine.

It also begs the question: At what point does someone become famous in our digital age? I’m not sure if there’s an answer to that.

Opinion Public Journal Stuff 📎and tagged A.P. Fuchs fame Writing