Writer, Artist, Creator
Any and all posts pertaining to publishing books and comics.
Reader Questions: Newsletter Work Log.
Reader and writer Jonathan Ball wrote in and asked about the work log I run every week in my newsletter, The Canister X Transmission. Here is my video response.
Be sure to subscribe to my channel. More videos planned so as to keep each other entertained while in social distancing mode.
Stay well.
Enjoy.
vLog – Wrong Turn to Mars.
Was out not terribly long ago to get groceries and took a wrong turn and wound up on Mars or some sort of red parallel Earth. Take a ride with me and get updated on Project Rebuild.
Be sure to subscribe to the channel. I have a feeling the portal to Mars isn’t completely closed.
Please note my Blood of my World Trilogy (Discovery of Death, Memories of Death, and Life of Death) are the next to be rebuilt.
The current editions will remain in print until we get close to press day on the reissue and then you will be notified of when they are going out of print. Now is a good time to get these first-edition copies in print or eBook before they’re gone for good.
Once the reissue for the Blood of my World Trilogy is complete, the next batch of reissues will be announced.
Note: The word “reissue” and not the plural was used on purpose because these three novellas are being consolidated into one volume when revamped.
Lastly, yesterday I posted a new video about the 1000mph work club. Please go here to check it out and see if you relate to doing a thousand things at once.
As part of the original conception of Project Rebirth, creating audio editions of my work is on the docket. These will occur sometime after this year because the reissues of Project Rebuild and the publishing of new work are priority.
I’ve dabbled in audio before. I recorded the first Axiom-man book many, many years ago as a free download (sorry, I no longer have the files to this and it was pulled from the original distributor many years back). I also recorded a video reading of the first four (I think) chapters of Blood of the Dead, which aired on my old YouTube channel (here’s the new channel). The first bit of Blood of the Dead was also recorded as an audio drama on an old zombie podcast back in the day (it was really cool).
This is the next step for the books once I’m caught up on everything else.
Please accept this blog entry as mere notice that audio editions are on the horizon, but due to the number of books I’ve written and the time it takes to properly record them and package them, audio book releases are still a decent ways off into the future.
But no fear! You can still read all my novels in book form in paperback and eBook by visiting the Book and Comic Shop.
Enjoy your day.
It’s been a long while since I wrote the daily schedule of a writer/artist (me, in this case). It might have been in one of the newsletters I sent out in the fall that I last talked about it. Might have been on the blog though I’m leaning toward the former. Anyway, regardless, a new layout of the schedule is probably due so here is what a typical day looks like for me at Axiom-man Central. Of course, like in any life, things happen that can throw a wrench into the following general workday. However, I stick to this schedule as the backbone of my whole operation and make time for it as able on days that get screwy. I’ve long advocated a schedule for creators as one of the important ingredients to making a successful career out of the arts.
Monday to Friday:
Wake up – Lately it’s been averaging between 8:30 and 9:30am. Next, roll around in bed for a short while to let the brain come online before checking the news.
Coffee – Go down to the bunker and turn the computer on. Go back up to the main level and get coffee while the computer is loading (older machine so takes a bit to warm up).
Patreon – On a day a Patreon post is scheduled, I do this first and get it done for my patrons. For example, today was the latest chapter of Gigantigator Death Machine so that was posted before writing this entry. Market Patreon entry.
Blog – Skip previous step if a non-Patreon day. Write and/or edit blog entry. Take any required picture(s) and post. Market blog entry and set up in the broadcaster a couple of extra notices about the latest entry to air throughout the day on the social feeds.
Break – Maybe around 15 or 20 minutes. Used to change mental gears. On the break I’ll either read something or play a game or fiddle with something around the house.
Email – Check email and respond, if needed/able to.
Work – Writing, drawing, editing, freelancing, book production, marketing, etc. Could be all of those or just one of them. Depends what’s on deadline and what isn’t. Work until 4 with a couple breaks thrown in there between tasks to rest the eyes and/or hands and get blood moving throughout the system. I’ve been trying to give careful attention to lunch because I get so wrapped up working I forget to eat then around 2 I start to feel real sick. A bad habit I’m working on. Back to the job: Pressing work is in my day planner so I consult it every morning so I know if I’ve set the day aside for something(s) specific. Whatever the day planner says I’m doing is priority one for the day. If the day planner shows the day as open, then I work on the next thing due. If things are due more or less around the same time, then I pick whatever I’m leaning toward at that moment.
End of day – Around 4pm. Start shutting things down; possibly do a couple small tasks that had to wait until the end of the work day for whatever reason (i.e. a quick marketing thing or a phone call or whatever).
Evening – Cooking is my thing so after the work day is done, I put on my chef’s hat and start thinking about what I want to make for dinner. This involves scoping out the deep freeze and scanning the pantry for ideas (though I usually start getting ideas mid-afternoonish). Then I cook dinner and let the day’s issues–if there are any–melt away. Once dinner is done, the evening is mine to do whatever with whomever (I usually hang out with author Melinda Marshall and this ranges from playing games to reading to TV to going for groceries, etc). On other nights, Melinda and I hang out with my boys.
Bed – 10pm or thereabouts.
Saturday:
Wake up – Somewhere between 9:30 and close to 11am.
Coffee – Enjoy a cup of coffee with Melinda.
Newsletter – Head down to the bunker to send Saturday’s newsletter.
The rest of Saturday and all of Sunday are days off, and it typically takes until late Saturday afternoon for me to put the week in my back pocket. Saturday evening and all of Sunday are used to do next to nothing and purposefully not think about work so my brain can heal from the week and be sharp for the week to come.
And that’s what a typical week looks like here in the Great White North.
To touch on what I said above about this schedule being the backbone on days things don’t go as planned, on such days I still let this overall schedule float in the background of my mind so that when a window of time opens up amidst that particularly goofy day, I can still do what needs doing or at least get a start on those things so the day isn’t a wash.
Right now, this schedule works well and hasn’t changed much since I last talked about it. It will no doubt change somewhere down the line since life isn’t stagnant, but this method works for the time being.
Where Projects Stand a Couple of Weeks into 2020.
Time is flying by. It felt like it was New Year’s last week.
It was two weeks ago.
Pretty sure I’m stuck in an accelerated timestream.
Anyway, I set out into 2020 with specific goals now that all my prelim work is pretty much done. (All discussed in my newsletter.)
And so . . . here is where some projects stand a couple of weeks into 2020:
Project Rebuild: First batch of second editions are my Undead World Trilogy. The new cover style–which looks incredible–is almost done. Layout to begin soon. Here is the original announcement.
Patreon: New tiers and options to be added once some second editions come out. Gigantigator Death Machine is the current feature playing as a serial novel with a new installment every two weeks. This will run until May, if I counted out the installments correctly. A new serial novel will start up after this first one is done. Please go here to start reading the previous chapters so you’re ready for the next episode.
Artwork: Putting the final touches on a commission. Have permission to share it on-line once the client receives it in the mail.
Freelance: In the middle of a project for someone and still have my client that requires two days a week. (Which slows down my published work output but, hey, need to keep the lights on somehow.)
New published work: This involves all the various projects I mentioned in previous blog posts and in the newsletter. As of this writing, the plan is to do a few second editions first then release something new then more second editions then new work, and so on. This plan keeps me at a pace I can manage, which in turn benefits you by giving you a pattern for 2020 and something to look forward to.
YouTube: The channel is growing and content is going up at, on average, a video a week. Your subscription to the channel helps keep the writing and art machine running so please subscribe if you haven’t already.
Daily blogging: Still on the Monday-to-Friday schedule. I’m doing my best to give you something each day that entertains or informs at least one person. Check back daily for new entries. If you check back and the blog hasn’t been updated, check back again later. Lately, my blogging hour has been shifting for various reasons.
Vacation: Though I took a break over the Holidays, it wasn’t really a break. In the end, I had a few days for a breather because it took me until Boxing Day to finally slow down and just relax. Throw in some Holiday activities during that relax time and I didn’t end up having a genuine break. I was back at it on the 30th. So, things are in motion for a legit winter holiday, but by the time all is arranged, that won’t be until February sometime. Watch this space.
Conventions and public appearances: One convention has been announced. I have irons in the fire in others and am waiting to hear back.
Posted through my social channels this morning:
“Hoping to find new inroads in the publishing world (books and comics) in 2020. I’m convinced the current standard system is terrible. That said, it’s up to creators to create the market, not companies. We need to get that straight first otherwise it’ll be same old, same old.”
I stand by the idea that creators create the market. Read my essay, “Why I Quit the Publishing Industry and Opted to Just Make Books Instead,” to find out my thoughts on the current climate and my general attitude toward it. If you’re a creator reading this, please check out the essay. We’re not at the mercy of various companies to get our work out. They’re at your mercy to provide them work to distribute. They don’t have a business without you. Take that to heart. Stand strong. Make new roads. Find out new ways to share with your readers. You and your readers are the ones in control, not these companies.
Okay. That’s all I’ve got for now. Thank you for checking in.
See you tomorrow.
Project Rebuild Notice: Undead World Trilogy.
This notice is to inform you all three books in my Undead World Trilogy are the first on the docket for Project Rebuild (the name I gave in my newsletter to the “things to finish” category from stuff leftover from Project Rebirth).
From now until their re-release, the books will remain available in their original first-edition formats for my readers who want a first-edition collection of my work. When it’s near time to publish the reissues, these original formats will be removed from sale so please don’t delay and grab your copies now before they’re gone.
Also note Project Rebuild is very time-consuming thus my free content for the web will slow down a little. Daily blogging, the newsletter, and YouTube videos will continue but the content will shift a little so I ensure this rebuilding project gets completed.
Thanks.
Ps. A new essay was posted to Patreon today that discusses spontaneous book or comic marketing and gives ideas on how you can market your project at the drop of a hat. Read it here.
As mentioned in this blog entry, my new 2020 artwork and publishing services rates are now in effect.
Please check out my Publishing Services page for the new rates and offerings.
Thank you. I look forward to working with you in 2020.
Welcome to Recap Tunnel: 10 Accomplishments from the Past Decade.
Recently, there was a thing going around on-line where you listed or said your accomplishments over the past decade.
Here are ten of mine in no particular order:
1) Published Canister X Comix Nos. 1 – 3
2) Celebrated ten years of Axiom-man with the Axiom-man: Tenth-anniversary Special Edition (which includes a bonus short story, intro by A.P. Fuchs, and an essay)
3) Was obscenely sick and had to go into obscurity for a season before coming back from the dead
4) Co-ran a Kickstarter campaign with Auroraman creator Jeff Burton. This birthed Axiom-man/Auroraman: Frozen Storm in paperback, eBook, and a limited lettered hardcover edition
5) As part of Project Rebirth, I launched a new channel on YouTube
6) Did a whole ton of conventions and book signings
7) Closed down the traditional publishing side of Coscom Entertainment and got back to publishing only my own work through this label (which I invented in the dark ages during high school)
8) Made some massive changes to my personal life and lived to tell the tale
9) Also as part of Project Rebirth, I launched a Patreon page that’s filled with a ton of content like a serial novel, videos, patron-only blog posts, essays, and behind-the-scenes secrets
10) Moved into a new studio space
There was a lot more that went down but I’ve probably talked about some of those things elsewhere on the blog or somewhere online or maybe in an interview. So here we are: Decade done. Time for a new one.
Lots of plans are in place for 2020 and beyond.
Reminder: I’m taking part in Smashwords’s year-end sale, which means my eBooks are 50% off at their site. You can grab one or more of them by going here. Thank you for your support.
My new business cards–printed by Vistaprint–came in along with return address labels for stuff shipping out of Axiom-man Central among other purposes. Take a look at this unboxing video showcase to see the new cards.
Business cards are critical in the art world and I’ve been using them in one way or another since I published my first book back in 2003. I might have even had some before then. I can’t remember. Regardless, it still surprises me when I meet creators at conventions and they don’t have a card so I can follow up with them. Business cards are Publishing 101 so if you don’t have some of your own for whatever you do, better get going on that.
Be sure to subscribe to the channel by going here so you don’t miss the latest video.
Enjoy!
Thanks.
