Canister X – A.P. FuchsWriter, Artist, Creator
Freelance Days
Freelance Days
That’s what we’re up to here at the Central. I have quite a few clients in line for edits and formatting. Going to be juggling these jobs with my own writing.
It’s fun doing publishing work for others because the above is all part of the creation process and you know creating is my thing.
If you’re interested in hiring me for one or more aspects of your project, information and rates are here. Man, the world publishing is fun.
Cheers.
Fredrikus: The Webcomic Return?
Fredrikus: The Webcomic Return?
I’ve been giving FREDRIKUS a bunch of thought and his world is certainly one I want to get back to. I have other pressing committments like THE BATTLE OF POWER TRILOGY for THE AXIOM-MAN SAGA and I committed this year to superhero fiction as the priority. However, the artist in me wants to draw something too.
A lot has changed in my life since the last FREDRIKUS strip and, as is the spirit of the strip about a down-and-out anthropomorphic dog in a dystopian sci-fi world, there are some things I need to say and the webcomic is a good place to say it.
So, that said, my plan is to create new strips at a leisurely, non-deadline pace then share them with you. I’m not saying they’ll be anytime soon. Just saying it’ll be an unseen side project while I work on other things so my hand’s itch to draw is satisfied.
In the meantime, there is a special plan for the current strips available but I will reveal that in due time.
For now, start at the beginning and read a couple issues’ worth of free comics. The Fredrikus webcomic is waiting for you.
Patron-exclusive Essays and Articles Index
It’s important to me to share information with fellow writers and artists whenever I can. I have a free section here for it on this site, but I also have a special section on Patreon for creators as well. The below essays and articles are only available on Patreon but they share over 20 years of knowledge of the self-publishing business and how it works.
Click the image above to be taken to the page.
The Secret to Social Media Success Part 1
The Secret to Social Media Success Part 2
The Secret to Social Media Success Part 3
How to Write Well Every Time: Proper Writing
The Road Back: How to Create Again After a Hiatus
Spontaneous Book or Comic Marketing
How to Maintain a Blogging Schedule
How to Overcome Writer’s Block
What to Do If You Think Your Arts Career Is Sinking Part 1
What to Do If You Think Your Arts Career Is Sinking Part 2
Should you Maintain a Creative Schedule?
The One Marketing Trick Hiding in Plain Sight
Creating: Time Allocation
Business Card Division
Project Cash Flow
All of the above writing and self-publishing essays and articles are designed to help the creator, give insight, and, ideally, give their career a boost. I know the above has worked for me.
How to Budget as an Author or Artist
How to Budget as an Author or Artist
Last Friday, I released an important essay to my patrons on how an author or artist can managing funding their current and future projects while still reaping the reward. How to budget as an author or artist is huge right now in this digital do-it-yourself era.
I cover a solid tip here on this site but the real meat and potatoes is below.
Excerpt:
“Money management can be the bane of many creators. It can be difficult to juggle funds for your project as well as keeping the financial reward from that project while also ensuring funds are available for the next project (never mind juggling the costs of life on top of this, especially in this era of inflation).
Here’s a solid approach:
First, understand the moment you decide to take your creation public and start charging money for it, you’re a business not a person. That’s how businesses work: They make something and sell it. No different here.”
Please visit here for the rest of the essay. Its intent is to save creators headaches regarding funding their work.
Project Blog Site Adjustment
Project Blog Site Adjustment
So if you read last weekend’s edition of THE CANISTER X TRANSMISSION, it was revealed that I spent last week working on this website behind the scenes while I wait on the editor for AXIOM-MAN/CRIMSON CLOAK: SCARLET SYNERGY and for my [hopeful] blurb for CAUGHT IN BLACK HEADLIGHTS. (The latter is presently airing on Patreon.)
This is an old site. If you’ve been with me even for just the past 5 or 6 years, you know a lot of content has been put up here. And as good as that is–because I want you guys to have content–technology and software is changing all the time (as we all know) so there are parts of this site on the interface side of things where all this content is produced that needs updating and adjustment.
I’ve managed to create an organized workflow to get it done and thus far have altered the Book and Comic Shop and the titles therein (plus a few other page tweeks). If you check it out, you’ll notice the book pages are laid out differently than before. This was a move to get rid of some old, unnecessary coding that, while it worked for a while, could have been better in terms of title presentation so that’s what I did: Made the book pages pretty just for you. Awww.
So you might notice over the next bit slight modifications to this site in terms of appearance. I like this blog site the way it is in terms of having the columns with the books and other bonuses along the sides with the main content in the middle. Keeps the fun stuff easily accessible while you peruse the content down the center.
Anyway, website-wise, that’s what’s been going down. It’s a bit of a big project on the whole but easy to manage when broken into chunks.
I look forward to having it done within the next month or so. It’s kind of a pick-at project so will take some time.
Cheers.
Status Report – 010224
Status Report – 010224:
As we get back into real life after the break, it’s time to put 2024’s self-publishing and media plans into motion. A lot of thought and planning went on during the break, and now with that in place, it’s just an issue of carrying it out.
This month, AXIOM-MAN/CRIMSON CLOAK: SCARLET SYNERGY is top priority if I want to make a late January/early February release deadline. As of this writing, the book is done and is in the editing phases and the cover is currently being created. Once these two parts are complete, then I’ll have the components to begin the book production process and get the project out to you. Due to the nature of publishing, this may create an earlier release (early January) or a minorly-delayed one (early February).
All I know is the book is my main thing this month with everything else secondary. The secondary stuff will still happen, but the primary gets the, well, priority.
Okay. Enough blabbing.
Time to get this book out to you. To get caught up on THE AXIOM-MAN SAGA, please go here.
Cheers.
This has been your Status Report for 010224.
Happy New Year 2024 (2023 in Review)
Happy New Year 2024 (2023 in Review)
Happy New Year, everybody! Yeah, I know this post isn’t on New Year’s Day but I wanted to wish you all the best before the clock strikes 12 tonight.
For this entry, I’m going to reprint yesterday’s New Year’s edition of THE CANISTER X TRANSMISSION. If you like what you read and would like to subscribe, please use the subscription form to the left of your screen if you’re on a desktop. If not, please go here.
Thanks.
Enjoy.
Issue Three Hundred-three – December 30, 2023
Telecom handheld transmission:
Welcome to Issue 303 of THE CANISTER X TRANSMISSION and the final issue of THE VERY LONG YEAR SIX for 2023.
This past year was a busy one both professionally and personally, the majority of my time spent either working or sleeping. But we got a lot done and laid a firm foundation for PROJECT REBUILD 2.0. I’m happy with all that was accomplished this year and also am enjoying the feeling of finally being back into the swing of things.
This issue is going to be structured like all the rest but we’re going to gear each section as a kind of look-back on the year, but before we do, I promised my thoughts on New Year’s resolutions last issue so here they are: New Year’s resolutions, though well-intended in concept, are ridiculous because, objectively speaking, they have zero effect on the flow of Time. Sure, we as a species divided Time into chunks as per the solar cycle, but that doesn’t change Time as a whole. Time is Time, an unbeatable and unmanipulative force that we’re a part of the second we’re conceived through to our deaths.
In short, every day/evening/night is New Year’s resolution day. Lift off the calendar grid and we’re all just a bunch of fish swimming along Time’s current and only headed in one direction. That said, we can make our resolutions at any moment. We can act upon them at any moment. We also cannot act upon them at any moment.
The choice is ours.
* * *
Work log:
2024’s road map has been laid and this week we took a look at, and acted upon, some items of that map. Other parts were planned and locked down in terms of a we-first-do-this-then-we-do-that, step-by-step kind of way, which is how my brain is wired for any project, creative or not. I like to get the overview first with the endpoint made clear, then I look at the path to get there and break down the nuts and bolts of the goal so I know the thought-through way to get there as efficiently as possible while allowing grace for human error (because human error is also an unstoppable force).
This week’s work, due to Christmas and being on holidays, was pretty much cut in half as a result. But we still got stuff done and still maintained a holiday schedule because, as you know, this break was much-needed.
In short, we got things set up for the early part of 2024 so there will be a smooth transition when the clock strikes midnight tomorrow.
* * *
Blog headlines:
vLog – The Lord of the Rings vs The Dark Tower (Hollywood, Listen Up!)
Realm of Heroes and Monsters: Story Time Podcast Episode 18
Canister X Mailbag – Custom Funko Pop! Figures Christmas Unboxing – 10312023 – 122523
2024 Business Formulation: The House
The Way of the Fog (The Ark of Light Volume One)
Look, Up on the Screen! The Big Book of Superhero Movie Reviews Book Spotlight
vLog – Writer Rider? (Roger, Roger)
* * *
Content notice:
As is the usual around here, we made stuff for the public and for patrons.
Public:
Hotwheels Dream Garage Bone Shaker
Writer/Artist A.P. Fuchs Funko Pop! Figure – Merry Christmas
Hotwheels 55th Anniversary ’67 Camaro
Green Goblin Marvel Legends Retro Action Figure
DC Justice League 2” Superman Figures (blue suit and black suit)
Look, Up on the Screen! The Big Book of Superhero Movie Reviews Book Spotlight Teaser
Patreon:
My Secret (from CAUGHT IN BLACK HEADLIGHTS)
ZOMTROPOLIS – 17
* * *
Release notice (a different sort of list):
This year was packed with releases across various mediums. To round them up, I’ve broken them down into sections for you.
Books:
THE CANISTER X TRANSMISSION: YEAR FOUR
THE CANISTER X TRANSMISSION: THE LONG YEAR FIVE
ZOMTROPOLIS: A RECORD OF LIFE IN A DEAD CITY
Comics and cartoons:
FREDRIKUS Episode 38: Lobster (comic)
FRED THE DOG IN “ONCE UPON A WEINER” (cartoon)
AXIOM-MAN: Short Animated Film (cartoon; co-writer)
FRED THE DOG IN “ONCE UPON A WEINER” (storyboard video with cartoon comparison)
FIGHTING AND OTHER ANIMATED SHORTS AND ARTWORK (cartoon)
Video:
A ton of videos and shorts and reels were created this past year, all focusing on superheroes and monsters and my books and comics.
I’m looking to grow the channel so I invite you to subscribe and check out the stuff that’s there. Some cool stuff planned for 2024 so might as well get in on the ground floor.
Here’s the channel’s trailer.
Audio:
At the end of August we launched my first podcast, THE REALM OF HEROES AND MONSTERS: STORY TIME with A.P. FUCHS. New episode every Sunday. We’re 18 episodes of 30 into Season 1. After the season is done, we’ll take a month-long break then come back with Season 2 of which we’ll shake up the program and still deliver on story time.
The podcast is currently available for your listening (and viewing) pleasure at:
Blog/web:
Lots of content went out via the socials. The best place to ensure you and I are hooked up via various social channels is by checking out my LinkTree, which then branches off to my various web hideouts. Join me and let’s connect.
And, of course, we maintained a steady blog schedule, delivering content 6 days a week, sometimes 7.
We also launched Patreon 2.0 and stacked it with content along with a basic tier structure:
$1 – General tip jar; my gratitude for your support is your reward.
$5 – All access to both public and patron-only content. There is a ton of content for both on the site. Serial books and comics, essays and articles, videos, photography, artwork, and more. I hope you join the journey.
Newsletter:
We resumed THE CANISTER X TRANSMISSION and had to find a new transmission service along the way. I’m still getting used to using MailerLite hence why the past couple of issues had some unnecessary text.
As for TinyLetter, presently the site is still up along with THE CANISTER X TRANSMISSION back issues. Subscribing via that site is no longer an option and I don’t know if or when my TinyLetter page will come down so if you want to read the back issues, now’s the time. You can also support this newsletter by purchasing the collected editions (complete with a bonus issue unavailable anywhere else) in paperback or eBook via the usual suspects.
* * *
As we head into 2024, and as of the writing of this newsletter, my headspace is split in two. One side is focused on creating, the other focused on the business side and the necessary prep for doing shows, delivering content, maintaining the unseen business stuff behind the scenes, and the upcoming tax season.
I had hoped to accomplish a lot more during this winter break but to be honest, I desperately needed to slow down so I did get some stuff done, just not all.
2024 is coming. Time to finish resting up.
Have a great New Year’s Eve and, please, stay safe.
Thanks for spending 2023 with me.
All the best,
A.P. Fuchs
Happy New Year 2024, MB
End transmission
Thanks for sticking with me this year and digging into what I’ve been bringing into the Web. More to come.
So, again, Happy New Year 2024!
2024 Business Formulation: The House
2024 Business Formulation: The House
If you’re a working artist or writer, you’re a business. No other way to look at it. Work in exchange for funds. That said, with a flooded market and publishers doing less and less for their creators, it’s on the creator to advocate for their own work. How hard you advocate determines the success of your project (to a degree; usually a fairly significant degree).
I have a lot of odds and ends on the business side of all this that need tending to. Some of it is standard business maintenance, others parts are new ventures to augment my books and comics. Some will be done via trial-and-error, other parts will be sureties. That’s not to say there is a recipe for succeess because what works for one creator doesn’t always work for another.
As I wrap up 2023, the bits and pieces I’ll need for 2024 are becoming more and more clear. Some tasks are simple so it’s just an issue of simply doing it, checking the box, then leaving it alone. Other items are ongoing, and as I explained in one of my patron-only essays, I employ as much tech help as is possible/affordable/reasonable to get done what needs doing because I’m a one-man show.
2023 was certainly a year of establishing PROJECT REBUILD 2.0 and maintaining that foundation. 2024 is about building upon it with small goals that’ll eventually lead to a house. But how are houses built? Foundation (done), first floor (in progress), second floor (conceptualized). The shiny doorknobs and window drapes and crown molding will come later. As it stands right now, 2024’s first floor to my house is currently being framed on top of the completed basement. Since I know my schedule and limits, 2024 is about the first floor as the primary goal. If the first floor is built ahead of schedule before year’s end, then work will begin on the second floor, and if not, no problem because I’d be happy just getting the first floor done by this time next year.
Yes, I’m talking in metaphors, but it’s the best way to explain this past year and the plans for next.
This year is in the bag. Done. Basement complete. Time to pull out the tongue-and-groove flooring and start locking it down on the joists.
We have walls to build.
vLog – The Lord of the Rings vs The Dark Tower (Hollywood, Listen Up!)
vLog – The Lord of the Rings vs The Dark Tower (Hollywood, Listen Up!)
On this day of Festivus, my head wandered into Stephen King territory and I started thinking about how a proper adaption of THE DARK TOWER series has not yet been done. There’s been talks for years but, ultimately, fans have never received the entire series in film. In this video I compare THE LORD OF THE RINGS to THE DARK TOWER in terms of an opinionated approach as to how to tackle such an immense project. It all comes down to one word . . . which you’ll have to watch to find out. (I’m the worst, I know.)
Ultimately, however, I do think we owe Stephen King some gratitude after all he’s done for the literary world and pop culture in general.
Don’t forget to subscribe to stay up to date on all the latest videos.
Thank you for watching Axiom-man TV.
2024 Broad-and-Loose Publishing Plans
2024 Broad-and-Loose Publishing Plans
If you’ve read my newsletter, it was revealed that in terms of publishing focus regarding 2024, my current plan is to first see 2023 through to the end in terms of content releases and year-end fiscal wrap-up. In short, do some fun stuff and conduct some actions on the business side of things so come midnight, December 31st, 2023 will be done business-wise. So that’s where my headspace is at: 2023 see-through then, in my mind’s eye, a division line then on the other side of that line, 2024.
2024 is currently planned publication-wise in broad blocks.
Here’s where the headspace and planning is at as of this writing:
Fiction:
Late January/early February – AXIOM-MAN/CRIMSON CLOAK: SCARLET SYNERGY teamup novella release.
Approx. June/July – AXIOM-MAN: BATTLE OF POWER TRILOGY, the final arc within the series that wraps up the first act of the overall AXIOM-MAN SAGA. These books are created back-to-back with a planned three-part cover image so when you put the books in a row, you get a full, cool image that compliments the story. At the same time, each cover of the three-part image will stand on its own.
Non-fiction:
March – CAUGHT IN BLACK HEADLIGHTS
Late April or May – THE CANISTER X TRANSMISSION: THE VERY LONG YEAR SIX
The following titles are either done or nearing completion so their specific release windows aren’t known until I analyze where each project is at and then can time it from there.
CANADIAN SCRIBBLER: COLLECTED LETTERS OF AN UNDERGROUND WRITER Vol. 2
GETTING DOWN AND DIGITAL: HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH YOUR BOOK 2nd Edition (updated and revised since the 1st edition’s info has become stale-dated over the years)
Comics:
Fall 2024 – FREDRIKUS Nos. 1 and 2 in print and eComic
Regarding the above non-fiction, and since my focus will be 90% on fiction, the above non-fiction titles are presently “floater titles” in my head therefore to be released/peppered throughout the year. If it turns out my blocked-out timing is off or life happens in a way that legitimately alters the above plans, then all of the above non-fiction releases are subject to change release-wise, with perhaps a title or two saved for 2025.
In short, fiction first, non-fiction second, the fiction releases being the priority.
Since I’m such a planner-aheader, and can only think in so much detail about said ahead plans, as of right now, the loose release block schedule above is the best I can offer at this time. Timing and more concrete info will be announced once things begin to lock down.
Lastly, the fiction focus for 2024 is superhero stuff. My last couple releases (ZOMTROPOLIS: A RECORD OF LIFE IN A DEAD CITY and GIGANTI-GATOR DEATH MACHINE: TRIPLE FEATURE) have been monsters so we’re getting back into the heroes side of this whole REALM OF HEROES AND MONSTERS thing.
There may or may night be a couple of surprises. I have something quick planned but it involves another person and in this game, when it comes to working with others, certain allowances need to be made because sometimes things happen beyond your control and you just have to wait it out so no official announcement or projection regarding this possible project(s) until things are more solidified.
2024 should be a good year.
