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  • The Canister X Transmission: The Long Year Five

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    The Canister X Transmission: The Long Year Five

    The Canister X Transmission: The Long Year Five DriveThru

    Begin transmission . . .

    Running from May 2018 to June 2020, The Canister X Transmission was sent via email to readers worldwide.

    Readers received updates straight from A.P. Fuchs that were meant to entertain, educate, and inform.

    The Long Year Five was a long time in the making with A.P. Fuchs battling an illness which prevented him from sending out newsletters every week. During this tumultous time, Fuchs eventually got better and continued the tradition of sending a letter to his readers.

    Topics include: Future marketing plans, tech issues, Patreon, website overhaul, project talk, and more.

    Exclusive to this collection is a special Issue Two Hundred-nine A newsletter unavailable anywhere else.

    Welcome to The Canister X Transmission: The Long Year Five.

    Available as a paperback at:

    Amazon (US)
    Amazon (CAN)
    Amazon (UK)
    Barnes and Noble

    Available as an eBook at:

    Amazon Kindle (US)
    Amazon Kindle (CAN)
    Nook
    DriveThru Fiction
    Smashwords

    For other newsletter collections, please visit the Book and Comic Shop.


    📂This entry was posted in Books Canister X Newsletter Self-publishing Writing 📎and tagged

  • The Daily Schedule of a Writer/Artist 2

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    The Daily Schedule of a Writer/Artist 2

    canister x transmission collections

    Since recovering from being ill–and I’m still recovering–here’s what my current daily schedule looks like:

    Wake up and pet the dogs. I’m usually up before everybody else.

    Post my daily Good Morning post on Facebook and give the day’s positivity rating. The rating is given based on how I feel at that exact moment.

    Make coffee.

    Have a small bite to eat.

    Have coffee and surf the feeds and check email, taking note of which ones I need to respond to later.

    By now Melinda is up so I have more coffee and spend time with her before she has to go to work.

    Work on the current project. As of this writing, it’s proofing the galley for the reissue of REDEMPTION OF THE DEAD.

    Break

    Non-committal work. By this I mean work I can do and get done but not share with anybody yet (i.e. a blog post, the newsletter, YouTube video, etc.).

    Break

    Work on the current project.

    Break

    Review and share the non-committal work

    Personal tasks (i.e. personal correspondence, bills, etc.).

    Break

    Nap

    I may or may not call it a day at this point. Depends what time it is. Melinda gets off work at 4:30 and then it’s time to get ready for supper.

    Evening walk with Melinda and then a quick walk with the dogs.

    Chill out time.

    Bed.

    And that’s the daily schedule of a writer/artist.


    📂This entry was posted in Canister X Life Publishing Self-publishing Writing 📎and tagged

  • Newsletter Delay; The Canister X Transmission Issue 252

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Just a note to inform you there is a newsletter delay this week due to TinyLetter’s site glitching. Until it’s resolved, I am unable to send out the most recent issue so I’ve blogged it here in the interim and will send it out proper once I am able to, which might mean this week you’ll be getting two editions of The Canister X Transmission close together. If the problem persists due to possible staffing shortages on their end, then we’ll just air the newsletter here until things get back to normal.

    There’s a first time for everything.

    Here is the latest edition. It is dated yesterday.

    Newsletter:

    Issue Two Hundred-fifty-two – April 18, 2020

    Hello and welcome to the 252nd issue of THE CANISTER X TRANSMISSION, a weekly newsletter from a schlub up north who offers you strange ramblings every week.

    How is everyone?

    It has been a busy week. Lots of tasks. Lots of work. Lots of prep. Lots of thinking. Lots of stress. Lots of accomplishment. Lots of, well, lots.

    And here we are.

    Oh, and I made bread.

    Work log:

    PROJECT JACKASS (title reveal below); uploaded a sneak peek to the Behind-the-Scenes tier on Patreon showcasing one of the opening pages of PROJECT JACKASS in full color (link below); shot and uploaded a new video to YouTube, which announces PROJECT JACKASS’s real title and quickly takes a glimpse at the artwork and offers a brief premise (link below); blogging; and administration.

    Quick note regarding this newsletter: Issue 260 is the final issue of The Long Year Five. We will do something special at that time. As always, the invite is there if you want to see something particular in that double issue. Just shoot me an email and I’ll see what I can do.

    In blog headline news—and once information known only to my patrons on Patreon—the title of PROJECT JACKASS was revealed! PROJECT JACKASS was a place-holder name for an upcoming webcomic from me called FREDRIKUS, which is about an anthropomorphic dog in a dystopic sc-fi world. Phew. Now I can finally refer to it as an actual thing and not some project document (which is actually a combination of multiple documents including a notebook for the stories).

    Blog headlines:

    Various Bits from the Net – 041220

    Status Report – 041420

    Project Jackass Title Revealed: Fredrikus

    Fredrikus Social Media

    New Fredrikus Behind-the-Scenes Post on Patreon!

    On Art and Never Arriving

    Fredrikus Webcomic Announcement

    Status Report – 041720

    As you can see from the above headline, you are invited to like and follow FREDRIKUS on social media so you can be notified when the strip airs. Please do so. More details about the webcomic to be revealed in due time. Watch the blog to stay current. I will admit, it’s high time new things started to roll out from me and warming up the machine for FREDRIKUS is part of that journey.

    I’m thinking that the next thing to roll out from me is the Inktober 2019 sketchbook I mentioned in a previous issue. PROJECT REBUILD is taking some time due to elements beyond my control and I don’t want to leave you hanging.

    Side note: As much as my blog has been retooled on the back end, sometimes the theme acts up and reverts to black text on white rather than white text on black. If you come across this, don’t worry. I’m still troubleshooting the issue with the hope of taking care of it once and for all in the near future. Just check the blog as per usual and you’ll be fine.

    We’re also gearing up for the new serial novel to air on Patreon because GIGANTIGATOR DEATH MACHINE is almost complete. Watch the blog for the announcement and be sure to get in on the ground floor by becoming a patron today for just a buck. The entirety of GIGANTIGATOR DEATH MACHINE will remain on the site so come time for the new serial novel, you’ll have two novels to read for the price of one. Awesome deal. Please take advantage (it also helps keep me fed). Link below to subscribe to what is essentially the Netflix of literary entertainment from a book and comic guy like me. Thank you in advance for your support.

    Also going on, but not worked on this week, is PROJECT COBALT. This is a big one and an important one, and a lot of thought, trial and error, and work has already been put into it. I’m suspecting a latter 2020 rollout, but keep that fluid for the moment. The world is in upheaval on multiple levels and things are in constant flux as we combat this invisible enemy (amongst other things). But yeah, PROJECT COBALT, man. Onward.

    For a good while I’ve had the marketing materials for a YouTube subscription drive, but we’re not quite there yet in terms of the channel’s relationship to other things. However, I’m a firm believer in groundwork and foundation and I’d like you to be a part of all that’s planned for the channel plus what’s already there. Please use the link below and subscribe. Your subscription will eventually lead to me monetizing the channel, which in turn will fund more comics and books and the stuff I put online for free. But it all takes time and time, in order to do this job full time, requires money. The subscription costs you nothing other than 5 seconds—which I recognize is your valuable time hence why I try and create interesting content in the vein of Heroes and Monsters—and will go a long way toward keeping the media machine running. Thank you in advance again for your support.

    With Year Six of this newsletter fast approaching, I’m getting eager to see how the new format will work, how it will flow, and, ultimately, what it will do for you as my reader. I hope you enjoy the new format in 8 issues.

    In other newsletter news, Year Four was obviously completed a long time ago but was never published. It is still the plan to release it along with The Long Year Five. Also soon, my how-to book, GETTING DOWN AND DIGITAL: HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH YOUR BOOK, will be going out of print. Please grab your copy now. The principles and methods apply to both books and comics. It is also ideal for creators on a budget who are unable to afford fancy formatting programs. It walks you through formatting in MSWord for both print and electronic editions in a tried-and-tested procedure that is quite simple to follow.

    We’re also noodling with the social media broadcaster for FREDRIKUS because I’ve never run a broadcaster for anyone but myself and since good ol’ Fred can’t work the thing himself due to his paws, I’m stuck with the job. Hopefully it all works out. Speaking of which, the broadcaster has run out of broadcasts from that time I loaded ’er up good so that will have to be addressed in the coming week or two as well, but I’m toying with some new ideas. Not that the old ones were bad, but as it is with this game, doesn’t hurt to try new things.

    Okay, I think the above about covers it for this week. Lots of commercials, I know, but we’re at that stage in the grand plan.

    Rollout soon.

    We’re finally getting there. Isn’t that a thing?

    Take care of yourselves and each other. In the end, it’s on us about how we treat people.

    Have a good weekend. Make bread. Send me some.

    – A.P. Fuchs

    All the New Things, MB

    As usual:

    Patreon – Where I post an ongoing serial novel, essays on the creative life, behind-the-scenes secrets, and general jackassery.

    Canister X – Where I’m blogging during the week.

    YouTube – My channel that needs your subscription and views to help it grow.

    Ko-fi – A Tip Jar designed to cover the costs of the free stuff I put on the Web (daily blogging, this newsletter, YouTube videos, and artwork).

    End transmission


    📂This entry was posted in Newsletter 📎and tagged

  • vLog – 1000mph Club (Working Method)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs
    vLog 1000mph Club Working Method

    I made a video discussing the 1000mph Club which, though commonly used to describe car speed, was also used by Warren Ellis in his newsletter, Orbital Operations, about working at a breakneck pace.

    Take a look at the vLog below to see what I said about it. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to stay current on all the latest videos.

    Enjoy!

    Ps. Have a question for me that you’d like answered in a video? Shoot me an email and I’ll do something up for you. Thanks.


    📂This entry was posted in Life vLog YouTube 📎and tagged

  • Notice: Going Dark for the Week

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs
    going dark

    Going dark.

    In an effort to make sure the reissue and new release schedules are on track, I’ll be offline this week so no blog entries until I return. (I might post something if I need variety but that’s a maybe.) Feel free to check back every day just in case and/or surf the blog for past entries to get caught up on anything you missed. Also, my social feeds are on automated Broadcast Mode so I cannot be reached there. If you’re a Patreon subscriber, this week’s post for the Essays tier will show up in the Patreon feed on your pocket computer (or on the website on the non-pocket computer). It’s an essay on how to always keep your audience engaged.

    If you are a client, please use email. If you are a reader and need to reach me, please use email. Please note that email is very low priority so unless I owe you a project (which I can identify by the sender), most likely emails will be replied to upon my return. If it’s an emergency, then you know who you are who has that kind of access.

    Enjoy your week, everyone. See you on the other side in Saturday’s newsletter.

    To keep busy while I’m away, here are some suggestions:

    Surf my YouTube channel and subscribe to check out all the latest videos and be notified of new ones.

    Read Gigantigator Death Machine on Patreon.

    Read back issues of The Canister X Transmission and be sure to subscribe to receive a letter from me every Saturday in your inbox.

    Review the social feeds to the right if viewing this entry on a standard web browser to make sure you and I are connected on your various social networks. If you are viewing this on your computerized telephone, type “A.P. Fuchs” into your social network’s search bar and you’ll find me.

    Relax and take care of yourself however that might look like.

    See you.


    📂This entry was posted in Blogging Canister X General Announcements Web Stuff 📎and tagged

  • The Daily Schedule of a Writer/Artist

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs
    January 27 and 28 2020 day planner

    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.


    📂This entry was posted in Blogging Canister X Drawing Life Patreon Publishing Self-publishing Writing 📎and tagged

  • Broadcast Sequence Executed

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Broadcast Sequence Executed

    broadcast sequence

    This post is to let everyone know I’m once again switching over to broadcast mode on my social media channels for a season. The reason? Getting rid of distraction and getting more work done. It worked well over the winter and I have a ton to do and a ton planned, so need to stay focused.

    Social media is an addiction for a lot of people and it gets in your head, especially if you’re involved in a discussion or argument. It sucks up headspace and brain power, which are better used to create something. So deep into the mines I go. I’ll radio up to the surface via my weekly newsletter and, if you need me, you can send down a signal via email and we’ll see if the underground transmitters pick it up.

    Take care.

    See you when I resurface.


    📂This entry was posted in General Announcements 📎and tagged

  • Why You Need a Newsletter

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Why You Need a Newsletter

    canister x transmission newsletter collections

    This article was originally published November 28, 2016 on the Operation Awesome Blog.

    The Internet is a painfully crowded place, especially these days. I remember in the late nineties when the Web was starting to take shape. There were some basic websites and, well, that was about it. Communication on-line was pretty much email. Now look at us—everyone’s on-line, we’re all shouting, and social media is the main form of communication.

    Unfortunately, there’s just too many people and these days, with every one and their monkey writing a book, there’s too many authors and it’s near impossible to get noticed. Sure, it happens, and some authors build a sizable and—keyword: pragmatic—social following, but for the most part, many struggle in this area.

    Newsletters bypass all the number games associated with social media, the whole like-for-like and I-follow-you-you-follow-me tactics, and all the rest. (Which are pretty much useless because those are about quantity not quality.)

    Productive numbers are where it’s at and newsletters, by their very opt-in nature, cater to that. Do you want to know who is truly invested in what you do? Start a newsletter.

    It’s focused marketing: sending out communication and information to people who have chosen to hear what you have to say. Actually, I don’t even like to use the word “marketing” in this case because that totally devalues the point of a newsletter, which is connecting with readers who genuinely care about you in return.

    Look at the word itself: newsletter. It’s a letter, not a brochure.

    Sure, your newsletter numbers might be smaller than your Facebook likes, but they’re quality numbers, which have more value than just a high like count. The people who have chosen to receive a newsletter from you are the same people who are more likely to get a copy of your book because a genuine interest in you has already taken place.

    There are so many ways to go about doing a newsletter, some of which are:

    The Plain Jane promo newsletter.

    This is the kind that only goes out when an author has a new release. It’s not about communicating with the reader, but simply selling to them. I find these shallow; see the newsletter work breakdown above.

    The monthly update newsletter.

    Typically something sent out once a month, this is the newsletter where the author says what’s going on with them, where what project is at in the production process and to promote a book(s) or event or something.

    The weekly newsletter.

    My personal favorite and the kind I run, which I’ll get to in a moment. The weekly version can be like the monthly one, just sent out weekly. Or it can be about creating a dialogue with the readers and talking points of interest, usually to do with writing or books or entertainment.

    My weekly newsletter, The Canister X Transmission—presently in its second year—has four main points: writing/publishing/marketing tip of the week; book/comic spotlight from my catalog; creator spotlight focusing on indie and mainstream creators who’ve impacted my career; rant of the week, which is basically a positive or negative thing depending on what’s been heavily on my mind for the past seven days.

    I also offer a free thriller e-novelette download if you sign up.

    The benefits:

    Regular connection with readers who actually want to hear from you exercise in self-discipline to maintain the newsletter schedule, which then trains you to keep deadlines for other projects like, um, your books an opportunity to market work to readers without spamming, which can lead to sales options outside of the usual channels a chance to encourage and inspire others

    Ultimately, newsletters make the on-line world a smaller place and, frankly, in today’s obscenely overcrowded rat race society, it’s sorely needed. It’s a chance to quiet down, meet with a reader, and open up about what’s going on on your end. And you’d be surprised. Readers respond to newsletters with their thoughts, questions and more.

    Beats an overcrowded social media channel any day.


    📂This entry was posted in Articles Newsletter Publishing Self-publishing 📎and tagged

  • Axiom-man Flash Fiction Notice – Get Yours Here

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Axiom-man 10yr Crop

    Did you know now and then Axiom-man makes an appearance in my newsletter? In fact, he was just in there last week for the second time. You see, every week in Year Three of The Canister X Transmission is a piece of flash fiction–various genres–and Axiom-man likes to pop up from time to time.

    These stories are canon and are part of the overall saga.

    (For those not aware, The Axiom-man Saga in its entirety is made up of novels, novellas, short stories, flash fiction, and comics.)

    To ensure you get the whole story, get a copy of The Canister X Transmission in your email every week.

    Also note other superhero fiction shows up there as well.

    You can subscribe to the newsletter using the subscription box on this site or go here.

    Here is an updated listing of The Axiom-man Saga in reading order:

    Axiom-man
    Char (short story in the tenth anniversary edition of Axiom-man)
    Episode No. 0: First Night Out
    Doorway of Darkness
    Black Water (short story)
    Episode No. 1: The Dead Land
    There’s Something Rotten Up North (short story in the anthology, Metahumans vs the Undead)
    City of Ruin
    Rite of the Wolf (short story in the anthology, Metahumans vs Werewolves)
    Episode No. 2: Underground Crusade
    Outlaw
    Episode No. 3: Rumblings
    The Split (flash fiction)
    Mercy (flash fiction)

    More superhero flash fiction to come.

    Join me.


    📂This entry was posted in Axiom-man Promo Items 📎and tagged