I've applied for a handful, between Fine Arts, Performance, and Drama. I worry I might be too old for them, but at the same time if I'm allowed another student loan, why not?
I'm 30. Just feeling lost as an artist. I get really good reviews on WBTH and people keep messaging me on social media asking about the characters, even now, 2 years after release... but the books take time and I have no money left. That, mixed with the looming threat of an AI that could pretend to write in my style, has eroded what motivation I had to continue my books. I keep opening the manuscript for Stephanie, having the ideas, but not seeing a point in writing them down. It's rough. I want people to read her. If I won the lottory I'd give the book away for free.
Ironically, I am very good at coaching other people to not stop writing, so I am going to listen back to my class notes tonight, both for my own sakes, and so I can finally get Halfplanet Classroom back in business.
The last guy I worked with, a friend, hadn't written for 15 years before I talked him back into it.
You are 30? Jesus I hadn’t even finished my math degree by then! The fact that you are making any money at all is something to be proud of! I think writing to make money is a mistake—you must write your heart’s desire. That said, one needs to pay the bills. That sucks and usually involves some kind of day job. Maybe in your case it could be coaching? You are so young! People do live on writing money, I suppose. But I dunno who. You have so so many successes. I wish you continued success with writing books people will read! It is especially delightful that you have been able to succeed in so many areas of your interest! I am here to encourage you. At this point maybe it’s time to look for an agent? I dunno. I have earned a total of 45$ from selling my poems (except! Lo the miracle! I won a couple prizes!). You love your work! Let that sustain you, my friend!
Oh, I don't write to make money. But I do publish the finished stories and hope they make money. I have this idea in my head some people call old-fashioned, that a good enough story will sell itself.
I actually feel I have completed being an author. I'd like an agent to know what it feels like to have one, but I've got some brilliant reviews for WBTH from people I don't know, and may never meet, and that was my goal. I've done a book signing at comiccon too, so I got to be a celebrity for a bit. That was fun, and I think it suited me.
I still get people asking about WBTH two years after its publication, and I screwed up the publishing to no end so I am surprised they even hear about it. Even today, searching for it online will sometimes give you old pages for the defunct first edition, meaning potential lost sales. So, a new edition is coming out to steamroll over that little glitch. If they won't fix it, I will! Unfortunately I asked the ISBN people to remove that one from their database after advice from one indie bookshop, but it hasn't worked. I might try to reinstate it... no idea if that can be done. So the process has eaten a lot of my time. An agent could be useful so someone else does that part...
Thank you Jennifer. $45 is a lot of money for a poet! We are both doing better than most! I have sold more WBTH copies than the average trad pub author ever sells. Being in big fancy bookstores is meaningless, and that revelation blew my mind when I first found out.
Thanks for the compliment. I throw myself into everything I do. Becoming a comedy actor soon at a local theatre which hopefully provides a new outlet for the comedy stories. Last night I wrote an erotic comedy about bigfoot with my comedy group. People say I'm good at being on stage, we'll see where that takes us. A friend in TV tells me I'm a better presenter than most too. Lots of plates spinning makes my brain happy but makes my wallet sad.
That multifaceted life has, ironically, been why I haven't 'made it' (as in, got a stable and modest income) yet. Someone like me needs an agent, a manager, a handler, someone to tell me where cool things are so I can go to them.
Last night I remembered I have a Lego project to finish, and I put an eBook aside to work on it before becoming enamoured with a third project, a working tower clock in Minecraft. Nobody has ever made one before, I just did!
Anyway. I threw myself fully into writing as an existential gamble. And indeed, spooky as it sounds, every time I seriously consider quitting someone buys the book, whether or not I voice my feelings. It is as if the universe (simulated, of course) wants me to not give up quite yet. Someone bought one last night, and I am about to thank them in a post!
My reply was huge but it is huge for the comedic effect of demonstrating just how much weird stuff I get up to in any given day. Thanks again for commenting friend!
Philip if you want please keep me posted on your plans and where you think you might go! Do interested in your career! Rarely do twitter anymore. So you know here is good!
I also hear you on your dilemmas. I have many ideas in many different forms, but often don’t know which way to turn, all the while, we all gotta make it a bit of dough.
I’ve been trying to focus on one thing for a while, then switching. I would love to know how the likes of Bowie, or Nick Cave did it / does it.
I think Tony Visconti was essential for Bowie as a friend/guidance, as well as Bowie allowing himself to just jump between projects as and when one was finished.
When I wrote this post I was considering packing it in as a writer. The industry had crushed me. I've since been invited to a comedy night as their unofficial headline, hoping for paid jokework soon, pro comedy friends say I'm more than good enough. And I've got some comedic friends together for a new book. It's shaping up to be a great one!
Acting and comedy makes me happier than writing at the moment, based on its immediacy. Writing is a very isolated thing, and that was fine before I was broke. I could go out and see friends after writing. Now I can't, so I find I need to recharge my comedy battery more often by going outside, which takes time from writing. Being a comedian was something I was doing already if you read WBTH a certain way, and my first gig was years before I finished that book. Some of the jokes turned into short stories.
For me it all connects. Even the Lego. I do comedy about Lego on instagram, and I build scenes from serious books out of it. Comedy informs fiction and fiction informs comedy.
The trick now is finding a way to make money. I keep looking for writing jobs, but a lot of them are scams. Got took off the self-employment the other month because I didn't see an email in time (went to spam) and now, despite having a sick note, they've got me to agree to spend 35 hrs on their broken job search looking at jobs I know I can't do...
I've got friends in TV who say I'd be one of the best talk show hosts. I feel I've completed being an author in a way. I got the good reviews, I sold a few copies. I will still write books (got a new one to announce soon) but variation keeps me going, so it's time for Comedian/talk show Phillip.
Sounds like the comedy / acting / presenting is the way forward for now, mate. I enjoy the variety too, the contrast of a being a writer and a performer, I call it the solitude and the social, and that one informs the other.
Sorry to hear about the job thing, that’s hard man, I’ve been there too and done those pointless searches. You just gotta keep going (which it sounds like you are) and maybe on do these lanes will start popping off. Either way.
P.S slowly making my way through WBTH - I really like the idea of it, the short stories universes. Enjoying it so far
Yeah I'll survive, it's just rough when I can't do the things all my mates can do because I've been self-employed since 2017 and nobody wants to hire someone who comes across as independent. They want you to need a boss, but I don't. I need cash!
Glad you're enjoying WBTH, let me know what you think of the ending!
Loved reading your story! Your degree will be in ....? I missed that somehow! Please tell!
I've applied for a handful, between Fine Arts, Performance, and Drama. I worry I might be too old for them, but at the same time if I'm allowed another student loan, why not?
You’re young aren’t you? Like 40 ish? That’s def not too old!
I'm 30. Just feeling lost as an artist. I get really good reviews on WBTH and people keep messaging me on social media asking about the characters, even now, 2 years after release... but the books take time and I have no money left. That, mixed with the looming threat of an AI that could pretend to write in my style, has eroded what motivation I had to continue my books. I keep opening the manuscript for Stephanie, having the ideas, but not seeing a point in writing them down. It's rough. I want people to read her. If I won the lottory I'd give the book away for free.
Ironically, I am very good at coaching other people to not stop writing, so I am going to listen back to my class notes tonight, both for my own sakes, and so I can finally get Halfplanet Classroom back in business.
The last guy I worked with, a friend, hadn't written for 15 years before I talked him back into it.
Dear Philip,
You are 30? Jesus I hadn’t even finished my math degree by then! The fact that you are making any money at all is something to be proud of! I think writing to make money is a mistake—you must write your heart’s desire. That said, one needs to pay the bills. That sucks and usually involves some kind of day job. Maybe in your case it could be coaching? You are so young! People do live on writing money, I suppose. But I dunno who. You have so so many successes. I wish you continued success with writing books people will read! It is especially delightful that you have been able to succeed in so many areas of your interest! I am here to encourage you. At this point maybe it’s time to look for an agent? I dunno. I have earned a total of 45$ from selling my poems (except! Lo the miracle! I won a couple prizes!). You love your work! Let that sustain you, my friend!
Oh, I don't write to make money. But I do publish the finished stories and hope they make money. I have this idea in my head some people call old-fashioned, that a good enough story will sell itself.
I actually feel I have completed being an author. I'd like an agent to know what it feels like to have one, but I've got some brilliant reviews for WBTH from people I don't know, and may never meet, and that was my goal. I've done a book signing at comiccon too, so I got to be a celebrity for a bit. That was fun, and I think it suited me.
I still get people asking about WBTH two years after its publication, and I screwed up the publishing to no end so I am surprised they even hear about it. Even today, searching for it online will sometimes give you old pages for the defunct first edition, meaning potential lost sales. So, a new edition is coming out to steamroll over that little glitch. If they won't fix it, I will! Unfortunately I asked the ISBN people to remove that one from their database after advice from one indie bookshop, but it hasn't worked. I might try to reinstate it... no idea if that can be done. So the process has eaten a lot of my time. An agent could be useful so someone else does that part...
Thank you Jennifer. $45 is a lot of money for a poet! We are both doing better than most! I have sold more WBTH copies than the average trad pub author ever sells. Being in big fancy bookstores is meaningless, and that revelation blew my mind when I first found out.
Thanks for the compliment. I throw myself into everything I do. Becoming a comedy actor soon at a local theatre which hopefully provides a new outlet for the comedy stories. Last night I wrote an erotic comedy about bigfoot with my comedy group. People say I'm good at being on stage, we'll see where that takes us. A friend in TV tells me I'm a better presenter than most too. Lots of plates spinning makes my brain happy but makes my wallet sad.
That multifaceted life has, ironically, been why I haven't 'made it' (as in, got a stable and modest income) yet. Someone like me needs an agent, a manager, a handler, someone to tell me where cool things are so I can go to them.
Last night I remembered I have a Lego project to finish, and I put an eBook aside to work on it before becoming enamoured with a third project, a working tower clock in Minecraft. Nobody has ever made one before, I just did!
Anyway. I threw myself fully into writing as an existential gamble. And indeed, spooky as it sounds, every time I seriously consider quitting someone buys the book, whether or not I voice my feelings. It is as if the universe (simulated, of course) wants me to not give up quite yet. Someone bought one last night, and I am about to thank them in a post!
My reply was huge but it is huge for the comedic effect of demonstrating just how much weird stuff I get up to in any given day. Thanks again for commenting friend!
My pleasure. I am very interested in your career. Your brain reminds me just a tad of mine…!
Philip if you want please keep me posted on your plans and where you think you might go! Do interested in your career! Rarely do twitter anymore. So you know here is good!
Good stuff mate, sounds like you’re really building something.
I also hear you on your dilemmas. I have many ideas in many different forms, but often don’t know which way to turn, all the while, we all gotta make it a bit of dough.
I’ve been trying to focus on one thing for a while, then switching. I would love to know how the likes of Bowie, or Nick Cave did it / does it.
Either way, hang in there, mate
I think Tony Visconti was essential for Bowie as a friend/guidance, as well as Bowie allowing himself to just jump between projects as and when one was finished.
When I wrote this post I was considering packing it in as a writer. The industry had crushed me. I've since been invited to a comedy night as their unofficial headline, hoping for paid jokework soon, pro comedy friends say I'm more than good enough. And I've got some comedic friends together for a new book. It's shaping up to be a great one!
Acting and comedy makes me happier than writing at the moment, based on its immediacy. Writing is a very isolated thing, and that was fine before I was broke. I could go out and see friends after writing. Now I can't, so I find I need to recharge my comedy battery more often by going outside, which takes time from writing. Being a comedian was something I was doing already if you read WBTH a certain way, and my first gig was years before I finished that book. Some of the jokes turned into short stories.
For me it all connects. Even the Lego. I do comedy about Lego on instagram, and I build scenes from serious books out of it. Comedy informs fiction and fiction informs comedy.
The trick now is finding a way to make money. I keep looking for writing jobs, but a lot of them are scams. Got took off the self-employment the other month because I didn't see an email in time (went to spam) and now, despite having a sick note, they've got me to agree to spend 35 hrs on their broken job search looking at jobs I know I can't do...
I've got friends in TV who say I'd be one of the best talk show hosts. I feel I've completed being an author in a way. I got the good reviews, I sold a few copies. I will still write books (got a new one to announce soon) but variation keeps me going, so it's time for Comedian/talk show Phillip.
Let's see what he gets up to.
Thanks for the comment dude!
Sounds like the comedy / acting / presenting is the way forward for now, mate. I enjoy the variety too, the contrast of a being a writer and a performer, I call it the solitude and the social, and that one informs the other.
Sorry to hear about the job thing, that’s hard man, I’ve been there too and done those pointless searches. You just gotta keep going (which it sounds like you are) and maybe on do these lanes will start popping off. Either way.
P.S slowly making my way through WBTH - I really like the idea of it, the short stories universes. Enjoying it so far
Yeah I'll survive, it's just rough when I can't do the things all my mates can do because I've been self-employed since 2017 and nobody wants to hire someone who comes across as independent. They want you to need a boss, but I don't. I need cash!
Glad you're enjoying WBTH, let me know what you think of the ending!