I’m doing everything I can these days to become a fulltime freelancer. With bills being what they are and my old “perfect day gig” having mostly dried up, I need a new revenue stream.
Working with Kathryn S. Renta of LatchKeyArtist.com, we’ve been doing banner work for TOR and Kevin J. Anderson, as well as Kevin and Rebecca Moesta’s WordFire Press imprint. We’re hoping to pick up more author banner gigs as the year progresses, and hope to earn a living doing banners, business cards, tablecloths and other author marketing materials. We plan to become a full-blown design and print vendor for the publishing industry.
However, I’m still doing a lot of work on my own, and my latest success—and it is a success—is the Tokyo Yakuza deliverables I’ve been cranking out for the past few months.
It all started with an article on one of the publishing sites where a guy wanted science fiction authors to contribute to his KickStarter project . It’s sort of an X-Files meets Black Rain meets Ghost in the Shell setup, and when I heard about it, I knew I wanted to be involved.
Last year he’d asked for authors interested in writing short stories in that universe so he could promote a board/card game. It’s a pretty solid marketing idea, if you ask me, and when he accepted me to be one of his authors, I offered to do his eBook and print design work. He took me up on the offer, so I’ve been producing the actual eBook files that he lists out on Amazon. Additionally, I just recently completed the complete anthology of the first twenty-four short stories plus one bonus story. My hard copy arrived last night, and I have to tell you, I’m exceptionally pleased with the book. Frankly, I think it looks FANTASTIC.
You can get your copy of the first Tokyo Anthology HERE:
The reason I’m telling you all this is three-fold. First, I’m hoping that in showing you the work I’m doing, you’ll consider me as someone to consider when you have book design or eBook needs. I’m doing work for a number of independent authors these days, and I’m fairly certain I can help you make your own next independent novel a success.
Second, I wanted to tell you about the Tokyo Yakuza project, because I think that if you like the writing I do, you’ll probably like this anthology.
Third, I wanted to show all the other independent authors out there who are struggling that there are ways to increase the work you do—and your revenue stream—just by going out there and finding opportunities.
The path to becoming a full-time writer is not an easy one, and most of us struggle to make the transition from full time employees somewhere to full time writer working for ourselves. There are always ways to make it happen if you’re willing to work your guts out and make the dream come true. Additionally, if you let the people in your life know that you’re willing to work hard to get where you want to go, you’ll be surprised at how many are willing to help you get there.
I’ve been exceedingly grateful to people like Kathryn S. Renta, Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Peter J. Wacks, Lou J. Berger, Aaron Michael Ritchey, David Boop, Josh Vogt, Travis Heermann, Guy De Marco, and a number of others—without whom I’d have a much more difficult time making my dream of becoming a writer come true. I also have to thank my parents, brother, and sister who, in the past few years, have really been there for me.
The bottom line is that if you have a dream, go chase it. And when you need help, don’t be afraid to ask. You’ll still have to work your guts out and work ten and twelve and fourteen hour days, but the rewards will start to add up over time. There’s nothing better than the writing life, if you ask me, and I can’t help but be grateful to the universe at large for the way I get to live my life.
Q
I like your enthusiasm and determination. It’s a choppy road becoming a full-time writer, and getting well-paid for it, but you’ll get there by maintaining your motivation. Keep it up!