Current Musings

So do I want to make writing what I do all the time?

Sure thing!

How? - that's the question I'm buzzing my brain about lately... I'm currently reading an excellent book on the writing career of Neil Gaiman... and one of the big things I've noticed so far is how he didn't just try to get published... with the whole traditional route and everything. What he did (as well as Stephen King, to an extent) was go to where people would publish him. And he would typically only write and pursue what he loved. What awesome advice. A lot of times, the beginning people who would publish him were softcore porn magazines - buying up his articles to fill those pages not full of pictures. Through this process, he made connections... like-minded friends who loved similar things. It wasn't about networking- it was about continuing to pursue what he loves - and I think that is the key to staying above the soul-less papermills...

Another thing I noticed was how Neil Gaiman didn't just write- he branched out into different mediums of story, too! Wherever the story was fresh and new - that's where he ended up... because he was following whatever he loved and he had an excellent BS detector. He invested in himself.

The last thing I've noticed so far, it's that he surrounded himself with friends who lived in a place where they could meet and get right to their art. They weren't necessarily at the whim and mercy of big publishers or had to yell into the hurricane of social media or e-publishing.


I know with the advent of e-publishing and the shifting of publishing power, the story landscape has and is changing... but it leaves me wondering what is possible now! And since I don't know what is possible, it means I can do anything I like - which is perfect.

-Ryan