Day 7 - School and Novel News

It's so easy to get into a school. I'm not trying to sound like a dick. It's easy, if you apply yourself, to get into at least one university. I used to and will once again attend Portland State University. I like this place, I like the program I'm enrolled in. There's really only two things I loathe and those are the
website (like a maze with little to no reward at the end), and the FAFSA/Financial aid system.

The whole FAFSA thing is not difficult, it's just time consuming if you're like me: as disorganized as a blind meth-head, when it comes to finances. I've been getting better, but that really only pertains to saving money. I'm still shit with self marketing and all things IRS related. And really, the list of paperwork seems to be getting longer...like physically longer...as in a devil's contract from any television show, animated or otherwise. That being said, I do have everything mostly sewn up (I think).

I'll be heading back to school this winter term as an Art major and I am really excited for it. I keep saying this, but all that I want to do is create. "...I will not reason and compare, my business is to create..." - William Blake

I've got a melon that spills great ideas all the time, but I've been so scattered until very recently (one week ago today), that I never really acquired the appropriate skills to fulfill a few dreams of mine. I routinely describe myself as "a shotgun blast" when it comes to my focal prowess. So, now I go in to hone the skills to make pretty pretty pictures in various media. I focused on performance (acting, dancing and to much lesser extent singing). Luckily, I have my crew that is nothing short of amazing. We are small, yes, but we are mighty. Film makers, actors, singers, composers, and more and all brilliant. It's a grand team, too be sure.

HUGE: This is what my friend Sara found on Pinterest under the popular tag. You'll notice a book called Crossroads written by ME. In the damn popular section! And here's my favorite part: The pinner was one Erasmo Bellusci, and the price was $3.49, my European pricing. While it my not be much, I am an international artist. A small victory, but victory all the same.

Also, that's not the cover anymore, but who cares. It's still freaking cool.

And yes, I wrote a book. I wrote a damned novel. And I continue to push forward, making very slow but actual progress. The query is done, and now the hunt for the appropriate agents moves in as the focus. Man, are these folks picky, lemme tell you! That's the plan tomorrow, for sure, to hunt down at least one agent accepting fiction novels about sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal material. It'll be a bitch, but one I'm ready to tackle. That was a weird sentence.

Lastly, I remain sick for almost a week now. Damned Gyro Man. I gotta catch a break. Been less stressed by far since joining HabitRPG and focusing in on my goals and tasks, but I can't seem to break the sick line. I miss training. Just gotta keep workin' towards healthy town. This constant sick BS happens when I come off months of stress every year. My body has to adapt to being able to relax. Here's to hoping I just remain on the path I am and that I never have to change to stress, and then back to relaxed in such a dramatic order ever again. Now, off to drink more water, pay for parking that should be free and then get a good nights rest.

Goodnight.

Day 4 - Wanting as a Career

Another day, another...actually, today was incredibly productive. The funny thing about getting another year older was a new found understanding of schedule. A real appreciation too! I'm freaking stoked to get things done. No stress and increased productivity while still relatively young? Win.

That all being said, I took my first real step in some time toward a professional writing career. I finally wrote my damn query letter. And it's good! I'm pleased. I had help of course, and I'm really grateful for it (thank you, Sena). Tomorrow I send it to the fist-full of agents who are accepting new clients. Then I hope and wait and want until something happens, all the while working on my game. School will help and all, but being proactive and organized starts well before winter term. I can't let myself...Scratch that. I won't fall into old habits because I've felt how good a clear plan is. 

HabitRPG continues to please. I'm level 4, gettin' shit done, and got me a fancy wooden shield, a sword and some leather armor. Win. Really loving this ARG.

No guitar today. My fingers hurt like hell. Back to it tomorrow.

I keep coming up with franchise ideas. I like 'em all. No, they're not all polished, but they each possess at least a tiny sparkle that I can refine into solid gold at some point. I'm feeling good about my abilities and feeling open to foster them. The way I make it easy for me, make it flow, is to build the world first. Create its fundamental truths, usually through a cool character, then I build the world around them. I can actually see many of them becoming real a great deal sooner than I'd thought before. Feels good to be out of the funk.

The next part is getting back to the physical side of things. I've had plenty of time to heal the ol' gum-hole and jawline (thank you wisdom teeth), and I've been given the green light to head back to Crossfit and Muay Thai (big ups to Black Rose and Aaron. One of the best things I've ever done is hitting that gym - http://blackrosecrossfit.com/Home_Page.html). I've been feelin' the itch this week; that bundle of anxious energy that comes from eons of hunter instinct (and decades of video games and kung-fu flicks), welling up in my belly. So happy to head back Tuesday.

Why not tomorrow? Cause it's query letter send off day. Need a new type of paycheck, one that I created myself. I work freelance, and in my family's business (which I'm insanely grateful for). But this journal is for me to be honest, and while I'm happy to help and to be helped, it's time I made my way into my own career. I create, interpret, teach, perform and inspire. It's what I love to do. 

I will make my movies, my plays, dances, shows, comics, books, festivals, students, school and my own path. I have felt my feet on the ground and tasted the air as I move further down the road toward my destiny. I can see my future finally and it's one filled with friends and family and my dreams that have all come true. Life is a malleable and unpredictable bitch that rarely listens, but I'm finding that is less of the case when you allow things their time. Dreams are to be encouraged, followed and most of all, allowed to mature as they will. There is a difference between force and passion, and only now, in this 28th year of mine, do I see the difference and have I the faculty to make it so.

Things are good and only getting better. I'm a good man finally, and well on my way to becoming the person I've always known I can be.

It's been a good day.

The Internet Invaded

I remember hitting Wordstock in my home town a couple years back. I'm a big fan of the fest, actually, but like any convention of any kind there has to be...has to fuckin' be, at least one titan level dick-head.

His name will be left out 'cause...well...daddy can't afford a lawsuit. Also, I can't remember his damn name for the life of me.

What I do remember is his supreme arrogance. Grandiose? Maybe. True? Shit-yes, Baby. He had this cock-sure line about "The Internet Invaders" and how these bloggers/self-publishers and the like are ruining the written word and sullying the good name of literature as a whole. He sited the ability of easily publishing your work to the web, and therefore the general world, as being nothing more than the work of amateurs and, my favorite: "...fiction whores! Possibly decent authors and literary would-bes who think themselves above 'the grind.'"

I laughed at that last bit. "Above the grind." As if self-publishing isn't a royal pain-in-the-ass that can erode the ol' soul just as much as the search for a traditional publisher. But, perhaps I'm misguided in my interpretation of his words. Or maybe he's on to something. Maybe it should be like a psycho shit-lottery that requires you to not only churn out a high-quality... Ya know what, never mind. I was going to be all sarcastic and what not, but that doesn't serve anyone. He was an archaic, short-sited dick who chose to crap on something new because it was easier to do and less frightening than admitting that he might have to update his methods. His methods, not his work. He had merit, sure, or he wouldn't have been speaking at a convention. So if you're talented enough to get a job, why freak out that someone came out with a device/option to help make you more money? Nothing to fear, everything to gain.

Here's the real. Selling your book is a bitch. It's enough of a challenge for many people to churn out something really sellable, let alone hook yourself an agent and/or publisher out of the gate. Your first book is probably not going to be your masterpiece, even if you're good and it rocks, and that's okay! You've got more options these days than found in the Way-Way-Back Machine. Take advantage!

The part I always have to remind myself is that it's the entertainment business. Even if it wasn't, it's always been hard work and "who you know" in every business. If you're given a leg up (in this case: the internet), take it! It's still no guarantee that you'll be the next Steven King, Rowling or Twilight Lady (yeah, didn't take the time to look her up), but every little bit o help...uh...helps...

If I've learned anything over the years, it's that everything has value, especially if it adds another avenue for success/discovery. There is no right answer other than this, "Keep moving forward."

Agent? Money? Head Exploding? HARD WORK!

There is a spray-painted banner in Black Rose (my crossfit-gym), that reads: "hardworkhardworkhardworkhardwork" and so on. Like any cheese-ball, inspiration-hungry, word hyphen word geek, I do my best to stare a hole into that banner every time I'm in for a good ol' asshyphenkicken. And I know that those words are the key to success...but I really want a magic formula.

But really, a magic formula? There isn't one, as it turns out, not to success.

The best you can do is work hard and hope to high-fuck that someone likes your work. For a creative professional (or an aspiring one, for that matter), this only mildly boils the brain.

You work hard, you put yourself out there, you think you've created something good (and probably have done just that), but you still aren't rollin' in the ching-chang...money... I'm right there, right now and it had/has been driving me kinda loopy. Honestly, its been throwing me off for a few months. I kept thinking "All I need is an agent!" After I had been thinking "All I need is a publisher!" After I had been thinking "All I need is to finish my book!" I've got the book, but no publisher or agent, and only today did I get some clarity! "All I need is hard work!"

I may have been dealing with some bigger stuff that was hampering me, but I'm stronger than that and damn smart enough to know that I can't stop. I need to push forward especially when things are horrid.

Yeah. I know. It's simple and a fairly face-palm-epiphany that you hear from the day you take on your first chore, to the day you retire, until you're telling your grand-kids the same such.

I always forget that part. Life is not a movie, you don't (generally) strike it rich out of the gate as a creative kind, or have those parents/friends of parents/bang Sandra Bullock in The Proposal (loved that movie, actually...seriously...) that get you into the big leagues. I always forget because I don't register failure, I think, which is both good and bad...but that's for later.

The two things that kick me forward lately are inspiring speeches (always loved these, actually, and here's a good one: http://youtu.be/zuBSRC1zpHw ), and finally...finally listening to other professionals. Both say the same thing that no one wants to hear because they know it's the truth: Keep drying, don't give up etc...

Disney once said, "Keep moving forward..." and yes, a million others have said the same thing. They're all right, it's all sound, and I'm doing my best to listen.

Step 1: Make use of what I already have. Material and talent wise. Things will develop from there.

Step 2: Maintain these things. Repetition.

Step 3: Inspire these things. Feed the obsessive talent-hungry monster in my gut. I'm good at this one.

Step 4: Check back in on maintenance. I'm very bad at this part.

Repeat forever while taking time to relax and enjoy it all. I forget this too.

I'ma try this. I really feel like it's time to grow up. More on that later.

Getting it up and Published

Finding and agent/publisher wasn't a concern, at first.

I had this fantasy in my head that when I uploaded my book to the kindle or nook network, I'd be rolling in money within a few days. I mean quite literally rolling in it. That my monitor would open and vomit forth the answer to all fiscal problems. I was a tad off...

Okay, I don't need to bitch or moan, but I do need to get some traction here. I've never been down this road before, and no one is being all too upfront with just what works. Every blogger/advice column says to submit your manuscript to a publisher/agent, which is both obvious and straightforward. However, what do you do when submissions aren't being accepted? Or when you're too flat broke to get your manuscript in print? If money makes the world go round, then my blue planet is most definitely standing still. How do I get over this?

SO, that in mind, I've been hunting for ways to promote the crap out of my already eBook published novel.

Idea 1. Post it here! - My book is titled "Crossroads."

kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009OVDR1K
nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/crossroads-andrew-slac/1113375513?ean=2940015569285

Set in the 1930's, the story follows Tom Valentine, a young man who'd never had a dream in his life, until he had a horrifying nightmare that belonged to someone else. Tom travels to New Orleans to celebrate his mother's birthday around Mardi Gras. During the festival Tom is knocked out, awaking some time later without any senses, save for the slight ability to hear. When Tom's sight returns, he catches his reflection to find that he is no longer a man, but a creature more resembling a voodoo doll, than a man. Tom must learn to survive in his new form and discover a way to return to his real body, all the while searching for who had done this to him and why.

Excerpt from Tom's personal Journal:

My name is Tomas Valentine. I was born October 18th, 1912. I died February 14th, 1934. How am I telling you this story? Because I didn't stay dead. Of course, there is a price to pay for a second chance. My body was taken from me and I was stripped of all my senses. I was no longer a man, but something that straddled the line between life and death. I would spend the next few months searching for a way to return to the life I once knew. I would encounter things that people only see in their nightmares, wrought by a man wrapped in shadows. Whoever he was, he'd made me this way, and he had all the answers. But if I knew then what I know now, I never would have asked the questions.

Idea 2. Reviewers - I put it out there to the community at large that "daddy's looking for reviews for free." I had to include "for free," because it turns out that you have to pay a large chunk of professional reviewers to take a gander at your material. I get it, it makes sense, but goddammit is it frustrating. No money, no pro review...yet.

Idea 3. Have sex with agents/anyone who might know an agent/anyone who might buy the book - Pretty self-explanatory.

Idea 4. Get a backer - I know people with money. Maybe they might help me out with a few bills for printing. The real of my situation is that I need cash to get my books printed, either my own, a backers or a publishers. Always accepting donations to help my dreams come true.

I'll find a way to make this happen. I'll keep looking for an in/more bodies that will accept a PDF format (turns out that many say they will, and then report back to you later stating: we prefer a physical copy. Yup. Fuck you, buddy.) But, I'll focus on raising that cash to get my book printed while finding said agent/pub/industry in etc.

Until then...lunch?

Andrew