Oh the Places You Will Go...
It's been one of those 'spin around and see where you land' kind of weeks... hell, months. I had what can only be called a golden opportunity pop up the past few weeks that is going to massively alter my career path (at least for the time being.) I can't quite talk about it yet, but as soon as I can I will. So, I've been racing through as much of my already lined up work as possible trying to wrap it all up before starting on this new gig. It's been... harrowing, I suppose is the word. But, totally worth it. The thing about this job, and what I've come to realize about life/careers/writing in general, is that I got this job for because of more than just my writing. It was a confluence of events... I had my agent cheerleading for me, an amazing meeting with the folks from the company, and then... the suprising part. It turns out the years of non-writing that I did. Working in TV production, running Hoarse and Buggy, hell, even running the movie theater I ran in college... all these little things that at the time were just jobs added together become a "wealth of experience" that got me, what in many ways seems to be a dream job.
So, to all of you out there slaving through a day job and hating every minute of it, and wishing you were writing for a living, don't forget that whether you realize it or not, that job will come in handy one day. Whether it's the characters you meet (and then use in your work), the practical skills you pick up, or even just the discipline of doing the same thing every day.
If you work in the entertainment industry, the government let's you write off a LOT of stuff come tax time. Just be marking your occupation as Entertainment Industry, suddenly, you can write off DVD's, CD's, TV's, Computers, Software, Video Games, Comic books... I suspect most people are just happy to get the write off, but, the truth of it is the experience of reading, listening, watching, and experiencing art is what allows you to grow as a creator. I just think it's important to realize that it doesn't stop there.
Practically speaking, I'll still be working in comics, and I have a slew of books already lined up for the next year or two, and in fact, should have more books on the stands than I did this year. I'll probably be a little less on the blog and the twitter, and won't be attending as many conventions, but, that aside, it'll be business as usual.
So, folks, here's to the future.