The Savannah Quill Connecting Writers and Readers to Promote Literacy

Inside the Mind of Idler Academy Founder

Tom Hogkinson

July -Sept 2017, Vol. 1, Issue 1

The Savannah Quill Volume 1, Issue 1 August 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Adam D. Messer All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below. The Savannah Quill™ www.savannahquill.com Ordering Information: Please email [email protected] Printed in the United States of America ISBN-13: 978-1974546367 ISBN-10: 1974546365

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Inside the Savannah Quill Welcome to the first issue of The Savannah Quill magazine. I founded The Savannah Quill book convention May 13, 2016 and had the intention to publish a quarterly magazine covering interviews with authors and creators, Edutainment (educational + entertainment)

Adam Messer

How To’s, and showcasing independent creator’s work. Many thanks go out to everyone involved over the last year. As we approach our first convention this October, I look forward to continuing our mission of connecting writers and readers to promote literacy. We are partnered with the Live Oak Public Libraries and a proceed of our ticket sales will be donated to benefit literacy. The interviews, articles, and collective works show the time and dedication passionate creators spend honing their craft. I want to encourage the reader that no matter what your idea is or where you are, you can do it as well. Thank you, Adam Messer Founder, The Savannah Quill

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The Art of Randyl Bishop By Adam Messer Please talk about your creative work and projects. Well, I have my own business called The Art of Randyl Bishop, the scope of which is sort of ambiguous on purpose. My business model allows me to take on jobs of many different types and from many different places. I recently finished making an all-ages coloring/activity book called The Ambassador for someone in Alabama, and before that I finished a series of animated music videos for a band called The Silvers based out of California in support of their animated series pitch. I’ve also worked with people outside of the country (A project called Privateer out of the United Kingdom). But within the “The Art of” umbrella I have my own publishing imprint called Timebound Entertainment. I consider Timebound to be the most important aspect of my business. Timebound currently has two titles: the one-shot Killing Time and the main title The Hawk of New York. I have four other Timebound story titles scripted and waiting for art as of this writing, with more planned. What inspired you to print Hawk of New York on newsprint, when the industry was still using glossy? Oh man, that was a great time. I was getting ready to leave the active duty military and had the budget to go to a lot of conventions- not setting up or anything, but going to them as a fan boy. Walking around, I got this tremendous sense that the industry had taken a horrible turn since the 90s when the great comics distribution wars concluded with only one distributor standing. A lot of the bigger comics retailers at these shows confided, fearfully, in me that they weren’t happy with their distributor and their reputation for consistently screwing up orders and strong-arming them into buying too much inventory. Almost everything new (or relatively new) I picked up out of their stores from this distributor had this sameness- this corporate glossy sheen to it, and it felt like a committee made it instead of an artist. I kept looking at indie titles in artist alley and they all (with a few exceptions, like J.R. Mounts) seemed to be emulating that model as the ideal standard instead of just embracing their advantage of not having to work to such strict spec. To be clear I think those (mainstream) books are of high quality and I mean no disrespect to the talented creators involved in producing them. But, I miss/ missed the way comics felt more approachable in my youth; I found out I was not alone in that feeling.

If I did everything in my power to sort of mimic that missing approachability with my comic, I could help prevent the end of something good, not really newsprint per se (because I’m not that powerful or important) but the collective memory of newsprint. The memory of newsprint recalled the days of five or six comics distributors, good old American capitalist competition, and actual options in how your comics entertainment was presented.

The Art of Randyl Bishop (cont)

Newsprint was the catalyst for that shot in the arm I was trying to administer, and I knew I had to reach down into my own childhood to give it. With the focusing help of K.J. Eldridge from Wulvern and Last Knights acclaim, I made the decision to reboot Nite-hawk Presents, an amateurish book about a sort of generic vigilante character I made in the 1980s and 1990s when I was a kid. When I decided on the reboot and on the need for newsprint, I spent something like ten days calling printers trying to find someone who could print a comic book on newsprint. Nobody seemed to do it anymore, but I finally found two, at least one of which is still using machines from the 1960s. When Ain’t it Cool News and some others gave me a favorable review… that really emboldened my idea and I knew I was onto to something a lot bigger than me. I kept going to shows, giving the comic to anyone I thought influential or important enough that could listen and really help- including one of the sons of Steve Geppi. I didn’t get a ton of direct reaction though- I think because I was so new and kind of naïve. They didn’t want to make pennies on the dollar when they were used to making dollars on the penny, even though everyone seemed to want it. This recent decision by Alterna Comics to release an entire newsprint line and distribute at newsstands again is something I’m really excited about. Peter Simeti, the president of Alterna, actually posted something on Facebook about needing to find places that printed newsprint. I contacted him and shared the information on how to get in touch with my printer. I also recommended he pick up Matthew Smith and Jeremy Massie’s excellent book Amazing Age. (Jeremy was my letterer for issue three of the Hawk of New York) Amazing Age involves a kid’s childhood comic book hero coming to life when he grows up! I don’t think anyone relates to that as strongly as I can. A few days later, Simeti’s sending out press releases and Bleeding Cool is doing an article on him and the new Alterna newsprint line featuring Amazing Age! It was awesome. The research I did seemed to have paid off big, but in an unexpected way. People really missed that look, feel, and smell newsprint gives you. They are tired of comics being this sacred document that must be kept hermetically sealed in Plexiglas the moment you get it, and something they can’t even share with their kids. The kids don’t care either way, because they have their tiny little electronic screens to pacify them- but when their parents get excited about just about anything they pay attention. Therein lies the future of the industry I think- and so far as content goes look at Black Mask. All their best

Newsprint was the catalyst for that shot in the arm I was trying to administer, and I knew I had to reach down into my own childhood to give it. With the focusing help of K.J. Eldridge from Wulvern and Last Knights acclaim, I made the decision to reboot Nite-hawk Presents, an amateurish book about a sort of generic vigilante character I made in the 1980s and 1990s when I was a kid. When I decided on the reboot and on the need for newsprint, I spent something like ten days calling printers trying to find someone who could print a comic book on newsprint. Nobody seemed to do it anymore, but I finally found two, at least one of which is still using machines from the 1960s. When Ain’t it Cool News and some others gave me a favorable review… that really emboldened my idea and I knew I was onto to something a lot bigger than me. I kept going to shows, giving the comic to anyone I thought influential or important enough that could listen and really help- including one of the sons of Steve Geppi. I didn’t get a ton of direct reaction though- I think because I was so new and kind of naïve. They didn’t want to make pennies on the dollar when they were used to making dollars on the penny, even though everyone seemed to want it. This recent decision by Alterna Comics to release an entire newsprint 8 line and distribute at newsstands again is something I’m really excited

The Art of Randyl Bishop (cont)

about. Peter Simeti, the president of Alterna, actually posted something on Facebook about needing to find places that printed newsprint. I contacted him and shared the information on how to get in touch with my printer. I also recommended he pick up Matthew Smith and Jeremy Massie’s excellent book Amazing Age. (Jeremy was my letterer for issue three of the Hawk of New York) Amazing Age involves a kid’s childhood comic book hero coming to life when he grows up! I don’t think anyone relates to that as strongly as I can. A few days later, Simeti’s sending out press releases and Bleeding Cool is doing an article on him and the new Alterna newsprint line featuring Amazing Age! It was awesome. The research I did seemed to have paid off big, but in an unexpected way. People really missed that look, feel, and smell newsprint gives you. They are tired of comics being this sacred document that must be kept hermetically sealed in Plexiglas the moment you get it, and something they can’t even share with their kids. The kids don’t care either way, because they have their tiny little electronic screens to pacify them- but when their parents get excited about just about anything they pay attention. Therein lies the future of the industry I think- and so far as content goes look at Black Mask. All their best content is retro and they are getting a lot of traction recently for being a major talent greenhouse. The future lies somewhere between those two companies I think- not in the past mind you- but in a future that accounts for all the lessons we’ve learned about this business from the past. Please discuss some of the pitfalls you encountered and how did you get over them? Well, I wanted to evoke memories of the way comics were, so that meant more than just embracing newsprint. One of the things I really wanted to do was pay homage to the Crow soundtrack, an influential soundtrack from the past, and the old clamshell book and record/cassette packages that Power Records used to make. To accomplish this, I needed to weave recognizable songs from the era my story was set in and get the rights to publish them. Thing is, licensing is really expensive. I couldn’t afford to pay for licensing for the punk rock songs I wanted on the album and I didn’t want to get sued by record labels. I found a work around though: while the licensing was expensive, it was affordable if I could get covers of the songs produced by bands who would give me permission to use their work. So, I set out looking for punk bands. Turns out in 2014, there

aren’t many punk bands to speak of. The punk bands I did find sounded great and even expressed interest, but getting them to produce a quality cover of a punk song from the 80s by a certain deadline didn’t seem to interest them as much as making their own new stuff. I did find one band, but they were from Latvia and part of an entirely different scene. So I wound up making some concessions on the music content that still kind of bugs me. I adjusted and expanded my search to include other types of bands. I started contacting bands I had encountered and befriended over the years and got them to commit to producing songs on the list. In some cases the content was already produced and it was just a matter of permission. Eventually I made friends with someone who worked at the record label Genterine Records in Atlanta. Genterine was an enormous help and instantly helped round out my roster of bands. They made the project a much more professional product than it would have been and brought in experienced bands like Radio Cult and Lost Boys. I wanted to make a punk soundtrack but instead I wound up with a sort of punk-themed pop soundtrack with nods to metal, alternative and folk. With this project, I had really counted on releasing my retro soundtrack on cassette tape. This was before Guardians of the Galaxy was even announced, and way before their stunt of releasing the soundtrack on a cassette (which became a best-seller) was even a glimmer on the horizon. The record label balked upon hearing this, because many of the bands they brought to the table only wanted to be involved if the end product could be carried in music stores, something a cassette tape would not do. There were concerns a cassette would not look professional. These were valid enough reasons to release it on CD instead. Dang it. Please talk about story boarding. What is your process for creating a scene and transitioning from one scene to the next? I’ll assume you mean for comic books and not cartoons. I will talk about this from the Timebound perspective, which is much more in-depth than if I were to answer in terms of a contracted job. Contract jobs are a lot more straightforward, because much of the work is already done for you. But, if I start from scratch, it starts with9 the concept.

The Art of Randyl Bishop (cont) From the concept, or idea, comes the plot, or general arc of the story. A lot of times the “plot” is just flashes of prominent scenes or images that you want included in the final product. (I refer to these as the “bricks”) Once you have some “bricks” you have to arrange them in a way that makes sense and write some connecting scenes. These I refer to as the “mortar.” Usually “mortar” scenes are not as exciting but are necessary to make sense of everything. It doesn’t have to be this way, but it often is for me since I tend to think more visually than linearly. Once the plot is mostly complete, then comes the need for breaking what you’ve written into a script. Scripts should be just a set of directions describing the plot. You want to write your script in a way that anyone can pick it up and get what is happening and a basic feeling of how it is happening. Once you’ve got 24 pages or so, and you’ve kind of segmented the pages so that you have 8 page “chapters,” you can start thumb-nailing (very crudely sketching) the pages. I tend to not write finished dialogue until the thumbnails are at least done. Thumbnails can directly impact your script’s structure, because what you think doesn’t take up space ends up chewing up three or four pages, and vice versa. Somewhere between thumbnails and finished art is the character and set design. This includes any recurring vehicles or story elements that need to look consistent. Once you are happy with the character, set, and story element design, and the script and thumbnail relationship, you can start on pencils. Sometimes if passion dictates, you write your story around a “brick” of finished art. Doing it this way opens up more story possibilities and economizes your time. Once the pencils are done, inks come along, then shading, then colors. Finally speech and narrative balloons and boxes, and any sound effects that weren’t included in the original art are dropped in. After that’s done I edit the whole thing looking for errors or chances for improvement. I usually send a few copies out to people in the industry whose opinion I trust and I ask for critique. Once I’ve incorporated all the changes I’m going make I either submit it to publishers or I print it out of pocket- sometimes both. What is something you really love that is going on in the comic book industry right now? Alterna’s all newsprint line, especially that comic book Amazing Age! The other thing is the fact we have so many great movies to choose from, with so many more on the way. I am really excited about the new Cohen-directed Razor movie coming out. Everette Hartsoe’s Razor is such a great 90s comic that pushed the boundaries. I’m hoping back issues skyrocket in value and the movie’s a big hit! It’s

always great to see an indie comic mature into the mainstream’s eye. I look forward to seeing some people like About Time Comics excellent Godsend series showing up in theaters some day. What do you say to the budding writer, illustrator, or all-in-one indie who has a comic idea, but does not know where or how to get started? Concentrate on developing your strongest and best ideas to the 8-page mark, but not much beyond. There are people in the industry that will want to help you if you package your comic book the right way. You will think it’s a good idea to do a huge epic graphic novel. It’s not. Not at this stage. Save it for when you’ve broken in. Look for and reward win/win relationships and discard relationships that are 10 lose/lose or win/lose. Try not to be a jerk.

The Art of Randyl Bishop (cont) What piece of advice do you wish you could go back in time and give yourself when you first started?

Talk about some of your collaborations on the Hawk of New York. Who and what, and how did they come about?

You need a community, or at least a network to help you. Don’t be afraid to put time into developing the tools you’ll need to be successful. Discard as many toxic people you can from your environment and ignore the ones you can’t remove. Concentrate and cultivate win/win relationships. Most people can help you in some way- can you help them? Will they recognize it if you do? If yes and yes, then you have a win/win so long as they do their part and you continue to do yours. What is next with Hawk?

Most recently, I was sitting at a convention with Mitch Rogers, creator of a comic called The Bogre and during slow periods we discussed movies and eventually our own properties. I suggested we do a crossover and he seemed to like the idea of cross promotion. So, I’ve written a short script and the art is in development right now! The relationship I established with Genterine Records has been really fruitful for me too. Even though the band The Silvers are not on the Hawk of New York Soundtrack, I’ve done something like six music videos for them solely because the label introduced us. Most recently, the label has hooked me up with a comic pitch for the band Pure Ed. They were on the soundtrack and I’ve even done a music video for them too. All paying work, all stuff I’m really proud to be a part of. The other major collaboration I’ve done is with Grease Inc. Magazine. They run comic strip versions of The Hawk of New York I make monthly and enable/invite me to attend different cultural events usually involving motorcycles. Through them I met Wes Connally, who’s like this living folk hero from Alabama. Together we’ve been working on the new title The Ambassador- which is the coloring book I mentioned earlier. What makes the difference between a project being successfully completed and one that sits on the shelf? Assuming you mean release versus no release… timing is really a big thing. In fact timing is one of the reasons for the name Timebound. We operate in an industry where what is desirable is sort of a fickle thing. But aside from this, there is also business strategy to consider. For example, I have a mostly-finished sequel to Killing Time that I can’t release because it will be too disruptive to the narrative I currently have going on in Hawk. I might never finish it, or I may have to reboot/retell that whole story some day. So it sits there, waiting for a moment that may never come. I have another title character script, something like seven full-on comic book scripts just waiting for the Hawk timeline to catch up to closer to present day. (As many readers know, Hawk is currently in the early 90s.) It’s really frustrating for the writers and artists involved when I have to tell them I can’t work on or publish their work just yet.

I’m just about to launch a brand new Patreon page designed to garner more support for Timebound Entertainment, the parent label. If it is successful, this will help me develop a cartoon series idea I have for The Hawk of New York. There’s already been a great deal of musical input from a band I have not yet worked with in the past that is on the Genterine Records label. I can’t tell you who it is yet, but I can say it is not their first album and I have not worked with them before now. I can’t wait to share the music they’ve done in conjunction with this cartoon idea because unlike the soundtrack, I don’t have any regrets about how it sounds. It’s really good. It will be a real treat for everyone I think and something that tops what I’ve already done by a large margin. Even if the cartoon idea doesn’t come to fruition, there will be a graphic novel that works with that music and advance the plot of Hawk somewhat beyond the current arc. There’s also a golden-age themed comic book I am producing that relates to The Hawk of New York’s backstory called High Flying Adventures. It will be in the style of an old-school Action Comics. Stories are scripted but not yet drawn. I should also mention Hawk of New York comic strips have been reprinted in the brand new CSRA Sequential Art Anthology listed on my website www.timebound.co. Of course, I’m also releasing issue five of The Hawk of New York this year. Here’s why you should buy it: this issue marks the most number of real-life cameos I’ve ever featured before. Real people like Jessica Baryla (from the CW) show up and reappear as recurring characters. That’s exciting to me, but I’m also really excited to have Javier Saltares on as my guest cover artist. Javier of course is widely known for his work on Marvel Comics’ Ghost Rider series. Seeing his drawing of my character was a personal victory of a magnitude I’ve not felt before. It’s really mind-blowing to see one of your early influences lend their help like that and I couldn’t be happier with his work. He was great to work with and I enjoyed coloring his inks. As if this isn’t enough, issue five will be released with two different CDs, similar to the way I released issues one and two with a book and record set. I have a deal worked out with Electric Poem (a band that’s been in hibernation since the 1990s), and the currently touring band Jack the Radio. Both of these bands have song lyrics from their respective songs appearing in issue five and both have CDs that will be released with that comic. The best part? The price has11 not gone up and the presale link is already up on my website!

Things just got Spooky!

The Savannah Quill Presents:

Savannah Paranormal Minicon Hosted by Guyton Paranormal Society

Saturday Oct 7, 17 National Guard Armory $10 Bonus: 2 conventions for the price of 1 www.savannahquill.com

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As Idle as you want to be By Adam Messer A couple of months ago I picked up the book How to be Free by Tom Hodgkinson. What attracted me to the book was Tom’s photo showed him sitting playing the ukulele. As an amateur ukulele player, I was instantly curious, so I read the back cover and perused through the book. How to be Free discusses self-reliance, true happiness, growing your own vegetables and baking your own bread and much more. I fell in love with Hodgkinson’s humor, and pragmatism. His book inspired me to take a serious look at the daily technology and manufacturing crutch and do more for myself. Now I consider myself an Idler, and am pursuing happiness in my work. What started as a magazine in 1993 has grown into The Idler Academy. The academy is a successful magazine, book store, and events venue business, and online education system. Based in London, England, Hodgkinson and The Idler crew also offer online courses covering interesting subjects such as writing songs, writing poetry, learning to play the ukulele, learning Latin, philosophy and stoicism, Business for Bohemians, bee keeping and many more. The courses require a very reasonable subscription cost, but you have unlimited access to the courses, including downloadable curriculum, and video content.

Hodgkinson’s most recent book, Business for Bohemians, focuses on practical business application for bohemians, or creative free spirits. As of the time of this publication, I am currently reading the book and taking the online Idler Academy course. I earned my MBA in 2010 from The University of Phoenix, and the practical information from Business for Bohemians offers the nuts and bolts of starting and running a business. I am enjoying the common sense approach from Hodgkinson sharing his experiences and how he created a roadmap for other creatives to take their works and be able to make a living in business with it. Often the creative I meet make incredible pieces of work, but do not know how to bring it to market. They do not know how to start. Business for Bohemians is a great starting point. I reached out to Hodgkinson for an interview, and he graciously agreed. Hodgkinson discusses how people should reach out to others in their field in his new book Business for Bohemians. As the Savannah Quill is a brand new magazine, I was extremely excited he agreed to the participate in the interview and share his experiences with our readers. The following interview remains unedited and uncut. Enjoy fellow Idlers!

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As Idle as you want to be (cont) By Adam Messer

The Idler Academy Founder Tom Hodgkinson 1) Please talk about who you are and what you do with the Idler. What is an Idler, and how does one become an Idler?

My name is Tom Hodgkinson. I’m a journalist and in 1993 I started a magazine called The Idler. It’s about freedom, work and creativity. Our first cover star was Dr Johnson, the 18th century writer. He said, “every man is, or hopes to be, an idler.” Even busy people want to be idle at some point. So an idler is someone who aspires to autonomy in their everyday life. They seek fun and fulfilment and meaning - all three of which are sorely lacking in most jobs. So this is a magazine for those who refuse to accept what they are given - the mavericks.

“Our first cover star was Dr Johnson, the 18th century writer. He said, “every man is, or hopes to be, an idler.” Even busy people want to be idle at some point. So an idler is someone who aspires to autonomy in their everyday life. They seek fun and fulfilment and meaning - all three of which are sorely lacking in most jobs.” The Savannah Quill

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As Idle as you want to be (cont) My writing routine - when I was writing books full-time - was roughly this: write every morning from 9 till 1pm. And read books every evening from eight till eleven. That way I got through a lot of reading. We didn’t have a TV at that stage. My recommendation is to set yourself a certain number of words to write each day or week - my target was 3000 words a week - or one chapter of a book. That’s an average of 600 words a day - not too much I think! but you have to do it EVERY DAY (except weekends of course, and holidays). turn off your email programme and do not move from that chair until one o’clock! Tom Hodgkinson author signing

2) How has journalism and freelancing changed for you over the years? Journalism and freelancing has become very badly paid in recent years as a result of the proliferation of what is called “free content” on the Internet. When ad sales companies like Facebook get their content for free, older media companies wonder why they should pay for it. I get paid about 1/8 for a freelance article compared to 1990, taking inflation into account. And that’s from major newspapers and magazines. 3) What do you enjoy about the interview process with your subjects (and those you interview)? I always enjoy meeting people I admire - whether actor, writer, musician, artist or entrepreneur - and finding out about their ideas and their struggles. They inspire me, and I hope they inspire our readers too. 4) Please talk about one of your more interesting changes that the Idler has taken you through. Running an independent bookstore plus café and event space was very interesting - and not always in a good way. My wife and I spent five years running The Idler Academy bookshop but gave up she the rent rise got ridiculous. I had also underestimated what hard work it would be, and also what a financial struggle it would be.

5) Your books have an immense amount of research, followed with a list of further reading. What sort of preparation goes into your research process, and what do you recommend to someone who wants to follow a similar path in writing?

6) What do you pull from to continue persevering with your craft, and how do you continue to grow and learn? Right now I am concentrating on editing the magazine rather than writing books. We try to make each issue better than the last, and each issue I spend more time on the editing process. So that is how I continue to grow and learn - there is always room for improvement. “I always enjoy meeting people I admire - whether actor, writer, musician, artist or entrepreneur and finding out about their ideas and their struggles. They inspire me, and I hope they inspire our readers too.” 7) What are the three most asked questions you get? What do you answer? Questions: a) You say you are an idler but you seem to work very hard! b) What’s it like, working with your wife? c) Do you want to keep the idler small or grow it? Answers… a) Yes - people have been saying that to me for 23 years! I do what I enjoy and I enjoy producing books and magazines. Though running a shop - that really was too much like hard work. I am very happy doing a nine to five now and editing the magazine, selling subscriptions and developing our online course programme. b) it has been hellish but it’s ok now. She is not good for my ego but she is good for the business. c) We are ambitious for the brand and we want to grow it. Over the next three years we are going to focus on getting our subscriber levels up. Then we plan to take the brand into new areas. The Savannah Quill

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As Idle as you want to be (cont) 8) What words of encouragement do you offer to new writers? What are some obstacles or pitfalls that they should avoid? Most new writers overwrite. They use the personal pronoun too much. They have too many views and not enough facts. And you can’t understand what they are going on about. I tell them to read George Orwell - keep it simple. 9) How often do you play your Ukulele? What kind do you have by the way? I own a Kala concert ukulele, and am learning to play. I aim to play about an hour a day but it does not always happen. I have a Kala as well. Right now | am enjoying learning the songs from Baroque Ukulele by Tony Mizen. More satisfying than pop songs.

Victoria Hull & Tom Hodgkinson at Alan Watts event

10) Do you have anything you would like to add to the article?’ Check out our website and join the revolution. For more information: http://idler.co.uk We would love to hear your feedback. Did you check out The Idler Academy? Take any courses? Are you an Idler now too? Please share your feedback with us on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/thesavannahquill Gill, Hodge, and Mitch

The Idler Academy

Gavin Pretor-Pinney and Tom Hodgkinson playing ukuleles The Savannah Quill

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The Writer’s Lifestyle Bruce Gehweiler When appearing as a guest at a convention or a writer’s conference, one of the best questions I get asked is, “What is it like to live the writer’s lifestyle?” There are huge advantages to being an author. You can write your book from anywhere in the world. That can be a mountain cabin with a spectacular view of the sunrise, or on a houseboat floating on your favorite lake. Your laptop works just fine from a beach chair as you listen to the waves roll in to kiss the sandy shoreline. Poolside lounge chairs seem to work well and you get to take nice breaks in the refreshing water to cool off. Writing on a cruise ship is nice and you never run out of ice cream. Spending hours in a camping chair listening to insects humming and birds singing along with the words in your head as they spill out onto the pages of a journal is also a nice option. As a writer, if you want a raise, all you do is write another book. Once the book project is done, you can keep earning book royalties for as long as the book is in print or available as an e-book and/or audio book. In the financial world, that is known as residual income. I have also heard this smart way of making money referred to as passive income. The opposite is active income, where you must rise to an alarm clock and march off to exchange your time for a wage. Residual income is definitely the better type of income to pursue with your limited time. Even if you are a part-time writer, a book can enhance your career and reputation. Our society still holds authors in high esteem.

Indeed, becoming an author puts you in a very elite group of people. According to Writers Digest in 2017, out of a population around 340 million in the USA, only around 1 million are authors, with the majority being part-time writers, not full-time writers. Active writers producing at least one book a year, slims the numbers down even more to about 250,000. Writing can open an outlet for your creativity and knowledge. Influencing others in a positive way can be extremely satisfying and important. The power of a single idea can change the world. Writing can be a way of touching another person’s soul and in my opinion is our highest expression of art. A book invites the reader to view the world through another person’s eyes—your eyes. Personally, I learned the craft of writing because it makes me happy and fulfilled. The rest is just icing on the cake. Many people say they want to pursue writing a book at some point in their lives. The publishing industry is tricky to navigate and there are many pitfalls for would be authors. Working with a writing and publishing coach can save you years of frustrated effort and heartaches. The greatest things I have achieved in my life, were learned from a coach or mentor I hired to teach me a specific skill. If I had realized that as a teenager, I would have skipped going to college and hired a coach instead. No joke. The only regret I hear from my fellow authors is they wish they had started writing seriously much earlier in life.

Even if you are a part-time writer, a book can enhance your career and reputation. Our society still holds authors in high esteem.

Bruce Gehweiler is a prize-winning author, speaker and writing coach. He is a former award-winning book publisher and book packager and was the publishing coach for the bestselling children’s book The Elf on the Shelf, and many more. To set a free phone appoint consultation, email him at [email protected] to jumpstart your writing career today!

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Talking TEDxSavannah By J’miah Nabawi TED Talks are still fairly new to me, having only learned about them a year and a half ago. I first learned about TED Talks and the various independently produced TEDx talks searching for something on Google; I had evidently used a search word that was a tag for Apple computers. Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Computers, came up on screen. The iconic big read letters, TEDx were in the background with Berkeley beside. Not what I was looking for but thought I’d listen in, anyway. Enjoyed it! I had initially thought that these were videos produced by a company named TEDx for corporate speakers and their corporate audiences that included university students and with similar interests and career paths. Still on YouTube, I noticed that there were other TEDx videos all filed under each other on the right of the screen and scanned through them. Watched a couple of more and then moved on. That was back in 2015. I had become a fan. I still am! Earlier this year (2017) while preparing to be a guest for a local television show, I ran into two friends who were also there to do a segment. After our initial greetings of hugs and all, I was asked if I were applying to be a speaker for TEDxSavannah 2017. I said no, hadn’t thought about it. “Well the theme is ‘BRIDGE’. Storytelling has a lot to do with bridging communities, people, cultures, etc.” was the essence of their encouragement. You need to apply! Check out TEDxSavannah.com. I thought about it, went to TEdxSavannah.com, read the info and what it all entailed and needed to make the deadline. The more I read about it the theme, BRIDGE, I started reflecting on the various stories I tell and what I thought the audience should get from the presentation. I wanted more than the time allowed! I applied. Shortly thereafter, got a favorable reply. “Whaaaat?!” I said to myself with surprise. Learning more about the application process, the speakers, who should apply, I learned how TED Talks aren’t just for the corporate world but FOR the world, a place to come share in the knowledge of “something the presenter feels is worth sharing.” Awesome! I felt honored. I am honored!

Photo Credit: Youtube TEDx Talks “A script? I need to write a script?!” I thought (said to myself). Well, that’s what’s suggested and a guideline to keep you on course and within the structured time limit chosen. In all the thirty years of me telling tales and presenting in the various venues of public and private functions, Key Note speaking as well, I had never written a script for myself. I may have made some notes. Not a script. I did for this one and got see what I do professionally from so many different angles. WOW! “The Script.” Nice! Scripts aren’t new t me. They’re for learning parts and delivering information outside of what I just do so easily and spontaneously. That “Script” worked! Okay, some spontaneity here and there. I had developed a new tool, something new to use within my craft. Thank you, TED! To have been fortunate to have met the other speakers for this TEDxSavannah 2017 presentation at the Jepson Center for the Arts in Savannah, GA, made it even more special and a such a profound experience in the spirit of humanness and the commonality of what we all share in, our humanity—no matter where we come from and that whole thing about demographics, race, economics, national origins, social stats, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Thank YOU, TEDxSavannah! I’ll leave it to you now, readers, if you aren’t aware of TED Talks and their TEDx off-springs, look them up. The letters TED may even surprise you! You can watch J’miah Nabawi’s complete TEDxSavannah here: http://jmiahnabawi.com/?p=1551

The Savannah Quill

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Avoiding the Pitfalls of Publishing By Bruce Gehweiler Writing is a call to greatness and should never be an act of mediocrity. Impatience has been the downfall of many potentially excellent writers. To avoid common mistakes and pitfalls new writers stumble into can be accomplished by learning a few simple things. 1. Invest the time and work necessary to master the craft of writing. 2. Stop making excuses, sit down and write at least one hour a day, six days a week. 3. Build up to at least 500 words written every hour, which will add up to 3,000 words per week. A book for a new writer should be between 60,000 and 100,000 words. Printing a book is a per page cost and a new writer has a better chance of getting a shorter book published than a 250,000 word monster. 4. Understand that you can always improve, but you must strike a balance between productivity that hits deadlines and perfectionism that never gets published. 5. Be humble and always ask for the help of a beta reader or an editor to create the final draft. 6. Read the publisher guidelines carefully and follow instructions. (Ready) 7. It is okay to submit your manuscript to multiple literary agents, but it is not okay to submit to multiple publishers at one time. (Aim) 8. Mail out a personalized inquiry letter to a specific well researched and appropriate literary agent, editor, or publisher. Include a summary and the manuscript with a self-addressed stamped envelope for it to be returned to you. (Fire!)

9. Your goal is to find a publishing house that fits your style of writing and that can work with you to sharpen your writing skills even more. 10. Do not work with a vanity press or a co-publisher that charges you a fee—that is not real publishing. 11. If you must self-publish, create an e-book through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing to gage the interest in the book and get real reader feedback. 12. Learn how to market an e-book online by creating an online platform and sell at least one thousand copies before you even think about a print edition. Writing a book should not be about your ego. It should be about reaching an audience with a message to help them change their lives for the better, or providing quality entertainment that takes them to a new place in their mind’s eye. Bruce Gehweiler is a prize-winning author, speaker and writing coach. He is a former award-winning publisher and book packager and was the publishing coach for the bestselling children’s book, The Elf on the Shelf and many more. To set a free phone appointment consultation, email him at [email protected] to jumpstart your writing career.

The Savannah Quill

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Haunted House Coming Soon

Follow on FB and Instagram Sign up for email blast and Haunters Needed! https://www.facebook.com/Wickedsouthproductions https://www.instagram.com/wickedsouthproductions

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Angelboy creator N.M. Beguesse

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Angelboy creator

N.M. Beguesse

By Adam Messer

Please talk about your creative work and projects. Angelboy is the indie manga that I made all by myself. I am the sole author, artist and publisher. I work on it a little bit every day after my day job. I published Volume 1 three years ago and Volume 2 got finished last year. What inspired you to develop Angelboy and publish it? I first came across manga in college, and I fell in love with it instantly. I truly think graphic novels are the most impressive medium out there, and there is so much potential that is hidden. In short, with Angelboy I wanted to create a manga that I would LOVE to read in the format I enjoy most. So I stuffed it full of all the things I like most... Action, mystery, cute boys, that sort of thing. Please talk about some of the pitfalls you encountered and how did you get over them? I think my greatest enemy is time and procrastination. As an author, you really have to push yourself to write every day and set internal goals. Otherwise, you’ll lose a day here and lose a day there, and next thing you know, a month has passed by. So I get very irritated about all the time I’ve lost in the past and how much more I could have theoretically written. I use those feelings to motivate myself and write as much as I can, even if I don’t particularly feel like it. Please talk about storyboarding. What is your process for creating a scene and transitioning from one scene to the next. Manga has a flow that is somewhat different than US comic books, which tend to have a whole lot of text. I try to tell the story primarily with images. The narration and dialogue are of secondary importance. I assume the reader will only spend about 3 seconds one a page. So when I’m planning it, I try to stick to conveying one basic idea per page. As for the actual storyboards, I’ll just scribble and try to capture the energy of the moment. What is something you really love that is going on in the comic book industry right now? The most incredible thing about comics, anime and manga is the fandom. I love attending comic conventions and seeing all the cosplay. People are making some incredible achievements in the realm of cosplay. I’m thankful for comic-book conventions

because they are where I get most of my sales from. I haven’t had a lot of success selling my work online. My work is not the type of thing that you can share instantly, but it’s something you really have to slow down and engage with. At comic conventions, I can talk with people and really slow them down I can so they have a chance to experience my work before they buy it. What do you say to the budding writer, illustrator, or all-in-one indie who has a comic idea, but does not know where or how to get started? Just start. Seriously, if there are words or images in your head, then grab a pen and get them out any way you can. Your best work happens in the stage when you’re most excited about it. I would recommend you begin storytelling

even if it’s just a fanfic. That’s how a lot or writers and dreamers get their start. Talk about some of your collaborations on your work. Who and what, and how did they come about? I can’t color pictures to save my life. So I collaborated with an artist I met online to make the front covers. It’s the first time I had to communicate my visual ideas to someone else, and I actually find that aspect very difficult. Maybe I should simply learn how to color…. What makes the difference between a project being successfully completed and one that sits on the shelf? You mean a project that is completed vs. one that isn’t? I think the thing that makes the difference is page count. The more excited and motivated I am about the story, the more I write and the more pages I create. If I happen to write as many pages as there are in the story, then hey, it’s done. In other words, it’s all about the process. If you love the work, and love the process, it’ll get done eventually. What piece of advice do you wish you could go back in time and give yourself when you first started? I’m not sure, since I feel that overcoming the stumbling blocks is part of what made me into the person I am today. As a self-published author, I’ve tried just about every marketing trick that’s out there. I took a serious stab at all of them. But of course, some of the techniques work better with certain genres than with others. So some of them didn’t work for me, but now at least I have proof of what works and what doesn’t for the types of stories I’m writing. That experience is invaluable. What is next with Angelboy (and/or other projects)? I’m hard at work on Volume 3. I’m not sure if anyone will buy the book—it’s pretty difficult to market the third volume of a series. But I’m just going to go with the flow and I trust it will sell when I’m finished. I didn’t have a real marketing plan with Volume 2 and it sells a lot. So I’ll just make the best book I can and see what happens.

www.angelboy.com

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Don’t Cut Your Own Hair (and Don’t Edit Your Own Work) By Winfield Strock III Don’t Cut Your Own Hair (and Don’t Edit Your Own Work) Everybody knows somebody who’s tried, right? They cut their own hair in the mirror. In my navy days I once had to have a haircut in the middle of the night before we pulled into our home port. I hadn’t seen my wife and son in ages, so I got to it. Everything’s fine… until someone else sees it from their own perspective, the perspective everyone else will see it. That’s when the laughs begin. Same with writing only worse. It’s not just your friends, it’s the world. A writer asked me to review his book on poetry. I agreed. One poem into it and already I had the beginnings of a laughable joke. The poem, devoted to evil, spoke of Satin, a fallen angle, cast into the bowls of the earth. As bad as that was and as much as we all imagine we’d never write anything so horrid I managed to mistake clamor for clamber, spell form when I meant from, and the hits just keep on coming. Those are the easy ones to pick out. The tougher, ninja-like failures come from the mirage your mind works. You have a story idea in your head and chose to share in in writing. Once done you read your work and throw a party. It’s done. Fame and fortune await. The only problem is, those reading your work don’t have your brain, the one that it filled in all the missing pieces and painted all the pictures in your head while you wrote. It fills them in again as you read your draft. The only way to truly discern what’s really on the page and whether or not it makes sense is to share it with someone you trust. Now you wouldn’t trust your hair to just anybody and you don’t take fashion tips from your parents. Similarly, you need people to read it that understand the value of a second (or more) opinion. I sometimes share my stuff in two different groups. If two groups that don’t know each other from Adam offer the same critique, that’s a thing definitely worth fixing. Now all you have to do is develop a thick skin for the comments, learn to discern which improve your story rather than simply change it to their preference, and brace for the rewrite phase.

Winfield Strock III is a published Steampunk novelist. After a successful 23 years as a navy submariner I struggled for a new career and identity. A massive brain tumor taught me the importance of love, faith and hope. With my bride of twenty-five years beside me, I plunge headlong into my second love, writing. https://www.amazon.com/Winfield-H.-Strock-III/e/B005I6WYSM 23

Understanding writing and publishing By Timothy Morris

There comes a point in the life of most writers where they sit back, take a look at a big stack of paper they refer to as their manuscript and decide they are proud of what they’ve written. They are so proud of it that they send it to a complete stranger to point out everything wrong with it that their pride won’t let them see. Once they’ve mopped up those tears (and made a few key changes) they look at their work again and this time, this time they know beyond any doubt that their manuscript has reached the coveted stage of “finished.” While there are many options available for taking the next steps to make a finished work available to the masses, this article is going to assume it is the author’s choice to pursue the traditional publishing route and go through a publisher. The first step is going to seem basic, but it’s typically the stuff that seems the most basic that is rushed through and done

rushed through and done incorrectly. The first step is to identify your core genre. The first place to start when identifying the genre of a book requires absolutely no research on the part of the author. Is it fiction or nonfiction? Each of these rabbit holes are full of twists and turns that can be difficult to navigate so rather than run through a long list of what qualifies a book to be in which genre, the question an author needs to ask him or herself is what book do they feel is the closest thing to their work. Sometimes, a writer will instantly know the answer while others the answer is more elusive. Once the identification is made, however, the manuscript’s genre can be identified by looking up the genre of the book to which it has the most in common. Now that the genre is identified, a writer can begin searching for publishers who work in that genre. While many authors

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Understanding writing and publishing (cont.) By Timothy Morris

dream of being published by a powerhouse in the publishing industry, and there is certainly success to be found there, many choose to accept contracts by a small press publisher (also referred to as an independent or indie publisher). It is commonly accepted that a new author with no sales under his or her name will have a better chance at a contract with a small press than with a large publisher, but a small press is not always the best choice. While an entire article on the pros and cons of various publishing methods could be written (and there are plenty across the internet for those who care to search), there is one test that every author should do before submitting their work to a potential publisher. The test begins by walking into a bookstore, going to the section where your genre is kept, and looking for a book by that publisher. If the publisher is represented, then the publisher has been able to successfully get at least one title into distribution in chain bookstores. That’s a good sign that they can do the same for the next author with whom they decide to work. If the publisher is not represented in the bookstore, the next step is to seek a reason from the customer service agent at that location. More often than not, it’s a simple matter of demand. Bookstores, especially large, chain bookstores, order based on a mix of demand and author popularity. A store manager has very little worry as to whether or not the next book by JK Rowling or Stephen King is going to sell. Those names are tried and true; they get in. The warning sign authors should look out for is a book from a publisher that can be ordered, but cannot be stocked. Typically, a bookstore will not stock a book that is either priced out of market range or that is not returnable if it doesn’t sell. If an author is told that a book cannot be stocked for either of those reasons, then it is a 25

Understanding writing and publishing (cont.) By Timothy Morris

wise idea for the author to look for a different publisher. If, on the other hand, a bookstore says that books from that publisher are not stocked due to lack of demand, it could be something as simple as that particular store doesn’t sell a lot in the particular genre being investigated. Once an author has found a publisher that works in their genre and is either stocked or able to be stocked in a local bookstore, it’s time to investigate the query and/or submission guidelines for that publisher. This is where a good submission starts and it cannot be stressed enough that the best submission is one that perfectly adheres to the submission guidelines given by the publisher. A great practice is to compare a submission to the guidelines after it is written. Try to find places where the guidelines

are not met. It’s easy for an author to think the story he or she has written is unique and as such their query needs to have more or less than what is asked for. This is a train of thought that leads to a lack of a reply. Why? For most publishers, especially small press, query guidelines are the first sampling of how difficult it will be to work with an author. If an author cannot submit a query within a set amount of guidelines it is perceived as doubtful the author will be responsive to editing suggestions when, and if, the book makes it to that stage of the process. Adhering to a publisher’s submission guidelines sends a message that their time is respected and the author is capable of following instructions.

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Understanding writing and publishing (cont.) By Timothy Morris

To use a few real-life examples of this, TNM Publishing, LLC, a small-press publisher based out of Norcross, Georgia, has a very simple set of submission guidelines depending on what you want to submit. For a standard author contract, they ask for a 1,000 word summary of the story as a PDF attachment. They also request that, in the body of the email containing the submission, the writer talk a little about himself or herself and what they expect out of a publishing company. Submissions that are sent either not in PDF format or are clearly far from the 1,000 word limit (either over or under) are ignored. It’s easy to think, “but I can’t tell my whole plot in 1,000 words!” but that’s not what a submission is designed to do. A submission to a publisher is designed to get

them curious enough about the work to want to read the entire thing. TOR on the other hand, only accepts submissions for a relatively small period of time each year and while they are one of the biggest names in fantasy publishing, their most recent request for submissions was for novellas only. At the time of this article, the guidelines were still on the TOR submissions page. They laid out a very specific stipulation that they were only seeking fantasy not modeled after European cultures. This means that no matter how good a viking-based fantasy novel may be, it’s going to get a rejection letter. Baen, another monolith in science fiction and fantasy 27 publishing,

Understanding writing and publishing (cont.) By Timothy Morris

lists on their submission guidelines that they do not want an initial query letter, but rather prefer to receive a synopsis along with the complete manuscript. There are numerous additional guidelines requested by Baen on their submissions page as well. As can be seen by these examples, there is no “one size fits all” way to format a query letter or submission package to a publisher. Each publisher has acquisition editors that prefer things in a way that best suits them and how they like to work; so each submission or query letter must be unique and customized for the publisher receiving it. While there isn’t a single file an author can keep to send to every publisher, there is a simple checklist that can be gone over before hitting send on the email, submit on the form, or putting the envelope in the mail. ● Does the submission being sent match, verbatim, the guidelines provided by the potential publisher? ● Is the finished manuscript in a genre or style the publisher has stated they are looking for? ● Has the query or submission been thoroughly edited? ● Does the query focus on selling the book or selling the author? If it’s not the book, rewrite it. The submission process is often viewed as the scariest part of pursuing a writing career. It’s the very first step in a writer taking something they’ve put all of their love, skill, time, and hope into and asking someone else to help it grow. It’s terrifying, but the feeling of holding a first run printed copy of a book they wrote in their hands is enough for most would-be professional authors to face the fear and endure the process. http://tnmpublishing.com

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Rough Draft = Sowing Seeds By Winfield Strock III Rough Drafts, fertile ground for the finished work to grow or nightmare of the recurring blank page? The argument in my head goes something like this. I’ve got an awesome story idea but where do I start? I write a few sentences and stop. No, no, no. That’s not right. I delete what I wrote and stare at the blank page. New ideas bubble up and I write a whole page… before I delete it too. How can I start it right? How can I just write the good stuff?

those that resonated with the undiscovered story sprung up and claimed their place within.

And so it goes. The page populates and then I scrap it. Nobody wants to write crap. But that’s just it. You don’t know what’ll flourish unless you plant all the seeds from your head.

The undiscovered story, that’s what I call the story that pops into your head as a simple concept at first. Like finding a fossil, a piece of a ship or a building. You hope to uncover a whole building, a city maybe. It took a lot of digging to uncover Pompeii and it’ll take a lot of unsatisfactory crap to reveal the treasure you seek. If you can’t stand the stink of a first draft, don’t write. You’ll either fall in love with everything you write or you’ll hate yourself for wasting the time.

The Parable of the Seeds came to mind as I edited a recent short story in my head. The story included meaningless characters and dead end scenes. Also, the beginning and end don’t even make sense anymore. But I had to start somewhere. First the concept. Easy. So I wrote everything as it occurred to me. Create, create, and create. The characters? I knew they were friends (but not best friends, my imagination added). They were drawn together for a common purpose (because one lacked and expertise the other had). The differences added dimension and brought tension to their dialogue. I let my characters choose their actions as the scene unfolded. Little seeds sprouted up and connected, one to another, like ivy. That growth defined. Some characters lacked any meaningful path beyond the beginning. But

But if you persist and forge patience from failure you’ll finish something. Remember, it’s a first draft though. Next time we trim the weeds, spruce up the best parts, and tie it all together in editing. Winfield Strock III is a published Steampunk novelist. After a successful 23 years as a navy submariner I struggled for a new career and identity. A massive brain tumor taught me the importance of love, faith and hope. With my bride of twenty-five years beside me, I plunge headlong into my second love, writing. 29 https://www.amazon.com/Winfield-H.-Strock-III/e/B005I6WY SM

Lance Footer: Artist beyond vision

Lance Footer displaying custom sketch. (Photo by Adam Messer)

By Adam Messer Lance Footer knows no boundaries when it comes to his art and passion for cycling. Spending upwards of eight to 10 hours a day on practicing his craft, one would think that is normal for a professional. The major difference with Footer’s work is that he is legally blind and uses optometric devices. The Savannah Quill

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Footer’s technique involves using a 6x magnifying lens to painstakingly draw every inch of his subject and then he transfers the document to his computer, where he blows up the image to continue the process until the artwork is completed. What is different for Footer is that he uses the (continued on page 20)

Lance Footer: Artist beyond vision (cont) the technology to compensate for his visual loss. “I’ve always been drawing since I could hold a pencil,” said Footer. He held a job at a newspaper in the 1990s, and with the work, he said it left a bad taste in his mouth so he stopped drawing until a few years ago. He began cycling and started drawing again as a break from the training involved Footer, who is a National Champion Cyclist, won the 2014 National Champion Track Men's Tandem Pursuit, 2014 National Champion Road Race & 2013 National Champion Track Men's Tandem Pursuit. Winning the National Championships for road racing and track cycling means Footer is the fastest blind athlete in the United States. Now Footer uses cycling as relief from the intense amount of daily drawing. “When I go out, there is the fresh air, the road and nature,” he said, “that is what I like to do, I have to get that escape.” Footer added that his focus with cycling helps him to relieve stress. “With cycling, the is so much focus. You have to focus on your breathing, the pedaling,” he said “and me even more on traffic. It brings me back to focus. You can sit here all day drawing, and sometimes get lost drawing and the bike helps me get back to focus to see things in a different perspective.” Footer said he recognizes when his work is starting to get sloppy when “it is no longer fun when you are creating and making something that you don’t want to. When it is no longer fun, then you have to step away from it.” Footer added the bike is everything for him. Cycling helps him improve his artwork by giving him the outlet he needs to focus.

Footer sketching at Savannah Mega Comic Con (2017)

“Drawing helps me get back to focus, to see things in a different perspective.”

Perfect Practice becomes perfect “You can draw an ugly face as long as you get the eyes right,” said Footer. By spending eight to ten hours a day on his artwork and illustrations, Footer continually strives to improve. It’s in (continued on page 21) The Savannah Quill

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Lance Footer: Artist beyond vision (cont) his DNA. “What excites me is the growth. Having people acknowledge that I am growing, and say “Hey, I never knew that you drew, or that you ride a bike,” he shared. “Or someone who asks “How do you draw when you have a vision problem?” he added. He said they will usually say “Now I don’t have an excuse to not do my art.” Footer replies “You don’t have an excuse, and you should be doing your art.” He said we can all fall into the everyday grind.” “I had a guy tell me that he and his wife both have had bikes for over four years and never used them,” he said. “I told the guy to get on the bike and go out riding.” Footer has only been back drawing for the last couple of years. “I enjoy the exposure, and people asking me what is next. I enjoy the growth.” Footer and his wife travel to different conventions, but he has also picked up a following for his cover art work with Zenescope Comics, commissions, prints, and a newer development creating pin-up work.

Talking art at Savannah Mega Comic Con (2017)

Breaking into the pinup world is Footer’s passion. His work was recently featured in Poisonous Pinups where Footer drew covergirl Heather Valentine for the May/June 2017 #12 issue. Footer said there will be more pinup illustrations coming soon.

Where you can find Lance Footer Online:

Always one to help others, Footer said he loves encouraging others to continue moving forward. With the obstacles he has overcome, he sets a great example for other creators to push forward and continue learning.

Poisonous Pinups

https://www.facebook.com/theartoflancefooter/ https://www.instagram.com/lancefooter/

https://www.instagram.com/poisonouspinups/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BVFbN2mF-3i/

“I love the growth.” 32 The Savannah Quill

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Setting goals: Interview with Author Bobby Nash By Adam Messer Bobby Nash is a published author who specializes in murder, mayhem, thrills and suspense. As a working author, he puts time and dedication into his craft, and luckily for us, he is always willing to share how he does it with a warm answer and familiar smile. Nash spends his days writing. He starts his day just like everyone else, and then gets to work. “I try to write as much as I can. I have a white board above my desk in my office of open projects and deadlines and I have an Excel spreadsheet to track all of it.” I know what I need each day to make sure I meet those deadlines, said Nash. Nash said it is not that you cannot write, it is you may not want to write at that time. “It is not that I don’t know what to write, or how to write, or that I don’t have an idea, that is never a problem. The problem is that I would rather do anything but sit in the chair and write. So I have to get myself over that, like any other job.” “I love what I do,” he added. “I love to write. It is a job, and like any other job, there are days when you just don’t want to work.” The other question people ask him is where to get ideas from. “There is no one place ideas come from, they just come to me. You could see something on the news and wonder what caused that. You could hear part of a conversation as you are walking somewhere, or you are driving along and an idea just hits you.” Nash said deadlines are important. “You want to make sure you are not late for anything.” Over Scheduling projects can cause conflicts. “If I over schedule myself, then I have to do a lot of extra work to make sure I hit the deadlines.” Nash works a normal schedule and enjoys leisure time in the evenings, but when he has extra work, he said he will work during the day, take a short break for dinner, and then get back to writing. Professional writers take writing seriously and set goals and deadlines to improve their writing and finish projects. “You know what you need to do to accomplish your day,” said Nash. “I know that I need to write 800 words today, and that is what I am for. If I don’t make it because of things like having to go to an appointment, then I try to make it up the next day.” One of the more frequent questions new writers ask Nash is about how to deal with writer’s block. “I get that question all of the time,” said Nash. “What do you do if you get writer’s block? That is a question that a lot of people ask me.” “I don’t really believe in writer’s block.”

Nash said it is not that you cannot write, it is you may not want to write at that time. “It is not that I don’t know what to write, or how to write, or that I don’t have an idea, that is never a problem. The problem is that I would rather do anything but sit in the chair and write. So I have to get myself over that, like any other job.” “I love what I do,” he added. “I love to write. It is a job, and like any other job, there are days when you just don’t want to work.” The other question people ask him is where to get ideas from. “There is no one place ideas come from, they just come to me. You could see something on the news and wonder what caused that. You could hear part of a conversation as you are walking somewhere, or you are driving along and an idea just hits you.”

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Setting goals: Interview with Author Bobby Nash (cont.) By Adam Messer Another aspect about a writer’s life includes the behind the scenes work, or as Nash calls it writing related work. “A lot of people don’t know what I do. They know that I write, but they don’t know what else I do. The writing related work includes things like interviews, blog posts, social media, and press releases. If you are a self-publisher, that includes formatting books, and creating covers. If you get feedback from a publisher, then you have to stop a project and take care of it because there is such a quick turnaround on it where they need things tomorrow or two days.” “You have to learn to juggle, especially if you are working a lot of for multiple publishers,” he said. “It never fails that you will get things back at the same time from multiple publishers. It always works out that way.” Nash said when it was a hobby he could write when he wanted and how he wanted. “When it became my job, I had to juggle more working with a publisher.” Often Nash jumps from one project into another depending on the publisher’s needs and deadlines in order to accomplish his task. “I found it helps me being able to jump back and forth between the projects.” Nash said after he starts the projects, he is able to refocus from one to another as needed. “I keep notes about the projects, which helps a lot. Sometimes that is the big thing, just like in real life; I am bad with character’s names. Just like real life, I meet people all of the time at conventions, and I know who they are, I remember our conversation, but I can’t remember their name.” Keeping notes helps with his writing process. He stated that everyone works differently as well. “I am not a big outliner, I have a plot, but if I write out an entire outline for everything, then it becomes harder for me to write the actual story because I feel like I have already done it. So it loses some of the spontaneity for me.” “What I do is focus on the plot. I am not sure what I am doing, but I know where I am going. I came up with what I call Sign Posts, or plot points. I know this has to happen, that has to happen, and the other has to happen to get from one Sign Post to the next. I write from one to the next.” “I know where my starting point is, and where my first big plot point is, so I start writing to get there. And from there I go to the next one. That is the way it works for me, I know where I am going. Sometimes it will allow characters to develop differently, since it is not a detailed plot, from that.” “Once you get to know your characters, and know them well, like a real person, and once they are fully formed, you will say to them “I need you to walk through this door,” and the character will reply “I’m not that stupid.” “Sometimes it is frustrating, but you get better storytelling because your character has become this fully realized character. It your story reads better because the reader will say “Well, this character, because

we have all seen it, if you have ever watched TV or a movie, or read a book where the main character has to do something stupid and it happens because you probably had to make them fit into the plot you wanted them to fit into.” “As an audience member, as a reader, watcher or whatever, you recognize the character is doing something they should not be doing. Not that people do things they shouldn’t, when they are doing it on purpose. Sometimes people put characters to fit the plot. I prefer to adjust the plot to fit the characters.” Not only is Nash a working author, he also stresses the importance of promoting your work. “As a writer, there are other parts of my job that is outside of the writing work. You have to be able to promote your work.” There are a lot of people who do not promote their work, said Nash. “I see it, and I work on anthologies from time to time, and there are 10 to 20 writers in a book, and only three of them are out there actively promoting the book. I have learned that some people say they do not know how to promote. Then there are other people who are there who are shy or terrified to talk about their own thing.” “I can write the best novel in the world, but if nobody reads it, and especially right now, with independent publishers, individuals, small press, big press, etc, etc. people are buying most of their books through Amazon. There you are a tiny little 1 inch by 2 inch square, and you’re a drop in a sea of books. How do 34 you make yourself stand out?”

“I got this great piece of advice about promotion. The reason you have to promote is because who cares more about your book than you do? “Once you work for publishers, you learn very quickly that yeah, a publisher will announce your book, with a brief announcement when it goes into the distribution catalogue, if the company does it, to be able to preorder it. When I have a new comic book coming out, I will let people know to go to their local comic shop so they can preorder it.” When the book comes out, the publisher will do an announcement or press release, said Nash. “There is usually something from the publisher on the day the book comes out, and that is it. They are working on what is coming out next.” “Books today can have a short shelf life. Books are printed, books come out, and when they sell through, the books are gone.” “Bigger companies do a print run, and then once that is sold through, they go to print on demand. With smaller publishers, they go straight to print on demand. So 10, 20, or 30 years down the road the book is still on sale. I still have to promote my work from 10 years ago, because people still buy it. You have to still promote your work, without putting people off.” “Your social media can’t be “Buy my book, buy my book, buy my book” posts, because nobody pays attention to that. I don’t pay attention to that. If I annoy people, that is what they will do. You have to be able to promote your work without hitting someone over the head with your book. That is when creativity comes into play.” Nash’s approach covers a wide variety of topics. “I talk about the writing process. I share that I am working on a book. Sometimes that means people will get invested in the book while I am working on it, so when it comes out they say “Ooh, this is the book he has been talking about.” “It is promoting without selling,” he said, “without actively selling” “Somehow through a miracle or divine providence, I am able to do this. In all seriousness, it boils down to I love what I do. I jokingly tell people that I have a love-hate relationship with being a writer, or that sometimes being a writer is being in an abusive relationship,” he said “it can break your heart. You pour your heart and soul into something, you send it off, and someone sends it back and what you read is “This is trash”, but what they really said is “This is not for us.” “You have to develop a thick skin, especially once you put stuff out there to read, and then you start getting reviews, sometimes the reviews are great. Other times people will review “I did not like it” and all you hear in your head is “you suck.” You have to take it that not everything is for everybody’s tastes, Nash said. “I have been fortunate that most of the reviews I’ve gotten have been positive.” Nash said everything comes back to setting goals. “Some people want to write a book and share it with their family and friends, and that is it. That is ok. They accomplished their goal. Not everyone wants to do this for a living. Some people like doing it for a hobby. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of that as long as you are doing it and know what your goal is. You aim for that goal, and there is nothing wrong with that.” In addition to Nash’s books, comic books, and interviews, he publishes a newsletter, participates in various podcasts, and has a series of how to questions and answers called “Sometimes I get asked stuff…” He has also been in film and TV shows, and attends various conventions as a guest panelist. All of the writer’s work that Nash does showcases how a working author needs to do in order to pursue his goals. www.bobbynash.com

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Being an INDIE artist p.1: INDIE-pendence Days By J.R. Mounts My name is J.R. Mounts and I’m an independent comics creator, writer and artist for my own self-published comics, characters, music etc, for series and titles such as ‘Fried Pickle Noir’, ‘Scairy Tales’ (yes, add an “i” to scary), ‘Stuck In My Head’, among others. Since 2010, I have published over 10 graphic novels over 100 pages long, over 26 individual issues, 4 cd soundtracks to comics related projects, card games, coloring books, Christmas ornaments, figurines, magnets, stickers, bat barrettes (yes, bat barrettes), buttons and even a full-fledged detective pickle costume. I say this not to brag but to show my level of commitment to my independent products and characters, which I will now refer to as my “indie” work. For a very long time, the only way for an artist to get comics related work was to be hired and published by a well-known, professional comics company such as Marvel, DC. There was always an underground movement to get out the odd, non-superhero series or title as seen from the likes of ‘American Splendor’ or anything by Harvey Crumb. The most popular movement to create new characters came from companies like Dark Horse, Image Comics with many more to follow. Today, there’s a vast supply and possibly an over-saturation of titles and characters yet to be discovered. My viewpoint will be from the front lines of the modern day Mom ‘n’ Pop business of comics. This article speaks of regular people trying to get their passions seen by the world; that they may at the very least live the dream of seeing ‘that one great idea’ go from their head and into print; and at best, make money doing what they love. This is what it means for me to be “indie”. The word “indie” once conveyed print-at-home products, stapled half sheets of paper of characters no one had ever heard of, at best. Generally, the quality of the work often times matched the quality of the publication; that being not very good. However, as technology and programs within the comics-creating field became better and more affordable, there began a shift in quality. Now, anyone can make themselves a comic book from any and every good or bad idea, story and art that pops into their head. What’s so good about that is that anyone wanting to scratch that itch and see something they’ve created be put on paper can get it done. All they must do is FINISH that idea to the point where they would want it printed. If they want more, it’s just wash, rinse and repeat. Should they want to take that idea further, there are a multitude of conventions that can help them get their idea out to their community, their state, their country, the world. The bad part about this is that it’s now become that much harder to be seen and even harder to make a financial success of your indie work. With few options to go around for every talented artist, and un-talented mind you, it becomes a mad dash to get as many good

opportunities as you can depending on what your goal is. Many times, we have to settle for anything we can get and adjust our tactics as we go. No matter what the circumstances are to which brought you read about my indie opinions and experiences, my goal is to entertain, educate, inspire and encourage thought about what it means to be indie today. By the way, ‘Indy’ is short for a city in Indianapolis and ‘indie’ is short for independent. Recognize the difference no matter what “others are doing”. That brings me to my biggest point: I don’t give two craps about what others are doing when it concerns my indie comics. My comics are MY voice. If everyone went with lenticular covers because everyone else is selling them, I couldn’t give a crap. I would just be like everyone else. The point of being indie is to bring something new to the eyes of the onlookers. New ideas, characters and discoveries. When you’re just like everyone else, you don’t stand out. I understand that there may be a formula or a ‘look’ you’d want to follow in order to have your comic accepted and I’m not going to criticize anyone’s passion for their idea. However, if you’re making your character have a cape and don’t know why, you’re not finding the truth of your character and should consider stepping back and discovering all you can about what you’re going to spend so much time on getting out there. Even my comics have to have something to be compared to and so I find the closest things I can to describe them that people know. ‘Fried Pickle Noir’ is my “Sin City meets Veggie Tales” series. ‘Scairy Tales’ is my “Calvin & Hobbes meets Nightmare Before X-mas” series, and so on. I know my characters intimately and don’t apologize for any aspect of what I do with them should they not fit into everyone’s comfort zone. My comics are what they are and will find the appropriate readership, or not, based on the quality and content and INTENT of what I’ve created. The key is that I absolutely and unequivocally LOVE what I do. I may not reap the rewards of the fan artists or big name celebrities of my field but there’s not a day I’m not happy with not only my successes but also my struggles. Putting my best foot forward for my passion makes me a better person. It makes the ups and downs of life easier to contend with because I always have something to look forward to. I love the challenge of improving upon my previous work and there’s not a better feeling in the world as an artist when someone else appreciates your efforts. It’s not about a million dollars. It’s about happiness. And I’m happy being indie. www.scairytalesnoir.com

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Doce Blant Publishing Marti Melville When did you decide to start writing and then go into publishing. My writing began in 2009 when two of my sons deployed. It made for long, sleepless nights that I spent online researching family names. I came across the story of a pirate (Capt. John Phillips - 1721-1724) and decided to write his story for my grandkids. An agent back east got hold of the initial manuscript and asked me to continue writing, “…the rest of the series.” I just kept writing and ended up with a series of four books. The interest to have a story for each of my grandchildren (I have ten) persisted, so I created the Grandma BallyHuHu series for children. It’s an adventure, make-believe series that encourages children to use their imagination with play.

Please discuss your love for pirates. How did that begin and how does it influence your writing and publishing. I have always been in love with 18th-century history. My fascination with pirates just happened…I don’t know when. I realize they are scavengers and criminals not to be romanticized as heroes (which is inadvertently what I did in my books), but the story of these men’s survival is compelling. Most pirates were family members who had set out to create a living for themselves and their loved ones back home. The circumstances in which they found themselves were horrific (naval ships, lumbar yards, fishing, etc. compelled these poor souls into a no-win situation). Many were abandoned, most never got paid for their work at sea, and almost all were tortured or starved. Piracy provided a democratic community that brought hope for food, livelihood, and a means to return back home. Unfortunately, the life of a pirate was short and dangerous.

The publishing opportunity came about after a series of very bad events with former publishers. Out of the ashes, so to speak, Doce Blant Publishing was born and has grown in just two years to be a well-respected, successful traditional publishing company.

As a small press publisher, what do you see as the future of publishing? That’s a great question! I’m concerned that publishing will eventually become a totally digital industry. The cost to print books is high, challenging small publishers, like Doce Blant Publishing. I also worry that the competitive push for dominance by online book retailers will drive local mom-pop book stores out of business. This is a cause that we have gotten behind — to support local book stores and the mom-pop community book stores. We want to see them stay strong under the threat of monopolization by large online book sellers. Our focus is on quality books and promotion of these small book stores as venues to get great books.

Please talk about the charitable works you do with your publishing company. I am a huge supporter of various charities: military causes, animal rescue, literacy for Americans, etc. This year, we have stood behind 3 Squares Inc. (a non-profit that fights hunger in Utah). 3 Squares Inc. teaching children (and their families) nutrition, basic cooking skills, and the value of garden-fresh vegetables when creating meals. Their goal is to teach these children how to support themselves nutritionally on little-to-no budget. We appreciate the efforts of 3 Squares Inc. and support them as we can. What are some common things new writers do that they could avoid? Rush to publish. This was one of my major mistakes. I did not take the time initially to make sure my first manuscript was edited properly and by a vetted professional. The second mistake was accepting the first publishing offer that came my way. When writers understand their own value, and place that value on their written work or creative project, they won’t settle. My advice: take the time to really research the publisher, make sure they have a solid verifiable history, and choose to wait until that “perfect fit” comes along if the publishing company doesn’t fit your needs (go with your gut on this one). I would also like to see other authors be more kind and supportive of one another. All of the stories haven’t been told — there is room for everyone in this industry.

I’m fascinated with the possibility of “what if” around the lives of some of these pirates. The Deja vu Chronicles is written with that question in mind.

Please discuss an accomplishment you made that you might have thought it would never happen. I never thought Doce Blant Publishing would be as successful as it’s been after just two years. We’ve overcome some real bumps in the road and created some amazing relationships with authors, the publishing team, and retailers. The loyalty from these people for our small publishing company is overwhelming. We couldn’t meet our standards of excellence without the professionals that stand behind Doce Blant Publishing. I am grateful every day for each of them. I am also appreciative of the bookstores that support Doce Blant Publishing. We work with so many amazing retailers and understand the challenges they face as a business. 39

Doce Blant Publishing Marti Melville (cont.) Do you have anything else you would like to feature in the article? Several times each year, Doce Blant Publishing hosts an annual Authors Con in various cities around the U.S. Our main locations are: Savannah, GA; Los Angeles, CA; and Seattle, WA. We hope readers in the four corners of the United States will join us at one of these Cons — meet the authors, join our causes, and party with us during that week. Information can be found on the Doce Blant Publishing website: www.doceblant.com and on our Authors Con social media pages. http://www.doceblant.com

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Thank you for reading! We hope you enjoyed the magazine. Please join us Facebook.com/thesavannahquill Instagram: savannahquill Twitter @savannahquill

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The Savannah Quill™ book convention hosts over 30 authors, guests, literary panels, and family friendly activities. Featured activities include fun for the entire family. •Author signings with a wide variety of genres to enjoy. Savannah Paranormal Mini-Con hosted by Guyton Paranormal Society with special guests, panels, and author signings. •Savannah Potterfest Trivia and Costume Contest. Dress up like your favorite Harry Potter character and play to win prizes. •The Savannah Quill is partnered with the Live Oak Public Libraries. A portion of the proceeds will be donated for literacy to the library. What: The Savannah Quill Book Convention When: Saturday October 7, 2017 Convention opens at 10 am to 6 pm, Savannah Potterfest trivia at 2 pm, Contest after the trivia. Where: Savannah National Guard Armory 1248 Eisenhower Dr, Savannah, GA 31406 Cost: $10. Children under 5 get in free. 44