You may remember that I only started this blog for one reason. It was because, according to ‘The Idiot’s Guide To Getting Published’, a successful blog can help convince publishers to publish your books. Because it means that people like what you write. And since I had no idea how to start a successful blog, I just began to do crazy stuff and share my whole life and all my art with you. And I realized that some day my descendants who get too much of my genetic material can go to the blog to find out why they are such freaks. And it all sort of spiraled out of control.
There is one inescapable fact about art and being all art-side-of-the-brain. There is only so much time in a day, and any time you spend blogging is time you can’t spend playing the guitar and singing or writing or drawing or painting or carving a tiki or whatever else.
So I am in sort of a dilemma… a pickle, if you would rather… because I do sometimes find myself spending a lot of time each day just doing silly things here to make you laugh. But the sad truth is I need to start making some money or I will have to get another crappy, low-paying job. I may need to turn this blog into a website and put advertising on it also, but we can worry about that later. For now, here are just a few of the things I should be focusing on, even though it will impact my blogging output…
1. I need to finish my few changes to book two of my science fiction novel series and send it to the editor so Jessica can help me publish it in time for Christmas.
2. I got the first copy of my children’s book back from the self-publisher. There were a couple of small smudges in the artwork that showed up when it was enlarged and I am working to fix those so I can have them send me another copy to review… once again thanks to Jessica… Hey, at least I didn’t put it up for sale before looking at it like I did with my first science fiction book.
3. I need to get an agent. I can’t go on like this. I have sold like 60 copies of my first book. Maybe a little more… Jessica still doesn’t think I am smart enough to be allowed access to that part of the printing process. I need this to big, be picked up by a real publisher who will advertise and market the books for me.
4. I am sending a lot of poems and short stories out there to blogs and websites. I have a short story being published in a compilation book about twisted fairy tales… which reminds me… I need to do a picture of three angry pigs in a heavy metal band to go with that project…
5. I would like to take that little illustrated story I shared with you about the wizard named Gad… sort of a play on the whole religion think, I must admit… and tidy it up and then see if I am actually smart enough to send a book to the self-publishers myself. I watched Jessica do it with the ‘I Like Monkey’s’ children’s book, and I am terrified, but if I could do it, then maybe she wont have to keep doing the sci-fi books because she is getting really sick of it.
Okay, I don’t need to list all the stuff I have to do. You get the idea. So when am I supposed to play guitar or sing or write or draw or paint or carve tikis or any of that other artistic stuff. And there is still all that real life stuff that has to get done.
And all of these things are hard for me because I can create art, but I can’t sell it, because the part of the brain that does anything useful is the part I don’t have access to.
Sorry for unloading on you.
I might be going just a little bit crazy.
Pouring My Art Out 
I have sold 14 haha.
I am not much above that number.
I am proud of you. I hope to follow in your footsteps…for real.
Good luck… I have huge feet…
@ Anonymous. Thank you for loving the pic.That alone makes you my most favorite Anonymous in the whole wide world. I will be redoing it in the near future just to shut up, er satisfy, we-know-whom with his keen artistic eye for color. I could just let him photoshop the skin tone but I’m just crazy, not stupid. That last remark got his fingers itching. I shall regret it ’til my dying day I am sure. I love your gravatar too. It has a certain uh,..symmetry; yeah that’s it, symmetry, to it and speaks of consistency and harmony. I love gray eyes.
Leaving your face to my imagination might be the most dangerous or perhaps even stupid thing you have ever done. I could stick that scalp on just about anything… want to star in some ‘what’s wrong with this picture’ posts???
As I said, “regret ’til my dying day.” Release the kraken. Forgive me Ray Harryhausen.
Are you daring me???
You asked for it, you got it… go look go look go look…
Easy now on the excitement. The wet spot on your pants is growing.
This is how rumors get started.
Hi Art, and all author/artist bloggers wanting to sell their Kindle e-books… Try this book “Crush It With Kindle.” It has a step-by-step way of publishing and promoting that worked brilliantly well for the author. http://www.amazon.com/Crush-It-With-Kindle-bestseller-ebook/dp/B00AQLFB2K
I will check that out.
Lord Forehead here. GO TO BED PEOPLE. My forehead wasn’t red. It was crimson. Actually it’s the color balance on the webcam. I guess now I have to reshoot it just to have some peace. Addercatter, you are too kind in coming to my tonsorial (google it Art, HA) defense and Art, of course, is being Art. Better him than us I assure you. Night all.
Hey… somebody has to be me…
Just quit sleeping. That will solve your problem with time management anyway… Although I’m not sure why you’re so worried. Remember, by next month you will be faceless, eyeless and… um… missing other important…parts
So you say.
Meow.
You say that too, it turns out.
Yes, I say that a lot.
I can’t possibly think of any jokes I could make at this point… so I wont…
I can. So, I win!
“I win.” Such a familiar ring. Addercatter isn’t Canadian too, is she?
No, she only wishes she was…
You have your answer.
Nice hair, by the way.
No slave to the tonsorial arts here.There’s a story that goes with that crazy gravatar. It used to be one of those auto generated “quilt pattern” ones. That one began as a joke. I had just come out of the shower and toweled my head it off. Looking in the mirror, I got the idea to photo it and send it to a blog author I have known for a while who has been trying to get me to start a blog. I told them I was going to use it for my header and gravatar. They pushed me into doing it and I now have been given the moniker of “forehead” by a particular Canadian when they want to be “derisive” with me. Not than ANYONE on this blog would be so. Nice hat, by the way.I wasn’t speaking to you in third person before. I thought the question was going to Art when I sent it. He knows the back story on the remark.
Oh haha! Gives a new meaning to the word ‘header’ doesn’t it! I figured you meant that to go to Art, but I couldn’t resist! I love hats! I don’t have to fix my hair when I wear them 😉
Can you fix his hair?
Of course! But I think it’s rad just the way it is…
Rad indeed… but his forehead looks burnt…
Don’t be a hater!
His brain is so busy that it overheats.
Soooo Art… enlighten me on this backstory of which userdand speaks…
It isn’t my place to say…
Since when is it not your place to say anything?
About other people’s embarrassing personal stories involving hair gel, hookers, STD’s, live bait, overalls, bacon, two illegal weapons, a stolen submarine, moldy spam and a singing lobster. I just feel it is better to let them tell their own story.
Wait… all that sounds vaguely familiar…
I stole it from an original idea I just had.
He isn’t only a member of the forehead club… he’s the president…
That’s what I said when I met him.
I apologize, Lord Forehead…
I may need to put a character named that in book 5 of the series.
Hmm. Will I receive an acknowledgement in the book for my brilliant idea? 🙂
Probably not.
No… well, maybe… who can remember… women just don’t get the whole losing thing.
sigh
Such generalizations are offensive…
The best defense is being really offensive.
Too bad I was just kidding! Ha!
It’s still true.
But I can keep the sex and eating part?
At the same time?
Yeah. Like George in Seinfeld.
Never do anything like that guy.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
HA!!!
Oh Lord Red Forehead, it will be okay. I love the pic, personally.
Just turn the hot water down a little when you shower!
I had this same thought today. I am really wanting to get a blog off of the ground but I spend way too much time reading and commenting on blogs as it is. How do I author a blog, stay active in the communities I am currently involved in, and have a life too.
One thought crossed my mind which I didn’t really want to deal with. I need to schedule my time. Some things HAVE to be done. Working, sleeping, sex, eating, sex, bathing, sex, blogging, se….well, you get the idea. We can fudge a little here and there at times, but certain things are regular must-do’s. I have a strong feeling that if I schedule only, say, two hours to doing a blog that I will be more productive within that limited span. It’s like being on deadline at a newspaper. (You do remember newspapers don’t you?) Unrestricted time allows me to digress and meander with my thoughts. I hate the thought of doing it, but what if I were a world renowned musician that couldn’t find time to consistently practice and compose. Vladimir Horowitz is credited with saying, “If I don’t practice for a day, I know it. If I don’t practice for two days, my wife knows it. If I don’t practice for three days, the world knows it.”
Perhaps you/I need to structure time better and more effectively use it. We have both spent an entire afternoon on PMAO in the past. It was a blast but how often should we let that happen. I know, That mean old adult is rearing his head. What a stick in the mud. But without the adult in our life watching out for and protecting us, we wouldn’t be able to come out and play when we want near as often. Someone has to pay the broadband bill so we can blog and provide us with snacks at the keyboard. One good thing about that adult, he makes us appreciate being a kid all that much more.
So I would love to answer this with a reply as long as it is, but I have to budget my time better than that… HA! And never again use the words ‘sex’ and ‘we can fudge a little here and there’ in the same rambling sentence…
You need to spend a little more time promoting your books – but not just here on your blog (because we all already know about it & we’re poor & can’t afford to buy any books either AND we’re all trying to sell our own material too). Think of a way to tie your artistic side into an advertising campaign – like go sit on a corner somewhere busking with your guitar & selling copies of your book at the same time. Now how’s that for an idea off the top of my head. Then maybe some radio station will get wind of what you’re doing & want to interview you & you’ll become really popular . . .
OMG… I had that exact same thought… dress up like a homeless guy with a sign saying ‘will write for food’… or use my lemonade stand idea…
Fools seldom differ!
Not as catchy as ‘great minds think alike’…
I was just skipping that step – see I’m leaps & bounds ahead of you!
I thought we were the same… so we are the same only you are much faster? Even though I thought of it first??? I am so confused.
That’s actually not as crazy as it sounds. When you watch old reruns of quiz show you see a lot of now very famous faces that got there I am sure because a publicist set it up. They didn’t just mail in a request to be on the show. A lot of these people on these faux talent discovery show we see so much of now are planted there by professionals publicizing them. Do something crazy enough at the right time in the right place and with a tip to the media and things can happen. There may only be so much time in a newscast, but there is significant competition for attention grabbing content, especially if they feel they may have an exclusive. I wouldn’t dismiss this idea casually. Take something normal and stand it on its head. For instance: You have an international following. There are probably enough timezones involved that you could blog nonstop for a charity for pledges as to number of minutes or hours. Do it from some well-chosen public venue and also involve a zany eye-catching gimmick like every time a goal is met you do WHATEVER. It really is right up your alley in spite of the fact that you may be a bit introverted. You enjoy being center stage in the spotlight because it is there you feel vital and energized. It sounds like a perfect scenario to me.
“We’re here at …. on top of …. with Arthur Browne, science fiction/fantasy author and creator of Pouring My Art Out, a highly unique blog that is read in nearly every country in the internet-connected world. He’s out to set a Guinness World record for non-stop blogging while raising money for….” Not as unlikely as it may sound, Art.
I have pages of ideas like this in my notebook, but where do I start, which ones do I spend time on at the expense of others… I need a manager…
Can’t neglect the Tiki.
Even if a publisher picks up a title, you’ll need to do quite a bit of promoting yourself in the current market…..so possibly hand out carved tiki with purchase?
hmmm… that might end up costing me money.
what? People expect to make money writing? (giggles)
I am not talking loads of money here…
??Might??
I like to hedge my bets…
What I do is one for one. For every short story I post, I write one that I don’t post. I’m not sure how that makes sense, but it seems to work for me anyway. But I don’t post very much and I don’t have as many artistic exploits as you do.
I try to go one for one but I have a lot of ones… sigh…
A list is a good start.
I have lists… notebooks full of lists… it is the starting that is hard.
I doubt you’re a moron, but on the off-chance that you are, there’s good money in politics.
I am not quite that much of a moron. That requires so world-class moronittude… also, I am too nice and not nearly greedy enough.
A website is a good idea, you can sell there easier. Email me.
You may need to email me first… I cleared a bunch of stuff out and I don’t know how to find people’s email addresses… because I am a moron…
ahaha! okay
It is not okay that I am a moron!
you’re not
About a few things I am!