Some time in January of 2010, I’ll write a post detailing how 2009 treated me as an indie artist and freelancer. First, though, I need to satisfy the increasingly nagging urge to write about this last year from a more personal perspective. There’s a lot here… and tuck in your toes, I might be stepping on them.
Writers Are The Niggers Of The On-line World
Apologies and thanks to Yoko Ono for the perfect line to paraphrase. It’s true, too. In 2009, I considered writing for several “article farm” companies and individuals. You know the type:
“Need 500 300-word SEO’ed keyword heavy articles on mortgage repair in the next two weeks.”
“Write about topics you’re interested in and events in your area and earn a percentage of ad revenue every time your article is read!”
Thing is, my time and effort is worth quite a bit more than the less-than-minimum wage (or no wage) rates offered for this kind of writing. Pound for pound, I would have lost money if I’d spent the time and energy writing for these sites.
As long as writers agree to work for promises and dogshit in the writing job market ghetto, the article farmers will be justified in thinking that’s all writers are worth, and where they belong. Not only will I never do this kind of writing for such degrading compensation, I urge other writers to refuse it as well. It’s the only way things will change.
Podcasting Is Not All That, And Neither Are You, Podcasting Author
Look, I owe a lot to podcasting and to the decision to podcast my first book. I would never downplay the important role podcasting had in developing my early audience, or the treasured friendships and relationships I enjoy as a result of my involvement with the podcast fiction community.
I was one of the first podcasters, period. Later, I was one of the first to podcast their fiction. I stood with the passionate and dedicated folks who held up podcasting as the thing that was going to democratize the creativity of the masses and force “old media” to change or die.
Fuckin’ hippy. Seriously.
In 2009, I recorded just two original episodes of my personal podcast, Sonitotum. I listened to only two podcast novels and very little podcast short fiction. For me, 2009 was the year podcasting finally became Just Another Thing in my mind, and a not very important thing, at that.
I admit that part of my fatigue stems from seeing so many of my friends, peers and colleagues act like podcast fiction is the whole of podcasting, when realistically podcast fiction makes up a very small percentage of the medium’s output. I have to wonder if the tech podcasters act like tech podcasts are the center of the podcasting universe. Or wine podcasters, and so on. Maybe it’s an ego-bubble thing.
I listen to several podcasts dedicated to the writing craft and life, but this year I really noticed how many of them spend so much time on authors who podcast their fiction. It’s either that the whole community has become more incestuous than ever before, or I just couldn’t ignore it any longer.
Worse still, probably because the podcast version of my own “Brave Men Run – A Novel of the Sovereign Era” enjoyed early success in the tiny niche that is podcast fiction, in 2009 I encountered more than a few people who automatically assumed that any fiction I released would be in podcast form, weren’t interested if it wasn’t, and gave me attitude for not podcasting it… as if had an obligation to do so.
I probably sound like an asshole, and I bet these words will alienate a few people. I can’t help how people respond, though it’s not my intention to upset anyone. If anything, my irritation with some podcasters’ skewed world-view is probably simply a sign that I need to expose myself to people who are creative in ways that don’t involve podcasting. I’m doing that, and it’s going to be a big part things in 2010, as you’ll learn in a bit.
Social Media Hillside Saturated, Bullshitslide Threatens
A good portion of what little money I made in 2009 was earned teaching people about social media. More accurately, it was earned sharing my philosophies and opinions about social media — folks could (and can) take it or leave it. Once I made it clear that social media strategies both (a) Took Work and (b) Didn’t Guarantee Anything, clients usually turned toward easier and, I believe, less ethical and ultimately counter-productive measures to try and reach their goals. Just remember, every time an auto-DM is sent in Twitter, an adorable baby lemur turns into a soulless bot, so choose your path with care.
There’s a video making the rounds wherein a “social media guru” lays it on thick in order to get a client. This video is hilariously on-target, and not only because it exposes the scam of the so-called Social Media Guru / Expert / Authority. It also shows how lazy, gullible companies and individuals attract these types when they’re not willing to do their due diligence and would rather seek out the path of least resistance. They’re of a piece, the guru and the guru’ed (rhymes with screwed, kinda.)
The last business cards I had printed up, way back in 2007, say, in part, “Social Media Authority.” Boy howdy, do I ever need to get new cards made. I knew not. Meanwhile, I’m going to make you an authority, or as much as I am one, anyway, and I going to do it right now, so listen up:
Be Human.
That, my friends — those two words — are all the social media training you will ever need or should ever pay for, and I just laid it on you for free.
I read so many blog posts and books about social media in 2009, I’m at the point where everyone sounds the same, white hats and douchebags alike. They’re all (the good ones, anyway) saying the same thing I just told you.
I’ve yet to hear anyone boil it down to two words like I did, though, because it really cuts into your billable time if you’re as straightforward as that.
Anyway, I’m not reading the social media blogs any more. I bet I won’t miss anything.
I Am A Creator
This year, charting my own successes and misses and watching my friends and colleagues learn their own lessons on their own artistic paths, I gradually came to realize a few of related things:
- I don’t think of myself as a writer or musician or voice actor or podcaster or web guy or artist. I just make things. I’m a creator.
- Responding to a core vision and making things born of that vision is the most fulfilling thing — both artistically and financially speaking — that I do.
- I think this transmedia approach is the best one for any creative person in the second decade of the 21st century.
You’ve heard the phrase “personal brand.” I’ve got a new one for you:
I’m going to give a lot of attention in 2010 to the idea of the personal franchise, first with The Shaper’s World, and then later with The Sovereign Era. I suspect you’ll see other independent and forward-thinking creative people exploring this model as well.
I’ll have a lot more to say about the personal franchise here and elsewhere in the weeks and months to come. Right now, though, I gotta say I feel like it’s the most important thing to come out of my experiences of the last twelve months.
The Fallow Field Is Ready For A’Planting
For me, 2009 was a year spent largely in isolation. It was a year of increasing pressure and stress. It was a year of re-setting, re-evaluating, and, if you will permit it, re-alizing. I’m very, very glad it’s drawing to a close. Even though a good portion of this post might sound curmudgeonly and grouchy, everything I’ve experienced and learned in 2009 has put me in a very positive place.
I usually don’t mark the end of the year with any kind of significance — I think the personal landmarks and milestones in one’s life are better markers. This year, though, a feeling of transition, new beginnings and doors opening just happens to match the change of the calendar. I am optimistic, and I feel good.
What were your lessons from 2009, and how will they shape your passions and pursuits in the coming year?
Scribtotum