Dear World

Please Kill Me,

Welcome back my feral flock of arthritic artists. How was the extended weekend? For my friends outside of the U.S. (sorry your Monday was so shitty) today will be better.

So yesterday I kind of went on a ramble about focus. To be honest, I originally intended for yesterday’s post ( UpHill ) to be a one-off, but as I wrote, I realized that doing so would be committing an injustice to the craft. Ultimately I decided to cut it short and break it down into several parts. (That, and I also know that most of you don’t have the patience for a 10,000-word post, so you’ll get it in (semi-focused) pieces.)

UpHill 2: Footwork. I chose this title because I want to talk about possibly the most fundamental of things that you should know as a writer (no, not how to write you asshole. Okay, that too – but pertaining to post writing), that is the footwork.

It’s hard to expect much out of your career if you base your success, solely on the work o f others. Yea, I know what you’re thinking “the agents”, “the publishing house”, “word-of-mouth”, etc. The truth of the matter is that none of these people will save you from the exhausting effort that is your own footwork.

To answer your question – yes. You will get help at some points however, this help is better comparable to suggestions. You will likely develop (and if you’re lucky- inherit), a team semi-dedicated to pushing your success. However, you must keep in mind that more than likely you are not the only author who’s currently demanding their time.

Think of it like this – whatever team that you are lucky enough to have around you – will only help to catalyze whatever you’ve already built. If you’ve built nothing; they can help nothing. (For my math fans 0^0=0…. There are no math fans here are there?).

I know, I know. “But Antwan, how are we supposed to do that? How do we build a platform? Where do we start?” -(shut up, you babies). The good news is that you’ve likely already started your footwork and don’t even know it.

Thanks to the age of technology, we no longer have to worry about printing presses (sorry Gutenberg), distribution, nor standing on soapboxes screaming “would thou’st like to hear a tale upon yonder!” (although on second thought that sounds kind of fun. *googles soapbox prices*). 

Nope, none of that. If you’re anywhere near a keyboard, chances are that you’ve already got some sort of social media account. BOOM! Digital soapbox (and you don’t even have to speak all fancy). My suggestion is to start small. Message a few of your actual friends, perhaps an old professor or two. Let them know that you’ve been writing, what you plan to do, and if they would like to read something that you’re proud of. People love to be a part of something, especially a dream or career goal.

If you don’t have any social media relax ,*breaks fourth wall* you’re obviously on some kind of -laptop, tablet, smartphone- whatever, it’s not too late to go and start one (realistically it is, but I’m trying to stay positive here). In any case, you can start your own site (blog) strictly dedicated to your works. If and when you do, remember that reaching out to your peers, is an invaluable asset to your growth.

*Sidenote -And for christ-sakes, keep writing. No one wants to read thousands of pages from years ago. If you aren’t currently improving, you’re likely wasting your time, and will not be taken seriously. My golden rule as always – ALWAYS be in the pursuit of mastering your craft.

Well looks like another day I’ve run a little long, and STILL NOWHERE NEAR everything that I wanted to cover. Looks like we’re getting a part three people. See ya’ tomorrow.

HEED MY WORD!,

-Antwan Crump.