Editing Woes

Not sure how often I should post in this thing. Guess it doesn't really matter, huh? I was trying to give everyone a chance to read it before posting too much, but judging by the lack of replies maybe I didn't say enough to spark any conversation. So I'm going to say more. :)

Alrighty then, after even more PC problems (and for anyone who knows me knows I've been plagued with these for months now. This time it was just an expired Windows activation key) I missed an entire day of internet use. So I thought for sure when I got back up and running I'd have a TON of email waiting. Guess what. three messages. Well, there were about 10 spams, but only three that counted, and two of them weren't even that important.

So what does that mean? Am I no longer important? And keep in mind I check about 5 separate email accounts daily, and two others probably weekly or every other week. Long gone, I suppose, are the days when I used to get 30-40 messages in my main email a day, 20 in my secondary, and 5-10 in all the others. Yep, those were the days I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to keep up with the tasks at hand. Alas, my days of editing small comic companies and other writing seem to be long gone.

Yep, I used to be Editor-In-Chief for two separate independent comic companies for the better part of three years or so. It was quite an experience at both places, and ones I will never forget nor regret. They taught me a lot about a lot, and I am better skilled and experienced for having been a part of both companies.

So why did I leave then? Well, I won't go into specifics, nor will I defame either company because that's not my style. What I will do is give a little background on my experience with both and let you decide whatever you want from my experiences. How's that? Don't like it? Tough. You want flaming and defamatory statements go find John Byrne. :) (Much love, John, but I have to send them somewhere).

Company #1. While still in college and completely focused now on making it as a writer, specifically a comic writer (even though my major was Business and minor was Computer Science...go figure) I stumbled across a site that would change my life..digitalwebbing.com! On this glorius site of comic collaboration goodness I came across an ad looking for writers who wanted to break in by starting as editors. I jumped at the chance. And it was mainly a fantasy company, which was my cup of tea having just engrossed myself into the Lord of the Rings trilogy for the first time. So I was an Associate Editor in the aptly titled Fantasy Division. I did basic stuff like evaluate submissions and proofread scripts, etc. It was cool, but I wanted to write!

After a couple of months I got moved up to Managing Editor of another imprint while maintaining my status as Associate Editor of Fantasy. Shortly thereafter I got bumped up to the main editor of both imprints due to the former Editors resigning. So there I was, a couple of months into the comic business and I'm head editor over two separate imprints, and loving every minute of it. But I still wasn't writing.

Not too long after I was forced to take a leave of absence due to several factors, but I stayed in touch. When I finally was able to fully commit I resumed my positions, which had been once again vacated, and took the bull by the horns. I made tons of progress in both divisions over the next few months. In one division I had a co-editor, David Brashear, so as much credit should go to him for that. But the other was my baby. I knew it inside out, and was having a blast. Other imprints were rocking as well, and things were looking good. Then we started having some problems up the chain, which led to me being promoted to Senior Editor. This is about a year-year and a half in the company for me I suppose. This meant I was over all the imprints in some capacity, so I had to learn a lot. But luckily I had always tried to keep up with what the other imprints were doing anyway, so it was all good.

Then we had some more complications up top, where the owner/EIC wanted to take a more hands on role in the business side of things, so he stepped down (not the first time it had happened, btw) as EIC. He had tried this before, but the new EICs either got power hungry or left their posts abruptly. So who got promoted? You guessed it. Now I was over the entire company editorially. I also had roles in other facets of the company as well, be it business, web design, you name it, I was involved. I was, after all, also now a partner in the company as well.

So for a few months I had it good. I had a repoire with the staff and we all worked together, and worked hard to make things happen. The company had had tons of setbacks in its five years (people leaving, being flamed, artists flaking, writers flaking, former editors approving crappy stuff that had to be thrown out and redone, etc.), but we finally seemed to be on the right track and everything was falling into place. Then it happened.

Things took a turn for the worse as several writers wanted rights to company owned creations, editors weren't happy with their writers, writers weren't happy with their artists, people started quitting left and right, etc. Then there were disagreements about the focus of the company at the higher levels, and many other complications which finally led to myself and a couple of others leaving for irreconcilable differences. So I left an EIC position and partnership. Luckily for me I was picked up by two others who had left and became EIC and webmaster of...

Company #2. This was a completely different story. I had true freedom here and a say about things that I didn't have in the dying days of the first (which incidentally never published a book and has yet to reopen their doors. I hope someday they do become successful because the owner is still a friend and has had this dream since childhood. Best of luck!). Also, due to our connections and the good reputation we had built we were able to convince the better writers and artists from company one to follow us and put their books through us. We had noticed real gems in the creator owned division of the previous company and wanted them to see light instead of dying with the former.

This was also a chance for the two of us, myself and the co-owner of this new company, to write! Now both of us had finally started writing a few months before the demise of the previous company, but now much of our writing would be dead. This was our chance, finally, to have our own stuff published, which had been my goal at the onset of this whole thing!

So things were good. I designed a decent website (not great, but it served its purpose), we had some really good titles and talent, we were going to debut at a con this year and all was well. Then it happened. Yep, again.

As I stated before, I have had some PC problems over the past several months, but though I did get behind at times, I always caught up and fulfilled my duties in my eyes. Others didn't see it that way. Before long there were disagreements, overturned decisions, etc., etc., etc. In the longrun, without going into any details, I resigned as webmaster and was subsequently fired as EIC for reasons I still neither fully understand nor agree with whatsoever. But such is my life. It happens. Because of this I pulled the one title I had submitted since I hadn't ever got around to signing the contract, and left after a short plea for them to reconsider. It was a no go as a replacement was already in place before I was even aware I was being fired.

In the end, I am still friends with the owners of both companies, but having experienced what I experienced I think it's probably safe to say that I will never do business with either one again. I just disagree too much with the way they conduct business and how they handle people. Sadly the fate of both businesses is up in the air as the one has still not reopened their doors and the other was forced to put their plans on hold due to several setbacks. I wish them both well in all their endeavors, I truly hope they do succeed, and if they do I will buy their titles.

So am I hurt? Am I upset? Do I wish things had gone differently? Am I saddened by not being a part any longer? Of course I am, but again, such is my life. And honestly I have never been happier and more free in my life where my writing is concerned. All those years of editing was for one purpose originally - to get MY writing published. But through that avenue I was never allowed that opportunity in the long run. So since leaving company #2 I have had much more time to focus on my own creativity rather than pushing everyone elses, and I am on the brink of breaking in, and couldn't be happier with that fact. That's not to say that if a reputable company came along and offered to pay me to edit that I would turn it down. No, I would probably jump at the chance because I am passionate about the industry and about getting good books out to the public. But it's no longer my primary focus or goal at this point.

See, all my life I have lived for other people. I am the generous type that will sacrifice everything to make others happy. It's a blessing and a curse, and it has both blessed me and cursed me. The sad fact of it is after time you realize you have never done anything for yourself, and it leaves you wanting and unhappy. Fortunately for me I finally reached that point and am now pursuing things for me. I'm almost thirty and it's time. So I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do so.

So what exactly did I learn from all that? Well, aside from the obvious pitfalls and upsides about small press publishing, dealing with artists and writers, and honing my skills and making connections, I learned that you have to be completely passionate about whatever it is you set out to do. I don't care what it is, if you're not passionate about it you will not finish it, or you will not give 100% to it. You may to a point and for a while, but ultimately, somewhere down the line you will burn out and begin wondering what in the world went wrong.

I learned a great deal from these experiences, far more than I could contain within this post. But most importantly I learned how I wanted to handle myself professionally and what exactly I want to do professionally. My focus is clear, and my intent is sure. I will make it. There's a statement made that is now on a commercial, where someone says "The man who says I can and the man who says I can't are both right. Which one are you?" I can, and I will, and that's all I've got to say about that.

I think I've finally said all there is to be said on the subject, so let's leave it at that, shall we? And it's getting late, so I'm going to call it a night and move along. I hope whoever reads this will get something out of it, whatever that may be. I don't know why I felt this was the time to post this, but here it is, for better or worse. I'm sure it will upset some people, but I'm tired of walking on egg shells anyway. I stated no names, nor anything specific, nor did I identify the companies. So I feel I have handled it well, and if you disagree, that's your perogative. I do apologize if I offend anyone.

So with that being said, I wish you all a good week. I have decided in true blog fashion that I will just post whenever I feel like it and when I feel I have something important, goofy or interesting to say, or if I want to kill time. How about that? Work for you? Good, because you can't stop me anyway. :)

Till next time, the Gonzogoose has flown the coup!