False start… six-month penalty.
So in February of this year I made the jump to being a full-time writer. I was a computer programmer for thirteen years and hated every minute of it. So for eight months I got up every morning, fired up the computer to check emails and then began writing. For a change of pace I would take my laptop up to the coffee shop and work there for a few hours. My life was basically a nirvana.
In those eight months I wrote the first five chapters of a novel, an entire children’s book, a twelve-thousand-word short story, six comic scripts and a dozen pitches. I attended a few conventions, talked to a bunch of editors and locked in a couple projects. I also signed with an agent who is now shopping my properties around Hollywood. I also had a photography book come out in Europe and about to come out here in the states. Overall I made a huge amount of progress in a very short time.
The problem is that none of those things have put money in my accounts now. They’re all things that will either pay me some coming up or get me more exposure. So when things like 30 Days of Night: Dead Space comes out in January, then I will have a high profile project to show around to editors. I also have another high profile project that I’m just waiting for the final green light on. So 2006 could be a very big year for me. But again, that doesn’t do anything right now.
So tomorrow morning I start on a six-month contract doing computer programming. My nirvana is over… at least for a while. The problem now is not only keeping my spirits up but to manage my time so I continue writing and pushing my way into the industry. It’s going to be a very difficult six months, but if I don’t keep moving forward then at the end of six months I may not be in a position to go back to full-time writing. So I have to keep at it just as hard.
Let the official countdown begin now, 180 days of programming hell. Keep you fingers crossed for me that it won’t be more than that.
So in February of this year I made the jump to being a full-time writer. I was a computer programmer for thirteen years and hated every minute of it. So for eight months I got up every morning, fired up the computer to check emails and then began writing. For a change of pace I would take my laptop up to the coffee shop and work there for a few hours. My life was basically a nirvana.
In those eight months I wrote the first five chapters of a novel, an entire children’s book, a twelve-thousand-word short story, six comic scripts and a dozen pitches. I attended a few conventions, talked to a bunch of editors and locked in a couple projects. I also signed with an agent who is now shopping my properties around Hollywood. I also had a photography book come out in Europe and about to come out here in the states. Overall I made a huge amount of progress in a very short time.
The problem is that none of those things have put money in my accounts now. They’re all things that will either pay me some coming up or get me more exposure. So when things like 30 Days of Night: Dead Space comes out in January, then I will have a high profile project to show around to editors. I also have another high profile project that I’m just waiting for the final green light on. So 2006 could be a very big year for me. But again, that doesn’t do anything right now.
So tomorrow morning I start on a six-month contract doing computer programming. My nirvana is over… at least for a while. The problem now is not only keeping my spirits up but to manage my time so I continue writing and pushing my way into the industry. It’s going to be a very difficult six months, but if I don’t keep moving forward then at the end of six months I may not be in a position to go back to full-time writing. So I have to keep at it just as hard.
Let the official countdown begin now, 180 days of programming hell. Keep you fingers crossed for me that it won’t be more than that.
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