Being Creative in a 21st Century America

I spent a year in my late teens/early twenties crisscrossing the country while living in my car, working odd jobs to keep my gas tank and belly full. It was the mid-90s, so grunge and hip-hop provided the soundtrack to the tapestry of locations I saw along my journey, but Poison’s Ride the Wind was my anthem as I dove from planes, swam oceans, and floated lakes and rivers–my hair as long and wild as my untethered soul as I did my very best to live my version of Kerouac’s On the Road.

I carried a copy of it and half a dozen other paperbacks in my car, reading and rereading as I went on my way with nothing else but a hacky sack (it was the 90s, after all) and an eye on the horizon.

I knew I was a storyteller then only because I never stopped doing it, but I didn’t know exactly how being a writer would happen. That was the age when one still needed a publisher to be published, an agent to find a publisher, an editor to find an agent, etc. I had no plan beyond my next adventure. Figuring out how to live the life of Stephen King or Tom Clancy–who I envisioned living in palatial mansions on estates with expansive vistas, writing book after book in cigar-colored studies–was a problem for Future Aaron.

All I was supposed to be doing was living life. Fuel for the books I’d inevitably write.

And so it was.

I share this with you now to try and explain my current relationship with writing. Well, being creative in general.

As every artist you know is aware, the future I had imagined for myself as a creative (statistically off the mark as it was even then) isn’t the playing field of today’s industry. Getting rich off of your book–or whatever intellectual property (IP) your art falls under–and spending your days creating the next thing doesn’t happen short of selling the movie/TV show rights to your IP, and that, in turn, going viral.

As I understand things, today’s creators must first take their art and game the algorithm of whatever social media platform is in vogue, gaining followers and building up their audience for not only their current art but also their future art. And if they can’t afford to pay professionals, they must be their own marketing guru, analyst, lawyer, website developer, editor, moderator, and business manager.

And this, what I’m writing here, isn’t a rant against that system. It’s not another “things were better back then!” nostalgic piece. I know many artists who are quite canny at navigating things today. Adept at balancing both the pragmatic and creative sides of the business.

I just can’t count myself among them any longer.

The stress of being creative was beginning to burn out the joy, and 2024 was the year it all came to a head for me.

I was creating Jan the Vagabond–writing, drawing, inking, lettering, the works–both the comic book and the online strip, writing novels for The Timberhaven Chronicles, novellas and scripts for New Vision Comics Collective, and short stories for The Michael Gideon Collection. I was recording and editing content for Drinks Around the Table and promoting, spinning, and networking alongside all of this so that everyone would know what was coming and when, in the meager hopes that folks might click, watch, or pick up my latest.

And while I can say with honest affection that I love providing new glimpses into my creative worlds with each finished project, the rigid scheduling I needed to adhere to and the strict discipline to meet my deadlines . . . I mean, marry that image of me to the guy at the beginning of this piece.

I’m pretty impressed that I didn’t cave to the stress and pressure sooner. 😀

Now, at this point, you may be wondering, “What the hell, man? Kinda downer for a new year.” and by the gods, you may be right. I only wanted to clarify my intent moving forward.

If you’re reading this because you clicked on the post on whatever social media you follow me on (thanks, by the way!), you may have noticed that I haven’t been posting much lately. That’s going to be the norm for me for the foreseeable future.

I think my social media presence will consist of this newsletter, at least in the short term, so subscribe at the bottom there if you’ve missed my random thoughts on what I’m reading or watching (yeah, I actually started reading and watching things again during this little self-imposed sabbatical!) this’ll be the place to read ‘em. I’ve deleted most of my apps, and what’s left is for promoting shows I’ll be at, as I still love doing shows, meeting and chatting with fans and other creatives. (See below.)

I plan on focusing almost entirely on the creating side of being a creative in 2025. If that means I have to grow my audience fan by fan through word of mouth or to meet you at shows, and the cost is never achieving wide renown, believe it or not, I’m okay with that.

A less disciplined life sounds the perfect way to end my forties and look toward my fifties. Less focused on the business of art than the fun.

An adventuring artist.

I hope you’ll come with me!

A.C.

 – January 5th, 2025

Shows and Appearances

Boozy Book Fair - February 22, 2025

Tremendicon - May 30th - June 1st