School Visits and Pranks in Katy Texas

I just got back from a week of school visits in Katy Texas this past week. I had a great time and the librarians that hosted me were amazingly kind, organized, and very helpful in making the presentations very successful - THANK YOU!

The following video shows a few pranks, librarians, and part of my presentation if you're interested in what I do when I'm at a school. I have so much fun working with the kids!



I signed a ton of books, gave a ton of drawing lessons, and made a lot of friends. The kids in Texas are great!

I love how the kids get quiet when it's their turn to draw - and they're really good at it! I think Picasso was right when he said that every kid is an artist.

I even met a facebook friend - Katarina Perez an up and coming illustrator/animator from Katy who skipped school to check out what we were doing.

I made this bookmark one night in my hotel room on my iPad for the teachers and librarians to pass out to kids just for fun.

Each school had a bunch of books to sign so we would arrive at the schools early and I would get to work. I usually had to stay after school to finish them up...some things never change :)

My App Is DONE!!! - Tutorial?

I'm finished! I'm just checking spelling and functionality one last time and then it's hit the submit button.

I Eat You! was so fun to make using the Talespring tool and now I want to share my process with you. If there is enough interest I would like to make a video tutorial and sell it at folioacademy.com Talespring is really easy to use if you know your way around the computer but if you're a bit iffy on preparing your artwork, making audio files, and using internet tools a tutorial might be for you.

What I would cover: How to start your story app on Talespring. How to use the text editor and highlighted text. How to attach voice recordings to your text. Ways of making voice recordings. How to clean up your voice recordings using audacity. How to optimize your images. How to prepare your images as .PNG or .jpeg files and when to use one vs the other. How to make hot spots. How to move assets using the talespring animation tools. How to string animations together. Work arounds for some of Talesprings limitations. Incorporating interactivity. Etc.

 So here's my iPad/iPhone story app cover - if you watch the video you can see some of the light animation I've used in the app.

Here are my little fishies - I love drawing and rendering fish - so much fun. I enjoyed both the writing, illustrating, voices and formatting... wait - that's 4 things! Wow! So cool to be able to do everything. I must admit that working this way opens up all kinds of new possibilities and my brain starts to hurt when I think of all the them.

The following video will show a little of the app and I talk about and show you the Talespring work space. Again let me know if you would pay money for a video tutorial that walks you through the creation process.

My Plea To SCBWI

I hesitated to write this post and questioned if this was the right way to do it. You're reading it so obviously I I decided this was right. I really hope that I don't offend anyone at SCBWI with my comments.

First let me start out by saying how much I love this organization. I attended my first SCBWI meeting back in 1991 in Utah. It was like a whole new world was opened to me. I was surrounded by like minded people outside my school setting. Professionals, novices, and everything in between. I knew I was in the right place. Since that time I have been a member on and off over the years. Currently I get asked to speak at SCBWI events from time to time - I get to participate in one this November in Missouri and in Atlanta early next year. I love the SCBWI.

Ok - deep breath. I was having lunch today with a friend who I shall not be named. This person has been an SCBWI member for many years and is an extremely competent author/illustrator. This person also told me today that since he/she has been in and around the publishing industry and gone to numerous conferences over the years - the biggest reason for continuing to attend is the ability to get past the firewall at publishing houses.

This is probably the part where I should give a brief explanation of that firewall - you can skip a couple paragraphs if you already know this. Basically most publishers do NOT accept unsolicited manuscripts. In other words an un-agented or un-published author/illustrator cannot simply send in their book proposal to a publisher without having a connection to an editor and essentially having permission to do so. If such an a person did send in their manuscript or book dummy it would be discarded or mailed back un-opened if a SASE was provided.

One of the main advantages conference attendance provides is the magical access given to attendees via the editors that are presenting at the conference. In other words conference attendees are granted contact information for the specific editors who are flown in to speak to the audiences. They even go one step further by providing special stickers that say "conference attendee". The idea being that when the intern is going through the mail they will set aside the parcels that bear this marking. These packages are then opened and read and then issued a response from an editor.

The reason that they lift the ban on unsolicited works for conference goers is that they feel that submission quality goes way up. If someone is willing to spend their time, money, and effort attending writing workshops they will more often than not - write a decent story and follow instructions on submission guidelines. This makes the publisher's job much easier.

Now to the point. My aforementioned friend attended an SCBWI conference last year mainly to get the contact information to submit to the three editors who presented. He/she like I mentioned has been through and around the game for a while so I'm not talking about some kind of rube. The manuscript was well written and printed and packages were carefully prepared and submitted with the required stickers and included SASE. My friend waited...and waited...and waited....and never received ANY kind of response - not even a form rejection letter and it's been well over a year.

Now you might be able to make the case that if he/she had submitted to one house or one editor something might have been misplaced or lost but with three submissions I find this highly unlikely. My friend reported today that he/she will probably not attend future SCBWI conferences since one of the major benefits seems to have turned out to be not much of a benefit at all.

This is tragic and I put this out there in hopes that some of the very dedicated staff at SCBWI will find this link in an email forward. Why do it publicly? Because things tend to get done when more people know about it. I don't know if this happens all the time. I do know that there are many caring editors who take time out of their busy schedules to come and speak to conference attendees and who follow through with their promise. I also feel that some of them might not follow through on their commitments.

My hope is that SCBWI staff take extra pains to communicate to editors that attendees are paying for their flights, meals, hotel, and honorariums and that they need to keep up their end of the bargain - or turn down the gig. I would hate to see us lose such a valuable organization over something like this - if it's happening regularly.

Getting Your Story App Reviewed - Interview

I believe there are 3 main ways to get your new story app or ebook noticed and bought many times over. 1. Make something AMAZING that changes the user/viewer/reader emotionally. 2. Tell your friends about it via social media and 3. Submit it to review sites. I strongly believe that advertising is for boring products so if the people you shared it with don't respond your time is probably better spent back at the drawing board. That's my plan anyway.

I'll have an app in Apple's app store in early November if all goes according to plan (and I'll be making tutorials on how I did it so check back soon) so logically I've wanted to get to know who and where I should submit my app to for review. Why mess around I thought - go for the most prominent children's story app review site and ask the reviewer directly. What I got was very unexpected. Straight talk. You guys know I love straight talk.

I love the answers Carisa Kluver of Digital Storytime gave me (some of her advice is what I've been preaching) and I'm so grateful that she was willing to give me her time. If you're at all interested in producing story apps you NEED to read this article

Will Terry: What do you review and how can someone get reviewed by you?

Carisa Kluver: When I began this site in late 2010, I would review things in the order they were submitted, but eventually got overwhelmed by the sheer volume of content coming into the AppStore (and my inbox), everyday. I decided it was better to continue to provide a solid resource for parents, teachers and librarians, than to cover everything. But that means some titles I enjoy, but don't love, may never get covered by my site. There is a sea of content out there, and it just seems to grow exponentially every six months.

I choose what to review a couple days in advance, giving me flexibility to cover whatever I'm most interested in at the moment. This helps me to be more engaged in the writing process, which is really important for good content. I'm particularly looking out for truly original stories and innovative use of the tablet medium. I'm also, personally, a sucker for gorgeous illustrations. I'm the daughter of an art teacher and really love the visual nature of picture books, which is probably why I'm reluctant to review for older readers.

Titles previously published in print are very popular, as are popular topics (like robots, princesses or dinosaurs) or titles from big media names. These reviews drive a lot of traffic to my site, so I try to sprinkle them in liberally as I'm reviewing. I make an effort to balance my readers general interests (everything in the top 200 book apps in the app store) with my own family's taste and a sense of obligation to the creative community. I'm also on the lookout for things that no one else is reviewing.

In addition, I find that authors and illustrators who were previously published in print are easier to review, since the job of 'vetting' indie work is very hard. People say such harsh things sometimes about the publishing industry, but they did set some pretty phenomenal standards for picture books. I didn't appreciate this well until there was no filter on my child's content.

Will Terry: How long does it take to get reviewed?

Carisa Kluver: I hate to say it, but the reality is that getting reviewed by my site

(or any decent sized site for app reviews) is one of those "6 months to never" situations, depending on the

The Illusion of Security

In 1992 I was at a crossroads. Try to find a full time job illustrating /graphic designer or take the road of uncertainty and dive into a freelance illustration career. I gambled. To this day I don't really know how I did it. I was married with one kid and they were depending on me to earn a living. My wife had to have been scared but was supportive. My parents I'm sure thought I was nuts - but were also encouraging. My friends said little. I think everyone expected it to last a little while but that eventually I would have to suck it up and get a real job.

Why do we make decisions that go against our passions? Why did I feel like I was taking the risky road? Why do people think that doing what they're naturally good at is a risk? Maybe taking the road well traveled is the risky road...I would submit that we're often motivated by FEAR.

We all crave security. We think we want to know what will happen tomorrow. We hate not knowing where we're going.  We imagine horrible things that rarely come true. We want to know what we're going to be. What we're going to do. How and where we'll live. How we'll pay for things. etc. These aren't bad things to want but they do feed our often irrational fears. Personally I don't know anyone who is homeless. I know people who have had to live with relatives - I lived with both my parents and in-laws in the early part of my marriage. My point is that no matter how bad it gets it's still not as bad as what we imagine.

There is no such thing as security.

The person who has a nice house is worrying about their drug addicted child.
The person who has a nice job just found out that his spouse has cancer.
The person who just got a promotion hates her job.
The person who is fully prepared for retirement just learned that her husband has been cheating.
The person who has the nice car, house, vacations feels empty and perhaps suicidal.
The person who has done everything "right" just got layed off because of the economy.
The person who followed the advice of parents, teachers, and councelors owes more money in student loans than his/her job will ever afford.

I have a lot LESS fear than ever before. I don't chase security. I try to make decisions based on my ability to achieve the goal - not because it's what others think I should do or what I think will make the most money. This has lead to some AWESOME FAILURES! Like my Kickstarter a few months ago. I won't pretend that that one didn't sting. I felt like I got the Sh#% kicked out of me by kickstarter - but it was totally worth it because it armed me.

While those who did it the "right" way might worry about getting a pink slip I find it ironic that by doing it the "wrong" way I have a little less stress about that part of my life. My income comes from many places now and if one falls off - big deal. I earn income from:

freelance illustration
commissions
advances
royalties
teaching
video tutorials
honorariums
ebooks
original sales
stock illustration
school visits
youtube partner

Some of these don't pay very much but it all adds up. Earning income from many different places was never written down as a goal or plotted out -it just sort of happened from working each day on that which I love - creating art. The piece above was one of those pieces that painted itself. I was watching the clock while working on it - wondering how hours were melting away as I tried to finish it before I had to run off to class.

Call For Folio Academy Instructors

Folio Academy is extending invitations for quality instructors to contribute their expertise and paying 60% of retail if we receive videos by Jan 1, 2013

Our website was holding us back and the poor organization caused us to halt adding content and focus on the site. We wasted about 6 months when our first programmer didn't pan out. We learned. Ouch. Then we went back to the devil - I mean angel we knew. Sometimes the answer is right under your nose but you're too busy smelling the cookies in the oven...I have no idea where this is going.

Anyway - now we're ready to start extending invitations to participate in the creation of tutorial videos and there are two ways to participate:

1. We have limited times and space for instructors to be recorded in our Utah studio - email me at will@willterry.com if interested. We're mostly working with in-state people and those visiting. (not eligible for 60% comission)

2. Produce your own video series for us to upload to the site. If you're interested in creating your own videos here are some guidelines:

DO NOT MAKE VIDEOS until we've seen a sample of your video quality and send you a contract. What we would like to see is a proposal of what you would like to teach, a web portfolio, and a 1-2 min youtube sample video.

The video quality needs to be good - a nicely lit studio or workspace. No water heaters in the background or your mother-in-law walking through your shot asking if the beans are done? Videos need to be shot in HD (720p is a good size)

Good audio that's clear and loud enough.

Great instruction that's easy to follow and understand. No long periods of dead space. Energetic or enthusiasim for the subject that displays your passion.

Videos broken up into logical segments to make searching for specific parts easier.

Screen capture that clearly shows what controls, buttons, and tools you are clicking on.

Again, if you're interested in receiving 60% of the retail sale of your video series you would need to deliver videos to us by the 1st of January 2013. We have an FTP link that's a snap for you to select your video files and upload to us.

Here are some subjects we are looking for.

Figure drawing, anatomy, sculpture, graphic design (beginning, intermediate, advanced) drawing animals for kids, animation, drawing for illustration, drawing for animation, head painting, digital painting in Corel Painter, producing story ebooks & apps, drawing manga, writing children's books or if you have an idea that you think would fit our site - contact us.

Free Folio Academy Video - NEW SITE!!!

We're celebrating the launch of our Folio Academy 2.0 website by offering a free video tutorial to anyone who would like to blog about us. It took us longer than we thought but we now have a website that's much more functional than our first version. We figured what better way to say thanks to the people who already know about us and our customers than by offering a little trade - a  blog post for a free video series of their/your choice.

To get your free video you need to:

1. Make a blog entry on your blog between now and Sunday Oct 7th.

2. Mention Folio Academy in your post - but you can write anything about us like:  "I hate Folio Academy" or "Folio Academy is run by a bunch of weirdos" (because it is) or maybe you like us and want to talk about something you've learned from one of our videos. It's totally up to you.

3. You need to link to our homepage here: http://folioacademy.com/

4. Send us a message at this link:  http://folioacademy.com/contact.html telling us your blog post is up.

AND

Include the email address you ALREADY used to set up your Folio Academy account OR if you're a first timer with F.A. include the email address associated with your paypal account (this way if you ever choose to purchase a video from us it will be added to the same account/password.)

AND

Most importantly tell us which video you would like us to put in your account for FREE!

So that's it - we're looking forward to adding more and more videos and filling in many of the gaps we have right now. Our long term goal is to be able to offer quality art instruction at affordable prices.

Registering Your Copyright - Pros and Cons

Artists often wonder if they should or shouldn't spend the time, money, and effort to register their copyright. There are some distinct advantages to registering with the US copyright office but there are also disadvantages - some of which you might not have thought of. In the following video I give information from 96 professional illustrators. I asked them if they register their copyrights - their answers might surprise you. In the end it's always good to educate yourself on this subject so you can make the decision for yourself. If you want more information the US Copyright Office has a great FAQ section here.

An Art Related Job -Worth It? Or A Trap?

Do you get a kick out of watching someone else eat a nice juicy steak - or do you want to tear into one yourself? (or a veggie burger :)

I often hear students receive the advice to get an art related job that's "safer" and easier to land than pursuing their desired choice of becoming a freelance illustrator, writer, or fine artist - so they can later make the transition to what they really want to do. The art related jobs are usually something like art director or graphic designer, animator or even an editor. I would think that in some ways this would be somewhat offensive to art directors, graphic designers, animators and editors who really love their jobs. They're living their dreams and probably don't want to work with people who are settling.

I've had many friends, students, and acquaintances over the years who have opted to work in an art related field. Most of them have NOT transitioned into their dream career after many years in their second choice and many of them never do.

Using your creative mind is taxing - your brain is a muscle - so working 8 hours in in an art job will wear you out. As one of my graphic designer friends puts it, "I've just given all I have to do my job - the last thing I want to do is come home and work on becoming an illustrator."

Compare that to another friend who works in a non-art career. He told me, "All I can think about while I'm at work is getting home to work on my painting."

I'm not saying that it's never a good idea to work in an art related career. One exception that comes to mind is the person who dreams of creating their own "blank" and can learn how to create their "blank" while working for someone else on their "blank" and getting paid to do it.

Choose wisely my fellow artists - regret isn't fun and you don't want to be that person who wishes they hadn't wasted so much time figuring out what they didn't really want to do.

I created the painting above about 10 years ago and I can still remember what it felt like to be free to work on exactly what I wanted to paint at that time. Nothing compares to living life on your terms - free to express yourself creatively.

Tutorial: Adding A Photo Background

I was playing with this image the other day and thought I'd make a little tutorial to show how easy it is to add a photo for the background. Sometimes you might not need much storytelling in the background but you also don't want a flat color. If you watch the video you will see that if you paint your foreground image as a silhouette you can easily try different photo backgrounds.

Oh - and the meaning behind the image is up to your interpretation but for me it was inspired by the fact that most of us have much more in common that we might outwardly think at first glance.

Are eBooks/Story apps evolutionary?

If you could ride a horse really fast back in 1860 you might have been able to land a job delivering mail for the Pony Express. You might have even delivered one of your own letters to let your parents know you landed a good job - although not without danger. But in less than two years (in 1861) you would have had to let them know that you were unemployed again - replaced by the telegraph which had been gaining momentum and could do what you did in a fraction of the time.

If you manufactured telegraph equipment or sent telegraphs you too were out of a job about 30 years later - replaced by the telephone. Now many people are finding it possible to live without the land line opting for it's cousin - the cell phone. My father worked for AT&T for 30 plus years and saw a lot of technology changes - he even installed some of the first cell equipment for the Montgomery County police in Maryland and pondered, "This technology is too expensive...no way will it ever be used mainstream." He didn't realize that phone companies would give the expensive cell phones away in exchange for a monthly contract!

So let's examine publishing. Someone long ago figured out that you could flatten clay into tablets and write on them but they broke easily. The Egyptians created the process of pounding out reeds to make papyrus to write on while the Chinese found a similar product - bamboo -and it was about 100 AD that the Chinese invented paper. So for about 900 years we've been using paper to send, store, and share ideas. That's a pretty big tradition.

I get asked all the time if I think ebooks are a fad? If I think it's worth it to produce them? If I think making apps are better? How I found my programmers? Is it better to try to find an agent and get my book published traditionally? How I plan on marketing my apps? What should I do?

I'm flattered that so many would think I have the answers but the truth is that I'm just a dumb guy who fumbled his way into this industry and is now trying to figure out what my next moves will be.

But for what it's worth - here are my thoughts:

1) I've never seen a new technology evolve into the market with as much popularity as eReaders - and then die off. We have some great forerunners to the publishing industry that give indications that ebooks are here to stay. Music is now digital. Movies are now digital. Photography is digital. Periodicals - digital. You can paint digitally and yes books are also offered digitally. You're even reading my blog digitally - a new method of sharing ideas less than a decade old. So where does that leave paper? I think it will eventually be replaced. Sure there will be some who won't want to give up their paper - I see them as part of a significant group like those who still listen to vinyl records. Are they wrong to like paper - of course not - but will paper be the dominant delivery method of books? I don't think so. Will the children of eBook reading parents have a romantic connection to pulp?

2) If paper goes away what happens to publishers? I think some publishers will thrive in a digital world and I think some won't figure out how to stay relevant. I see a lot of authors and illustrators stuck in old ways of thinking and some keeping an open mind as to how they can take advantage of the coming changes. There are pros and cons of working with traditional publishers and the same is true for indie publishing. Neither one is superior to the other - just different. Is it hard to get an agent and sell your book to a publisher? Yes - and it can take years of trying. Is it hard to publish on your own? No - the hard part is getting the attention of your audience. Becoming a successful author/illustrator will be just as hard if not harder in the future.

3) How can I attract the attention of my audience?  I've read a lot of articles online about marketing eBooks and apps. I've seen a lot of people trying to game the system with fake reviews from relatives and begging "likes" on Facebook. I've heard of people paying for reviews and making up fake awards for their books. Many give their eProducts away for free in hopes of climbing to a higher sales rank on retail sites. I've said it before and I'll say it again: There is no substitution for greatness!

Your product must be AMAZING, EXTRAORDINARY, SUPERB, INCREDIBLE, and UNBELIEVABLE! It has to be extremely beautiful or disturbing or funny or touching or informative or witty etc. I looked on my iPad today and noticed that of the indie apps that I've purchased I found them from friends, review sites, and social networks. None of them came from ads. None of them came from promotional campaigns. None from being asked to click "like". None from FREE!!! None from hype. What they all had in common was an individual sticking their neck on the line and saying, "try this - I like this - you'll probably like it too." And so the "good stuff" will get passed around and generate a viral quality simply because it's good and nothing else.

People say that I'm naive. Perhaps. But I know how and why I buy eBooks and apps. I also know many success stories where the product was so cool that people had to have it - couldn't live without it. When you buy a song on Amazon or iTunes did you buy it because you saw an ad? or did you download it because it was stuck in your head? - in other words it was awesome right?

Am I afraid of making mediocre ebooks/story apps? You better believe it!-YES - it keeps me awake at night. But fear is a good thing - if you're not afraid you probably don't understand how vital it is to create something truly original.

There's no substitute for being awesome! The internet has leveled the playing field making mediocrity hard to sell and celebrating greatness. Be Great! And don't listen to the nay sayers who will tell you that the little guy doesn't stand a chance next to the giants entering the ebook/app craze. There will be many who will write or speak negatively about indie publishing simply because they haven't found success - I would submit in most cases they didn't produce a product that people had to have - so now they're eager to dash the dreams of others - it's just sour grapes.

Creating in a Vacuum Cleaner

A while back my youngest son overheard my wife and I talking about not being able to create in a vacuum. He asked, "why can't you create in a vacuum cleaner?" We both busted up laughing and then moved to damage control when we could tell he didn't appreciate it.

But the question is valid...why can't you create in a vacuum?...or vacuum cleaner?

Everyone's heard that behind every good man is a great woman (so true in my case). I would submit the same is true that behind every good writer is a great critique group.

My critique group is called Brotique probably due to the fact that we are a guys only group. Formed about three years ago - we meet about once/month at El Gallo Giro - a mostly authentic Mexican restaurant in Provo Utah. (A few of us are hiding out just for the food)

Now you might be tempted to think that we're sexist...stupid perhaps but the reason for keeping it guys only is to create an environment free from feminine based censorship - now hold on...we theorized that since most editors are female there is probably a bias in children's publishing away from certain topics or words, issues, etc. We wondered if this would be a good environment to test ideas and stories that might be deemed "inappropriate for children." Ironically we've come to realize that about the only benefit is being able to talk about ludicrous ideas without the fear of being labeled inappropriate, lewd, ribald, uncalled for, or crass.

Still - we feel that there are probably markets that are under represented or completely overlooked that would appeal to a demographic off the radar of some publishers. We like the ability to dream, write, and ponder these types of subjects. In the end we probably perform about the same amount of self censorship that we would get through editors - we just like the idea that we can be rebels - if we wanted to - but we might choose not to rebel - but we could...just so you know.


One thing for certain - we've found a magical combination of talented author/illustrators who are fun loving, thoughtful (when necessary), honest, smart, ingenious, hard working, and encouraging. The unspoken spirit of the group seems to be: "I'll help you - you help me - we'll both help them and in the end we'll all publish fun ideas that change the world for the better."

Meet the bros:

Guy Francis - can MacGyver anything  -  blog!

Adam Griffin - ghost - author/illustrator
Jed Henry - Young Gun - Larper - Amazing Project!
Neil Huges - can work the bowl - raises goats - writes really cool stuff!
Matt Loveridge - has largest collection of dust bunny critters - blog!
Jake Parker - internet entrepreneur - owns 5 small kids - Amazing Project!
Kirk Richards - unsuspecting - fine artist/ illustrator - Amazing Project!
Will Strong - strong - leaps small buildings with multiple bounds - blog!
Will Terry - immature - has been hit by two cars while riding bikes!
Rick Walton - is playing himself - written over 1000 picturebooks - site!
Jake Wyatt - jackhammer - buzzsaw - voltage overload - funny guy - blog!

The Dirty Work Of Illustration

Not that illustration is dirty work - unless you're working in chalk pastels...no, I mean the dirty side of the business...which is, the BUSINESS SIDE. None of us got into this business for the business right? -and if you did then someone gave you the business! If we had really wanted to become business people we would have majored in business and would probably be failing at some facebook knock off right now wondering how much longer the V.C. capital is going to last. Instead we're trying to find some freakin time to do what we love amidst the dreaded task of satisfying assignments we might not really want to work on and doing the dreaded business tasks.

This isn't going to be one of those sugar coated pep talks where I tell you everything's going to be alright. Not going to be a top 5 list of things you can do to make it easier. The fact is -the business side is often what separates the successful from the dreamers. It's like taking out the garbage - if you don't do it regularly it will pile up, get in your way, and stink up the place worse than shell fish rotting in the sun. On top of that your great ideas stack up and stagnate. You'll be one of those people who says, "I could have done that" or "I had an idea like that" or "That didn't really take that much talent"...yeah? you're right -what it took was getting up and doing the dirty work of making it happen (and failing a lot). The phone calls. The leg work. The ordering. The research. The face time. The follow up. The lunch meeting. The emailing back and forth. The planning. The lack of sleep. The writing. The bounce back after rejection. and all the other stuff that goes into taking your art and combining it with an idea that people want - like this one from my friend Jed: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1499165518/ukiyo-e-heroes?ref=live

Some times illustrators get lucky. I've known a few to stumble on a great project that happened to really take off and find enormous commercial success. Most of these illustrators already put in the work and created their luck so to speak but again - they're rare. For the rest of us it takes tenacity of immense proportions to push through project after project hoping that we figure out a way to make more money.

It's easy making the dummy book. Easy making the promo piece. Easy doodling in the sketchbook. Easy designing the cover. Easy shopping for supplies. Easy doing what we love. But to be successful you have to be willing to face and embrace the uncomfortable. The mundane. The embarrassing. The tedious. The repetitive. The boring and the dreaded. The successful person is often zombie like. Knock em down - they get back up - over and over and over again. In this business you're going to have to get pretty dirty if you want to make a living at it.

Don't Be A Robot!

The following was inspired by William Palacio and Elizabeth Struck who asked what my thoughts are on partnering with authors on indie books/ebooks and accepting illustration assignments.

1. Don't Be A Robot
For some strange reason humans often think they must set their humanity aside when they deal with someone in a business situation. Phone conversations are awkward and one or both parties is so uncomfortable -they can't wait to get off the phone. I must admit this happened to me early on but over time I've learned that my relationships with clients are not only essential for success - they've become an enjoyable social part of my life! I've even gone snowboarding with a client who flew out here from Chicago.

So when you first make contact don't go for the jugular buy blurting out business stuff right away. That tells the other party you don't care about them - the ONLY reason you're on the phone is to get the transaction over with. Treat them like you would if you were meeting someone for the first time at a party. Get to know them with small talk a little before you start discussing project details.

2. Talk About Your Fear
(This is mostly for working with indie authors) Any time you enter into any kind of partnership you have fears - and if you don't you're crazy. You were afraid of group members in school when you had to do a group project, afraid of your college roommates, afraid of band members and the members of your sports team, afraid of your fiancee, etc. We've all been let down, lied to, cheated, hurt, burned, and screwed by people we've partnered with in our lives. So when you get on that phone with a potential client or partner you're carrying all that baggage into the conversation - AND SO ARE THEY.

You're both afraid of each other - so why not talk about it. Get it out there - you're both thinking it. Your potential client/partner is thinking you'll quit half way through the project - that you won't come through with sketches on time - that they won't be what you agreed upon - that you just want to walk away with the money. You're afraid that the client/partner will ask you to do endless revisions, will decide to cancel the project mid way, won't forward royalties, and won't pay the agreed upon price.

I operate under the assumption that most people are basically good and want to do the right thing. Going into the relationship this way I talk to the person on the other end of the phone like this: "I know you're probably worried that I won't do what I say I will do - that's a very valid concern since we're just meeting each other over the phone. I pride myself in how I conduct business with other people and treat them as I would want to be treated. I do what I say I'm going to do. I'll keep my end of the bargain. I expect to be treated the same way so when we set the schedule it's very important for both of us to meet our deadlines because this will help us gain trust for each other. I know you're afraid I won't come through with the art but you need to know that I'm afraid that you won't come through with the money." If you get the conversation started this way both parties should be converted to the mindset of proving to the other party that they can be trusted by fulfilling their agreements.

3. Have A Contract
I often do not work with a contract when I form partnerships - always with clients. Perhaps I've been lucky but in over 2500 illustration assignments and projects I've never been screwed. Closest I came was long ago a magazine was going under and they split up my payment - but I still got paid. Check out the video above where I"ll tell you a hum dinger of a story and why a contract won't always protect you. If I were partnering with a total stranger I would get a contract however.

4. Trading Art For Money
It's the classic transaction - "First give me the money and I'll hand over the ______." "No, give me the _______ and you'll get your money." Is there a clean way to do it? NO! Life is risky. You can't win without risk - but you can minimize it. So...split up the payments into thirds or even more. Many of my book contracts with publishers are set up this way. I get a payment up front - that's the publisher's way of saying, "I know you need money to live on while you work on my project and you can trust me." I also get a payment after I complete the sketches and the final payment after I turn in finished art. This way if the client welches on the money you don't get burned on the entire project.

5. Profit Sharing
The arrangement I have with the programmers I'm working with on apps and people I've partnered with in the past is a pure revenue sharing model. We never exchanged money up front for services rendered but have agreed to split profits with certain percentage deals. This has been somewhat easier since I live close to my partners. Also I've partnered with friends or been introduced by friends so there is already a higher level of trust. None the less you always want to make sure everyone feels safe so what I've agreed to do for each one is provide monthly profit statements from the retailers we are doing business with. Since these retailers like Amazon provide digital spreadsheets it's pretty easy to forward them along. I've also promised to meet up with them and log in to our account whenever they want to so they can get a first hand look at things.

6. Get A Good Start
If I were going to illustrate a manuscript for an indie author I would not begin work until:

I had received a good faith payment - they contacted you - so they should put up or shut up.

The manuscript is totally finished and the author agrees not to make any text changes.

You really like the manuscript or the compensation you've agreed upon.

They agree that they are in charge of the words and I'm in charge of the art. non-negotiable.

You have a signed contract that explains exactly what both of you own.

Should Anyone Be Published?

So I got to thinking today while my dog was walking me - Should anyone be published? Can anyone be published? At what point can one call them self an author or artist? What is an artist? If everyone is an artist how can any of us make a living as an artist, author, musician or whatever? With internet tools like: Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Amazon, iTunes, Pubit, Tumbler, Wordpress, Diviantart, Youtube, Kickstarter, Google, and yes Blogger - anyone can make their art available for consumption and can generate an audience for FREE. Is this good for art? Is this good for artists? and is it good for our consumers? What is the cost of more artists getting more attention than ever before in the history of the world?

Some say the down side is that more mediocre art will be seen than ever before. That the quality of art is being diluted. That if people without "proper" training call themselves artists or authors - the lay person will not know the difference. That the masses will unwittingly consume bad art. That everyone loses because the revolutionaries are storming the Bastille and the established master artists will lose the power of their voice in the coming wave of amateurs.

What do you think?

Here's what I think: Baloney!

I don't think things are that much different now as they were 20 years ago -as far as artists having to work super hard to get attention. Rewind the tape and lets go back to 1992 - before all those internet sites were created. I was told that I was crazy to try to become a professional illustrator in '92. The same was true if you wanted to become an actor, musician, photographer, comedian, or gallery painter. Why was it crazy? -because there was so much stinkin competition! The big difference was that there were more gatekeepers than there are today. Reps, agents, companies, publishers, labels, agencies, galleries, etc were the entities that vetted artists for their perception of quality. Sometimes they got it right - sometimes they blew it - like the publishers that told JK Rowling to take a hike.

So now that many of these gatekeepers have lost some of their power - we're seeing artists self publishing all forms of art:  books, music, visual art, performing art, etc. I think it's great! I believe that everyone is an artist (sometimes). I believe that most artists feed off of their audience and the feedback can be both encouraging and discouraging - but both are necessary for growth.

I don't think that more artists vying for attention is bad at all - in fact I believe it's a good thing. If originality is taking a known idea and combining it with another idea than I believe that more artist's means more ideas. More ideas breed even more combinations of ideas which means that the quality of art should go up. I see this already happening -  I've seen more creative ideas in the last year on Facebook than I've ever seen in my entire life.

To become an accomplished artist takes many years and long hours of practice. In the past the practice was done without much of an audience. I believe that artists can now improve much faster with the exposure they can receive through their network of friends online.

Some worry that their products won't be found in a sea of other products. They better worry. We should all worry enough to make sure our products are DIFFERENT - ORIGINAL - CREATIVE - EXCEPTIONAL - even EXTRAORDINARY or we will never get the attention we seek. But this isn't new either...

Consider all the books that have ever been published in the history of publishing. Google estimates this number at 130 million. How did anyone ever get noticed? ONE HUNDRED THIRTY MEEEELION BOOKS???!!! - YIKES!  Most of the good ones got noticed because there are systems in place to help you find what you're looking for. Take Barnes and Noble for instance. By my rough calculations (keep in mind I flunked math) Barnes and Noble Stores carry a few hundred thousand books  - much less than 1% of all the books ever published. So B&N acts as a filter for it's consumers - they only carry what they think you will want. In addition those few hundred thousand books aren't overwhelming because they are organized into sections. When you or I walk into a B&N we already know what section(s) we're going to check out that might have a few hundred books to browse...piece of cake - you just found Linchpin by Seth Godin.

The same thing is happening online. Review sites, List sites, retailers, awards, bloggers, etc are tripping over themselves to find the good stuff to bring relevancy to their sites. They want to be able to sell their products and attract advertisers so they have to suggest good products to us in order drive traffic and stay viable.

In the end I think there will be just as many superstars creating works that reach some level of mainstream success and then there will be the rest of us - hoping, dreaming, working our butts off, and having a great time doing what we love.

Beware the Cowken!!!

Beware the cowken: Makes strange sounds early in the morning and will give your shins a wicked stabbing!

Gives the best eggnog on the planet!

................................


Hey, I don't have any words of wisdom this week - just weirdness - too much Olympics, Mars, and heat! - if any of you have suggestions for me to blog about I'm all ears!

Getting Stuff Done...

A few weeks ago I was asked how I manage my time to accomplish items on my to do list. First let me just say that my situation affords me a lot of time to devote towards illustration projects and for that I feel very fortunate. My youngest boy is now 13 and does a lot with his older brothers and friends. My wife was teaching school when he was a pup so I spent a lot of time watering and weeding that one but now I have much more time. I don't have a full time job so that really helps. I know many of you have a lot of responsibilities that demand big chunks of time but here are some of my strategies - perhaps they might give you a few ideas:


I need less money because we've simplified our lives. Fewer activities, reusing items, less extravagant vacations - basically living within our means has allowed me to take on less work- to be choosy and more judicious with my time.


 I work many hours during the day but when I draw I do it on my iPad in the family room so I can be with my wife and kids - not super high quality time but I can still participate in discussions...and arguments :) I do most of the thumbnail and design decisions in my studio where I can think and then refine the finishes with the fam.


I sketch on an iPad - I can't tell you how much time this has saved me. We have some medical issues in our family and find ourselves at doctor appointments quite often. Now I can take my work with me on the iPad. I like it better than a sketchbook because I can completely finish drawings because I never run out of "paper". You can always re-size and keep working. When I'm at school or waiting for one of my kids in the car - at the in-laws, etc. I always have the ability to keep working. I then email the work to myself and when I get home I'm already to start photoshop work.


I love hiking in the mountains and playing racquetball - so I use both of these as incentives. I'll tell myself that I can't leave for my hike until I get x done. Self imposed deadlines have become a way of life - so much that sometimes I forget that they are my deadlines and I sometimes have to remind myself that it's ok to blow one now and then. The hike resets my mind and gives me focus - I'm more productive when I return.


I had to go on an internet diet. One of my indulgences is to check facebook, email, twitter, my blog, my back office sales stats for Amazon and Pubit, other people's blogs, news feeds, etc. The online connections are potentially endless and Seth Godin really helped me by clearly stating that these distractions are NOT work. So while I used to be able to convince myself that it was part of my productivity I no longer can - Thanks Seth! I jump on in the morning and then a few more times throughout the day but then I click out and really try to crank on my assignments.


I visualize a lot too. I begin with the end in mind as Stephen Covey put it in his 7 habits book. Imagining how cool it will be to have children's story apps for iPad and android really gets me going and gives me the motivation to sidestep many distractions that inevitably try to trip me each day.


I also break down each project into small little checklist items. Even if you're only able to cross one little item off each day think what you'll be able to accomplish in a year. Thinking about doing it is good but people sometimes spend years telling themselves, "I'm going to_______."  - make the freakin list - start checking things off!


Probably the biggest thing I've been able to do to boost my productivity and time management is to start saying no to assignments I'm not in love with. Cutting out the projects that bring me down and replacing them with projects I love has me waking up in the morning excited to get going. Sometimes I have to pinch myself that I get to go in my studio and work on some freakin cool stuff. 


Hope this list helps some of you - it's taken me many years to finally figure out what works for me - I'd love to know what works for you...maybe I can steal a few ideas.

Painted a Drawing From When I Was 8

I've been wanting to do this for quite a while - paint an image I drew when I was a kid! I remember being in the phase of drawing hot rods when I was 8 - 10 years old. I was born in '66 when the occasional hot rod would rumble by and my friends and I dreamed of one day owning one. The next best thing was drawing them...or attempting to draw them with what little skill we possessed. There was a kid in my 3rd grade class that was much better than I - wish I could remember his name - anyway, whenever it was art time we found ourselves in a sort of competition to draw the coolest hot rod.

The neat thing is that while I was painting this one up in photoshop today I remembered what it felt like to make this drawing way back. Not this one in particular but the overall genre of hot rod drawings - the metal flake candy apple paint job was what I had no way of pulling off back then. Crayons always seemed to mess up a perfectly good drawing and the end result was always such a disappointment.

This was some good therapy today - I highly recommend it! Thanks Dad for saving some of my art! I'm keeping files of your grand kids' work... -oh, and I wish I came up with this idea but actually it came from a guy who's been painting kid's drawings for a while http://www.themonsterengine.com/

--Addendum: Susan Clement-Beveridge brought up a really good point that I had to include in the post: the idea of painting the image with a technology that had yet to be invented when I drew the sketch. Wow! How could I have missed that one? Imagine present Will going back in time and explaining to past Will age 8. "So anyhow, in almost 40 years I'm going to paint your sketch"...(imagine young Will with a stupid look)..."yeah, so I'll be working on a computer".... (blank stare)..."a computer is a electrical box you put on your desk that's attached to a TV type screen"...."There's no real paint but I'll be able to scan your drawing with a scanner thingy to get it into the TV type thing"....(young Will thinking about playing outside with friends)..."forget the scanner - I'll be painting it with electronic pixels with a tablet type thingy and an electric pen that won't write on paper"....( young Will - "I'm going down to my friends house now - we're going to play Rock em Sock em Robots)....

You Are A Creator!

Not THE Creator :) When I first left school in 1992 I was eager to get illustration assignments. After a few months and a few freelance gigs I couldn't believe I could fianlly call myself an illustrator! For the following eighteen years I continued to proudly identify myself as an illustrator. But in the last few years I've begun to realize that this title or label has actually been somewhat limiting in my growth as an artist. The confines of the title kept me from seeing myself as anything but an illustrator- not that there's anything wrong with being an illustrator but can I allow myself to be even more? - I thought.

As I started dreaming up new projects and venturing down new roads with my video tutorials, ebooks, and apps I've realized that I've given myself permission to wear many new hats. Entrepreneur, director, teacher, writer, collaborator, graphic designer, voice actor, animator, editor, and yes illustrator are some of the roles I find myself engaged in now. I'm not yet proficient in many of these roles yet but it's challenging and exciting to be able to wake up and declare, "I'm going to do _________ today!"

Re-defining yourself as a creator allows your mind to wander and imagine yourself being successful in areas you might never thought of. Imagining your successes is really the first step to realizing those successes because if you can't imagine it you won't have the motivation to act. Giving yourself permission to become more- is liberating. Calling yourself a creator allows you the freedom to explore and communicate with like minded people about the possibilities you imagine. I have 3 more projects I would like to pursue in the future if I can finish some of my existing work - and they aren't like anything I've done thus far.

A word of caution: Before you really start to pursue too many projects or skill sets let me make it clear that I believe it is very important to master one craft first. Mastering a craft will mean different things to different people. If you reach a high level of mastery at whatever it is that you do i.e. illustration, writing, animation, coding, etc. you will put yourself in a leveraging position. You'll be able to gain respect from the people you approach if you ever want to partner with them, go into business with them, collaborate with, or hire them. You'll need this respect if you wish to attract equally talented people who offer expertise where you are weak.

So allow yourself a broader definition of who you are so you can become more than you ever imagined. With amazing digital technologies and the internet -which is becoming more and more accessible to the little man the opportunities are endless.

My youngest son told me that frogs don't jump to catch insects when he saw the piece I was working on above. My response, "would you have commented on this piece if I had drawn it accurately?" He thought about it and then said, "probably not." If we expect to get attention in the noisy era of the internet we have to create original projects!

Penguin App

So here's another children's story app I'm working on right now. I'm calling this the SUMMER OF APPS as I've been working on three of them with three different programmers currently. I thought I'd post some progress on my latest - the penguin app - we're still trying to figure out a name for it. It has a story component as well as a counting and simple addition subtraction theme. This one is going to be targeted towards 2-5 year olds. In the menu users will choose between story mode and adventure mode - so story time is just that and when it's time to play kids will know how to get there.

These penguins are the main characters and since we are animating them I had to start learning a little about animation. You need to know that I've been a one trick pony for almost two decades - I've only been working digitally for a few years for crying out loud.

So one of the first things I learned is that whenever you're talking animation you're talking assets. An asset is a stand alone character, object, or background element. In order for things to move over a background they can't be painted over the background - like I used to do in all my illustrations. This is why it's almost impossible to make animated apps or ebooks from classic children's books. 

When you're working with animated assets the more things you separate from the background the more powerful the property. By that I mean that if what you're working on ever does well commercially you'll probably want to follow it up with a sequel. So the more stuff you can illustrate separately the more power you have in creating another story using the same backgrounds by moving the props into different positions or removing them entirely. You can see that this beach scene could be completely reworked in a matter of minutes since every object is painted on it's own layer. Ironically I don't think I'd be going down this road if I hadn't learned to work in photoshop a few years back!

Some little fishies that appear in a few screens in the app...

The programmer on this app really likes the "Unity Framework" which he is using to format our app. It's actually designed for a 3d game environment but works great for our 2d art and animation. It allows us to dream it and build it. Looking at the smooth motion it provides is amazing to me since I've always identified myself as an illustrator. About 4 years ago a colleague of mine attended an icon conference where a speaker said that illustrators will need to start thinking about motion graphics and animation if they want to stay viable in the near future. Those words were a bit scary to me at the time for fear of the unknown. Now I'm not only unafraid - I'm so psyched about the possibilities and the sheer fun of dreaming up things that I've never seen before!

What I Did Wrong On Kickstarter

Many of you know I'm a big fan of failing and failing often in order to learn and grow. Well, my Kickstarter campaign didn't reach it's funding for I HATE READING! and I think I know why. When things don't play out the way we want them to it's tempting to adopt an attitude, "Ah, the world doesn't deserve my genius." "I'm taking my ball and going home." But I have had the luxury of failing so much in my life that this isn't even a scrape. I brought home so many bad report cards that failure was almost part of my to do list. Failing often has made me somewhat immune to the feelings of regret many become paralyzed by - I know that the next time I try something I'll have a better chance of success based on lessons learned.

Here is a list of the main reasons I believe my Kickstarter didn't reach it's goal:

1) I didn't have a launch party to rally my close friends and family. Many suggest that before you ever pull the trigger on your Kickstarter web page you should let as many people know about your project as possible. I was sort of in rush mode to get mine going as I was juggling other freelance projects etc.

2) I didn't get a "staff pick." The coveted holy grail factor in having a super successful campaign is getting loved by the Kickstarter staff. A "staff pick" means that Kickstarter features your project so that it's easy for people to find your project. They say right on their website that they're looking for projects that are doing well. This is more of a hunch but I think that if you come out of the gate with a roar you have more chances of getting their attention. There are thousands of projects on their site and the more money you rack up early has to be one of the factors they're looking for. So it stands to reason that if you have a bunch of people lined up to contribute when you launch you'll send a message that you aren't fooling around. In addition their search algorithms are set to move your project up on the list each time someone contributes to your Kickstarter. I think they also count the facebook "likes" and move you up on their "popular" list.

3) My rewards weren't enticing enough. If I had painted the I HATE READING! images in acrylics instead of working digitally I would have had original painted art to offer as incentives to perspective backers. Having rewards that people really want is important - ask yourself - would I want this? This was a choice I struggled with early on but I felt that I couldn't spare the extra time to work traditionally - gambled - lost.

4) I charged too much for the app. I think most people are practical  - like I see myself.  I was charging $10 for an app that everybody figured I would end up selling for a few bucks in the app store. Why pay 4- 5 times the price for the same product? I was figuring that charging $2/app wouldn't get the project funded very easily and that perhaps more people would contribute a little more to get their name in the credits - guess not. :)

5) I didn't nurture my campaign. Call it laziness or an excuse but I really didn't feel that I had enough time to keep my Kickstarter in peoples minds on a daily basis with updates. I struggled with this one on another level too...I didn't want to bug people. I was afraid of people growing to hate I HATE READING! through over-exposure.

6) I didn't reach out to like minded people - educators and teachers. I'm sure that with enough prep work in the form of research and invitations I could have rallied a group of interested organizations. I feel confident that some or all of them may have helped me in one way or another with my goal if not simply by just spreading the word.

So that's it - probably a bunch of other mistakes but I value the experience in that if I ever do another Kickstarter I'll start with a much better game plan. I also have this experience to share and that's priceless!
So if you decide to launch your own Kickstarter please don't be discouraged by my failure to fund. You can right many of my wrongs. Check out one of my friends successful campaigns that finished a few months ago - Jake Parker - dreams can come true on Kickstarter!

Good news! I'm going to be making the app after all - with a few cuts here and there and digging into my own pocket we'll be able to release what I feel is going to be a really fun app! Also  - I've been contacted by a few publishers who may want to publish I HATE READING! into a physical book - stay tuned!

Being Teachable

Remember when you knew it all? For some it was way back in grade school. For others it was up until you went to college and realized there was a lot you had to learn....and yet some never fully understand how much they truly don't know. Being teachable is being willing to let down your guard...allowing someone else to drive even though you might know some or all of the directions. Why? Because most of us will never achieve world class mastery over our craft or marketing skills without getting help from each other.

 Richard Hull, one of my illustration teachers from college, to this day will attend a lecture from a visiting illustrator and sit quietly taking notes. Even though his work is great and even though he has illustrated editorial, advertising, and children's books – AND teaches it for a living...he's there...taking notes when most of the student's are not.

 Being teachable isn't natural - but it must be learned in order to progress. Sometimes I run across a student that reminds me of myself when I was in college. I had such a passion for being original that I rarely took the advice of my teachers. If they taught the class to do it this way I wanted to do it that way. I see some of my students making the same choices and while I understand it I know it leads to a dead end. There was a point where I realized that everything my teachers had been telling me was right. It was at that point that I started listening and my learning increased at a much faster pace.

 Sadly every now and then I run across a student who never seems to trust me enough to take my advice. But it's not just my advice – my fellow teachers confirm the same behavior. I worry about them because in most cases they seem to just pass through art classes as if it were a phase in their life...then they're on to something else and we never see them again.

 Two years ago I had to humble myself and learn from a recent graduate – Jed Henry – now a children's book illustrator (and a darn good one too!). He taught me how to use photoshop and it has allowed me to put away the acrylics and produce my images in a fraction of the time. If I hadn't been teachable I can't imagine where I would be. I'll talk more on this in a later post but working on ebooks and apps is so much easier if you can work in layers digitally.

 A few weeks ago I was contacted by an 80 year old artist who also was also hungry to learn how to paint digitally. We talked on the phone for about an hour and I helped her through some issues she was having with set up. She had found my digital painting videos on folioacademy and wanted to know if I thought she could handle them. I did – and she dove right in. Later she wrote: “ I have really enjoyed your course and will have many enjoyable hours learning all your techniques.” My teaching is far from perfect and learning from a video isn't the most ideal way but when you're teachable – i.e. humble – you'll absorb more information in a shorter amount of time.

Craft, Creativity, & You

You're thinking of going to art school, you're going to art school, or you went to art school...or you didn't go to school but because of your dedication you're teaching yourself. I'll bet you've spent most of your time working on your craft - more so than your creativity - right? I've talked about this subject before but this time I want to convince you of something I've been thinking about lately.

With the proliferation of the internet I've noticed as I'm sure you have that information is shared and spread much faster than ever before. So when there is a new piece of hardware released we all find out about it overnight. Even if someone isn't addicted to facebook or twitter chances are one of their friends will let em in on the secret.

When a group of award winning illustrators announce a master class, video series, conference, or tutorial - you hear or read about it. When a blogger offers advice, tips, demos, reviews, etc - you find out about it because someone shared it, liked it, retweeted it, emailed it, re-blogged it and on and on. We're all benefiting from the generosity and enthusiasm of each other.

Check out this amazing new little tool that I would have died to have in my early illustration days (brought to me via email from a friend) - and it's FREE!!! This is what I'm talking about! So much goodness out there to learn the craft of illustration. Handy - an artist's reference tool - FREE - app store - android.



SO, my conclusion is that learning the craft of illustration is getting easier and easier. It will still take an incredible amount of time and dedication but you don't necessarily have to have the means to go to school. And even if you're going to school you have way more resources, gadgets, and opportunities than ever before.  My thought is that there is and will be more talented artists at an ever growing rate than there ever has been. Does this scare me? A little, but in the end I realize that it's going to be the creativity that is paired with the craft that will sell a product. So if you just want to make great pictures you're going to have a harder time earning a living than if you couple it with a creative idea and package it in a product that people can't live without.

Example: Mary Grandpre: Great stand alone art portfolio....combined with the Harry Potter manuscript = big$$$

So work on your creative ideas, stories, products etc...it's your originality that will keep you in the game.