Was Willingly Kidnapped by Awesomeness Last Night… and how that relates to Writing

Sorry for the delay - but VOLTAIRE was playing at one of my favorite night club's Goth night (Haven at Diva's) last night.

Also, sorry for the lack of pictures. I fell back into my "living in the moment" personhood that generally results in a lack of pictures from conventions, too…

And Scott also forgot the camera.

(So, here's a picture from Voltaire's MySpace):



(Yes, he's that hot in person, too. ;) )

What does that have to do with Writerly Wednesday?

Well, A LOT!

Besides being a great wordsmith in songs, Voltaire also writes (& DRAWS) comic books, does stop-motion animation, has two cute little "coffee table" books about being Goth and decorating Goth, and he designs T-Shirts and toys. His T-Shirts also have some of the best quips on them too - more great writing!

Basically, Voltaire has made himself an entrepreneur doing what he loves the most: CREATING.

Isn't that what writers want to do?

Also - he obviously knows how to diversify!

Face it, most of us aren't going to make a living selling fiction. (My intentions are to break that statistic, BTW, but no arguing the numbers are against me!)

Most writers, I've also learned, have an OVERALL artistic streak, so there is probably more you can do than just write fiction… or even just write. What other things are you good at? What else do you love?

I love horses and food, so I write about those things. I also enjoy drawing - so I made myself an illustrated poetry chap book that I sell. I'm working on a comic with a friend, and of course, several fiction projects.

It kinda goes back to Kevin J. Anderson's advice that I often cite/paraphrase: You can put one piece of popcorn on the stove and watch it until it >hopefully< pops… or you can dump a whole scoop of popcorn and know that SOMEthing will eventually pop.

Who are some of your favorite independent artists? How do they support themselves? What do they do besides their topmost favorite endeavor (be it songs, animation, artistry, writing)? How do they market themselves?

Voltaire does an awful lot of legwork, too, and he is constantly making the most of the Internet and social media - in addition to live appearances and interactions - to cultivate a relationship with his fans. If you like his blog writing, for example, you know you'll like most of what he writes, and you (should) know what to expect if you get a chance to meet him or attend a live show. His attitude and personality shine (Oh my Goth… did I just say shine? Um… darkly glower) in everything he does. Even if it's entirely different media, you know what you're getting when you purchase something he's created, be it music, snarky Ts, comics, books, or toys.

Even though he's diversified, he remains consistent in his own "branding."

If someone picks up something of yours, how accurately could they guess its from you? What is your own personal touch that can make everything you create - no matter what it is - uniquely yours?

So, as a fan and one who appreciates his business savvy, check out Voltaire's work and buy some of his stuff. (Call it marketing research and right it off on taxes.) Also check out his MySpace and Facebook to find out more for yourself about what he does and how he markets himself.

Happy Creating!