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I am writing this as a person who came of age in the 1990's, made actual 'mix tapes' as a hobby since 13 years old (Nirvana was the 'next big thing' then), obsessed about different brands and quality of cassette tapes (TDK Chrome Type II yielded the best results for dubbing mixtapes, in my experience), collected tapes with a passion (I used to organize them alphabetically and by genre), and later started my own tiny record label, releasing limited handcrafted CD-R compilations and albums for indie bands and artists. The production process will vary depending on location and availability of resources.Assuming your master recording is already finished and ready for duplication, either in type II cassette or CD, you must first avail of a fully functional tape player with recording/dubbing capability. It can be a 'boombox'-type double cassette player or a CD/tape portable, as long as there is a recording function. If you can find a tape duplicator (usually from sites like eBay) so you can make 3-4 copies per dubbing, the better for you. But if you can't and do not mind the pain and inconvenience of making copies one by one with a cheap boombox, then by all means, go ahead and run your first tape-based record label, DIY-style.You need to have some fresh stock cassettes, or a lot of new blank cassettes. There are online sellers that offer blank stock cassettes for cheap. Some even offer duplication and inlay printing services, and you only need to ask for a quotation price so you can manage your expenses, including shipping.Read up on topics like whether you should use Dolby Noise Reduction or not (if your tape deck has one). For some tape enthusiasts, especially those who listen to underground punk or metal, the Dolby NR filter can ruin their listening experience, because it reduces the high frequencies and sounds associated with tape noise. It's all a matter of taste and artistic preference.When you are ready to make copies of your first tape release, it is advisable to have a copy of the machine's operating manual at hand. There are scanned manuals of old audio machines from big brands such as Sony, Panasonic, JVC and others available online. Technical problems can happen in the middle of the duplication process, so religiously studying your machine's features and configuration is a must.Use old cassettes to make test copies first until you come up with a result that you like. Test-play it on car stereos, other tape players, and use different types of stereo speakers until you're satisfied that nothing feels missing from your test recording.Now that you're ready to make your first duplicate, simply pop in a blank tape into your machine, follow the operating manual's instructions on dubbing, and make as many copies as you like.After you're done with the duplication, you will probably want to label your tapes so that they look cool. If you can't source tape stickers locally, you can download printable labels and use sticker paper sheets. You can also just cut sticker paper into rectangles at desired sizes and use a typewriter to label them, or print a sheet and cut the labels. Just make sure your labels either indicate which is 'Side A'/'Side 1' and 'Side B'/'Side 2' or that they don't obscure the side indicator on the tapes themselves. One label I received a tape from had each side of the tape labels watercolor-painted. Go crazy with label ideas!You will want cool inlays for your tape cases. Look at old cassette releases, especially 90's alternative rock/indie rock albums, and you'll get a lot of creative ideas for inlays. There are inlay templates available online. You can include photocopied lyrics, short essays/stories, illustrations, a fold-up poster, the possibilities are endless.Have fun putting together your first tape release!

Yes!By the end of this post, you will know….How to scan drawingsHow to edit imagesHow to edit image sizeBest places to sell drawings onlineHow to write art descriptionsHow to promote your artHow to price drawings to sellHow to drive traffic to your websiteWhere to submit your artBefore you start selling your art online, you will want to become familiar with what is involved in an online marketing plan.A basic online art marketing plan is:Create beautiful artProduce high-quality images of your finished artworkUpload the images on your online galleryDrive traffic to your fine art listingThe main difference between selling drawings online and selling oil paintings online are:Photographing paintingsScanning drawingsTarget audienceArt pricesI have been a graphite artist for over 40 years but the strategies I am going to cover in this post will work for all mediums that are used on drawing paper.The mediums include graphite, colored pencils, ink, charcoal, and even watercolors.Original Drawing by Dave NevuePurchase PrintsHow To Sell Drawings Online And Make MoneyEileen Kinsella wrote a great article on March 9, 2016, explaining the TEFAF 2016 Art Marketing Report and how it relates to The Global Art Trade.Ellen’s stated in her article:“According to the TEFAF Art Market Report 2016, the global art market achieved total sales of $63.8 billion in 2015, falling seven percent year-on-year from its previous high of $68.2 billion in 2014.”She went on to say:“Interestingly, the US market saw continued growth while other leading regions saw a decline.”You can read Ellen’s full article at What Does TEFAF 2016 Art Market Report Tell Us About the Global Art Trade?Over the past ten years, there has been an incline with online sales, and because of that slope, more opportunities are arising for artists to sell drawings online for money or any medium they specialize in.The art world is changing right before our eyes.The online marketplace allows potential buyers to view, admire, and purchase art from artists around the world.You, as an artist, can focus on any niche that fuels your passion.Promoting Art Online:Scan ArtOnline Art GalleryArtist BlogSocial MediaEmail MarketingPOD SitesSubmit Your ArtBefore we get started I would like to disclose that if you are interested in selling drawings online will have to be willing to learn, work hard, stay consistent and most important be patient if you wish to sell original art online.If you are willing to put in the hard work you will be able to sell your drawings online and make money.I have been selling my artwork online before there was Facebook. (Myspace was the popular social media platform.)There have been a lot of changes over the years, and the developments are immeasurable for artists like you.Below are the steps you will want to focus on if you are interested in learning how to sell drawings online.Every strategy outlined will help you to build a successful online art business.These are the art selling strategies I have been using for years.Original graphite drawing by Dave NevueHow To Scan Pencil ArtBefore you can start to sell fine art online you will need to produce a digital image.After you have created a digital image you will be able to upload the image to an art selling website.It is easier for pencil artists to create digital images of their work than it is for painters or other crafts.All you will need is a scanner to scan your art. After you scan your drawing you can save it on your PC as a digital image.It is really that easy.You do not have to purchase a digital camera and learn about photographing artwork.All you need to do is scan your drawing and save it on your PC.If you are looking to purchase a scanner, I use and recommend and use the Epson Perfection V600 Color Photo, Image, Film, Negative & Document Scanner – Corded.Epson Perfection V600 Color Photo, Image, Film, Negative & Document Scanner – CordedDetails:6400 x 9600 dpi for enlargement up to 17” x 22”Scan slidesRemoves the appearance of tears, creases, dust, and scratchesScans in greyscaleScans 9 x 11 paperRelated post: Best Art Scanners For Graphite Artists.Here are a few images of my art that I scanned with the Epson Perfection V600.You can see that the scanner picks up all of the slight value changes from the drawing.When I first thought about selling pencil drawings online I tried to take digital photos of the drawings.I spent a lot of money on different cameras and no matter what I used, the quality of the image was poor.It was not until I did some research and discovered scanners.I could have saved a lot of money if I knew that scanning pencil drawings are the only way to produce high-quality images that will sell pencil art online.After you have scanned your drawings you will want to resize them prior to sharing them online.Resizing your images to about 700px will prevent people from stealing images of your artwork and selling them as prints.Related Post: How To Protect Your Art Images On WordPress.Editing ImagesThe two software programs I use most for editing images are:Adobe Photoshop CC the world’s most powerful creative imaging app available. If you would like to make professional images for your content marketing and social media marketing, Adobe Photoshop has everything you will need and more.There is a learning curve involved with using Adobe Photoshop.If you are planning on selling your artwork online for the long-term you might want to consider taking a few courses to become familiar with Photoshop.Related Resources:Photoshop 101 with Ben WillmorePractical Photoshop Basics with Khara PlicanicPhotoshop Mastery: Fundamentals with Ben WillmorePhotoshop Mastery: Ultimate Mastery with Ben WillmoreYou can also find hundreds of how-to videos on YouTube but I have found it to be easier to have the basics all on one video instead of searching through hundreds of YouTube videos.PicMonkey is an online image editing site that allows you to edit images very easily.They offer a free 7-day trial.Memberships start at $7.99 per month.PicMonkey is more user-friendly than Photoshop so if you are interested in only cropping and resizing your images, PicMonkey might be your best option.There are many different photo editing services ut there but these are what I found works best for me.Do you use a different photo editing tool?If you do, would you mind sharing it in the comment section below?How To Edit Image Size With PicMonkeyGo to PicMonkey.comNote: These instructions are using the free PicMonkey membership.Click EditUpload the drawing you scanned with your Epson Perfection V600.Click Crop Link to crop your image.Click and drag on the corners to the desired size.Click Apply.Click ResizeInsert the image dimensions then click Apply.Resize the image in PicMonkey review:Go PicMonkey.comClick Edit and upload your scanned drawing.Crop the image by clicking on the Crop Link and dragging the corners to the desired Click Apply.Click on the Resize Link, add the desired dimensions and clickSave the image on your PC.Now your image is ready to be uploaded to your online art gallery and social media sites where people will be able to view and purchase your original drawing or prints of the original.Selling Art Online Best SitesI am often asked what are the best art selling websites?After you have your drawing completed and a high-quality digital image of the finished product, you will need a platform where you can showcase and sell your drawings.Many artists new to selling art online want to know where to sell digital drawings and original artwork.Below are a few of the most popular services artists are using to sell art online.Sell Drawings On EtsyThe easiest way for you to sell your art online is by opening an Etsy Shop.It is free to open an Etsy Shop and listing fees and selling fees are very reasonable.At the time of my writing this post, it costs $0.20 per item listed and a 3.5% selling an item fee.Note: Click Here to see what the fees are before opening an Etsy Shop.To make it easy for you to start an Etsy Shop, I created a video tutorial on how to open an Etsy Shop step by step and everything you will need to know about uploading your artwork, write great descriptions and the importance of keywords.In the video below I will walk you through all the steps with you.After you have your Etsy shop up and running all you will have to do is drive art buyers online to your listings.Below are some popular online video courses that will teach you how to make a successful business on Etsy.Etsy 101: Launch Your Handmade Shop by Marlo MiyashiroTurn Your Etsy Shop into a Sales Machine by Lisa JacobsMarketing Your Etsy Shop for Sold-out Success by Lisa JacobsBookkeeping for Etsy Sellers by Lauren VenellSell Drawings On Third-Party WebsitesAnother option is to sell your art on Third-Party Websites.Fees and features are similar to most Third-Party Websites but the terms and conditions might vary.I recommend that you take the time to research the terms and conditions prior to creating an account.A Third-Party Website is a platform that allows you to create an online art gallery where you can sell your original art. Some third-party sites offer a POD service (Print on Demand) which allows you to sell prints of your work with no upfront costs.Here are some popular Third-Party Site used by Artists:ShopifyArtPalArtplodeeBayArtstorefrontsWeeblyFASORelated Posts:Should You Sell Art On Third-Party Websites?Sell Art Online Free – 7 Popular Third-Party Sites for ArtistsIf you sell art prints online but do not want to print your prints at home, a POD service might be exactly what need.A POD (print on demand) site is a service that allows you to sell prints of your artwork on fine art paper, canvas, metal, wood and other varieties of merchandise.Related Posts:POD Websites How To Increase Art SalesPrint On Demand Sites For Artists – What You Should KnowHow To Increase Your Income Stream Selling Wearable ArtBelow are some popular POD sites used by artists selling prints of their art:Fine Art AmericaZazzleImage KindRedbubbleStart Today and receive 20% off with COUPON CODE: KSDISCThe sites listed above are just a few popular third-party sites available.Take a few moments to review each site’s terms and conditions.After you have done your research, decide on the best platform to use for your artwork.If you are interested in printing your own art prints at home you will need to invest in a high-quality printer.Related Post - Best Printers For Art PrintsHow to Sell Drawings Online With A WordPress WebsiteThe last option I would like to talk about is building your own website with WordPress.Related Post: How To Sell Art Online – Best Art Websites For ArtistsWordPress is the most popular CMS {Content Management System) used today. Even large companies have built their website using WordPress.Did you know that a third of the websites and blogs you visit are created with WordPress?The biggest benefit you will have using WordPress is that you will own your site.You will not have to pay monthly fees and you will have total control of the look and feel of your site.You will be building your business on land you own not building on rented land.You will also have the ability to adjust your artist website as your online art business grows.Note, you will need to have a hosting service and a domain name if you would like to build a site using WordPress.Read How to Install WordPress by HostGator to see how easy it is to have your WordPress site up in minutes.HostGator is a reputable CMS Hosting Service used by many professional bloggers including myself.BlueHost is another common hosting service used by many bloggers.I have recently switched hosting services to SiteGround.My website is now faster and it actually costs less than the hosting service I used before.Site speed is an important factor for PageRank.PageRank is the ranking Google gives your site and blog posts.The higher your website ranks in Google's search the more traffic you will receive.Related Resources:WordPress Dashboard Guide eBookWordPress SEO Basics eBookOptimize Art Blog Posts for Search eBookWordPress Basics Online Video CourseWordPress SEO Basics Online Video CourseHow To Add WooCommerce WordPress CategoriesHow To Install WooCommerce On A WordPress Artist WebsiteWhy Artist Websites Should Be Built On WordPressWordPress SEO BasicsWordPress Categories And TagsWordPress SEO PluginsWordPress Visibility SettingsWordPress ThemesHow To Manage Plugins In WordPressHow To Manage Menus In WordPressHow To Manage Widgets On WordPressHow To Insert Links On WordPress Blog PostsHow To Manage Comments On WordPressHow To Embed YouTube Videos On WordPressHow To Upload And Install Media On WordPressHow To Create A WordPress CategoryWordPress Discussion SettingsWordPress Page OptionsWordPress Post OptionsWordPress Permalink SettingsWordPress Writing SettingsHow To Install Social Warfare On WordPressWordPress reading settingsWordPress General settingsWrite Great Art DescriptionsAfter you have uploaded your artwork on the platform you are selling, you will want to take some time to write a description that will connect your potential buyer to your artwork.Your landing page will be the last chance you will have to land a sale, make it count.A landing page should include:A high-quality image of the product being sold.The selling price.Policies or a link to a policy page.Shipping information.A description of the product including size material and what medium was used to create the artwork.A short story explaining the art and what motivated you to create the piece.Related Post: How To Write Art Descriptions That Will Sell Your ArtHow To Promote Your ArtNow that we covered where to sell your drawings the next step is to talk about developing an art marketing plan.If you are willing to take the time to learn how to market your artwork you will be able to sell more art than you can create.Below are some strategies that will help you to build a strong foundation for your online art business.Pricing Your ArtThere are many variables that will affect your art sales.If you would like to know how to sell art online and make money, you will want to know how to price your art competitively.Many artists struggle when it comes to pricing their art.The bottom line is that you will want to make a profit from your sales.The good news is that creating art with graphite is relatively inexpensive.The price you set will be based more on your hourly wages than the cost of art supplies.Below are a couple of resources to get you started:Art Pricing Guide - How to Price Art to Sell WorkbookHow to Price Art - Ultimate Art Pricing GuideHow To Price Your ArtworkThe next step is to create a price chart for a reference.What Should be included in the Price Chart:Price based on the size of the artPrice based on the material used (for example the price will go up if you offer a frame)Price of commissioned work (calculate how long it will take to complete a project)Price of prints (if you offer prints of your artwork)Workshops (Based on travel time and time spent with students)One on One classes (Based on travel time, cost of materials, and time spent with students)I have created an Art Pricing Printable that will make it easy for you to keep track of your art prices.Print an art pricing chart for each variable and put the printable in a binder for easy access.Documenting and organizing your pricing strategy will help you to stay consistent with your prices which will increase your profit margin.Download your Art Pricing Printable today.Artist BlogFor you to land an online sale, you must let people know that you are an artist and direct them to where you have your art for sale.Content marketing (Blogging) will be one digital marketing strategy you will want to start implementing today.As Reported by InsiderView:“Companies that do moderate blog posting between 1-2 times per month have 67% more sales opportunities than companies that do not blog.”Consistently blogging will help you to make an online presence, build brand authority and drive traffic to your sales page.Do you really want to know, “How to sell drawings online?”After you have your drawing listed on your art website, you will need to spend many hours promoting and marketing your drawings.Blogging is a free way to get your name out there and drive traffic to your art listings from both search engines and social media platforms.Related Post: 6 Blogging Benefits Artists Shouldn’t IgnoreIf you want to speed up the growth of your blog take the 28 Day Blogging Challenge for Visual artists.28 Day Blogging Challenge for Visual Artists$14.95Add to cartApril Bowles-Olin also shows you how to build a blog that sells art in her most popular online video course Build a Successful Creative Blog.Social MediaThe next step you will want to take after writing some content for your art blog is to promote it on your social media sites.Social media sites have been a powerful marketing tool for businesses. Over the past few years, businesses have learned what works and what doesn’t work.Take some time to learn about social media marketing.The combination of content marketing and social media creates a powerful punch.Here are some statistics I would like to share with you from WordStream’s post 40 Essential Social Media Marketing Statistics for 2017:Courtesy of Statista22% of the world’s total population uses Facebook.2 million businesses use Facebook for advertising.93% of Pinterest users use the platform to make purchases.More than 56% of online adults use more than one social media platform.According to these statistics, Facebook might be a platform you will want to consider using. You will have the opportunity to reach over 20% of the world's population. That is making a presence online.Pinterest is another platform you might want to consider using. If over 90% of the people who visit Pinterest go there to make a purchase, it might be in your best interest to build a presence on Pinterest.There is no perfect solution when it comes to choosing a social media platform. It all depends on your niche, what you have to offer, where your target audience hangs out and how well you can get your message across.It is an excellent idea to start with the most popular sites to find out what will work best for you.For more information on social media visit - 59 Social Media Statistics You Need To Know In 2020. Courtesy of Avasam.Related Posts:Top 10 Ways To Refine Your Social Media Presence In 2019Social Media Marketing For Artists – How To StartWhat Network Is Best For YouSocial Media Tips For ArtistsWhere Artists Go Wrong With Social MediaI have seen this time and time again, artists go on social media and post an item for sale.All they are doing is creating an advertisement.People do not like to be sold to.Social media is a platform people go to be social, not buy things.Social media platforms can be a powerful tool if you use it correctly.Impressive results can be made if you use social media to learn about your audience and build their trust.You will not see instant results, but in time you will start to see both your following and sales increase.Related Posts:How to Create a Social Media Marketing Plan - Sell Art OnlineHow to Create a Social Media Calendar10 Social Media Marketing Tips Every Artist Must KnowAnother common mistake I see artists do is using too many social media sites to promote their art.The best way to be more productive is to choose one social media platform to focus on.There are not enough hours in the day to be able to build relationships on all platforms.How can you spend time on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Snap Chat and LinkedIn every day and expect to have time to draw?Pick the one or two sites your audience is on and start promoting your drawings.To keep up to date with what's new with social media marketing visit my social media marketing articles frequently.If you want to bring in more revenue and be a more effective advocate for your handmade business, don’t miss the incredible line-up of classes in Crafty Marketing Techniques by Mei Pak.Email MarketingThe next step you will want to take after creating content and developing a social media marketing strategy is to build your email list.Your email list will be the most valuable asset your art business will have.It will be the communication line to your valued customers, and best of all you own your list.Even if Facebook or Google goes down (I am sure that will not happen, but people thought MySpace was here to stay) you still have a way to contact your audience.Optimize your website to collect emails. Make it easy for people to sign up for your newsletters.As reported by eMarketer:“81% of online shoppers who receive emails based on previous shopping habits were at least somewhat likely to make a purchase as a result of target email.”Strategical grouping your email list will increase the chance of you landing a sale.QuickSprout stated:“Email Subscribers are 3 times more likely to share your content via social media than visitors from other sources.”It makes sense that your email list will be your biggest advocate. They gave you their private email address because they trust you and like what you have to offer.Your email list will be the best part of your marketing plan you can have. All you have to do is provide them with content they are interested in and they will help you by sharing it with their friends.You can easily see how important it is to build an email list.Most artists including me say, “I wish I started building my email list sooner.” We now understand the value of our email list.Learn from our past mistakes and start building your email list today.Related Resource:Ultimate Email Marketing Guide for Selling Art Online4 Email Opt-in Plugins for WordPressBest Places to Add an Email Opt-in on Your WordPress BlogHow To Sell Drawings Online With PinterestPinterest is another platform you want to consider using to build brand awareness.Within a couple of months from installing Social Warfare plugin and starting a Pinterest Business account my blog traffic increased by over 300%.Pinterest drives more traffic to my artist website than all of the other social media platforms I use combined.Related Posts:Create a Pinterest Business Account Step by StepHow to Create a Pinterest Profile for Your Art BusinessPinterest Board Tips That Will Attract Your Target AudienceWhat You Should Pin to Your Artist Pinterest BoardsBy now you can easily see that there is a lot of work that is involved with running an art business.The most successful artists have learned how to manage their time.I have discovered Tailwind, a Pinterest scheduling tool a couple of years ago and I have to tell you it is the best tool I am using.I can schedule my Pinterest pins for the month in as little as 30 minutes.Like I mentioned earlier, Pinterest drives more traffic to my site than all for the other social media networks and I only have to spend 30 minutes a month scheduling pins.Here are some posts I wrote about Tailwind:How To Create Board Lists In TailwindHow I sell My Art Online With Tailwind5 Reasons Artists Should use Tailwind SmartloopHow To Pin On Pinterest With Tailwind’s Smart ScheduleUnderstanding Tailwind AnalyticsHow To Use Tailwind TribesSubmit Your ArtFinally, here are some online art sites you can promote your drawings.Look at each site and see if it will be a perfect fit for you.The more places you can upload your art the better chance you will have to be noticed.Selling art online is all about being noticed. You must get yourself out there. People will not look for you if they do not know you exist.BoomEmptyeaselRise ArtDeviantArtReddit.com/r/ArtHow To Sell Drawings Online And Make Money By Reducing CostsThe easiest way to increase your profit margin (how much money you make after costs) is by being a smart sharper,The less you pay for your supplies the more money you will make without increasing your selling price.Below are some art supplies I use for my artwork. The site I am linking to offers the lowest prices I have found so far and the shipping costs are very reasonable.Bruynzeel Design Graphite PencilsCaran d' Ache Pencil Gift SetCaran d'Ache Sketching SetDerwent Academy Sketching Pencil SetsFaber-Castell 15-Piece Drawing SetTombow Mono Professional Drawing PencilsStrathmore 300 Series Drawing PadsStrathmore 400 Series Drawing Paper PadsBlick Studio Drawing PadsSafco 5-Drawer Steel Flat FilesSakura Cordless Electric EraserTombow Mono Zero Refillable EraserGeneral's Kneaded EraserMartin Pro-Draft Deluxe Parallel Straightedge Drawing BoardPopular Craft Marketing And Sales TutorialsAre you ready to take your art business to the next level?Investing in marketing courses and tutorials will maximize your profit and speed up the growth of your business.Below are some of the most popular art marketing courses that will grow your online art business:Most Popular – How to Make a Living Selling What You Make by Megan AumanMost Popular – Build a Successful Creative Blog by April Bowles-OlinHow to Build a Business While Learning Your Craft by Megan AumanPinterest Marketing for Makers & Designers by Megan AumanConclusion:If you want to learn how to sell drawings online, you need to learn how to build an online presence and build relationships with your audience.Artists who sell digital art online or sell original drawings online schedule time every week for learning about online marketing.The successful artists you see all over the internet are the ones who mastered art marketing.if you are interested in making money online and don’t worry this is not like other people scamming IT IS AUTOMATIC MONEY MAKING SYSTEM 6 FIGURES IN 6 MINUTES MAKE MILLIONS SHUT UP! 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Ironically enough this has happened to me.My parents had what would be called a nuclear separation—-though years later my mother found out that they were never legally married, the paperwork hadn’t been filed correctly.So my parents separate and we leave the state for about a year then return as my grandmother was ill. My mother thought it would be a good idea for us to do family therapy with a lady, Klyde.Klyde’s WorkEvery week we would go to her office and talk like in a 60 minute or 90 minute bloc. Thirty minutes with me, thirty with my mother and then thirty together. The most memorable part was that Klyde taught us bio-feedback meditation. Essentially you hold a device, about as big as a computer mouse and it whines loudly. The goal is through lowering your heartbreak/breathing, the sound lowers.I was about 12–14 years old so this was all odd but interesting but I don’t remember having a lot to say. Klyde was very nice and it stabilized my mother and I in some important ways. Luckily my mother had been a psychology major in college so she didn’t apply a stigma to psychology or family therapy. I know that one of the big this my mother got out of it was Klyde telling her that you could go through something in one part of the city, move to another part and not have to discuss it with new people. That trauma, embarrassment, drama didn’t have to be a billboard you carried around. My mother was I think very ashamed of having gotten back together with my father after an 8 year separation, marrying him (sort of) and having it all blow up.Klyde though told her a couple of things about me but instructed her not to discuss them with me until I was at least over 18/an adult. My mother and Klyde stayed friends after a couple of years of therapy and time went on.I had been writing some from about 6 or 7 and then it became more concentrated after 12. I’d never connected the work I was doing, full manuscripts in my early teens, with it coinciding with the visits with Klyde.When I was about 20, my mother tells me that Klyde had suggested to her when I was 14, that I might not be “completely heterosexual”. And she had also told her that my writing ability was prodigious, very prodigious, that if I could get over my issues with my mother I could be really, really successful at it.I’d written at least half a dozen full manuscripts by then been published in small stuff, written and filmed a 2 hour screenplay but I didn’t think of my writing in the way that I see it now. Or better others see it.So I pondered this forecast and what it meant to get over my issues with my mother and then I came to re frame it as “changing how I related to my mother or allowed her to relate to me”—-I’d been looking at some big issue to “get over” but it was really about establishing boundaries.Insanely, at about 23, a university professor recommended I pull together several erotic stories I’d work-shopped with him and had published plus a novella and send it off to his publisher friend, I spent a whole month pulling together a 300 page manuscript of a dozen stories and one novella, got it nicely bound and sent it off. Then went to the family house, excited, with a copies. I gave one to my mother as we sat at the dining room table talking and she suggested maybe she could write some stories too—-and it could be a mother-son book of erotica.I kid you not.That was at about 9pm. I go up to my bedroom, baffled and come back downstairs late the next morning.,The bound manuscript was literally on the same corner of the dining room table that I’d handed it to her and she’d been back and forth and out and such.I got the message.I took it back and it was never asked for.The manuscript got sliced and diced and stories published through the publisher and around the world. The novella was suggested it become a full novel—-it did, Hush out in 2019. Yes, on Amazon.He GazesAbout five years after that I’m living with roommates in a giant house, waiting for the upstairs tenant to move out n a few months and then I would take over the 1 bedroom apartment for myself. he was a painter—-Brian Gazes.He was…special in a Libra creative way that pissed off my roommate but amused me. One day we get to talking and he invites me upstairs, he’s barely dressed—-it was summer—-but explains that while he’s had sex with men, he’s not interested in me. I tell him I’ll try to control myself and he shows me his art. We’re talking and such and he tells me that he’ll be moving on soon but he’s been trying to find ways to privately talk to me away fro my friend/roommate. He tells me that he has visions, psychic hunches and such and he asks what I’m creating—-I’m doing something?I tell him about writing, Hush was in it’s 6th of 12 Drafts and I was sort of muddling around with “new ideas”—-nothing other than that. I had the other manuscripts—-maybe a dozen by then but not in printable form.He tells me that he knew it was writing because he kept seeing books about me but didn’t want to weird me out. I was sort of non-committed then to pushing publishing of my work through I was writing. He tells me that 7–8 of my books will be world famous, keep writing. Those 7–8 would definitely be big, after I was dead.I tell him about Klyde’s proclamation—-it was “bigger’ and much more detailed than what I’ve relayed here because it was both personal and grandiose in comparison but it was BIG. Kind of like what Gazes is telling me then. He’s like she was right.It wasn’t the after my death part that struck me but that his words/proclamation was so close to Klyde’s and even more shockingly that there were 7–8 other books in me besides Hush.I’d been working on Hush for years and short stories and other doodlings but no new novels. Certainly not anything that I could perceive being successful or outliving me in success. It really shifted my thinking about my work—-expanded it. I knew I had a few books in me but I had pieces then so I wasn’t sure about what I had then, I hadn’t developed the skill of turning out novels. (Yes, it is a learned skill. A learned application of one’s honed talent.)Ironically the last time I spoke with Klyde was around that discussion. My mother had an issue and I reached och to Klyde for how to counsel her, help her. Klyde stayed silently on the line as I three way called my mother without telling her Klyde was there—-I got the details of the issue but stopped my mother from oversharing—-it would’ve been inappropriate for me to hear the rest. My mother was becoming trained to these boundaries with me so she stopped and we made a plan to talk again. She hung up. Klyde applauded me, told me I’d handled it perfectly and how proud she was of me. She asked how I was, what I was doing and out loud ticked off my accomplishments—-working steadily, university, etc. as markers of healthiness. It was nice to hear.Over a decade later as my mother was dying I called Klyde again to try and get information on a hospice but her business partner explained she was too ill to talk but helped me immensely. It had never occurred to me that Klyde, at least a decade older than my mother could/would be ill herself, checking out.My MentorsCarlene Hatcher Polite and Raymond Federman, two of my mentors who I worked for and with on my writing undergraduate both made proclamations and extracted promises form me.Carlene said “it would come” but she made me swear not to squander my gifts on schlock—-romance novels, fantasy bs, etc but instead to really write, to write good, grand, interesting stuff. That I could do “easy” stuff and make a lot of money but to not take that route.Federman went through all of my work and eventually recommended me to a publisher but was always teasing me as the years went on.“This one, this one was ALMOST the Great American Novel. Instead it is the Great American Failure. Keep writing,” he would say in his impossibly thick French accent.Then finally after a couple of years he declared to me and the class that I had the skeleton, the beginnings the talent to construct my Great American Novel.Salt or Sugar? Free on Tuesday.I’ve written and punished close to 100 or so books—-contradictory to my beginnings, far more non-fiction than fiction. I’ve published a dozen or so fiction novels—-two huge ones (over 600 pages) and the rest 200–400 pages.I like them all for different reasons, I feel that I achieved some “things’ in each one of them and they continue to be different in tone, style, objective and even genre. I’m working on about 20+ more currently, about half 80% done but I often get distracted by my teaching/non-fiction work and new fiction ideas.Monday night I dreamt a a whole novel about a man named Free whose father sets out to kill him for “some” reason.I wake up Tuesday after laying there to let the pieces assemble completely and I type up a couple of paragraphs about the story itself. I realize it’s soup to nuts. Huh. Well, while it’s fresh in my head let me just jot down the bare bones of Chapter 1. Free is having a discussion with his mother about why his father is coming to kill him.I have the 6 x 9 book template already set up so I separate the idea/book notes to a file….and create the first step in my process of taking an idea serious—-I create a Publishing File. You can literally hear my huge imaginary staff pause and groan—-he’s put another one on the Board!Title of the novel: Free.Well, I might as well type up Chapter 2 since I’m laying there…..then I put together Chapter 3 from a slip of an idea I had while watching Laverne Cox talk.Then I put in headers, Chapter font different than body fonts, legal notices and then I get really freaky with it—-I switch over to PowerPoint and thinking of a random pic I’d saved from online that I thought i might use as an alternate cover to another project—-I start doodling around with the pic and the cover spread for a book cover——and I give it a Book Cover file folder. It’s a nice cover—-I’ve wanted to do another one in white besides Hush.I have known my Purpose and that it would work out, more importantly that I had/have a purpose. There were some dark times, dark nights of the soul, a couple of times where I thought I wouldn’t live but the silver thread I hung onto were Klyde’s words and then the simpatico from Brian Gazes’ words plus my college mentors.Have I written those 7–8 novels yet?I don’t know. I don’t know if I can know. I mean what is Free? Or Mbube Mbube? Or the Race War: Hated, Hunted, Haunted trilogy; the Myriad 12 book series;the Court of Conscience 12 book series; the novel The Veil; the novel Clan Chief—-and I still have to go to sleep each night and dream and I dream novels wholesale some nights so with another 50 years of life left, it could get crowded. That’s 31 novels just on the Board to begin with.And what if it’s some of the non-fiction too? I have 4 textbooks coming out,;a book in preliminary stages about relationships He Is Not You; Ashe, a book/memoir on the intersection of race, sex, sexuality and critical theory; and a planned education series of 100 books reprinting books with teaching guides. That’s like 100+ books.I am prodigious. I know and accept that. I work hard to produce good, interesting, educating, valuable work. I promised Carlene. I don’t write fluff. I can. I wrote thousands of comic book scripts then exorcised it with fan fic—-(you can just Google Kyle Phoenix X-Men fan fic and get the most rocking X-Men tale ever—-that I could never do at Marvel—-but I do have a very nice printed, book bound, like a huge graphic novel of it all)—-did I mention the original graphic novels I have written?I will fill a bookshelf I’m sure by the time I transcend so 7–8 isn’t implausible. Most of the above is slated to come out before 2025 when we have our next company review.I ascribe to the musician/artist Prince in terms of work, creativity, etc.. Ironically one of the things that bonded Carlene and I when I met her was that Prince had asked her to write his biography but she couldn’t. However she remained a lifelong devotee as do I. He wanted a whole wall of his music in stores, I want the same of my books. (This teeters close to some of what Klyde proclaimed of me.)To My Family And How Others Treat You As The Success Slowly Starts to HappenTo my knowledge, completely, as in a discussion—-hey, I liked that story—-my mother, stepfather, aunts, uncles, cousins, no one I’ve been related to has read my work. Several relatives, including my grandmother who let me pace her 5 book a week reading, were dead before I really started publishing work in high school so they don’t count. But there were a dozen more, some still alive today. Is it no interest? Or something else? I could go into all of the social, cultural, racial and educational points that some of them example which all snowball into lack of ability, interest, capability.My mother, college educated, when I brought half a dozen of my books to her bedside, she was terminal, wanted to know why so many of my books were about sex. I pointed out to her that for years she had a lingerie business and put on fashion shows.And that sex wasn’t “bad” and that it wasn’t prurient. In fact I’d been working for over a decade in LGBTSGL companies and have a TV show about a dozen things but , yes, sexuality is one of them.I had a friend who suggested that converting so many of workshops into books meant that my work was soft porn. I got rid of her as a friend within a few months of that.Here’s what I will tell you—-a lot of folk sieve their homophobia and their racism through my work, unread.There will hundreds of books in 10, 20, so on, decades with my name on them, written by me. I often tell book signings and workshops that I’m trying to get these first 300–400 OUT of the way so I can really discover what I can do/create.But even my own mother tried to kick sand in my work, if she couldn’t co-opt it. And friends have talked to me about the color of paint on the walls rather than talk about —-hey, I saw your book. Silence from folk about my work. It’s too big and those people, yes, including my family, were too small in their own selves to be able to see it, appreciate. Now family has had their hand out for some of my royalty money.People, quoting one of my characters, a child, Mateo, are dicks.Some of them you’re even related to.What Klyde told my mother is so big that I think it both frightened my mother and awed her and upset her own ego. She didn’t quite want to be a star but she wanted to be a star before you were. I think my little introverted tap tap tapping on keyboard keys late into the night, on my Commodore 128, and then Klyde’s proclamation and then seeing it slowly manifest as I studied in school and got accolades and awards and had a stack of magazines I’d been published in—-did something to her, to those around me who hadn’t found, developed, explored their own Art.. My Art has taught me about that reactive reflection from others.To her credit and personality, in the hospital, my mother was more impressed by and deeply questioned owning my work, the punishing business, how I’ve structured things, taxes, distribution. It was weird.Interns Screen Some of My Emails But I Will Rant AnywayI was recently told that someone couldn’t read my books—-to be sent as free reader copies—-because they couldn’t relate to the African American experience.Because ALLLLLLLLL of my work is just jumping with Black people, one.And two, because when we’re not doing our odd African American rituals at dinner—-where we don’t use forks, we use spears—-we’re dressing in our odd……...my intern and just laughed at the casual racism of the world. Like Black people are doing something “outside of the human veil”, not even knowing if the books would be about anything specifically African American…because I am.The oddest thing of being a writer, more and more, but it has happened since undergraduate—-is people projecting ALL of my writing onto my identity.Like I’m an X-Man. Who lives in a house with this bald dude, Prof,. X who sends me out on covert missions that I use my mutant abilities to solve.Or that in my constant Blackness—-because all African American people are CONSTANTLY thinking and moving and breathing and imagining BLACK BLACK BLACK BLACKETY BLACK—-the only art we can create is narrowly to Black ears, Black culture, Black sensibility. No, no, not the human condition. (Of course no one seems to wonder how we go through tens of years of schooling and books and magazines and TV and movies and can’t accept the White Experience, and not reject it wholesale, as default reality. Yeah, there’s a lot of bs in projecting onto people.)I was on a bus shuttle form one campus to another and a half a dozen students were discussing “Kyle” and all of his sexual proclivities and wants and desires….because of a story. in a magazine.No, wait for it—-then the Archdiocese of Buffalo contacted the magazine and demanded it be shut down or they’d protest.No, there’s more: students then begin cutting out the story and wall papering it to the dormitory walls.No, there’s even more, there are bomb threats to the magazine and the university over the story.Free’s father wants to kill him for a very specific reason. It has nothing to do with race.Rant Over.(But here’s a weird thing I’ve learned on my way to the Coliseum…..)I’m going to write so much, so many things, explore so many ideas, try some things out, failure deliciously and succeed quietly and then repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat. And generally about once every two weeks I get a whole novel-idea in my sleep. I literally can’t keep up with myself.I’m going to wring myself out, develop and create and every post, essay, blog, book-chapter, short story you see of mine—-is like a spiritual orgasm I’m having in public.Ooooh.See, what my mother and the other haters and naysayers and such didn’t understand was that in some grand universal way Klyde and Gazes and Carlene and Federman and Debbie Freeman and Denise Donnelly (my high school creative writing teachers) and Dr. WH Hunter (a teacher in high school who extorted me to get me to his AP class and introduced e to Sophocles and Toni Morrison and told me the one thing that kept me churning and working—-that his family kicked him out after high school and he worked hard, digging ditches to get how own ass to college by 21—-and I thought to myself when times were too tight—-I can do that too and I got myself there by 21). And the awards (there have been a few so far) and the customers and the well wishes and “fans”—can I have fans? lol—-and the strangers who come up to me and tell me something I did, little old me, helped them, saved them, moved them.It makes up for the disses and soft racism and twisted homophobia and just the lack of thataboy! from those nearest and dearest to me. Fuck all ya’ll who don’t want on to this bandwagon, I’m a comet, baby!And as an aside, a lot of the people who have thrown “sand” at me, died or live miserable lives. I’m just saying. I don’t even write about their lives. Too mundane. And if someone won’t write about it can you imagine what it must be to live it?I’m going to publish hundreds more books. Hundreds. And at least 7 or 8 of them, as told to me by a psychic painter and a fabulous family therapist, are going to be places, ringing my name out, telling my odd little stories and insights, for decades and decades and decades and decades, after I have this body cremated.I know my destiny and I love it. How about you?(Which I think is where family and a few friends get snaggled up at. As an inside aside, because I’ve spent so long working on being, on doing the work, on getting better so that whenever, whichever, those 7–8 books are—they’re good books, I tend not to notice the shine, my corona. I had a Supervisor who hated me years ago, not because of anything I’d done but because I was hired by his boss without his input. He said to me one day that I had no idea my Presence, my ability, when I walked into a room, my work. I saw him gnashing his teeth as he told me a truth I didn't quite know about myself.So you or I shine, we succeed some and inside of the Success Comet, I/you assume that everyone else is inside of their own Success Comet bubble. But they’re not. My mother wasn’t, friends weren’t, several jealous lovers haven’t been. But I, and others I’ve talked to don’t know we’re inside of a Comet for awhile and then it, other people’s stuff—-bias, bitterness, silence—-stands out, makes sense.Huh.Wouldn’t take nothing for my journey now…All King Baby has to do now is type and smile.#KylePhoenix#TheKylePhoenixShow