As you get more famous, you get armchair quarterbacked a lot more.
Really survival is about growing a thick skin or going crazy. One has to tune out people all the time and not care what they think.
I’ve dealt with this since I first came on the scene, as a convention caused me trouble because they didn’t like who I voted for–and a whole host of -concerned- people on the internet decided to harass me even though I’d never known them, I was a virtual nobody in the industry. Those folk caused me to lose friends, sleep, etc. I was genuinely upset at the time because I thought gee, I didn’t do anything and all these friends aren’t standing with me and turning on me. It gave me a lot of heartburn, but eventually I got over it because it’s not as if I could do anything about it.
These people just root for you to fail.
It could be for a number of reasons: jealousy, irrational anger, something going on in their lives that has nothing to do with you but you’re something to lash out at, it’s part of the conditions of the modern internet.
But over time I’ve noticed most “concerned” people have a lot in common.
They never really support you, but they like to act like they support you and they’re important for you to lose.
This morning I had a fellow going off about how I need to focus on my comic books, get them out faster, and then I’d TRULY be successful.
I blinked at the message. Was this person making a joke? It was obvious it wasn’t the case given the context, and I could hardly believe it. Anyone who follows along knows I’m coming out with comics as fast as humanly possible – perhaps a little bit faster than that.
I’ve dropped 3 graphic novels and a single issue in less than 12 months, with another one on the way in my crowdfund. Even if I didn’t have a full time job, I doubt I could come out with more than this because the market is saturated enough as it is. I’d love to, but it can’t be done (at least yet, we are growing the audience here).
Naturally, the first thing I did was check whether this person has backed my books.
He hasn’t.
And I wasn’t surprised.
That’s what it always comes down to. The people who love to bleat about this kind of stuff, tell you what to do, require you to WIN THEM, tell you how important their opinions are about any subject from production time to anything else, they almost never actually support the work.
They’re not interested in your success for real. They want your failure. They want your silence.
It can’t be helped. It’s engrained in them, and whatever you do is not going to be good enough for them in their twisted fantasy version of what’s going on. So you cannot spend time appealing to them.
Don’t worry about what other people think. Be authentic. That’s how you’ll win.
And that’s why I keep winning despite so many grinding their teeth at me all the time. Flying Sparks just crossed $11,000 and we’re on our way to our next stretch goal. If you like the REAL change in comics — that come out FAST — back today!
I know exactly what you’re talking about, though I don’t have enough notoriety yet for my own personal angry twitter mob. All I have is a grouchy coworker that tells me I should quit writing in my free time and “get a life”.
But that’s all indignant hot air coming from a loser with zero published work…and I just finished a draft on what will be published work number eight for me. So, Mr. Loser can go pound sand. And it looks like you’re telling your detractors to pound sand too. Good on you!
I think you can use the number and type of your detractors as a measure of success. The bigger and louder they are, the better you’re doing. Do you have any Hugo award winners sending hate your way? If you do then you’re doing alright.
Also, I just backed your Kickstarter campaign because I like to see creators on our side winning. Keep on kicking ass, Mr. Del Arroz.