Don’t Say “Money Pit”

The money situation might seem like the big hurdle, but it isn’t as tough as it might seem. That, in case anyone was wondering, is why I now have a budget. It isn’t cool, it certainly isn’t sexy, but it is important, and I’m really trying to keep within it every month. I’ve already sold off a lot of things which I’m unlikely to ever need again – picking and choosing what could go was, admittedly, one of the toughest things to dig into, but I’m fairly happy with the items held back.

At some point I may decide to sell of a few more of the hardback first editions in order to get a little more money, but most of them are important. I also held onto the signed books, and anything which had special value to me – although I completely accept that while some of these have very little monetary value, they hold a special place in my heart. And some of the books, especially the low print runs, are hard to find these days, so I would kick myself if I sold them off merely to get a quick cash injection.

One of the minor niggles which has stalled other projects – especially something which is currently a massive pain in the ass – has been finances. I’m really, really bad at this, and it has only been with the patience and understanding of people who deal with large financial issues on a daily basis that I have finally got to grips with the fact that I can’t go out and spend money like there is no tomorrow. I like spending money. It’s because it doesn’t feel real (being mostly numbers on a screen) that I have no problem throwing cash at things I like, but in order to get things done I have had to stall this.

The last few years should have taught me something, but no. My brain is still wired to respond as if I was earning the kind of money I was in my twenties.

And here’s where the whoring starts. Sorry. You can go to many other fine sites on the internet while I get this out of my system…

If I can write two or three short stories a day (which is fairly easy), or a couple of short comic scripts a day, I should be able to earn enough to halt on the selling-off of other items from my collections. That is, of course, if I can find markets for them. This is something else that had shown itself to be a problem, as there are very few people accepting anywhere near that amount of material. Actually this may come in handy later, as a backlog of unsold material is going to be very useful when all my time is spent working on FX.

I don’t really want to sell off any of my original art, especially things which were done back when my style was awkward and far too angular, but that’s always an option. They don’t seem like they would work on tees, so that’s probably out of the question as well – and, complete transparency being the operative mode here – I wouldn’t make a lot from Redbubble anyways. They take a massive cut of the profits, and it seems slightly pointless busting my ass to make three or four quid.

There’s art I would be happy to sell – the giant B&W pointillism piece of Morpheus from the Matrix, for one – but which are based on other people’s rights, which I don’t feel comfortable nudging up against.

While I’m not going to mention the number I have in my head, there is a clear lower limit to how much I’m going to need in order to get things rolling. Anything above that sum and I can have a little more experimentation when filming begins, although getting above the low bar is probably going to be difficult. I’ve looked into both renting and purchasing cameras, and the latter seems a more sensible option – I’m inevitably going to think of something else which is interesting, and having that equipment to hand will save money in the long term.

No idea about lighting or sound, and the cost of that particular equipment is housed in the nebulous “other expenses” column. I’m being extra-generous with that, as there are likely a lot of things I don’t know I need, or which will cost more than I might anticipate, and I don’t want things to grind to a halt while I get my hands on more money. I’m not sure why I would need lights if I’m shooting in the desert, but you never know…

One of the principals which is solidly in place now, so that there is no question of misunderstanding later, is that everyone involved in getting this film made is going to get a cut of the takings. Others can beat their chests and yell “mine, all mine” when they film something, but it honestly isn’t about the end product generating a revenue stream for the next X years that is driving me. While the fine details of the revenue-sharing isn’t clear at this precise moment, it is something that will have to be put on paper before filming begins in earnest.

As long as there is enough in my pocket to keep me in marshmallows and coffee I’m going to be happy.

I’ve been pondering the wisdom of making a t-shirt saying “Have Pen, Will Travel,” but I’m not sure how many people are likely to get the reference.

Finding a place to house some of the writing is my best shot, as banging out thousands of words a day is only going to be useful when I get a steady stream of income from it. I’m not going to throw up adverts everywhere, as that smacks of opportunism, and I dislike the kinds of adverts which are being plastered across everything these days. What happened to class? I mean, c’mon, the vultures are circling Kirk Douglas – have you seen the tasteless shit about his bank account? Damn. Anyone creating those ads should be ashamed of themselves.

My bank manager is probably screaming at the screen right now.

There’s still an ongoing issue with my budgeting skills which is giving me a slight headache – there are far too many interesting things being published to stick within the limits, and in attempting to quash the urge to pick up new releases I merely end up adding them to lists of things I should buy. This month, as I type this, I am £140 over budget thanks to several things being released closely together, finding things I’ve been looking for, along with some impulse purchases. Don’t ask.

I’ve been eyeing Smashwords as a possible place to drop a bunch of short stories, but I don’t know whether that would work out – there seems to be a lot of people throwing things up there for free, and you can’t compete with free. I would have made a killing in the era of pulp magazines…

So that’s as much as I really want to share about the financial mess. There is probably more than I initially wanted to share, but I can’t go back and start deleting things or I’ll not be able to stop.