“Workload? What Workload?”

By Tony Lee

So this week I’ve been dealing with deadlines and a severe amount of work. And as such, it’ll most likely be a shorter column this week. That added to the fact that Dan’s up to his eyeballs and didn’t even have the time to throw us a few words of wisdom this week. Poor darling.

So, I’ve been looking at my workload this week, mainly as I’ve had so bloody much of it. You see, this month (March), I’m adapting Anthony Horowitz’s Evil Star. It’s the second in his ‘Power of Five’ books – the first, Raven’s Gate was adapted in March last year. The funny thing of course is that with the getting of an artist for it tied down etc, it’s only just been started on art wise, which means that it’ll be released this time next year – by when I will have started adapting book three. But currently it is book two I adapt, and a month that I have given myself to do it in. After all – I did the same out of pages last March.

It’s tough though – we’re talking 160 odd pages in a month. That’s about five pages a day. To those working it out? That’s an equivalent to a comic a week.

It’s not all doom and gloom however, as I’ve been working on and off on this since January – I blocked the book out in February and I’m straight adapting – I’m not having to create the story – I just need to shape it for a new audience. In the main it’s quite therapeutic – it’s like a form of meditation really – but this is from the guy who letters in Illustrator to relax. But it did bring up the fact of just how fast do I work? I mean, this month I do 160 pages of Evil Star. I’ve already done 145 pages of Dodge & Twist this month. And two issues of Starship Troopers – that’s 44 more – and 8 pages of Wallace & Gromit – that’s three hundred pages of script done by the end of March. And that’s not including the 2000 odd words I do here twice a month and the countless pitches I write… But let’s get back to Evil Star.

Now, I’ve said in an earlier article that I work stupid hours, right? Well, that helps for a start. And there are days where the pages fly past – an action scene that lasts three pages but takes the same as two dialogue pages to write out makes it slightly faster to get through, or a day when you hit that desk flying helps a bundle too. And so some days I’ll do over ten pages in a day’s session – but then there’ll be others where I just can’t get it right, where I need to focus a scene to a right hand page-turner and there’s no leeway to take more pages than needed. Those are the days when I’m lucky to even get three or four pages done in a day.

And of course I have other things that take up my time – interviews, PR for Markosia, pitches for upcoming books – and the other things. The non writing things that destroy the hours of the week like Godzilla destroying buildings as he takes a shit on Tokyo.

Last week, for example – I had my car woes that I mentioned in my last column. I spent hours during the week chasing up new cars and sorting my insurance. This week? It’s my foot. The bloody thing managed to sprain itself and I’ve been doped up on painkillers. Which of course made my one in the morning phone interview with Fanboy Radio fun.

But the main thing? No matter what I have thrown in my way – I still make my deadlines. Because a lot of the time I make them myself. And I hate letting myself down more than others.

That and as the Group Editor of Markosia, if I fail my deadline for Starship Troopers, I have to beat myself with sticks, or fire myself from the title.

Still, as long as I can keep one step ahead of myself, I’ll be okay, right?

So – rather than this just be a whine about workload, I thought I’d talk about solutions. You see, I could delay the deadline – work it into April, but then we have Easter. And added to that, as in most freelance jobs, you get money when the job is done. So you do the job to the time you can. So what can I do? Well, the answer is focus. Focus on the job in hand. Now, often this isn’t going to happen. For example – You have a month focussed solidly on a novel? You can guarantee that this will be the month when you get the opportunity to pitch for a Marvel story, or the publisher comes back with a slew of re-writes and edits. Or ninjas attack from the rooftops and steal your script before you get it to the editor. No, really. I’ve had that happen. Frickin’ ninjas.

So what are the options? Well buckaroo, there are none. I could say ‘stop taking the gigs’ – but then you’d end up with no work. And although this would indeed sort out the deadline problem, it’s a bit of an extreme solution. No - all you have to do is suck it up, sit in front of the keyboard and just do the job.

And hope to god that you finish it in time.

So this week Dan’s in his shed drawing the first issue of Hope Falls, so he’s not able to send us anything – but he has sent a page of art for us to enjoy – It really sets the tone of the tale. Also on a Hope Falls point – next week we should have the finished art from Szymon Kudranski for the first issue’s cover!

Yes. Expect me to be plugging Hope Falls mercilessly over the next few months. Remember kids, you can get up to the minute updates at http://www.hope-falls.com/...

So – did you hear me on Fanboy Radio? Did you? Did you? No? Well you still have a chance! Just step on over to www.fanboyradio.com and check out their episodes – I’m number #380. If you can’t get it, try http://fanboyradio.libsyn.com/ and download the mp3 of the show. On it I announce the fact that late this year / early next year my GN Dodge & Twist is coming out from AiT / PlanetLar with 2000AD artist Paul Peart on art duties. I’ve seen some concepts – and it really should be a grim and gritty bit of Victoriana. For the Americans who read this – that means a grim and gritty piece of Victorian Society. I also talk about how I got into comics, about the 90’s comedy scene (of which I am not an expert, I assure you) and how my years of pitching to editors has jaded me in the eyes of writers pitching to me now. Go listen, if only for Paul Benjamin who’s a better writer than me and a nice guy to boot. But seriously, I had a blast and I’ll be looking forwards to a beer with Scott at San Diego.

The Eagle Awards are up – and we’ve been nominated in the same category that Midnight Kiss was in last year – Favourite British Comicbook (Colour) for Starship Troopers – but last year we had The Megazine to beat (which we didn’t), this year we have The Megazine, 2000AD and Event Horizon. I won’t be dusting my tux off, and to be honest I hope Tooth win it – as it’s their 30th anniversary and all that. Tune in next issue for news of the Golden Champagne Glass awards, to be held in the bar around Midnight!

Also, I know I’m pimping a rival website, but Newsarama have started to serialize Starship Troopers from the very first issue over at http://www.newsarama.com/. So wander over, look above the links and click on the link to the site. If you’ve never read it before, you’ll find a page a day, Monday to Friday for your enjoyment.

Well, as I said – this was always going to be a short one. And the pain meds are starting to kick in. And I still have five pages to do by midnight.

So I’ll leave you with some Dan Boultwood art…. From Hope Falls, meet Helen…