Ready Chapter 1

Super stoked to welcome Chad Luibl as a guest agent at Ready Chapter 1!

In this writing challenge, 3 finalists as judged by the community get a personalized critique of their first chapter from Chad. And everyone gets community feedback on their writing, so it's kind of a win / win.

Traditional Book Deal Opportunity!

Ready Chapter 1 is partnering with Ulysses Press, a traditional New York publisher to help them find their next author–and they're looking for Survivor Stories.

🤔What is Ready Chapter 1?

It's a FREE feedback forum for writers. When you swap feedback on the forum, our system measures the community reaction to your story–one chapter at a time.

🤔How are we helping Ulysses Press?

When publishers open to submissions, they get more than they could ever read. By upvoting their favorite stories, our community selects finalists that go straight to the publisher for consideration. Free to enter. No CC required.

🤔How can I learn more?

Visit our site for all the deets.

Survivor Stories Publisher Challenge - Ready Chapter 1 Ulysses Press Seeks New Authors Through RC1FREE to participate | Launches March 15, 2025 (Pssst. Feel free to share this graphic. ☝☝☝) Sign Up for an Account to Participate Ulysses Press–a traditional book publisher out of New York–is looking for their next great survivor stor(ies) and the...

If you've ever wondered why it's so flipping hard to survive as an artist, here's my perspective from the other side of my first 20 years struggling, striving, and occasionally thriving as a working-class creative.

I kinda see it all in stages.

Stage 1: First, there's the whole 10,000 hours thing. Getting good at your craft is enough for an entry-level gig. But nobody's going to pay you to become great. You have to do that on your own, in the stolen hours while all your friends are hanging out, starting families, or grasping for the next rung in the corporate ladder.

Stage 2: You spend the next part of your career as a square peg in a world of round holes. You have to bend and twist yourself into knots just to fit into someone else's idea of what your craft should be. These are good times in part because they will wear off the rough edges, but they'll also make you feel used or worse-used up. Especially if you're not working with good mentors. You'll have ideas to innovate or problem-solve, but you have no agency and few who listen.

Stage 3: It's the next 5,000 hours that are most critical. You've become a steady hand at the thing you set out to do. But now it's time to layer your core competencies. Get good at saying 'no.' Learn to pitch. To speak in public. To find mentors. To negotiate. To build coalitions. Artistically, you still see creation as a deeply personal endeavor, but you're comfortable enough in your identity to invite audience into your inner circle. The work is immensely satisfying and no one can ignore how good it's become.

Stage 4: You now have something new to offer the world. Something fresh, timely, and relevant–backed by lessons learned and scars earned. You're surrounded by a community of friends and mentors. Your time and talents are seen as worth every penny. You begin to thrive.

Most artists I know get stuck at Stage 2. Things get comfortable. Bills need to get paid. It was just a dream, anyway.

Stage 3 creatives need mentors. Not in their craft. But in all the other business-type things that don't come naturally. Above all they need honesty and good will.

Stage 4 artists are the ones who shift the paradigm. Who disrupt the market. And they're the ones everyone points to at stage 1 and says, "See? It can't be that hard."

Just my two cents. Curious if this resonates with you or with other fields besides the creative ones.

Mega thanks to Ryan G. Van Cleave for the love over at the Only Picture Books blog where we talked about What If, Then We, as well as some exciting stuff for RC1. Fingers crossed I'll have some fun new book news to share in the very near future.

In an exciting turn of events, Recorded Books has given me some extra download codes to help promote the release of the Garbage Island audiobook.

Which means it's time for... (bum bum bum!) a GIVEAWAY!!!

You know the drill-share this image to let people know about the release and comment here 👇that you've shared so I can pull a couple of winners next week. :-) :-) :-)

Thanks everyone!

Self portrait at Mitchell's Coffee House, where the house blend is always hot and the muses descend promptly at 6:57 a.m.

A lot of my posts lately have been about launching a new business. Today, I'm celebrating the fact that I get to be an artist. 🎨

My first ever audiobook released this week from Recorded Books, narrated by the brilliant Simon Vance, through Astra Publishing House. Available wherever audiobooks are sold, I'd love it if you check out the sample. Simon brought his A game to this recording and I adored every minute of it.

This release is important to me because I've fought so hard my whole life to get to exist as a working artist. You struggle for decades to elevate your craft. It takes a metric ton of grit and luck to break in. There's rejection at every turn and a million reasons to give up.

I wrote and illustrated Garbage Island at a lot of 5 a.m.'s before going to work at my day job. You would often find me in a stuffy shirt and tie, sitting in a McDonalds (the only restaurant open at that hour), sipping underrated coffee and munching deep fried hashbrowns while I would write and draw.

I've always needed to work to take care of a family. I've always needed art to feel alive.

How lucky am I to have a chance at both?

Cheers. 🎉

This is what hard work and dedication look like! Mega kudos to RC1 member J.C. Kato for selling a two-book deal to Reycraft Books! The fun is just beginning. :-)

Ten years ago today (according to FB), I finished the art for Rebecca Kai Dotlich's brilliant ONE DAY, THE END. Today, I turned in the Spanish version, which turned out to be quite a puzzle with how the illustrations interact with the text.

Also, I think I will use 'PAF' instead of 'STOMP' from this day forward.

Now off to lunch. PAF! PAF! PAF!