Sales are down, my speaking engagements have all been postponed for the near future, and my husband and I are home together, every day...driving each other nuts. But, we press on!
I'm still writing full time. I haven't seen any of my writing/cartooning friends in eight months, which always motivated me to do better work, but we press on!
It's easy to get discouraged. It's easy to feel you're working in a vacuum. I try to stay in touch with people through email, which is very helpful. I also find that going through New Yorker cartoon collections always gives me inspiration and new ideas. Right now I'm going through "The New Yorker Encyclopedia of Cartoons, Volumes 1 and 2." It reminds me how great these cartoons are...and how I can strive to come up with new ideas for more sales to that publication.
Years ago, when I was just starting out, I went through multiple New Yorker cartoon collections. That's how I learned how to write short, to-the-point, cartoon captions. I also learned which situations are used over and over again, who's talking to who, and so on. They were my textbooks then...and still are.
Right now I'm writing for three syndicated cartoons and I supply gags to a few other cartoonists who submit to various publications. Unfortunately, the markets for single-panel cartoons have shrunk. For me, the fact that many business publications no longer accept cartoons has been a big loss, so I'm constantly looking for new markets for my work.
Things will get better. There's plenty of material out there.
Any questions or comments? Email me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com.
