The part nobody talks about

Hi there Goat Herd,

One thing I’ve noticed after every Kickstarter is how quickly everything goes quiet.

For weeks, there’s momentum, updates, messages, numbers moving, excitement, nerves, refreshing the page 10 times every half hour, and trying to stay focused on the dayjob while my brain is thinking of fifteen different things at once. Then it’s over and everything changes.

I think people sometimes imagine that after a successful campaign, the creator wakes up feeling like a rock star. Like I’m somehow more important, more accomplished and just an overall better version of myself. Or like confetti should fall from the ceiling while Pomp and Circumstance blasts in the background from an unknown source.

The truth is much more unimpressive than that.

At the end of the day, I’m still just me. I still have dishes in the sink, laundry to do, responsibilities waiting for me, and probably at least one cat yelling at me for any given reason. I still have the same brain, the same habits (for better or for worse), and the same things I’m trying to improve.

The only real difference is that there’s another book now, which means the world to me. But it doesn’t change me.

Success doesn’t turn you into someone else. It doesn’t suddenly make you complete, solve every insecurity, or answer every question you’ve ever had. I’ve learned this since Sacrimony #1 funded.

I’m still the same person, but now I have proof that I kept going and proof that the idea in my head became something tangible. And also proof that people cared enough and were excited enough to see where the next issue of the story went.

I don’t feel like a rock star but I do feel grateful. And relieved that the campaign is over and life is less noisy than these past few weeks. And most of all, I feel eager to get back to the work itself.

Because all that’s left now is the reason I started doing any of this in the first place: I like making stories.

I like watching Sacrimony become more of itself with every issue. I like watching my characters continue to surprise even me, when I thought I already knew them so well.

So no, I’m not walking around in sunglasses feeling like a celebrity. I’m face down at my drawing table, ready to go.

I’m still just me with another book made.

Which feels pretty good.

Thank you for helping make that possible.

Talk soon. 🖤
-M

PS: If you missed out on the campaign and still want to get Sacrimony #9, late pledges are still open. Here’s the link.