What an amazing time to be alive, I am officially making money from
writing. Six years ago I set out with a dream to complete my first
novel. Six years (and three part-finished novels later) that dream is still be fulfilled. I am closer than ever though and now have the summer to put the finishing touches on Unspent
Convictions. In the last six years I have moved from obscurity to running my own
magazine. Twelve thousand people a year visit Dark Places Magazine at
present. Issues are selling and I am very happy with the general
direction that my life is moving in. About six hundred people a month
read stuff I have written. It would seem that the dark period of the
early twenties that many men experience is coming to an end. Your
twenties represent an era of unknowns, "what am I going to do with my
life?" is one of those burning questions. Fortunately the tide began
turning for me on the eve of my twenty fourth birthday.
It all begins with a choice and a risk. When I did a short stint at a
recruitment consultancy at the age of twenty three, I realised then I
was a bit different. When asked what they wanted to do with their lives,
most people responded to that "to work in recruitment, to raise money
and to have a family."
I responded "I want to be a writer." I left on the Friday after making a
call to a gentlemen with regards to a job I was pitching. The woman asked how I
knew the person I was contacting, the truth is I didn't, so I panicked
and hung up. If I am honest I was too honest for recruitment anyway.
My mother hounded me for months after, she was worried about me- about
my future more specifically. I now work in a school, which is probably
the best place for me. The kids I work with are a delight, if not a
little bit cheeky, but so what? It keeps the job interesting and keeps
me on my toes. Dark Places Magazine was the master stroke. It came as an
idea to me whilst perusing Hubpages one evening. I have always loved
writing, but knew how difficult the industry is at the moment for new
writers to enter. I wanted to create a platform to get writer's voices
heard. I am delighted to say that a year on, not only is the project
still running, but the product is being delivered simultaneously in
multiple formats in PDF and on Kindle. We have sold more issues of Dark Places in the Month
of July 2013 than in any other time since I started the project in
October last year with Brandon Vaughan at my side. It has been sad to see Brandon say
goodbye, and I really do owe him a lot, without a second person I don't
think I would have had the guts to get this project up and running. So
thank you Brandon!
