We were lucky to catch up with Eric Mcmurtrey recently and have shared our conversation below.

Eric, appreciate you joining us today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?

As a general rule, I’ve found that friends and family fall into two general categories – the ones that say they want to support you, and the people that support you without hesitation or question. Experience has taught me that the world is comprised of far more of the first than the latter. There is a benefit to that – it makes you appreciate the few people that actually support you all the more.
I generally avoid approaching friends and family unless they’ve brought up my endeavors on their own – I’ve found it’s easier for both sides, in the end. Realistically, if I can’t make a financial success of myself without the support of those in my circle, I’m probably out of luck anyway – I run with a fairly tight pack.
I have one friend that I used to work with that reads everything I produce. Every public appearance I have that he can, he shows up to. He actually sent me an apology message when he missed one – it’s safe to say he’s my biggest fan. I can’t overstate the value of his support. My guidance to anyone new as a creative would be not to expect support from anywhere, but to cherish it when you stumble across it. It’s a gift worth more than dollars.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

While I’m a fan of almost everything pop-culture, personally, I’ve found that most stories have gotten too , , , everything. Christmas stories are too maudlin, adventure stories are too violent, sci-fi stories are just too ‘out there’ . . .

Once I started writing, I decided to try to write engaging stories that were still optimistic without being too . . . preachy. I like to believe I’ve found the balance between recognizing that a better tomorrow is on the horizon even if it is a little bumpy getting there.

Heroes don’t necessarily have capes. As George C. Scott once said in the movie ‘Angus’ – Superman isn’t brave. He’s invincible. Like his character, I believe that it’s the people that face the world every day knowing they can be crushed that are the true heroes. Those are the stories I am passionate about trying to tell.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I believe it’s a huge ask to get new customers to invest time, money, or effort in an unknown author. When I first started writing, I also didn’t have a lot of funds available in terms of marketing.

My plan was to put good, solid content up on my website, and use social media to build awareness of it. I embraced ‘Flash Fiction’ as my favorite medium, assuming it would be easier to get people to invest a few minutes on an unknown instead of weeks or months.

Using free pictures I’ve collected of everything from flowers growing in the yard to views seen from cruise ships, I developed an Instagram following of about 1,000 followers and an X / Twitter following of about 2,500. They’re not huge numbers, but it gave me a starting point when I finally released my novel.

From what I could see of the numbers, consistency was (and is) extremely important. Especially as a new creator in today’s world, to be quiet means you’ve risked being forgotten.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Connection.

I’m pretty introverted, honestly. Generally operating under the assumption that I’m the weird one, putting my thoughts and beliefs on display for others can be pretty uncomfortable.

I’m a relatively new author, so I don’t expect any notoriety. That makes it pretty earth-shattering when someone walks up out of the blue and says, “Hey, I read your stuff, and I connected with it.”

Money’s great, but it’s not why I tell stories. Having a reader tell me they found my stories relatable means they might accept that the bumps in their own road probably lead to better places, too.

To me, that’s huge.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ticoproject.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ticoproject/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ticoproject
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-s-mcmurtrey-7a833821/
• Twitter: https://x.com/ticoproject
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ericmcmurtrey763

Image Credits

Eric S McMurtrey