We recently connected with James Hereth and have shared our conversation below.
Hi James, thanks for joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
When it comes to having a “regular” job, I’m afraid I don’t need to wonder what it’d be like. Despite writing professionally for years, that income isn’t enough to make a living. Like many other artists, I’ve had a “regular” job side-by-side with my writing for most of my career.
Currently, that job is as an assistant editor in animation. A “regular” job in the entertainment industry can be helpful for creative pursuits, staying connected to the business and potentially building relationships. The risk is that you can get pigeonholed.
Regardless, doing both things simultaneously isn’t especially easy. Most of your day is taken by someone else’s project, while your own creative work consumes your mornings, evenings, and weekends. Unsurprisingly, I don’t sleep as much as I should.
I guess you have to sacrifice for your art as they say. At least until those million-dollar checks start rolling in.
James, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’ve wanted to be doing something creative with my life since I was a kid. I wasn’t especially deft at academics, but things like art classes, theater, and creative writing were areas where I felt much more in my element.
Soon after graduating NYU with a degree in Film and Television, a friend in LA offered me a job on the syndicated show, “Night Flight.” More often than not, your breaks are going to come from people you know. Being hardworking, reliable, and generally good company increases the likelihood you’ll be on the short list when an opportunity arises.
“Networking” can be a cliched professional buzzword, but a less-opportunistic way of framing it is cultivating a community of likeminded people who look out for one another, providing assistance, support, and the occasional gig.
I’ve worn many hats in the entertainment industry over the years: P.A., Art Department Coordinator, Actor, Editor, Assistant Editor, Producer, and more. But I always think of myself first-and-foremost as a screenwriter, bringing sharp dialogue and humor, no matter the genre.
Although many of my projects aren’t quite household names, I consider any produced writing a reason to celebrate. I’ve worked on syndicated series like “Born Free” and “High Tide,” kids live action, like “Mowgli: The New Adventures of the Jungle Book,” and animated shows like “Kuu Kuu Harajuku” and “The Stinky & Dirty Show.”
I’m probably most proud of “Extreme Team,” a TV movie I co-wrote for ABC. It had the highest budget I’ve ever worked with and definitely the highest production value. Plus, it helped launch the career of Chris Pratt, so that’s not too shabby.
My most recent project was co-creating the indie graphic novel, “Blowback,” with Rhonda Smiley. A time-travel action adventure, it was nominated for Best Original Graphic Novel, and won Fan Favorite Villain at the 2022 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
At the beginning of my career, I went through a series of disappointing near successes. I said to my cousin, a veteran television writer, that it seemed like if there are ten opportunities, nine will fall through. He responded that it’s more like when there are ten opportunities, twelve will fall through.
Now, I imagine there are significant obstacles in almost any career pursuit. But in entertainment, they seem particularly relentless and foul tempered. A quote I go back to again and again came from writer/producer Fred Rubin, who said that being a writer requires “supernatural optimism.” So many opportunities, or more specifically, potential opportunities get tantalizingly close to fruition and then fade away at the eleventh hour.
I’ve frequently mentioned a project I co-wrote called “Extreme Team” (aka “X-Team”), but it has a bit of a tortured backstory.
In the early 2000s, ABC was developing it as a movie and backdoor pilot. After it was produced, there was a regime change at the network, and regardless of whether that was the cause or not, the show didn’t get picked up to go to series.
On top of that, even though an airdate for the movie was posted on the ABC website, the day came and went without it being broadcast. In fact, it never aired at all in the States (though it did internationally).
In short, it was pretty devastating. Another produced project that few audiences would be able to see, making it difficult to refer to when promoting myself for future work.
As down as I was, I wasn’t out. And the way I recovered was to just keep going.
I don’t think there are any tricks or secrets to it. Perseverance is the best way through. Sure, you might start out by crying for a while. Maybe taking naps that last most of the day or eating party-sized bags of miniature peanut butter cups.
But finally, you have to scrape yourself off the couch, shake off the gloom and get back to it. Put metaphorical pen to metaphorical paper and write the next thing. And then the next thing. And then the next thing after that.
I’ve gone on to do a lot more writing that actually made it onto the airwaves here. And while I haven’t yet had my own primetime series, the next idea could be just that.
You can’t ever get another hit if you don’t keep swinging.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
It’s interesting. When you’ve been working for a while, you mostly look back and debate the paths taken or not taken. In other words, I don’t think I missed out on any resources, but I do think about whether the ones I chose were the ones I should have.
For example, there were writers programs that you could apply for at several studios. I had a friend that was in the Warner Brothers program, and it ended up being a great springboard for a long career in sitcoms.
I took the path to a production company start-up, and although I’ve had a lot of triumphs, I wonder what the alternatives might’ve been like. Would any of them have been more successful, or just different?
I guess my thought here is that knowing the resources is important, but so is taking some time to consider all your options (when they exist) to make an informed choice. Obviously, you can only know what you know, and the future is a mystery. But you want to be able to look back and say, at the time, this was the best decision.
These days, I can’t believe all the resources that creatives have. I guess I’m disappointed they weren’t all available to me early on. But the playing field is ever-evolving and technology is ever-improving.
Today, you can research any equipment, technique, or medium, and in almost every case find instructions, advice, or how-to videos about it online.
You can shoot a feature quality movie with an iPhone, edit it on your laptop, and then upload it to the internet where virtually the entire world can see it.
For no money, you can write a novel, publish it as a print-on-demand title through Amazon’s KDP, and make it available to anyone who wants to buy it.
The possibilities are endless. For me, personally, the next resource I’d like to try is crowdfunding. The debut graphic novel I co-created a couple of years ago was all self-financed. I’d really like to do a deep dive and learn how to use crowdfunding as both a financing and promotional tool.
The time is now. The time is always now. Take advantage of every advantage.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jameshereth.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/textsmith_jh/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JimHereth
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jfhereth/featured
- Other: https://www.blowbackuniverse.com/
Image Credits
01_Photo by Rhonda Smiley 02_Kuu Kuu Harajuku – Rudie’s Law 03_2022 Ringo Awards 04_Art by Kev Hopgood_Color by Charlie Kirchoff 05_Photo by Bruce Guthrie 06_ABC Website – X-Team 07_Photo by Rhonda Smiley