We recently connected with Luke Henderson and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Luke thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

As a writer who works full-time with a family, I rarely get to take a vacation. Much of my paid time off is devoted to staying home with my kids when they’re sick or don’t have school, or going to events during the work day for my family. I’m a big believer in exploring the area around you in a sort of “staycation”. I can’t always take time off to travel out of town, but I can try a new museum, park or restaurant with my family to get some rest and relaxation.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Luke W. Henderson and I’m a writer of too many things. My focus is mainly comics, short stories and poetry, but I have also contributed reviews and articles to sites such as Comic Book Yeti, Gatecrashers, and Archetypes magazine. I’d been a freelance journalist for many years, but found that space to be very hostile and burnt out on writing in that environment. I turned to fiction as a way to keep writing, but also because I felt the things I wanted to accomplish would be better served with fiction. I kind of stumbled into comics after nostalgically rereading Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” (which I read in high school) and realizing how great stories told through comics can be. This pushed me to read more. Through books like Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman” and Alan Moore’s “Promethea”, I was inspired to try my hand at writing comics as well. Now I’ve successfully run three Kickstarters for my own comics: a series of zines about epic fails in fantasy settings called Crit One and Crit One 2, and a collection of action-romance tales called Summer’s End. I’ve even begun to establish myself as a letterer and designer for comic books.

My proudest moment has been my progress on Kickstarting my books. My first campaign was a failure, coming up well short of my goal and since then I’ve improved my marketing and promotion with each campaign. Though I was not unfamiliar with marketing books–I had previously been a freelance marketing editor for a small publisher–having to shift to this new medium with new expectations and a higher workload has been challenging, but I’ve taken my lumps and kept pressing.

I love crafting stories with big ideas, a lot of heart, and quality characters especially if it’s a horror story, but I dabble in everything. I thoroughly think through the motivations, backgrounds, and voice of each of my characters, even the background ones, because I want them to feel alive and have the audience relate to them. I think it’s easier to express abstract concepts, or foreign emotions through fiction because one can place the audience in another person’s shoes if it’s written well. That’s ultimately what I hope to do with my writing, create new opportunities to explore ideas and develop empathy.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

There are a few goals I have in mind with my writing.

I eventually want to write full-time and have my name be associated with multiple outlets, not comics or novels alone. My favorite writers are ones that have done this successfully, like Isaac Asimov or Neil Gaiman. I’m one of those people who are interested in everything, so I don’t want to limit myself to one medium.

Also, I want to add to the dearth of stories about queer characters, especially masculine nonbinary ones. I find most nonbinary characters in fiction and other media tend to lean more feminine, and while that representation is great, I think it also stems a bit from masculine-presenting characters who are perceived as women being more acceptable than feminine-presenting characters who are perceived as men. Plus, there’s such a wide range of experiences and emotions that have yet to be explored with these stories, so I want to be a part of it and hopefully foster more understanding.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I don’t have a huge following on social media yet, but the one I have is active and responds to what I put out. I think the biggest suggestion I have to start small and develop authentic connections with others in your field. No one likes somebody who messages a stranger asking for advice or financial support. Participate in crowdfunding, livestreams, or comment on posts from people whose work you genuinely enjoy and then interact with others who enjoy similar things and are at the same level as you. That’s how you develop your circle and the people who will be your die-hard supporters.

Another easy way to make connections is to hire people whose work you like. We’re all struggling, and putting your money towards your peers is an easy way to communicate that you care and are a giver, not just a taker.

I also don’t believe in “follow for follows” or “share for shares”. Though I think these people’s intentions are noble, I see this strategy more as a numbers-boosting one and not one to generate meaningful support. Most of the time this strategy generates followers, but not new engagement. I’ve even had people follow me before and then immediately unfollow when I follow them back. Focus more on meaningful interactions over numbers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Linktr.ee/lukewhenderson
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukewhendersonm/
• Twitter: https://x.com/LukeWHendersonM

Image Credits

Cover art for Summer’s End by John Jack, Design by Luke W. Henderson
Pirate Comic art by Aaron Brown, Letters by Tom Lynott
Corrupting the Youth cover by Leo Mancini
Comic art by Fern Lamb