We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nick Savage a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Nick, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?
When I first started writing novels, I did not understand the publishing industry as I understand it now. And if you’re in the industry, that leaves a whole range of what I might understand. Some days, I think I understand less than I did the day before. But it was that lack of understanding that led me to become a self-published author. (Currently, I am published through 4 Horsemen Publications.) Glossing over the process of writing the book, designing the cover, and everything in between and beyond that goes into writing and self-publishing a book, I ended up with a table outside of a now-closed bookstore for a day. It was in a touristy area and not a lot of people on vacation stop inside a bookstore. But I sat there for around six hours that day. I met about five people, maybe six, and signed about that many copies. I had one book out at that time. There aren’t many readers who want to invest in a new author and the first book in a series that may or may not get finished. It was heartbreaking. The scenes of thousands of people lined up for autographs at comic cons take years to get to. We know this. It makes sense. Logic and reason dictate this. But to sit there, in a store for your first time, and see the reality of anonymity can be soul-crushing. But I made a couple of bucks and reminded myself that things take time. But all the months of writing, rewriting, cover design, editing, typesetting, and countless hours plotting, all boiled down to a couple of bucks for that show. Crazy, but I kept going. Up to this point, I’ve written six books and been in two anthologies. I am working on my seventh and have people who love my work. So yeah, that first dollar I earned was rough and depressing, but well worth everything that’s been coming since.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Nick Savage. I got into writing at a young age penning song lyrics and poems. As I got older I ventured into screenwriting and found my love for longer works than verse and chorus. Not that I don’t enjoy music, but my love simply changed. I found myself constrained by the simplicity of description in screenwriting. That format calls for the bones of a story. Int. Typical Chicago Irish Bar – Day Then bam, you move into the events of the scene. I wanted to describe the bar, the alcohol they served, what was playing on the TVs, and every detail I could, I wanted to write. I had people telling me I should try writing a book. No reason behind it and my brain wouldn’t connect the obvious reasons why behind what they were saying. I was stubborn. Still am. But one day I was outside Old Town in Kissimmee, FL, and saw the events happening around me. Something in that moment hit me and I went back home and began a writing exercise. Eventually, that exercise turned into my first novel, The Fairlane Incidents. So, in a long and wide nutshell, that’s how I got into writing.
I plot out my stories knowing one of the series has vampires, werewolves, fairies, and such but don’t think of it as a contemporary fantasy. I think of it as a story. Same with my modern romance series. It’s a book, a story that needs to be told. So, I tell it. I let my publisher worry about the rest. (Sorry, Erika and Val) But I write in contemporary fantasy for The West Haven Undead series and in modern romance for The Fairlane Series. I enjoy writing tales that speak to the human condition in a more intimate sense. Stories focused on the individual rather than their city. I feel an close-up view on characters will reflect the larger picture of what the rest of the community feels. Not that I don’t love a good action flick, but Good Will Hunting is more my jam when writing. (Just watched that again yesterday)
A cool byproduct of my writing is that I started painting as a way to help me flesh out the details of my plots. The paintings that started as abstract, turned into fan art and then into glow-in-the-dark fan art. So now, in addition to writing and editing, (I edit books as well-never my own books) I have a small business where I paint a black image that will glow in the dark on a black shirt. Then, over that image, is a color image. So it will be something like, a superhero logo in color but when the shirt glows, something relevant to the hero glows behind the logo. It’s hard to explain but people get a kick out of it and I can be found at a bunch of central Florida conventions. I also have a website at savagecanvasarts.com.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I am not sure if you would call it either a goal or mission to my creative journey but I tend to write something that hopefully leaves the reader feeling differently about themselves or the world around them. I don’t want a reader to finish the last sentence in any of my books and walk away going, “That was fun,” and have nothing deeper to say. Sure, popcorn reads are fun and an escape from the daily grind. I want to do something more. Something they have fun reading, but also sits in the mind, so a week later, they have a light bulb go off above their head and are like, “Now, I get it.” Creating something memorable is an easier way to sum it all up. Nobody wants their life’s work to fall into obscurity.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I’m going to try my best not to get all “soap boxy,” but stop supporting corporations that don’t care about employees or their products. At one point in time, owning a company was about providing a quality good or service, and making money was a byproduct of doing or making that service/product well. Now, it’s about subpar quality and milking the consumer for every cent they can because of stockholders. So, what does that have to do with supporting small businesses and creatives? First, support small businesses when you are able. Keywords, ‘when you are able’ because I already have ten reasons against this argument playing in my head. I will leave that there. Secondly, all the famous artists, musicians, authors, and film actors we adore so much started where the small guys are now. So, take a chance on the small guy because talent comes in all sizes. And third, tell your friends when you find a small business, new author, indie musician, etc because that word of mouth can help them spread more than only buying their product. Last, leave a review.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TheAuthorNickSavage.Com
- Instagram: TheAuthorNickSavage
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAuthorNickSavage
- Twitter: @SavageWrites
- Other: www.SavageCanvasArts.com https://linktr.ee/theauthornicksavage https://www.tiktok.com/@theauthornicksavage