Salutations, Progeeks, Profans, and Protaku.  Tamara here.  On this last day of the year, I’d like to announce my upcoming feature on this blog: Beyond the Loading Screen.

This monthly column is going to summarize the struggles and successes of a progeek and her threefold multimedia quest.  Or, in less flashy words: I will attempt to get a book published, make a TV show, and figure out what to do with my small animation startup.  Then I’m going to blog about it.

Here’s my current situation, and perhaps you can relate.  A geek from the start, I always wanted to do something creative with my life.  I graduated from university just as the recession started, and I have not yet had a steady job.  Well, there was one, but the Unemployment Pixies cast Outsource, and since then I’ve had only sporadic part-time work at various companies.

I always wanted to make films and TV shows, and I have not yet given up on that dream.  About a year ago, myself and two other dreamers started an animation company, which shriveled and died due to lack of startup capital.  One of the people left, but the other remaining person and I are trying to reinvent our company.

So now let’s take some Before pictures.

The Book: I wrote a kids’ novel (for 4th-6th graders).  I had a friend* edit it, and when it was all ready to go, I searched around for a publishing house.  There aren’t too many that are interested in unsolicited manuscripts, and I am holding off from e-publishing unless there are no other options. I’d just prefer to have my novel endorsed by an established company, seeing as I don’t have anyone Official representing me. 

My goal for January is to just keep searching for either an agent or a publishing house that will accept books by authors without agents.  The few places where I have sent my book are supposed to get back to me by February.  If they do not, I will rethink my strategy.

The TV Show: There are a few things going on here.  There’s that first TV show that I created** with my business partner.  We’ve pitched it to a few places and we’re waiting to hear back from them.  The estimated response times have come and gone, and my careful reminders have gone unanswered. 

My plan here is to give them all one last call once the holiday festivities are over.  If they still don’t call me back, we will refocus our attention on our new series and start the process over.

I also have one more outstanding series that is unrelated to my company.  It’s an undertaking between myself and a graphic designer who is quite established in the industry.  Again, once everyone is back from the winter holidays, it’s time to call them up and find out what is what.

The Company: We’re an animation company with zero money.  Although we have our official business license, we’re a couple of poor college grads.  That’s why our aim has settled from creating our own cartoons to putting together pitch bibles and taking them on the road.  Our current problems are that it takes ages to get a pitch meeting and ages more to find out if you are or are not getting feedback, and also that the backup plan is looking iffy.

Now, the backup plan was for us to make short cartoons on the cheap, put them on YouTube, and promote the living daylights our of them.  However, my business partner is the one with all the animation training, and she works loooooong hours at her day job.  She says it would take close to a year just to make one episode.  I, however, have far too much spare time, and I would love to make some cartoons.  My Flash skills, however, are… *ahem* rudimentary.

So, the plan for me is to look for an actual job (because, you know, I need that), and also practice animation.  If my business partner can’t get any free time, then it falls to me, at least for a while.

Now, at this point, it sounds like a lot of false starts and flailing, but what I really see as my problem is that I am doing too much waiting around.  I am stuck on life’s loading screen (hence the name of this feature).  The catch-22 appears to be that if you get involved with an established company, you get lost in the shuffle.  If you do something “indie,” it’s brushed off as “eww, indie.”  So what is a progeek to do?

No one knows for sure, but I intend to find out. *dramatic music*

Have a safe and happy New Year, and let’s pwn 2011, progeek style!

-Tamara Hecht

*My friend is brilliant, skilled, and hardworking, so if you are in Maine and looking to hire a writer, drop me a line at tamara126(at)gmail-dot-com.
**Well, we did the bible, the scripts, and the concept art.  There are no finished animations.