When I started Fictionist Media in 2022, it was because I had just graduated from university, and was hired to be a screenwriter for a true crime television series. I wasn’t aware of all the hurdles one would have to jump through to accept this job, but starting a corporation is one of those hurdles. I paid the fees, filled out the forms, jumped the hurdles and before I knew it I was signing a contract. I was a screenwriter.

A week into this I had my first meeting with the story supervisor. He got right down to business. He started off the meeting by saying “You’re a fine writer, and this is nothing personal, but I need experienced TV writers, and I just don’t have the time to train anyone on this gig. But if someone can’t pick up a show, I’ll throw it your way.” I tried to save face by taking the opportunity to hammer him with as many questions about the industry as I could. I just had my dream job handed to me, and possibly taken away within a week. Plus, I just sunk roughly $600 into starting my own business. I was going to get my money out of this guy in education.

Three days later, I (along with several other writers) got the email that said, “Thank you for your time, but all the episodes have been spoken for. We will keep you in mind for future assignments.”

That was a year and a half ago, and I haven’t heard anything from them since. After researching the industry a little more since then, I’d say that’s probably for the best.

Now, even though I run a corporation that makes no money, I still have to pay and file taxes for it. I don’t know the first thing about corporate taxes, so I had to hire an accountant. They aren’t cheap.

I decided it was time to pivot. If I’m not going to make a living solely as a screenwriter, I need to branch out in other areas. The first thing I did was pitch, write, draw and sell a short story to a comic anthology. Writing for comics is a lot like writing for film or television. The big difference being that the action is implied to take place between the panels. Each panel is just a moment in time that highlights the key moments of the story. The space between is left to the reader’s imagination.

So that was it, I was going to make comics. Now I’m a cartoonist.

But I also have dozens of short stories on my hard drive. I also wanted to write novellas. Great, now I’m an author.

I also wanted to handle all aspects of the creation and distribution of the books and ebooks I wanted to make. Fine, so now I’m also a publisher!

I went out and got some quotes and found out, it is somewhat feasible to be a small publisher. I will produce novellas and graphic novellas. There is no reason why I couldn’t possibly do two to four a year if it’s just me working on them.

A few months later I picked up a full-time day job. This job proved to me that I have other skills that are in demand that I can use to grow Fictionist Media. Now that I’m armed with this newfound knowledge, as well as a three year BA in Filmmaking and a four year BA in Creative Writing, I am ready to relaunch Fictionist Media Inc. as a freelance creative services company.

To start we are offering the following services:

• Writing
• Screenwriting
• Video Editing
• Proofreading
• Graphic Design

To be offered at a later date:

• Publishing

If you’re looking for someone to handle any of these services for you, or your company, click the button below and reach out to me.

Fictionist Media Inc. is now open for business.