Bold

If you were keeping up with my blog posts there for a bit I’m sure you’ll have noticed that I’ve been absent. 

What a summer. 

Was it good, bad? All of the above. Let’s leave it at that. 

As I continue to follow the whims of my interests, side questing all over the place, I came across a time capsule from my convention tabling days. I found old copies of my, at the time, webcomic, Jubee Sweetz.

Looking through the pages I was filled with a sense of sadness and pride. I wish the me that wrote and drew those was more confident. The work in there, the jokes and the artwork, were actually better than I remember it. Back then, I tied the level of my skills to the amount of likes and fans I had, which was not a lot. 

It was the first time anyone had ever drawn fan art of my work. That was so sweet. 

It was the first time I had explored sharing a story I had written and designed. That was a big milestone. 

It was the culmination of a long time desire to write something inspired by my relationship with my dad. It’s a special story I still want to share. 

Some people say everything happens for a reason. I feel deeply that this story exists in me for a reason. I created a new version of it and pitched it to Nickelodeon back in the day. It was the first time I had ever pitched in my life. The comic is actually what the previous Nick development representative pointed out as the reason they wanted to meet at CTN a couple years prior to this pitch. (I spoke about it in a previous blog post. The people I pitched this to though were not the same) I had a positive experience pitching. I felt heard and supported. I felt like they were genuinely interested in this concept. 

But they said no. 

It’s not uncommon to receive a rejection when you pitch. It’s pretty much expected. I was mostly ok with the decision to be totally honest. It was my first pitch. I was only a revisionist at the time and I knew I wanted to gain more industry experience before I took on the responsibility of creating a whole show. I pitched because I was interested in the process. I had received advice from that guy at CTN and from another recruiter at Nick. The recruiter had told me to start pitching as soon as possible because it will be good practice and help you build relationships for when you are more experienced and ready. I followed everyone’s advice and pitched a story that I was really passionate about. It felt like maybe there was a small chance it was meant to be?

They told me no but took the time to explain why. And I will forever be grateful for that. While there was one very vague similarity to something they had in development (it was a big stretch) the main reason was that they felt this story was personal. It was mine to share. If it went through the development pipeline, it would need to change to fit the network needs, and they didn't want to do that with something that felt so close to me. 

I’m glad they said that. I’m glad they saw what I was feeling about it before I even knew it. 

I have continued to try to pitch it elsewhere. It’s usually received well with some questions as to the intended audience. I refined the pitch over and over to help clarify everything I possibly could. I commissioned designs. I created a teaser animatic. It continued to receive rejections. It's fun, but they don’t get it. It doesn’t fit what they are looking for. They don’t have a need for it. 

The folks at Nick were right the first time. It’s my story to tell, no one else’s. So here I’m going to share one of the versions I pitched. I will tell this story some day in its entirety, on my terms, in my own way. I promise it's a good one. It's just one that I need to get out myself because I know the importance and value of it on its own, without anyone else’s approval.  It’s one I need to create from my own confidence. 

Entering my bold era.

​(Some elements of this pitch I'm keeping to myself. They have been removed)

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