#35: Day One (2022)

I started wuruwuru trying to make a magazine but ended up doing other experiments instead: I published an Instagram comic (The J Guide) and an album cover database (Cover Bank). I also started an animated short film (Hanky Panky) and an anthology of stories (Feel Good).

I chose these ideas out of curiosity: how do I make something like this? who do I need? what exists? And as a result, I’m now working with a few dozen people including writers, editors, designers, directors, animators, voice actors, music producers, lawyers and advisors. I’ve discovered so many amazing people and I’ve learnt a lot about scriptwriting, sound production, animation, business registration, contracts, Instagram and more.

Clearly, there’s more to this than just making things. Across all my interests, what I want is to tell new stories, encourage high standards, build community, promote new ideas, bear witness to the culture, explore alternative funding models and support independent publishing. But it’s going to take a lot of time and effort to get there.

For now, I’m focused on completing ongoing projects.

Feel Good: I’ve hired two people, N and Eris, to help edit and produce. This brings the team to seven people including myself, Daniel, Ire, Onyinye and Hannatu. We’ll start publishing stories online in February and crowdfund a graphic novel later in the year.
Hanky Panky: The animation is still ongoing and the goal is to finish in April. We have a review of the new roughs scheduled for early January for and I’ve reached out to a production company to help with operations and publishing so our chances are higher.
Cover Bank: Tomiwa will now be working full-time on this and other research projects. Multiple entries in the database are incomplete and need review. We also need to think about data integrity, accessibility, persistence, distribution and other related topics.

Vanny is currently drawing the third (and final) story for The J Guide. After this, I’m pausing the project. I really enjoyed learning about weed, writing scripts, directing illustrators, putting the stories together and experimenting with ads, but I want to focus on more universal topics.

As for the magazine, I still need to find my voice. My interests are too wide and it’s not yet clear what I’m trying to say or who I’m trying to say it to. I’ve tried making stories myself but couldn’t get past my quality filter. I’ve considered starting something simple to help discover my audience, like a newsletter or a blog, but I’m not ready to commit to a periodical.

I also need to start thinking about money. It’s a privilege to be able to experiment like this but I’m careful not to be too wasteful. I need income or donations to sustain it long term. Feel Good is my first experiment with funding and I’m excited for it. We got an executive producer for $15k and we also plan to crowdfund book production later in the year.

Generally, I’m positive about the new year because I think I have a good plan. I have a clearer idea of what I’m trying to do, I’m down to a few projects and more focused, I have more experienced collaborators and my community and quality of advice has grown significantly.

What can go wrong? 🙂