Everything Girl

Hugh MacLeod is a cartoonist, who makes his living publishing fine art prints via the internet. Also known for his ideas about how “Web 2.0″ affects advertising and marketing, after a decade of working as an advertising copywriter, Hugh started blogging at gapingvoid.com in 2001. He first started off just publishing his cartoons, but as time wore on he started blogging about his other main interest i.e. marketing. Our Shanna Trenholm ventured from sunny California to the wilds of West Texas to interview Hugh.

ATG: Hugh, why don’t you tell ATG readers a bit about yourself.

I’m a cartoonist. I had a background in advertising. I was an early adopter to the blogging phenom. A year ago I got sick of the big city and moved to Alpine, Texas. Recently I launched a fine art print business, which so far is going really well…

“I think one should have a sense of humor about one’s profession, or else they turn into an asshole real quick.”

ATG: Why did you move to Alpine, TX of all places?

Well, it wasn’t deliberate. My dad taught at Sul Ross, the local University, and I was living in London at the time. I had a gig in SFO and a gig in Austin about 3 weeks apart. And so I thought was no reason to go back [to London] in the interim so I’ll just go visit my dad. I had been here once before and I really liked it and I just came for a 3-week visit and then the visit came to an end and I told my dad I didn’t really want to leave. He said, “Well, you just got a book contract so you don’t have to if you don’t want to.” I told my dad he was right—I mean, you can live like king here for 40 grand a year or so, and I wasn’t worried about the money, but going from a city of 10 million people to West Texas desert was a bit of a change… But, it wasn’t a hard adjustment, just a slow one. When I first got here I wasn’t really trying to make friends in a hurry, getting to know the town slowly and the people slowly. I kept a low profile.

ATG: How has the move to Alpine influenced your work?

I started doing large paintings again. Desert Manhattan, for one. But I still do the same stuff I was doing in London but I think it’s more…well, I have a lot less external pressure on me out here so I’m a bit more meditative I suppose. As opposed to…like a consultant in any big city where you are tap-dancing as fast as you can. Actually tap dancer is my nickname for consultants.

ATG: Thank you for that (I’m a consultant).

Well, tap dancer is a part of my job description, too. I think one should have a sense of humor about one’s profession, or else they turn into an asshole real quick.

“It’s kind of a book of advice…not really a how-to book, because I think if you are going to be creative you have to find your own journey.”

ATG: You have a book coming out in June—Tell me about it.

Ignore Everybody. 4 years ago, I wrote this blog post on how to be creative. All the tips that worked for me over the years—all the tips, the stuff I learned the hard way. I wrote the blog post for people that didn’t have my journey, didn’t go through all the shit I went through—maybe younger people. The blog post turned out to be really long—something like 10,000 words—and it was read and downloaded a couple million times.

One day I got a call from the lovely people at Penguin in New York and they said let’s make a book out of it. We signed the book deal and spent the last six months designing it and tweaking it and now it’s coming out in June and it’s terribly exciting-—it’s a nice feather in the cap.

ATG: What was your goal for the book?

Well, I wasn’t trying to be touchy-feely; I wanted to be realistic, but also brutally honest about the creative life but still inspirational, still motivational, still useful. And the other thing is I wanted a short—I didn’t want a big ol’ tome. 10,000 words. You can read that in a sitting.

It’s kind of a book of advice…not really a how-to book, because I think if you are going to be creative you have to find your own journey.

ATG: Do you have plans for a book tour to support the launch of Ignore Everybody?

Well, I know I am going to New York to do radio interviews. I don’t if know reaching out [in person] will sell more books or if just having a blog will reach more people in a fundamental way. I’ve seen book tours and they are a lot of work…most book signings are done by people you’ve never heard of (laughs). They [authors] just want to get out there on the road and get promoted. My work on the Internet is pretty well promoted.

ATG: You are a prominent figure on Twitter (Social networking platform). How will you use Twitter to promote your book?

Two ways: one, voraciously, and two, without shame. It’s funny because you can say Twitter is very 2.0, it’s about conversation, but what the hell does that mean? I’m online to create value for myself and other people and that’s the social contract. I create value for myself; I create value for you. Now which one comes first? That depends on what day you ask me. Some days I want to do something thoughtful and useful for other people and some days I just want to pimp the hell out of my shit. But if all I did was to promote [my work], it wouldn’t be as effective.

I think we all negotiate how much we talk and how much we listen—that’s what conversation means—it’s two ways.

ATG: Is there anything you miss about city life?

Not really. City life is fun for say, two or three nights. But then the reality of the stress and the expenses kick in. Seems like, as I get older, I need more and more quiet and solitude. Besides, my work allows me to go to the city any time I want, so I don’t feel deprived of it (city life).

Read some sample chapters of Hugh’s book, “Ignore Everybody” or pre-order his book.

Shanna Trenholm is a writer, animal lover, eater of dark chocolate, and teller of truths. She finds inspiration in the ordinary; magic in the mundane. She likes to take baths and naps (in that order). Send her some bubble bath here: www.shannatrenholm.com

Share This Article »