Meet John Maxwell

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to John Maxwell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

John, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I haven’t always been the paragon of joy and light that i present myself as and most times I’m still amazed that i am as jovial as i am. I think the secret was just finding something that i am passionate about and deciding to take the plunge. I started making content for 5th edition dungeons and dragons as a hobby and have sense then started my own indie business. I am still growing and facing the same challenges i did when i was younger but they seem to effect me less now that i have a goal in mind. I don’t need to be famous, i just want people to enjoy my works and maybe spread the joy i get while making them. It also doesn’t hurt to have a dark sense of humor.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Well if you want to know about me and my ventures you must know where I started feeling the pull to create content. I started a few years ago when Apotheosis Studios had put up a Kickstarter for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that centered on Warlocks (a player option in the setting) called The Red Opera: Last Days of the Warlock and it drew me in immediately as I am a big fan of dark stories and hooks. I started making a name for myself in that server as the “goofy kid”, engaging, making them laugh, and just having general conversations. Well at the time I caught leaderships attention and they liked my attitude and general appeal to their base so they offered me a moderator spot on their discord server (there was a bit more to it including the building of my first 5th edition Warlock subclass that I hope the world never has to be subjected too again *laugh* but it’s a lot to go into).

I started at that time branching out and making more content, getting feedback from my peers in the discord server, and slowly growing a reputation for making interesting roleplay centered subclasses, magic items, and much more. It was during this time that I met Rick Heinz and Pat Edwards (who were a couple of the brains behind the Red Opera setting and campaign) and Adam Ray (the blog writer at the time for Apotheosis Studios and who would eventually join me in my first major venture). We hit off pretty well, as we had a mutual understanding and respect for both the game and each other.

I hit a point where I wanted to do more with my content than cater to the small server we were on and while I don’t care if I am ever widely known I would love being that hipster gamers favorite creator. I asked Adam if they would be interested in a joint venture as I was working on making a compendium style book with player options for people that played D&D and Adam gave me a very enthusiastic “Yes!” It was from that day we started working on a few more options to add to the book, one of which would find its namesake as the title of the book, “The First Gate.” We worked tirelessly on this book for 2 years and even attempted a Kickstarter for it which failed (which I blame myself for having no knowledge of marketing at the time), but, despite that I wanted this book to happen so I paid for the artwork out of my own pocket, I did the layout and had to learn Affinity Publisher from scratch and after 3 months and the assistance of my lovely girlfriend who offered to do editing for me we pushed the book to market and it became our flagship product. It is still not widely known but the people that have gotten a copy of it or played in a game where I used the setting have loved it.

That takes me to where I am now, thanks to the connections I made back at Apotheosis Studios before its collapse Rick asked me to be a part of his new venture and I joined Storytellers Forge as a freelance writer and one of their Discord Moderators. I was able to write for their flagship product The Black Ballad, which has the same dream team behind it that made The Red Opera so successful. We had a successful crowdfunding campaign with Backerkit a year ago and PDFs of the book are in hand to the backers as we speak, and books are on their way to the printers for finalization. It has been a wonderful ride and I’m excited not only for where we go from there with the future projects that we have lined up, but I am still working on my own products as well, all of them being funded from my own pocket and put out into the world through my various social media platforms.

Adam and I have plans to revamp our first book and break it into two books, one being the Storytellers Guide to First Gate, which will include how to run a campaign there along with all the little bits that they can weave into a tale (including some things that are not public yet) and a players guide which will focus much more on player options in general so you can pick up either one or both depending on y9ur personal style. I try to cater to the community at large even if only in small ways.

Since our launch of The First Gate: A Menagerie of Madness we have released the Compendium of the Absurd: Redux (more player options), The Sanguine Codex: A Guide to Blood Magic, Curses Revisited, and much more. I have no plan to stop creating anytime soon and this year I plan to be at more conventions in the Kansas City area so maybe check those out and you might see me there. I can say that i will be at Kantcon in July so be sure to drop in if you are in the area,

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
If i think back to where i started i have to say that charisma and stick-to-itiveness were the most important qualities to have in getting started. I had so many times where i got frustrated and wanted to quit but due to the fact that i had developed a report with so many supportive people, they pushed me forward when i had a tough time doing it myself and after awhile that sort of things becomes infectious and you just sort of take it into yourself and you become one with it. Skills are easy to get, whether you are taught to write or develop your own style all it takes is practice and a willingness to admit to your mistakes and learn form them. Ultimately if your editor hands you back a paper full of red lines and they killed all your favorite darlings you can either be defeated or you can take it in stride and make your darlings unkillable the next go around, something i had to learn the hard way *laughs”. While the aforementioned things may seem either typical or insurmountable to some, the real thing you want is a working knowledge of whatever you are using to create, whether that painting, writing, or public speaking, you want to know at least a good portion of what you are working with and its very easy if you just commit the time to learning it. Nobody starts out knowing anything, it would be a shame to stay that way, so find a passion or something that speaks to you and learn what you need to then, as Rick would say “go forth and do the thing”.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I feel like the world is caving in on me, I step back. Being overwhelmed and doing the thing anyway can and will eventually lead to burnout and I refuse to let that be how my venture fizzles out. I have had many times where I felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders and could barely take a step without thinking I had just made the worst decision of my life. I eventually learned that during those times when your “spoons” are low and you need a break, take the break. We all know there are certain things that you cannot avoid in life and for those we have to “soldier on,” but that doesn’t mean you have to push yourself to a breaking point. Take a step back from things you can and get your head on straight. crooked, or sideways (it’s your head and I won’t judge, you do you) and give yourself the space you need to come back with an enthusiastic, take the world on attitude.

I personally find that some of my best work came after a short hiatus, either being inspired by a videogame, movies, or tv show. I can’t say that method will work for everyone, but I’m sure it might work for some. So, give yourself some breathing room and when you are ready, get back out there and show the world the amazing star you can be.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
First Gate Image – Andy Lever/Drake Mefestta Curses Revisted – Dean Spencer All others – BiscuitTinRPG

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