Meet Corey Croft

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

Corey, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I have taken many losses. Too many to count. Almost as if it were a hobby.

In my line of work, in any art and in all of our lives, there are many more defeats than victories. More closed doors than open ones. A lot of cats are better at remembering and celebrating the times things worked out in their favour, their wins, and using that as a source of confidence or self-belief. I’ve become suspect of positive outcomes, when they occur. I tend to downplay them and find the temporary levity hard to enjoy. I could say that it is a sort of learned humility. However, much of it stems from a paranoia and the fear that something will undermine it. Sadly, it can even poison small wins and those unrelated to my work,

However, my passion for the craft is what keeps pushing me forward. Bullet-like. A love for the art that forces me forward, no matter how many beartraps my poor, little hooves collect on the way. I love writing, creating, and believe that what I make is important. I’m a very reserved person, yet my belief in what I do makes me want to share it, put myself out in the world and sacrifice whatever I need to.

So, my resilience is born from optimism. Nor is it from being accustomed to being knocked-down and asking politely for another haymaker. I hate vacant-eyed idealism almost as much as I hate losing. It’s more workmanlike, as though there is no alternative option. The need to see my art put in a place where it can succeed is, for me, akin to avenging the death of a loved one. The meaning and the purpose are greater than me. I don’t think anyone enjoys the taste of defeat, but there’s a middle-ground between spitting it out and getting used to the flavour. My goals are ambitious, I know this, so I try not to beat myself ragged if I come up short. Still, time isn’t promised and there’s a guard with a bayonet who urges me onward. Sometimes you trip. You have to get back to your feet.

I’ve quit things before. But this is the sun in the centre of my solar system. I’ll give up the ghost before I quit this.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m an independent author and publish my work through a self-owned company.

The reason that I do it this way is two-fold. On the one hand, self-publishing allows you to have full creative control over your art, product, message and branding. The second reason is that when I was starting out, I was incredibly impatient and stubborn and reckoned that it would be a lot easier that it is.

I recently released a new book called Scumbag Rehab, which is available anywhere online on paperback and e-book. It’s a fairly dramatic departure from the rest of my novels due to its content and delivery. In fact, I’m comfortable in saying that it’s very different from anything you’re going to see in the literary world. Its extravagant, over-the-top violence, erotica and delivery is unique and controversial. Cinematic and visceral. I liken it to how a Tarantino movie hits the first time you see it. You almost don’t know what to do with it except enjoy the trip.

Although self-published can be a dirty word to some, both within and outside of the literary world for different reasons, there is beauty in being independent. I have released four novels, with each one being quite different genre-wise from the next. A satire, a young-adult fiction, a psychological thriller, and now this, which I place in the crime fiction category. Of course, it’s the same person writing them, so there will be aspects which are recognizable in every release. But, there is freedom to explore creatively, take chances, and be free of artistic shackles. Most importantly, you may choose to tell a story, any story, the way it desires to be told.

There are many challenges. Getting new eyes on the company and products, branding and marketing to targeted audiences, breaking into a very noisy, yet very niche world, and navigating the business side without any training. You make mistakes. You blow through loot on dead ends and go-nowhere avenues. You hitch your wagon to more than a couple falsely shining stars. Chalk it up to a learning experience. It has to be. Otherwise…

The most exciting/hardest part is finding out what lands and in which ways I’m able to better connect with people. That connection makes up a good part of the core. My art is my voice, far louder and more articulate than the one I speak with. It’s hard to describe the feeling of finding an audience to create a dialogue with and speaking to them like confidants without ever knowing them. And for the readers, I hope to excite them to see what will come next. To stay on the bus until it flies off a cliff. I have a few releases lined-up and, to stay on brand, are all as different from the next as they can be.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Having a solid routine and the ability to make schedules is enormous for any independent creator. I work a night job and would love nothing more than to spend every moment that I’m not plugging away at someone else’s dream on my own passion. However, there is a lot more to do than just writing. There is the business side, and there is also a personal or social side. Apparently. While we all have our own hierarchy of wants and needs, the time we can spend on these things has to be done judiciously. This goes for temps-libre as well. It’s important to know when to step away and recharge the batteries, or when we are neglecting our work.

That leads to discipline. To really strike all the targets, it’s important to adhere to the schedule you’ve set for yourself and treat every item on it with the same respect. This includes scheduled leisure time, which seems to punch itself in the face conceptually. Yet, winding down and maintaining personal relationships is important. I treat my art like work. It’s integral to create a space, both in the physical and in the mind, where it’s treated professionally and not simply something that I like to do. Though I love it more than anything else in the world, I force myself to clock out (stop writing) and work on other aspects of the business with the same air of dedication. I hate that side, but I have to do it like I love it. Otherwise I’d put in on the back burner and I’d never actualize my objectives. In fairness, I’d be a hermit who drown himself in loose pages and pen ink if I didn’t set up a schedule.

Related to the scheduling, and discipline, the best piece of advice that I have is to put pants on. Sounds silly, sure, and there are lots of do’s and don’ts that I could offer. But, when you’re tending to multiple irons in multiple fires everyday, I feel a greater sense of duty when I throw a pair of slack on. Even if I will be sitting at my desk at home for the next 8 hours plus, I don’t want to feel like I’m home. I don’t like to work in public. I pace around and have dozens of notebooks going at any time. I spend a lot of time at home and pants tell me that the steam whistle has sounded for a day of work. Furthermore, I don’t sit at the desk unless I’m working. It’s a sanctioned work-zone. Delineating spaces, even in one’s own dwelling, is very helpful.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I would love to work with anyone in any way. Social media has long been a pebble in my boot and it was only recently that I discovered the wide word of book influencers. There is a massive galaxy of creators reviewing and shouting-out books and authors that I hadn’t paid much attention to until this last launch. They are very much the taste-makers for thousands of potential readers and it has been something that I had never researched.

I would also take great enjoyment in working with other authors on any kind of creative project. This goes against how I felt when I began. In part to shyness, and in part thinking that small gusts of wind carried little momentum. At this point, I really just enjoy being in the atmosphere of the literary world and experiencing the glow of the artistic sphere.

There is no project, interview, podcast or the like too small. There is always something to learn and there are many rocks to sharpen your spade against. I haven’t said no to anything for a long minute now and I’m enthused to collaborating with anyone in any way. I’m not a great networker and reaching out is far from a strength, but I’m always open. The easiest way to get to me is through Instagram, since it’s where most of my content goes first and it’s the only app I’ve learned to almost understand.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://flypelicanpress.com/
• Instagram: ccroft23
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corey-croft/
• Other: TikTok: ccroft23

Image Credits

Teagan Vincze