Today we talk about Failed Artist: A potpourri of tales from the trenches… of life, a book by Ron Connors published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author Ron Connors to get to know him better, the moment that led him to the writing of his book Failed Artist: A potpourri of tales from the trenches… of life, as well as his personal relationship with “failure”.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- Is there a particular moment in your life that led you to the writing of your book? What was that?
Absolutely. As a child I read constantly but I never really considered being an author. I wanted to be an artist! I did write a couple of things as I was fascinated with poetry, mystery, and spooky stories! But…I was much more interested in expressing myself through visual arts. I took up writing as a hobby after graduating from the University of California at Santa Barbara. I was floating around a bit as I was seeking a career and it was a great use of my time. My romance with reading literature recommenced as I was no longer required to read texts and such. And when I moved to Mexico in 1990, I began writing in earnest. However, I never truly thought about having a book published until a few years ago. I was doing incredibly well in my visual arts business but I ended up having to close my gallery due the restrictions due to the COVID virus. That also meant cancelling exhibitions and really shut down opportunities for me to get my work out to the public. It was then that I decided that it was a great time to focus on a book. I was also inspired by my children, especially my daughter who is absolutely passionate about reading. Often, when I would sit down to write, she would follow along as though she was editing as I wrote. It was exhilarating imagining her reading a book written by me, a bit magical I think! And it was then that I became determined to write this book.
- What characteristics your audience should have to appreciate your book?
This is a great question! I have been setting up a podcast to help grow my YouTube channel and get more attention as a visual artist and author. One of the most important things that people with successful YouTube channels recommend is that when one is building a channel, the first thing that should be done is that one should determine their target audience. This does not mean looking for a niche but rather pondering who they want to communicate with and who would find interest in their channel. I was sent an old school video by a friend of mine a few years ago. It is “The Strangest Secret.” By Earl Nightingale. In that video, Earl Nightingale talks about the percentages of people who excel, succeed, and fail. And the percentage of failures according to his measure is immensely greater than those in the other categories. I would like those failures as my readers. Not exclusively, of course, a writer wishes to communicate with all sectors of society but I want to inspire folks to get up and perform. I truly want people who might feel that life is passing them by to stop and take a look at my work and recognize that one can only fail when one is trying. To brand oneself as a failure when one is just sitting around wallowing is ludicrous. I want to inspire folks to recognize patterns that make them feel weak and underappreciated and to empower themselves by changing those patterns and start completing projects like…writing a book.
- What is your personal relationship with “failure”?
Another excellent question and it is not so easy to answer. To be almost excessively frank with myself, I feel as though I have always chased failure rather than success. Throughout my life I have had numerous opportunities for really high levels of success in academics, art, business and even romance and I have had an uncomfortable relationship with success. I was always taught to be humble and whenever things were going too well, I found a way to escape. Hence, I found more comfort in failure. I am sure that many do. In the process of writing and sharing the stories in this book, I found myself confronting this and recognizing that this humility that I was exhibiting was nothing more than a charade. It was a part of the culture I came from and a bit of my character that I wanted to maintain and afraid of losing by becoming a success! And I found it to be nothing more than a fiction that I invented as a child in order to avoid being the nail that stuck out! (And, in my experience, would get pounded back in!) I noted that the humility usually led me to humiliation! I do not want my children to be humble at all! I don’t want them to make failure their comfort zone. Writing this book has taught me a lot about this relationship and I think reading it will teach others about theirs. Success is for everyone. Sometimes the only way we can find it is through failure…
- How did it feel to see your first book published?
At first, I felt relieved. The whole process of publishing was time consuming, irritating, annoying and finally, rewarding. I can honestly say that I could not have done it without Europe Books. I have seen so many people recommending self-publishing and it just seemed like a dead-end process. And…I followed up by researching some of those who were recommending self-publishing and most of them either had no books to show for it or a book or two which were print on demand without any demand. And…to answer your question…It has been an absolutely wonderful experience. My children have seen my artwork in many places and I have been told by other parents and their teachers how proud they are of this. The book is another level. The feeling I get when I see their faces is overwhelming. It was rewarding enough to see the book on Europe Books and Amazon, and so cool when friends inform me that they ordered it, but when I see them looking at the book cover online honestly brings tears of joy to my eyes. I am really looking forward to having a copy in my hand when I get back home to the states. I can hardly imagine what I will feel when my kids and I present the book to my 94-year-old mother. She is an avid reader and I know she will be thrilled.
- Are you planning to write more books? Can you tell us more about it?
Yes, I am. I have many more tales to tell and stories to share. Though much of my work seems autobiographical, I think that most folks can relate to my stories and find their own within them. I love writing and will continue sharing stories about art, travel, and life itself. I have envisioned writing a piece that would become a film. I suppose and hope that everyone who has written a story has as well. I would love to make this vision come true as it could be a process of synchronicity between my visual arts and my writing.
Europe Books thanks the author Ron Connors once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside him on the editorial path that led to the publication of his book Failed Artist: A potpourri of tales from the trenches… of life. We wish him the best of luck for his book and for his future works.
To you, my dear reader, may this book inspire all people to stand up and react every time they experience a failure, however small or large it is; not to stop in front of this, but to continue trying again without giving up or getting discouraged because the joy could be eventually priceless!
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your editor!