The Republican (MA) interviewed Rhymes With Orange creator Hilary Price for their prominent women in the Pioneer Valley series.
What have been some of the obstacles?
The deadline, seven comic strips a week. You have to build up your creative muscle to keep pumping them out. And when it becomes your vocation, versus your calling, gone are the days when creativity visits you. You have to actively visit it.
Another real challenge is scheduling my time. No one is expecting me to show up, so I have to motivate yourself to get started. Which means stop reading e-mail, stop doing laundry, and make friends with that blank piece of paper. While cartooning is a creative job, I could also aptly describe ?Rhymes With Orange? as a small business. I am an independent contractor who has a syndicate sell her work to newspapers. I am in charge of my own retirement, my own health insurance, my own administrative tasks, my own pr. If I have news to share, my syndicate will help me get the word out there, but the news generation is up to me. This isn?t a bone of contention, just the truth about doing art as a living ? you are your own best marketer.
I for one thank you Hilary for your hard work. You are a true inspiration to us up and coming, aspiring cartoonists.
I often wonder what it would be like to have the chance to work on my comic strip full time. I am sure there would be distractions, but life is full of them. It is even more difficult to do this when you only have an hour or two a night… which begins around 9:30 or after 10… to work on your dream. I wish I still knew what an 8 hour sleep was like!!!!!
Again, you rock Hilary!!!! Now let me sneak in a nap while the boss is in a meeting……
Thanks David! Keep on drawing.
My best,
hilary