2017 was a busy year for me as I was selling my comic books, chasing back some payments and giving free public talks almost every month. Then came making of my 4th book in 2018 that I had high hopes for as it will be first time my book will be sold in the US and Japanese bookstores. I was stressed at finishing the book on time so I can take on other projects for income. Unfortunately, my friend who was doing my accounts billed me an exorbitant price without doing a good job and caused me much stress financially. Obviously, we are no longer friends.
So after I was done with the manuscript, I took in many projects and worked almost everyday. Everything seemed fine until my new editor came back in Sep with many changes to the book. My previous editor had ignored the rough sketches I sent in, so I thought everything was ok even though they weren’t. It became more time consuming to make changes to a finished manuscript than fixing it from the start. But there was no choice as I wanted the book to sell well so I did all the changes my new editor requested.
But after more than 3 months of constant editing and working on my commissioned work at the same time, I strained my upper back. It has affected my shoulders, arms, neck and head. I have vertigo when lying down and there is numbness in my fingers. I am undergoing traditional Chinese medicine treatment now, which may take some months, and I am cutting down on my drawing hours. My hope is that my new book which will be released in 2019 (don’t know when yet) will sell a lot so my injury is worth it. Hopefully 2019 will be a year when our hard work paid off. Happy New Year!
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