Butch Holcombe Interview

Publisher of American Digger Magazine (Job)
Freelance Graphics Artist (Job)
Humor Writer (Passion)

September 2008 Interview

Q: Welcome! Please tell us, how did you get started as a writer?
When I was 13, I got it in my mind to write a “novel.” It certainly was novel. I wrote about 30 pages before I put it aside forever. I came across it several years ago still in a drawer and can now say with certainty that it is a blessing to all that’s sacred in the world of literature that it was never finished. It had everything I was interested in at the time: Rock music, motorcycles, girls, and words. But it was a start. I then became involved with playing music and spent my teenage years writing poetry and lyrics that best expressed my inner beauty through power chords and Marshall amps set on “11”. I thought I was doing it all for the right reason: to impress the opposite sex. Looking back now, I realize that I was looking for a “voice,” a way to express myself.

But in my spare time I was also writing satires which I would anonymously pass around school class. They really were hilarious, especially when read under the influence of teenage angst and other such mood altering substances. But I never took humor writing serious until much later. I don’t have any of those first satires anymore, but somewhere there’s a retired teacher with a treasure trove of confiscated original unpublished manuscripts in his or her closet.

Years later I started writing articles on metal detecting (my other passion) and getting them published in various hobby magazines. One day I was bored and injected a bit of humor into what had been up until that time a dry subject in serious magazines. I won an award in the Writers Digest competition for one of those humor articles. It broke new ground for both me and the magazines I was writing for. They took a chance on me and I can proudly say it started a trend of showing the lighter side of the hobby that continues today.

From the success of those articles, I wrote Never Mace a Skunk, a book that combines true (and often even disturbing) occurrences into a funny format. I never expected it to sell, but to this day I still get monthly royalty checks from the publisher, often in amounts approaching four figures (if one ignores the decimal point). I then wrote a follow up. Feeling that a clever title was imperative, I insisted on calling it Never Mace A Skunk II: The Legends Continue. Since it is self published, they finally reluctantly agreed to accept that title. Of course, such similar titles do lead to some folks buying the wrong book and, thus, greatly increases my book sales.

Q: Have you always been interested in writing?
Ever since I learned to read, I wondered where words came from. It was much later that I discovered that while words pretty much exist for anyone who desires to use them, it takes a certain talent to put those words in the right order. So yes, I’d say that early on I was determined to put those words in an order designed to impress and influence mankind. Finally I settled on just spelling them rite.

Q: How do you keep your creative juices flowing?
It is not a conscious thing. Like most conscious humans, I absorb daily life into my subconscious. Like most writers, these subconscious thoughts occasionally come out to play, and take the form of words that are arranged in a way that grabs the readers and won’t let them go. But in my case, it all gets twisted somewhere between my subconscious and the ink on the paper, and turns into a skewed version of the truth, often based on fiction.

Q: Do you have any projects you’d like to tell us about?
Unfortunately my creative projects are on hold until I get my publishing business under control. But I do have a novel completed (a bit of black humor) and the outlines for two other humorous books. I’d tell you about them now, but I’d hate for you to use up all the laughs without actually buying the books.

Q: What is something you wish other creative artists understood?
Create because a feeling is inside you that must get out. If you have to spend a lot of time to decide what to create or when to create or who to create it for or what medium to use, you’re missing the boat. Sure, you may change your venue and methods many times along the way, but always create from what is inside of you. My definition of creativity is this: something inside that you feel compelled to share in a way that both expresses and entertains. And you must have both: to express without entertaining is as if you are talking to yourself…no one else wants to hear what you’ve got to say.

Q: What are some of the challenges and obstacles you faced during your career?
As a writer, I face the challenge of spending my time editing and publishing the works of others, instead of working on my own projects. But as a publisher (the profession that puts the most bread on my table) I face the challenge of spending my time in editing and publishing the works of others, instead of working on my own projects. Perhaps that sounds like a redundant redundancy, but it is true.

Q: What is the most rewarding aspect of your career?
I manage to make a living working with the written word. Not only that, but I own my own businesses Greybird Publishers ands American Digger Magazine. I am happy, and to paraphrase that great southern philosopher F. Gump, “Happy is as happy does.” That, and “Chocolates are like a box of life.” Like many great southern philosophers, the guy was a few fries shy of a Happy Meal.

Q: What inspires you?
Thunder Storms. They remind me that there are forces far more powerful than me in the universe. I think all creative people need that reminder sometimes. But I also think a receptive person will absorb some of a storm’s energy. Fans. Someone who tells me that they enjoy my work. It reminds me that I am giving a part of myself that is wanted by others. Reading a good book. It makes my writer parts get all tingly and excited. What DOESN’T inspire me are outside influences when I am writing. Drugs, alcohol, music, conversation, noise…these all serve to only dilute what I put on paper. To quote a famous old guitar guy, “It ain’t me, babe.”

Q: How do you manage your time when you are working on more than one project?
It is hard. But if the need to create is strong enough, you will find a way. There does come a time when one must put a project on hold, a situation that I now find myself in, due to the demands of life. But notice I said “on hold,” not “abandoned.” There’s a big difference. But there are some tricks to better utilize creative time. For instance, always take a notepad or tape recorder with you. Whenever an idea strikes, write it down. Also mentally work on your projects while driving, flying, walking… I’ve even worked on projects while asleep. The more I work it out in advance in my mind, the less time that I find myself staring at a blank piece of paper and wondering …as I once did…where do the words come from?

Q: What do you do to relax and to just have fun?
I must confess that fun and relaxation has been lacking in my life the last five years. My wife and I have devoted most of our waking hours to getting the businesses running smoothly. We have three: the magazine (www.americandigger.com), contract book publishing, and our antiques business (www.greybirdrelics.com). I also do freelance graphics, that’s four. But for sheer fun, I like fishing, metal detecting, and…yes, watching storms. Plus writing goes without saying.

Q: What is the number one thing you would like to tell new writers?
Rejection slips are just as important as acceptance letters. Rejections mean that you are sending your work out, rather than hording it in a drawer awaiting some mystical publisher who is going to seek you out. That won’t happen. Get used to it: rejections are a necessary part of getting published. Besides, all a rejection amounts to is one person’s (or small team of people’s) opinion. Being a publisher, I can assure you that getting rejected often has nothing to do with writing skill. It just means that the submitted piece doesn’t fit what that publisher is looking for at that time. That’s why it’s so important to research publishers before submitting. Knowing in advance what they are seeking is much easier than asking them to change their expectations to fit your style.

Q: Do you have a support system?
In my writing, my support system is my wife. I let her read all of my humorous pieces before releasing them to press. If I see her laugh at something I’ve written, I’ll pick her brain apart to see just what she read and why it was funny. Thus, she has learned to try to maintain a poker face. That’s even better, because if I see her crack a smile, I know I’ve birthed a real winner. In our magazine and publishing business, I have a dedicated staff who works hard at proofing. That’s something all writers can learn from: our magazine is proofed ten times by seven people, yet misprints still get through. That’s only in an average of 65-70 pages. Imagine how many mistakes your 300 page manuscript has that you probably overlooked — now think about that “finished” work you’re planning to send off to a new publisher tomorrow and try to get a good night’s sleep.

Q: If, at the age you are today, you could spend a day with you at age seven, what would you take back in time, what would you say, what would you do?
I would tell my younger self to not believe the grade school teacher who threatens to put a black mark on our permanent record. There is no such permanent record! And even if there were, to my knowledge no prospective employer ever checked my history before the 5th grade. I hope. Then again, I’m self employed. Perhaps I should run a background check on myself…but that might make me angry and vengeful, and I’d hate to hurt myself.

Q: When you feel creatively blocked what do you do to get yourself back into the creative flow?
As to my creative writing, when I feel blocked, it’s usually because of outside interference. For instance: we have parrots, which scream often. Our business has a phone which rings often. I can not write with noise. It is my quirk. I can’t even listen to music when I write. Put me in a quiet room, I can churn out the funny. Otherwise, forget it. I feel it dilutes my writing, so even if I could write with noise, I wouldn’t.

Q: When your muse is napping what do you do to wake him/her up?
I simply holler, “Hey! Wake up and read this!” My wife is often sleep deprived and angry when I’m on a writing spree.

Q: How do you recharge your creativity?
Meditation, talking to my higher power, quiet time, and…well, there is that storm thing again.

Q: What is your greatest inspiration?
When someone comes up to me and says how much they enjoy my writing. That makes everything worthwhile. Or when they ask for my autograph…it all makes me realize I did something right and whatever it is, I want to keep on doing it. But my greatest moment of inspiration was when a friend of mine who collects antique arms allowed me to hold and wear the actual Colt pistol owned and worn by Samuel Clemens. While I’m not particularly into guns, I swear I felt like “Mark Twain” was standing with me in that moment. It was awesome. I can’t explain it, but his spirit was with me.

Q: What makes you smile?
Watching someone else laugh when reading my works. Laughter is contagious and I am a carrier. I’m a Typhoid Mary of funny.

Q: What advice can you offer to a creative artist that is struggling with their inner critic?
Nothing is ever perfect. Thus, you have two choices: churn out a lot of works that are less than perfect, or spend your life creating just one work that is less than perfect. That choice is up to you; but forget perfection. Perfect doesn’t exist. To insist on it will lead to madness, pattern baldness, and isolation from normal society. Plus your offspring will be born naked and illiterate. In short, you might end up as a humor writer.

Q: Many artistic people struggle to develop a routine that allows them time for their creative work. What advice can you give that will help them create a balance between work and social life? Ideally, set aside a certain time each day for working on your creations. Unfortunately, that is hard to do with a regular day job and even harder with an irregular job. If you are fortunate enough to not have to work a job, make it your job to create.

Q: What creative individuals do you admire?
Stephen King; Lewis Grizzard; David Berry; Clarence White; Samuel Clemens; Doc Watson; Vincent Van Gough; and of course, the most creative one of all: the God of my understanding. While these names may not appear on some people’s list of top ten earth shakers, I can guarantee that they all have influenced me in a big way.

Q: What is your favorite first sentence in a book?
"Tom!" If you can say a whole sentence with three letters and still hook the reader, you’ve got it going on! And for extra credit, name the book that starts with that sentence, and the author. (Email me the title/author's name.)

Q: Are you listening to music as you answer these questions? If yes, what are you listening to?
If I was listening to music right now, you would be hearing answers influenced by that music. No music…you asked for an interview with me…not me diluted, but me. That means no music right now. When I do listen to music, it tends to be rather eccentric by some taste. I like bluegrass, Celtic, grunge, punk, some rap and hip-hop (not gangsta, that message is poison in my opinion) and classic rock…by that, I mean the Woodstock era.

Q: If you only had one more day to live what would you do with the 24 hours?
Live it exactly like I lived it today…and yesterday…always trying to improve one thing I could have done better. No one is promised the future. The best way to live is as if you may not be here tomorrow. Think about it: all we have is the present moment. Everything else is just memories and hopes. Not that it’s bad to have either…on the contrary, you must have hope and memories to be healthy… but always live as if your last moment is right now. You never know when it might all end, even in mid sentence or

Q: What traits, if any, do you think that creative people have as compared to people who are not creative?
Borderline madness. It’s true: the line between madness and genius is thin. We just use our mental illnesses and psychosis for good instead of evil.

Q: When do you feel most energized?
When a storm moves in. Storms. I can’t say enough about them. Want to be energized? Try writing while watching a storm move in across the sea. But it’s best to do this with a window between you and the lightning.

Q: Who is the most creative person that you have ever known?
Myself. Because honestly, I’m not sure how well one person can know another. However, if you leave out the “known” part of that question, the most creative person I’ve ever been associated with was a co-worker (back when I worked a “9-5” job.) His attendance was poor, but never once did he admit to “laying out” of work. He did, however, miss work to attend the funerals of three grandmothers over the course of a year. I think they fired him when his father died for the second time. But he was creative. His medium was just misdirected and his motive impure.

Q: Can you see your finished product before you start it?
Never. It is as much a surprise to me as to my readers. I may think I know where it is going, but I’m always wrong.

Q: Do you feel that you chose your passion, or did it choose you?
I had a choice? No one ever told me that. But my passion is, was, and I hope will always be there and to not let it out to play with the world would be to die a painful, bitter, and lonely life.

Q: What book are you reading right now?
Adobe Illustrator for Dummies by Ted Alspach and Skrunk and White’s Elements of Style (for about the 100th time). Seriously! That’s how my job as publisher/layout man/ad designer for our magazine interferes with my creative and leisure time. My last novel was Stephen King’s Dumma Key. I love “the king.” Let the literary folks put him down. The fact is, the guy is a genius. How else can you explain that many best sellers in a lifetime? Besides, there is a fine line between humor and horror.

Q: What is the last movie you watched?
“21.” It’s about a Black Jack card counting scheme that some MIT students once did. We weren’t sure about renting it, but we took a gamble.

Q: What is the most favorite question you were ever asked and what was your answer?
My most favorite question I was ever asked has to be that one asked above: “What is your most favorite question.” Sorry! The smartass editor in me couldn’t let that one pass. My bad. I’ll do more better on the next question that follows.

Q: What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
“Always pay cash for whiskey, drugs, and hookers.” Not that I personally would need that advice, but it is sound!

Q: Your famous last words, will you share with us a piece of advice, a favorite quote, a tip, whatever you wish?
“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t loose it.” (Robin Williams.) But my personal advice to writers is this: “Write what you feel. Feel what you write. But above all, just write.” (Butch Holcombe) And when I’m gone, I want people to say this about me: “Damn, he sure was old.”

PS- I have to share this. Add it to my interview if you wish. Someone once asked me my most embarrassing moment as a writer. I did a book tour (my first and only) in Virginia and was doing book signings for Never Mace A Skunk. One hole in the wall place forgot to publicize it and...this is the truth...in a two hour period, only one person showed up in the store! It was a little old lady, and she approached me at my table, smiled, and then said, "Do you work here? I'm looking for the cookbooks." That is a 100% true story!