March 2, 2005.
After 2 years and over 300 strips, I’m sorry to say that I’m putting this strip on hold for the time being. This was a tough decision and one that didn’t come quickly or easily. Again, it’s not finished, just on hold. And most likely not really on hold—just on hold publicly because the idea of regular deadlines both frightens me and makes me giggle.

While my wife was pregnant, everybody with kids chuckled when I naively proclaimed that getting up at 4:00 in the morning might actually be a good thing for my productivity because a morning pot of coffee coupled with the extra hours before my day job would obviously leave more time for the strip. Everybody without kids actually thought it was a good idea. And it was a good idea in theory. If only four hours of randomly interrupted sleep every night for five or six months would lead to other things besides eye twitches, poor hygiene, and vivid hallucinations while driving.

But honestly, it’s not just the time/hallucination management issue. I’m also at a bit of a crossroads with regards to the strip. I’m really not sure where to take it. The shrinking newspaper comics are in a freefall (because they are attached to both increasing newspaper consolidation and dropping newspaper circulation) and webcomics haven’t found a foothold for more than a handful of artists. Both venues operate on the superstar business model—one where a handful of people constitute the majority of earnings—and I just haven’t made it into that superstar bracket yet. Doing it solo on the web requires a tighter niche and more marketing than I’ve put into and doing it for a syndicate requires more of a hook than a strip about kids that sort of look like Jimmy Neutron done from a guy that works on Shrek. As much as I hate to bring up the business side of the issue, it's the only thing that takes this strip from a hobby to a career and it's definitely where my goals lie.

And still more honesty, it’s not just the time management or the crossroads of the strip issue. I’ve also been working on another project that I believe has loads of potential in creativity, popularity, and possibly might even turn a buck or two. I’m not at liberty to divulge this super secret project just yet but know that I’ve surrounded myself with three people much smarter than myself who are helping me determine what is an actual hallucination and what isn’t.

And finally, with still more honesty, I’ve turned into that guy wearing the Baby Bjorn in the middle of the super market singing old school rap or 80’s hair bands out loud (it’s all I can remember on four hours of sleep) because it makes my son laugh. It also makes the rest of the people in the store laugh and stare, but that’s another issue. Basically, I love spending time with my son and don’t want to regret spending too many hours on the computer when he’s learning how to burp on command. (That’s my boy!)

So that’s where I’m at. I’m looking at a loss of time, a loss of direction, a new project, and a new son as a perfect storm of sorts putting this strip on hold. Again, not really on hold—just on hold from public deadlines. I really think success in the comics business is tied more to perseverance and persistence than anything else. I’ve asked most of the syndicated cartoonists who I’ve met how many submissions were rejected before one finally earned a callback. Most exceeded 6 or 7 submissions—which really means 6 or 7 different ideas. Bill Watterson, the genius creator of Calvin and Hobbes, took five years before he became syndicated. This inspires me to both keep going and to throw out different ideas to see if anything sticks (Calvin and Hobbes were originally minor characters in a different idea that he reworked to greatness). I think I need a lot more new ideas instead of continually trying to perfect an old idea.

So that’s it for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed yourself as much as I have. A sincere thank you goes out to each and every one of you for well, reading. Having an interested and attentive audience makes a world of difference in both the enjoyment of creating the strip and in the difficulty of putting it on hold.

I’ll continue to leave the Syntax Errors archives in place and I’ll try to post new ideas. Vivid hallucinations and baby pictures combining the two might appear from time to time. It might be easiest to sign up on my email list so you know exactly when and where those updates will happen. And finally, I still have a bunch of books of my first 200 strips lying around. Yes, this is a desperate plea but this will be the last one.

Thanks for making this strip as rewarding as it has been....
-damon.