Hello and welcome! I don’t know how you found this site, since I haven’t launched it yet. But that’s cool. Feel free to hang around. There’s nothing too much to see at the moment, but that will all change on the 1 December 2010, when Grymm & Epic – a site of kick-ass business solutions for creative entrepreneurs – arrives kicking and screaming into the real, internet world.

Subscribe by RSS or email to be the first to know when the site goes up!

Hail and Kill!
Steff Metal

Given that “Grymm & Epic” isn’t exactly the most web-optimized of website names, I’m rather surprised you ended up here. Perhaps you were googling black metal recommendations and found yourself here, in which case, I’m sorry to disappoint. Pop over to Steff Metal if you want to read my metal music ramblings. At Grymm & Epic, I’m going to talk about art.

Well, not just art, but art and business. With maybe occasional lapses into Manowar sing-a-longs. If you don’t know who Manowar are, be prepared to learn.

What is Grymm & Epic?

Grymm & Epic is a phrase I want you get familiar with, because it’s how I want you to be able to describe your creative micro-business. I hope that, by reading this site, you’ll develop the courage, attitude and determination to stick with your brilliant business idea, and unleash that sucker upon the world. We don’t deal in subtleties here – Grymm & Epic is all about being loud, proud, and utterly awesome.

The Grymm & Epic website is the culmination of my online projects, the third piece of the triad that is my little internet empire. For the past year and a half, I’ve been merrily writing away on Steff Metal about everything that makes me smile – from first date ideas for metalheads, to 10 Ways to Earn $5 from Metal, to 101 ways to cheer yourself up, to the history of beer. If you can dream it, I’ll write it: heavy metal music, travelling, books, movies, and genuinely awesome people.

In the midst of all this merriment, it occurred to me that I wanted the opportunity to converse with a wider audience of people – not necessarily just metalheads and fellow writers, but creatives throughout the world – artists, musicians, writers, designers, actors and other randoms making their way in the world with paintbrushes or zithers in hand and heaping great piles of hope in their hearts.

What a remarkable thing creativity is – the first seeds of an idea growing and blooming into a pretty flower, or one of those giant flowers that smells like feces but is fascinating and cool anyway. And, when you can turn your creative mind to earning yourself a living, you deserve extra kodus and seconds on dessert.

So Grymm & Epic is a website about creativity and how to make a living from it. I don’t want to argue about whether that’s the right thing to do. (Well, maybe one day we will argue, but for now, I’m taking it as a given …) I want to help creative people find ways to turn their passions into their livelihood, and to celebrate the successes of those who support themselves with their art. And I use ‘creativity’ in the broadest sense of the term here – I’ve met creative accountants, computer programmers and one superbly creative plumber (I may tell you about him one day, but it gets a little R-rated).

Why “Grymm & Epic?”

Grymm & Epic was the title I came up for my ebook series, and has morphed into this monster of a site. I use the phrase “grymm and epic” to describe truly awesome things, and I admit I was feeling mighty proud of my ebook when I finished it. I suppose I could have called my ebook “Fluffy Bunny Slippers Guide to Blogging”, but as a fan of gnarly words, I find that rather repulsive.

This site is Grymm because it presents the reality of the world of creative business – the good times and the bad, the struggles, the heartbreaks, the uncertainty, the fear, the failure, the pain. Only by sharing the less savoury aspects of creative business can we work together to overcome them. Also, in view of the bad, the awesome times – the success, the fame, the amazing people, incredible projects, the goals realized, the achievements and accolades, and the ear-to-ear smiles – become even more awesome.

I don’t want to dupe anybody with false dreams of easy money and overnight success … or any success at all. Sometimes, you’re going to fail. That’s the reality – and I’m not going to sugar coat or honey roast or chocolate dip it. I will give you a hug and a cookie, though.

This site is Epic because it will be rather comprehensive. I don’t believe in writing 250 word blog posts to rope in search engine traffic or selling 10 page ebooks for $50. I won’t update the blog every day, or even every week, but the articles that go up will be in-depth, helpful, and – hopefully – mildly entertaining. I’ll try not to distract you with too many Manowar sing-a-longs.

I’ll be selling some stuff – ebooks, courses and podcasts – but you don’t have to buy anything to hang out here. I like you anyway. If you do want to buy something, be aware my “quality over quantity” policy extends to my products. I won’t write as many products as other people, but what I do sell involves hours upon hours of work and research.

If I’m going to charge $34 for an ebook, you’re going to get an entire book’s worth of content (40-50 000 words), and if you’re really not impressed, I’ll give you your money back. It’s all good.

What’s on the Site?

Not a lot so far, if I’m honest, but I’ve got more coming soon. The best and most awesome thing you can do is sign up for the monthly newsletter – the Grymm & Epic Gazette. It will be packed with awesome info, competitions, and humorous anecdotes from my rather mad life. I’ve even sweetened the deal by giving every person who signs up a free ebook – a 5000 word essay on creativity called Unleash the Beast: Releasing Your Inner Creative Monster. You’ll love it. I’d offer to give you your money back, too, but since it’s free in all, I figure you’ll just have to suck it up.

You can sign up to the blog by RSS so you can read on your favorite reader, or you can sign up to receive updates via email. You can leave a comment on this here blog post and let me know what you think, or use the contact me page to send an email. I’d love to hear article suggestions and guest post submissions!

You can read more about me or visit my steff metal website or my etsy shop, and if you want some more socializing, you can sign up for the Grymm & Epic Facebook page.

Hmmmm … and if you’ve got a bit of pocket money, you could visit the Grymm & Epic store and plonk down a bit of change for my first product Grymm & Epic Guide to blogging ($34). You might also find a few products from other awesome creatives (FYI – I earn a little change when you buy these products, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think they’re awesome.)

And, you can hang out for the next article, which I promise might actually save your life.

Artists – and I use the term in it’s broadest sense, covering fine artists, musicians, designers, writers, dreamers, vagabonds – love to argue about money. They spend more time arguing about money than making it. Seems a bit backward to me, but there you go.

Some artists don’t think money should be made from art at all, and believe an artist who sets up a business specifically to make money … why, they’re no artist at all, but a cheap imposter with airs to be the next Lady Gaga. Some artists think you should just create and create with not a whit of attention to what’s going on outside your head. Some artists believe if you’re not starving or making your own paintbrushes out of your armpit hair, you’re a commercial hack.

Others think audience is everything. They conduct market research and understand “niche demographics” and social networking and are addicted to feedback. They don’t understand the point of art without an audience to engage with it.

Here’s the thing I don’t get. I just do NOT understand why these two concepts are mutually exclusive. Why must you sit firmly on one side of this imaginary fence while imaginary dogs howl at you on one side and imaginary small obnoxious children pelt you with imaginary rocks on the other?

Couldn’t you … shock, horror … do both! Read On…