New Substack: Finding the Artist That Is...

Last year, I set a goal for myself to be more engaged with social media on a consistent basis and so I started posting Filmmaking Tip videos every Thursday. I had a lot of different ideas about what I wanted to do and how I would go about it, including doing a few Director-on-Director interviews with fellow indie filmmakers and discovered a few things:

1. I created 74 Filmmaking Tip videos and increased my YouTube subscribers and my engagement on social media. From a numbers standpoint, things didn’t change drastically and I didn’t suddenly become an influencer. I gained about 30 YouTube followers and the followers I gained on social media were mostly from people I met IRL. But anecdotally, many people I met in real life commented on how much they enjoyed the videos, needed to hear what I shared, learned something…etc, and that meant a whole lot to me. Overall, I consider this a win and I plan to continue posting!

2. I am putting $0 in video production and marketing, which is both liberating and frustrating. As a filmmaker, I know they could be better, even for not much money, but I just don’t want to put THAT much effort into something that ultimately is a bit of a side quest to my life as a filmmaker.

3. These videos take a lot of time! Even the short ones. Cleaning the captions, formatting for both horizontal and vertical, editing out mess-ups, minimal color grading…and a friend helpfully suggested doing a thumbnail image with a title for Instagram posts, then simply posting to YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn (I’ve abandoned by Twitter and I do have a TikTok for Acid Test that I’m thinking of reviving but it’s not for me personally, plus since I teach at a public institution in Texas, I can’t actually access TikTok from my computer)…So. Much.Time.Side.Quest. The Director-on-Director ones were 1-hour or more of conversation, which I LOVED, but I didn’t want to start a podcast. There are great ones out there and I’m not trying to compete.

4. Which leads me to creating a Substack newsletter because right now I have different email lists for my films Acid Test, Mustang Martha, Twofer, plus more from students and friends and colleagues, and a couple from a book I wrote (actually a Duology). Someone somewhere casually mentioned moving to Substack to replace their mailing lists and I thought - GENIUS!

   
   

So the plan for 2026 is to have a once-a-week Substack publication that documents the “Week in the Life of an Indie Filmmaker” and transparently shares the wins and losses and missed opportunities and new connections and probably a lot of dead air of just “life-ing” in between. I see this as a way to stay accountable to myself, keep myself on track with my goals, while sharing/commiserating in the reality of indie filmmaking. Journalling literally saved my life as a wayward teen and I find myself missing it. Plus I love writing and typing and find it easier than videos so while I’ll still be doing the Filmmaking Tip videos (and listing them here in my wins), I’ll also have another outlet for everything else I can’t fit into a social media post. I’m also always open to feedback, suggestions, and help! The community of filmmakers is resourceful and amazing and I appreciate every one of you! 

When I was getting divorced and trying to figure out my life as a filmmaker in Texas, I started a Tumblr and a Website Blog and called it “Finding the Artist that Is [Jenny Waldo]” and I feel like reviving that for this next phase in my artistic journey. I’ll be posting about news from Acid Test, Mustang Martha (my upcoming feature, Twofer (my short in festivals) and any other projects, networking, events and filmmaking experiences. 

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Despite all the real-life horrors and difficulties that get added to on a daily basis, I’m keeping this focused on my artistic life. Let’s start with the project updates:

• Acid Test: The short rides again! We will be screening at the iconic independent movie theater River Oaks on Wednesday, January 21st at 7pm with other Houston-made shorts as part of the monthly Houston Filmmaker Showcase! This coincides with the 10 year anniversary of our first day of production! I’ll have a reflection on what that means to me in one of the next Finding the Artist That Is posts. Tickets are $8: https://www.theriveroakstheatre.com/movie/RiverOaks/Houston-Filmmaker-Showcase---January-2026. 

  • I’m also thinking about ways to continue promoting the feature version of Acid Test. My sales rep essentially said “you release movies and then move on.” He mentioned a client who sunk $15K in additional marketing for barely any uptick in sales. But revenue has never been my goal with this film, it’s all been about launching my career on a broader level, getting more eyeballs, building my reputation, networking, and connecting to other projects. We had a great screening of the feature at the River Oaks back in September that generated some revenue, so I’m looking into indie/arthouse theaters that might be interested in screening it and splitting the ticket sales. If you know anyone with an independent theater, please let me know and I’ll contact them! Anywhere in the country!

  • Another thing I’ve been considering over the years is what would Acid Test look like as a series? I know TV is dead in terms of pitching right now, but even as a web series…because despite what my sales rep said, the thing about artwork is that it can still grow and change and have a life of its own in various ways. The short film continuing to screen is a great example of that and all the adaptations are another.

• Twofer: Another day, another festival rejection! It’s a “no” from Slamdance and Durango. I’m super bummed about the latter because I played there before and it’s a fun festival in a beautiful location. BUT, I also received a request to screen at two upcoming festivals (that I’ll be able to announce one of in February) and we’re still waiting on more notifications. Twofer has been an interesting case study of the current festival market. It’s under 10 minutes, which should make it easily programmable. Just goes to show how competitive and flooded the market is (not to mention other issues with festivals and their programming biases).

• Mustang Martha: Looking to focus in this New Year to get production going. So much depends on financing. This week I’ve been slowly following up with producers, with more on the list to go. I’m excited for a networking event with the Mayor of Baytown at the end of the month that I’m hoping will provide a nice boost since it’s based on a true Baytown story. Plus, I’m going to SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL for the first time and excited to see what might come from the new connections I make there!

• Hoopztown: I’ve also started working with Fleurette Fernando on her recent TV pilot script that she showcased in a table-read at the recent Houston Cinema Arts Festival. I’d been consulting with her and Producer Elizabeth Sosa Bailey and after the table read they asked me to come on board more officially as a Director. They wants to shoot a teaser but Fleurette hasn’t directed for film before so we would co-Direct this teaser and as the series gets off the ground, I’d love to tackle an episode (or more)! Read more about Hoopztown.

  • I’m really excited about collaborative filmmaking. It’s how we made my short Twofer. And I’m excited to see a bunch of collaborative filmmaking groups popping up in the Houston area like Miss Takes Film Club, founded by a former student of mine, CineRoots (which also has a bunch of former students in it), and Inwood Park Productions who showcased the short Acid Test at a recent screening. Filmmaking is hard and expensive and having a team and resources to support you, over and over again, is critical.

  • I’m also intrigued and excited about working on a series (following my Acid Test comment above). Fleurette is interested in “verticals” = social media-based episodic storytelling. From what I know from people who work on these, they are algorithm-driven and not creatively motivated from a financing standpoint. That doesn’t mean you can’t create your own vertical content and audience build, but it does mean that just because you want to produce something that is more commercially viable doesn’t mean you’ll get greenlit. The other thing I find fascinating about this kind of storytelling is that it really forces you to tell short stories that end with a twist - to compel the audience to watch the next episode. From teaching Showrunning and doing some television writing on my own, it’s a much more structured approach to writing, which I think is very informative.

• Voyage Media: I’ve also written a script for a production company based in Los Angeles that develops projects from on every-day-people’s personal stories. I can’t say much about the project just yet, but I’d love to direct it if it moves forward, and it’s been a really wonderful experience to be hired to write. I’m hoping this continues to be a source of creative exploration, and income!

• Other Projects: Like any artist, I have multiple half-baked projects looking for attention. It’s always interesting to see what rises to the forefront as things shift and change. I also need to work on my Directing Reel because I’ll be screening it as part of an online work-in-progress feedback session with the Alliance of Women Directors group next week! Nothing like a deadline to get me motivated (see Musings below).

  • One project that I don’t often publicize is a “duology” of novels - Affinity and Aflame - that I self-published on Kindle a couple of years ago. They are the product of a NANOWRIMO - a now-defunct organization that hosted a “national novel writing month” where the goal was the write a 50,000 word novel without any pre-writing (other than outlines and character backgrounds etc) during the month of November. I was in the midst of an identity crisis in the suburbs of Houston, with two young children and a failing marriage, and wasn’t sure if I’d ever make a film again! So my brother encouraged me to just get creative and write. The first day of November, I wrote 11,000 words! By the end of November, I had a draft of Affinity that was over 80,000 words. That was back in 2009. It took me 10 years and 2 novel-workshop groups to finally feel ready to say “It’s done.” And I needed to be done with the books. I hate unfinished work. Eventually, I split the book into two parts and it’s - in my opinion - some of my best writing. I love these characters.

    • Affinity and Aflame follow two teenagers who discover they are true soulmates, unlocking a supernatural connection between them, which threatens their sanity, their friendships, and their freedom when their families grow concerned about their obsessive yet unbelievable relationship.So if you like YA teen supernatural romances, check them out HERE!

    • I’ve also been thinking about ways to continue to promote and explore this world. Audiobooks are booming so many I should put a little money into hiring some voice actors?!?! That could be fun.

• Filmmaking Tip: My Filmmaking Tip this week is on the panic-inducing onslaught of re-entry after the holidays. The mountain of emails and getting back to responsibilities of your “normal” life. Plus, with going to Sundance there’s been even more to figure out! I’m excited but also having a heart attack. Check out the video HERE.

MUSINGS:

For my second Week-in-the-Life-of-an-Indie-Filmmaker post, I’ve been thinking about an article I read years ago written by a published novelist who also taught writing at a university. Her students (and others) would often ask her what her day was like as a published author - assuming she spent her days in a glorious creative state churning out her amazing prose. So she documented a day where she was woken up by her dog getting sick and the hours that she had originally planned in the morning to write were spent going to the vet. Then she couldn’t make up those hours later on because of the dog and kids and husband and life and she ended the day without writing at all. And while you might think this was an anomaly, her point was that she has more days like that then she does being productive in her writing. 

I searched and cannot find this article anymore (lost to the pre-COVID black hole), but the piece stuck with me over the years because I often get this question. As a workaholic and someone who has managed to continue to produce work while raising kids and having a full-time job, I get the impression that people think I never sleep or do anything fun or relaxing. But I spend probably 2 hours (or more) EVERY DAY reading - usually romantasy these days - and I’ve been regularly going to ballet class once or twice a week - downtown - which costs me about 3 hours with the drive (more with the shower and meal I need to refuel). Like many artists/filmmakers, I feel I have tons of time where I could “be more productive” but instead I watch some silly show - more romance lately. Plus I cook, go to networking events, teach, grade, hang out with my family, commute in Houston traffic, and get around 8 hours of sleep every night. 

This is not a humble brag (or any kind of brag), because (again) I feel I could/should be doing more and I’m certainly not the most prolific filmmaker/artist, but like the writer of the article I mentioned, I think it’s useful to see behind the veil, the mythos of being an artist, to the banal reality: I’ve become, over the years with experience and practice, very efficient. I know my work patterns. I know what I can procrastinate on (my norm) and what I need to start working on weeks in advance. For example - a report for my program on student retention? Do it the night before, or (at the most) the week of. And the key here - I don’t let it take up space in my mind, festering and hovering like a dark cloud of unfinished business. But storyboarding for a film? I need to make sure I take time and let the creative juices flow, and that’s not something I can cram last minute. The entire production plan rests on it! Anything that’s creative, I want to give room for the ideas that I put down to spark other ideas, which may come later in the day/week/month as I prep for production. Setting deadlines - either real or imaginary - is key. Anything that’s taking up mental space I find a way to get it done so I stop the festering or I find a way to let it go. For my work-in-progress Directing Reel, I already have a version, but I’d like to rework it for this upcoming screening and editing takes a lot of time, so I’m trying to work that into my schedule. I live by my PAPER CALENDAR! Here’s an image from a particularly crazy week last year (and those who know me have seen the back of my hand filled with urgent reminders!):

Knowing yourself is one of the most helpful things you gain as an artist. And that’s on all levels - emotionally, physically, mentally. More life experience gives more understanding to the work, deepens it. Like many artists, I’ve struggled with mental health issues and there have been times where my most creatively inspired moments have coincided with an emotionally difficult time. I’ve seen friends go off their meds because they “can’t” create on them. But over time, I have found a way to heal and to maintain (and even exceed) creative output. Having a career in this field isn’t about writing or creating when the moment strikes you, but being disciplined and consistent, even if you don’t feel like it. It’s work. I don’t think you have to continue to be a tortured artist in order to be an artist. 

Now, I didn’t come to this feeling of acceptance easily or early. And in the early days of the kids being young and the crisis of leaving Los Angeles behind and starting a new life in Texas (?!) there were many days, months, years even, when surviving was all I could do. But being an artist means that art is part of that survival mechanism and I found ways, however small, to keep it (and myself, and my babies) alive.

I find myself marveling at young people who produce really mature work but I remember feeling that way, and there are things from my “youth” that I’m extremely proud of - like the novels I mentioned above - that I probably COULDN’T write today. Because my perspective has started to shift in this latter part of my life - I’ve got another post percolating on this that I need more time to think about.

My son told me something that I think aptly summarizes this. He studies viola at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and his Studio Teacher told him “The goal isn’t to play your best but to improve your average.” What a great concept.

So that’s the goal. Improve your average. Time is your friend - this is one of the hardest concepts for me because I always feel the pressure to go and do and seize the moment before it passes. But at an Austin Film Festival panel a few years ago, a panelist said that the fear that you’re going to “miss the bus” is false, “there will always be another bus.” And like I said, I struggled with these concepts and with how to navigate and build a career when I was younger, so to those of you starting out: Keep going. The most successful artists have been persistent ones. You’re only done when you quit and while I’ve known people who have quit, I’m clearly not ready because I can’t personally fathom it.

That’s the insane driver of any artist. But the flip side of it, the reason why some days (like the novelist) nothing gets done: REST IS PART OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS. I wouldn’t be as productive ON AVERAGE if I spent all my time being productive. I’d burn out. Again, this was a hard concept to realize for myself. When I was just starting out in the world of filmmaking I had the immense honor to spend some time with William Goldman, Oscar-winning screenwriter for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men, The Princess Bride and more. He told me that I had to write for 3 hours every day. Again, harkening back to the discipline of the work that is being a career artist. He said most of that writing would be garbage, but that over time there would be gems that could be refined into something magical, echoing this “improve your average” concept. But in the 25+ years since then, I’ve literally never, not once, been able to write for 3 hours every day. And it’s plagued me with imposter syndrome that I was somehow not a “real” artist, despite the work I have managed to accomplish. Again, at an Austin Film Festival panel, I mentioned this story and asked the panelists to comment on their writing practice and one said “Isn’t William Goldman the one who said Nobody Knows Anything?” and then proceeded to “absolve” me of my guilt. My therapist echoed this in a session once when she asked me “What if this is just YOUR way of working, what’s wrong with that? You’ve been able to accomplish so much.” And while I know I haven’t been as prolific as a filmmaker, I’m also okay with that. Because I’ve managed to be present to raise my kids, enjoy my life, and as an artist I don’t NEED to be doing more than I’ve been doing. I’ve seen others sacrifice things I wouldn’t want to in order to achieve the level of success we all often dream about. We are only human and our practice as artists is deeply personal and individual.

I know I’ve been rambling, but…it’s been a week. My mind is racing with all the things and as I mentioned in my first post, journaling has saved my life more times than I can count so I’m putting that into practice with these posts. So in honor of William Goldman, I’ll leave you with this hilarious moment that happened last week:

My family was playing the Blockbuster Game where you compete in teams naming different film titles and the goal is to collect a film title from 8 different genres. It’s set up like Charades where one person gives clues about the title through either a single word, by acting it out, or through a quote. The quote doesn’t have to be from the movie (especially if you’ve never seen it) but has to be something that a character might say that clues the guessers into the title. When it was my youngest’s turn, they pulled a card for the quote category and said “I’m a lesbian and I’m friends with a kid from an indie film.” And my team was completely unable to come up with anything that might be a movie about lesbians with indie film kids. The title? Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a movie my kid hadn’t seen. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.

You’re welcome. Now I have to go pack up Christmas!

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