# Irons in the Fire

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-xero-for-hire-podcast-6399156/irons-in-the-fire
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-xero-for-hire-podcast-6399156/irons-in-the-fire.md
Podcast: [The Xero for Hire Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-xero-for-hire-podcast-6399156)
Published: 2026-03-31T13:41:58+00:00
Episode link: https://xeroforhire.substack.com/p/irons-in-the-fire
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/192729598/541155879434a6291074e170722065b6.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-xero-for-hire-podcast-6399156/episodes/irons-in-the-fire
Duration seconds: 947

## Resource

In this episode, Xero talks about the danger of having “too many irons in the fire” and what it really means to protect the creative spark. The fire, as he explains, is the inspiration and creative drive that fuels everything — writing, comics, books, and all creative output. But when too many projects compete for attention, the risk isn’t just burnout — it’s losing the fire entirely. He walks through the history of his comic project, from writing the original story years ago, turning it into an audio drama, then later adapting it into a comic with hired artists. He talks about the realities of indie publishing — the difficulty of getting comics into stores, experimenting with platforms like Amazon, Global Comics, and Webtoons, and the harsh truth about how little digital platforms actually pay indie creators. From there, he explains how this led him to shift toward writing books and prose, which are faster and cheaper to produce than comics, allowing him to expand the story world more efficiently. Over time, he realized he had to scale back articles, video, music, and even posting frequency in order to focus on finishing and releasing books properly. The main theme of the episode is focus and execution: choosing which projects move forward now, which go on the back burner, and how to build long-term momentum instead of scattering energy across too many things at once. The episode ends with Xero outlining his current plan — reworking and re-releasing books and comics in a more professional way, focusing on building momentum over the next year, and keeping listeners updated through newsletters and periodic podcast episodes. Timestamps * 00:00 – Too many irons in the fire (the creative spark and why focus matters) * 02:15 – Origin of the comic: audio drama → comic adapta…

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## Transcript

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