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This is a book about freedom. Specifically the personal freedom I discovered from the wonderful world of blogging, the freedom I hope everybody will eventually discover for themselves. The freedom that, I believe, will permanently and irrevocably change the world for the better. Having a blog, a voice, having my own media, utterly changed my life. Suddenly my career as a cartoonist wasn't dependent on other people: “The Gatekeepers”—publishers, editors, Hollywood executives, etc., etc. Sud­denly I had direct contact with my audience. They had direct contact with me. I could just do my thing, without having to wait for some­body else to give me the “green light.” I didn't have to wait around for somebody else to deem me “worthy.” This was the freedom I spent most of my adult life searching for, the same freedom I believe we're ALL searching for, in one way or another. Careerwise, blogging gave me everything. Even in the early days, the ben­efits of blogging were so glaringly obvious to me, I couldn't understand why more people weren't doing it. Ten years later, I still can't. So I decided to write a book about it; maybe I can help other people find this freedom, too. —Hugh

The acclaimed author of Ignore Everybody is back with more irreverent wisdom, wit, and original cartoons.'It has never been easier to make a great living doing what you love. But to make it happen, first you need an EVIL PLAN. Everybody needs to get away from lousy bosses, from boring, dead-end jobs that they hate, and ACTUALLY start doing something they love, something that matters. Life is short.'-Hugh MacLeod Freud once said that in order to be truly happy people need two things: the capacity to work and the capacity to love. Evil Plans is about being able to do both at the same time. The sometimes unfortunate side effect is that others will hate you for it. MacLeod's insights are brash, wise, and often funny.

When Hugh MacLeod was a struggling young copywriter, living in a YMCA, he started to doodle on the backs of business cards while sitting at a bar. Those cartoons eventually led to a popular blog - gapingvoid.com - and a reputation for pithy insight and humor, in both words and pictures.MacLeod has opinions on everything from marketing to the meaning of life, but one of his main subjects is creativity. How do new ideas emerge in a cynical, risk-averse world? Where does inspiration come from? What does it take to make a living as a creative person?Now his first book, Ignore Everyone, expands on his sharpest insights, wittiest cartoons, and most useful advice. A sample:•Selling out is harder than it looks. Diluting your product to make it more commercial will just make people like it less.•If your plan depends on you suddenly being'discovered'by some big shot, your plan will probably fail. Nobody suddenly discovers anything. Things are made slowly and in pain.•Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether. There's no point trying to do the same thing as 250,000 other young hopefuls, waiting for a miracle. All existing business models are wrong. Find a new one.•The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to be yours. The sovereignty you have over your work will inspire far more people than the actual content ever will.After learning MacLeod's 40 keys to creativity, you will be ready to unlock your own brilliance and unleash it on the world.