Meet the writer and entrepreneur behind a new multi-media company
Short Gaze Media is a great resource for creatives
As a creative, it's always rewarding to tap into that artistic side and finally make that definitive choice to share your work with the world. Through working in health care, Karla Medrano has been serving her community for years, but when she finally recommitted to her love of writing, it wasn't long before her stories were recognizable in other parts of the world. The writer and entrepreneur started Moon of Mahru, a comic strip series centered around an interracial couple, with extraordinary superpowers, as they face challenge after challenge to save the Universe. While her audience has grown organically, building up a dedicated fanbase in places like Africa, India, and Jamaica, Karla noticed a void in the industry that she could help fill. Now through her multi-media company Short Gaze Media, she is determined to help other creatives achieve the same success.
Short Gaze Media is a bilingual multi-media company, whose mission is to help influencers and entrepreneurs launch, grow, and scale their brands. Currently, Karla is focused on providing free courses to all those whom want to pursue their dreams of growing their brand, with the hopes they will decide to utilize her services for more intensive mentoring and coaching. The company was birthed during the downtime of the pandemic and Karla has big plans for it going forward. She hopes for it to become a leading vertical integrated multi media brand where all creatives can share, celebrate, and benefit from their hard work.
We conversed with Karla to discuss her popular comic, her company, and her goals for the future. Enjoy!
1. Let’s start with your comic strip series “Moon of Mahru” Can you speak on what inspired the strip and how it’s grown since it’s beginnings?
I have always loved to write stories, but I never finished them! However, it was early November, back in 2019, that I finally turned to my husband and said, “I want to write again.” So, I did, but this time, I wanted to commit, and I wanted people to see it, so I selected an app, called Pixton Comics, and just started creating. Yes, my characters look like bitmojis but I love them. I am not allowing my inability to draw stop the story that lives within me. No excuses! It’s time.
The story takes place in the year 10000, long after humans have migrated to other parts of the Universe, and centers around Luna, a beautiful, black Queen of the Planet Mahru, with incredible superpowers. She, along with her husband, Aibek, face insurmountable odds, as they delicately hold the fate of the Universe in their hands.
Ever since it’s beginning, I have used paid promotions to make sure it gets in front of the people I want to see it- primarily people of color who don’t often see themselves as the central superhero. Over time, my global audience had grown to over 12,600! More importantly, my story is being read by brown and black creatives, of Jamaica, Africa, and India. I have been blessed.
2. As a micro influencer, you’ve managed to create a platform for your work that many creatives aspire. What was the most challenging part about getting your brand to where it is now?
My challenge is that many people are turned off by the simplistic depiction and so don’t read past the first slide, sometimes even leaving crazy comments. They are truly judging a “book” by its cover, but negativity doesn’t stop me from creating a story that is inspiring thousands across the globe.
Another challenge is the IG Algorithm. It was HARD in the beginning, but after you hit 10 K, it seems that the algorithm begins to favor your content, making it easier for my ideal reader to find my page. I still haven’t figured it out yet and most likely never will. (And if someone tells you they have figured it out, they are lying to you and don’t believe a word they say!)
3. I love your mission with Short Gaze Media. So many influencers and creatives like to keep the knowledge to themselves but you’re committed to sharing it. First, can you talk about how that idea came to you?
From the very beginning, some of my readers would ask me questions about how they could grow their page, and I would find myself giving them tips and suggestions, such as how to set up a bio, what to post, etc.
When COVID-19 hit, and several of my sources of income dried up, I began to think about how I could monetize my creativity and mentoring and within a few days, Short Gaze Media was born.
Currently, I am working on developing my mentoring and coaching services. Right now, I am offering free workshops to creatives, influencers, and entrepreneurs, with the hopes they will decide to utilize my more intensive coaching services to grow and scale their brand like I have. I plan to re-invest those funds into future projects, to include adapting my comic strip into a comic book, publishing, and producing short films.
4. For someone looking to choose a multi-media company to help grow their brand, what should they know about Short Gaze Media? What are some of they key qualities that make your company special?
One, I am a woman of color, and understand the challenges that creatives and entrepreneurs of color face, so my mentoring services will always include how you can navigate these challenges on and off social media, and start to make lasting professional relationships with not only your fans/audience, but with brands that want to collaborate and even invest in you.
Two, with the help of God, I have a proven track record of building a brand, that has reached micro-influencer status, that is changing lives. Honestly, I didn’t quite understand the impact my story was having until weeks in and I posted that I was taking a break for a few weeks. Many of my readers replied back with their country flag and some said, “Come back soon.” That’s when I knew I had something special, something that was affecting the lives of people I have never met. My characters were now apart of their lives and they weren’t going to let them go. If I can do this with a fictional story, how much more can I do for your business?
Third, I think outside the box, so to speak. I can help you look at your ideas and business in ways you’ve perhaps haven’t thought of before and help you craft a brand that will help you stand out and attract the attention of your ideal client and partners.
5. In addition to Short Gaze Media, you’re working in a publishing platform and getting into short films and stories. Ownership of one’s creative content has been a hot topic lately. Can you speak on the importance of ownership to you and how that ties into your upcoming platform?
Ownership is everything.
Look at Oprah, Tyler Perry, or the Carters.
Back in the day, before YouTube, Patreon, and IGTV, many creatives had no choice but to relinquish rights to their work, if they wanted it to be financed, heard, or seen, and sometimes they didn’t even get substantial royalties.
Now, times have changed and we have so many platforms, including my upcoming publishing and production platforms that will allow creatives to retain full ownership of their work. As publisher or executive producer, my company will recoup what we have invested, in production and promotion, and reserve a portion of the royalties. However, the creative will still own the rights to their story or film and enjoy a substantial amount of their royalties for the rest of their lives. It’s a win-win.
Something that we are learning is that we are no longer limited. Receiving financial support of a huge studio is reserved for only a select few, so I want to make sure that creatives, no matter who they are or what they look like, have an opportunity to showcase their work. And who knows? That huge studio may just start paying attention and this can lead to many more opportunities for that creative!
6. As black creatives, Chadwick Boseman impacted a lot of our lives. You mentioned about how he inspired you directly. How so?
Losing Chadwick was hard and it took me a few days to understand why I was grieving for a man I never met! However, I think it goes back to his iconic role in Black Panther. We finally had our T’Challa, we finally had our black king! Without even realizing it, I had attached this important shift in the culture, to my comic strip. He really was one of the reasons I started writing and creating again! However, his death shouldn’t stop me, or you, or any of us. His legacy should move us to keep going, keep creating, even if it is for an audience of one! No excuses.
7. What are some of your goals with your plans going forward? What do you envision for your brand and yourself creatively in the next five years?
With God’s help and blessings, anything is possible, so I am ready to walk down the path he wants me to take. It may be hard, scary, and unexpected, but if it is being guided by Him, then I am ready and willing!
One of those paths is allowing me to finally bring my comic strip, Moon of Mahru, to comic book form! I have already found an artist, so in just a few weeks, we will begin! Eventually, I would love to adapt it into a limited series, either on YouTube, Patreon, or a similar platform. I am not going to wait on that “big break” because for most of us, it will never come, so we have to move forward, live in our purpose, as Chadwick used to say.
In addition, I will re-invest the profits generated from my coaching services and my Moon of Mahru project into funding promising short stories and short films of other creatives which will provide them an opportunity to be seen and heard.
Honestly, my prayer is that I don’t get rich or famous. Really. My prayer is that I can make a living off my writing, leave my 9-5, spend more time with my family, while helping others do the same.
I want all creatives to remember that they are needed and the world needs to see their work. They need to see, hear, and feel them. Celebrate them. Don’t let anyone tell you your voice doesn’t matter. It does. And my company, Short Gaze Media, will help you not only find it, but amplify it.
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