We see special and surprising things happening on Imgur every day thanks to the awesome community, but occasionally we see a story that stands out. We recently learned of Imgurian @BlakeNorthcott, a full time writer, novelist, and one of the few women in the comic book industry. She is currently writing for Aspen Comics in San Diego and credits Imgur with making her dreams come true.
It all began back in August 2015 when Blake made this post .
She described how a few years ago, she was laid off from her job and struggling to get by. With no prospects, a family to support and bills to pay, Blake was on the brink of losing her home. “I freaked out, I cried, I ate ice cream and I cried some more,” she said. “Then I followed my dream and wrote a novel. Even while sales were good I still struggled, but more than a year later I was making more at my new author gig than I was at my old office job. I’d hit #1 on Amazon in a couple key categories, and all of a sudden I could once again afford fancy luxuries like food and shelter.”
As she was in a stable position, Blake wanted to give back. She made her book free and shared the links so Imgurians could download it. The positive reaction from the community was immediate as Imgurians offered their support for her career and downloaded her book.
Once the post hit Most Viral, the post reached even more people. “I had a following at the time,” Blake explained, “but it EXPLODED after the Imgur story went to the front page.”
Fast forward to February 2017 and we saw this post appear from Blake giving us a much-needed update on what she had been up to in the meantime.
Since that first post, Blake had received offers from multiple agents, and is now fulfilling her dream of writing her own comic book.
Throughout the entire process the community support “has been incredible,” Blake told us. “To say I’ve received a tidal wave of encouragement would be an understatement! Many people just want to reach out and offer a pat on the back, which is so wonderful, and others want to know how to pursue a career in writing themselves. The post I did in 2015 was so successful that I went back and did a front page edit, and included links to resources that helped me along the way so others could benefit from my experience.”
What’s next for Blake? She told us that “I’m going to offer weekly tips and tricks on how to market, advertise, and improve your skill set. Based on the feedback I’ve received, I feel like a lot of Imgurians will benefit from a resource like this, so I’m going to keep sharing my knowledge. Imgur has given so much to me in terms of support, so I want to give something back!”
If you want to know more about Blake, they can visit her site at and of course follow her on Imgur!