Career Plan

[Colby]

Like a lot of people here, I want to write comics and I feel that I have some understanding how to break in through Dirk Manning's Write or Wrong, Wordballoon, etc. But I'm concerned that I am not starting soon enough. My theory is that I should graduate College, which I am almost done with, find a job, then allocate funds to create my own webcomic. Meaning, hiring artists, letters, colorists, website, con stuff, etc. I feel that the reason that this needs to be done is because I need money to solidify a relationship with the creative team I want to help make my own comics and eat at the same time.

So I guess my question is that does this seem like a strong plan of attack to break in? Or should I have just started making comics on my own or something else?

Anyway, any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[BringerOfStorms]

I am not a writer, nor a professional artist, but I am a business man. I would tell you there is no time like the present to start. Tomorrow is too far away.

If you follow a format like Travis Charest or Bernie Wrightson did and work your story around very little artwork you could get by with a fairly low art rate and still get your words out there (note: I am not advising that Charest or Wrightson could be hired for cheap).

The more you do it, the better you get. The valuable lessons you might learn now while "things are tight" financially will pay off in spades down the road when the money may be less of an issue.

The degree is good for your resume, but many an employer (including myself) care as much or more about experience.

Best of luck.
Stay focused.
Dont take no for an answer, even when you are telling it to yourself.

~BoS

[Chris2.0]

I would tell you there is no time like the present to start. Tomorrow is too far away.

Too true...

I am not a writer, nor a professional artist, but I am a business man.

How about the following - soon to be tried & tested by myself!

How about this? Disclaimer - I haven’t finished going this route myself – I’m just starting on it… All the amounts mentioned are guestimates from the experience I’ve had getting 7 scripts pencilled. And helping to get an anthology together a while back… And I am paying more for the pages…

1. So for a 20 page monthly comic… Say you manage to get pencils/inks/colours and letters for $50 per page… That probably means not even semi-pro level art. But maybe you get lucky and find someone just starting out, wanting to make a name for themselves… So $50 for art & finishes… That means you as writer gets $0… And you might have to do colouring and lettering yourself. So that’s $1000 per month… Let that sink in – you’re paying that to get your comic done… And that doesn’t even include hosting, as this is online only for now… And don’t even think about printing costs (yet)…
2. But you don’t exactly have a spare $1000 lying around every month… So the comic must pay for itself… So to bring in $1000, you need to sell 1430 comics a month if you’re getting a 70/30% deal like in the Apple iStore. But… If you take the industry standard conversion rate of people buying vs people browsing, then that works out to 47,667 people actually looking at your comic… At 3% conversion rate, you get a buyer for every 33 people looking…So… The question is – do you know 50k people? Or have that many Facebook/twitter/G+ fans? And remember, most probably you’re going to start with just a handful of readers… But if your stuff is good enough, and it is updated often, then you’ll soon start getting more people looking at it…
3. Also note the $1000 does not include any promotion or marketing money… So by word of mouth, social network likes/pluses and plain old hustling, you’ll have to gain new readers… And then try to turn those readers into buyers…
4. But buying what product? You can’t really sell your comic page by page (as much as I want to!) – so you have to complete 1 standard issue (20/22/24 pages), format it as a downloadable PDF/CBZ file and/or put it up on the iDroid markets. And see if comiXology and/or Graphicly is willing to return your emails! But let’s say #1 brings in a $30…
5. So you’ve already spent $1000 to get $30 back. And you need to spend another $1000 for #2… So let’s say by #2 you’ve get $60 back for per issue, as well as another $30 for continued sales on #1. #3 gets you $120, but you also have to plonk down $1000 for it to done. And another $1000 for #4. So $4000 for 4 issues. And $240 back for #4, $120+$120 for #3, $60+$60+$60 for #2 and $30+$30+$30+$30 for #1. So $780 income from $4000 “invested”… ROI is not looking too good so far… But wait…
6. Here we start getting to the good news… By now you hopefully have a few hundred willing buyers, and a few thousand (here’s holding thumbs!) readers… And now you have a finished 4 issue comic, that you can Print on Demand (if the “D” of PoD is enough of course!) as either single issues, or as a trade paperback. I’d say singles 1st, and then trade, but that’s just me…
7. But now that you have a product AND some readers, start that Kickstarter/IndieGoGo campaign you’ve been itching to do… As now you’ve got a track record, and a finished product. Crowdfund either the printing of the single issues, or the trade/HC. Or both – depending on your fans? And demand?
8. Try to pre-sell the singles and trade in effect! And give good rewards – why would I pay $5 for a PDF of something I can get online for free? Don’t neglect the $1 level – I’ve given a lot of $1’s to campaigns, just because I don’t really want the physical comic, but would appreciate the updates on the project and at least one issue from the deal… And the chances are MUCH better your campaign will get funded if you have a completed project as proof you can deliver… And mention that any money left over after the campaign is funded, will go towards your next project…
9. Say the campaign is funded and then some… You print out the comics and trade, and have at least a few thousand Dollars left… Pay off the loan (if you took one to get the 1st one printed), and use the remainder (if any) to fund the next one… Ask if the old creative team is willing to go for it again, if you’ve enjoyed working with them… Or go with someone else… And try to pay decent money for decent work of course…
10. But stand up, take a bow – you’re not only a published writer, with an online and printed comic, but with a trade paperback and/or hardcover as well…

And with all the media attention - it MAY help to sell the PDF/CBZ downloadables as well? But not #1 - by now you're probably giving it away for free, so that people can get a quick (free) intro for the comic!

11. Now to rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat until you improve to such an extent that you get to write whatever big-time licensed character(s) you’ve been hankering for… If that’s your thing – I wouldn’t mind to write Firestorm or Flash, but let me get my own comics out first!
12. Note, I didn’t mention a LOT of things, like needing a few critical eyes on your writing to edit it! Also checking/proofreading/colour correcting the finished art!
13. But this is a long term process… The above will take at least 6 – 12 months out of your life, that you’ll NEVER get back… It’ll also take you away from your family and friends, so be prepared for that cost. And don’t forget the time even before starting to put your comic online – the scripting and editing time it takes to get it up to semi-pro level… But if you really want to do this, you will find a way… And don’t let $4000 (or whatever amount!) stand in the way of realizing your hopes and dreams… Beg/borrow or crowdfund the money from FFF if you have to…
14. And most important of all – this should be fun – writing something that you enjoy, then getting the art in the (e)mail, seeing it finished and online, then in print, and then on the comic store racks…
15. And there has never been a better time than now to do this. With the internet and social networks, it is easier than ever to get the “1000 true fans” that will help you to entertain / inspire / enlighten of scare the living daylights out of them and your other fringe fans!

Any ideas or feedback from writers that have gone this route would be much appreciated!

[Colby]

See the money thing does not scare me, I accepted a long time ago that I will be channeling funds into something that might never equal out and return said money to me. And really, I'm cool with it. But I feel that I need money to get that hypothetical 1000 dollars to spend on the creation of my product and then selling said product. In order to get that money, I would need a day job of some sort which is why College seems like a good idea because it can get my resume up to a point where I can get a job to afford said comic money. By then I would theorectically have a lot of scripts in the can, I can go and search for the artist that I want, and be off to the metaphorical races. Meaning, I would have it out on the internet and focus on the marketing aspect of it.

[Chris2.0]

I agree - the money, just like our dues, needs to be paid... For me, working more overtime now, equals to more pages later, so working where and when I can...

And you've got a pretty solid plan already, so here's hoping to see some stuff from you sooner than later!

But I also "accepted a long time ago" that most probably writing comics is not going to pay all the bills... Or make me uber-rich, so I'm OK with the fact that I'll have a pretty cool sideline job / hobby that satisfies me creatively, while the day job(s) pays for said hobby and the rest... Bonus points would be of course that the hobby pays for itself, but let's not count the proverbial pre-hatched chicken...

[Colby]

Oh thanks man, same to you.

[Night Robin]

Seems like a sound enough method.

[Lonrott]

See the money thing does not scare me, I accepted a long time ago that I will be channeling funds into something that might never equal out and return said money to me. And really, I'm cool with it. But I feel that I need money to get that hypothetical 1000 dollars to spend on the creation of my product and then selling said product. In order to get that money, I would need a day job of some sort which is why College seems like a good idea because it can get my resume up to a point where I can get a job to afford said comic money. By then I would theorectically have a lot of scripts in the can, I can go and search for the artist that I want, and be off to the metaphorical races. Meaning, I would have it out on the internet and focus on the marketing aspect of it.

The money should not scare you unless you have kids, multiple kids by different girls or you have drugs habits and such. There are things you can do to get extra cash, it just depends on how determined you are on writing comics. Alan Moore had a wife and a kid to support and he would clean toilets during the day and write at night. If you save up cash and reduce expenses to the minimum you can save up money. Again, it is about how passionate you are in writing. You don't need to pay out lots of cash if you find a collaborator. An artist who you have a friendship with and a working relationship. A lot of times, that makes a better comic than someone who you pay and does it for the money.

[DavidC]

As we all are aware, breaking in to the comic industry, as a writer, is as difficult as taking a trip to Mars. Though I sometimes think it would be easier to get to Mars than to get a comic script published.

And like Chris 2.0, I have accepted, albeit begrudgingly, that it is most likely that writing for comics will not become my primary profession. But, the bills still need to be paid and we all need to eat, and therefore we need to work and sometimes that requires doing work you really hate.

It also means that you may have to put your comic writing desires on the back burner due to unforeseen hiccups. I don't know how many times I've had to stop writing and redirect my focus elsewhere. It does suck, but once the hiccups cease, you can return to your writing, but just remember that the hiccup can last for weeks or months. I am currently experiencing a bitch of one now and I am managing it, and have been able to return to writing after a long absence from it. Though, I can't focus on writing 100%, I can spend a few hours writing or rewriting.

[Chris2.0]

@ DavidC - I agree on the back burner - I essentially gave up writing and reading comics for a few years in 2007, but I'm back now & more determined than ever to make it work...

And @Lonrott - I agree - it can cost much less if you get a good co-lab partner... Unfortunately my absence from all things comics threw a spanner into my long time friendship with a very good artist, so I'm back to seeing how lucky I can get getting freelancers to do 5 or 10 page stories for me...