Breaking into Comics & Making A Living As An Indy Creator: An Honest How-It-Works
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- Considering a career in comics? Wondering if you can make a living? Trying to decided between corporate comics or indy? Here is a frank and honest confession, how I got in and stayed in comics for my career. I hope it is helpful to anyone considering a career in this wonderful business.
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As someone who's a year into making comics seriously this was a really helpful and informative video, a few specifics I hadn't heard talked about before. It's one thing to make the comic or graphic novel, and then it's another to suddenly you think, how the heck am I going to get this to people? Glad I discovered your channel recently. It's been a lot of fun and inspiring.
When I first started in comics, around the same time as you, I was paid £100 for a black and white page, £200 for a colour page and the scripts were sent to me. Eventually all those companies disappeared for one reason or another and it was time to start learning to do more realistic characters rather than cartoon, satirical or caricatured characters. That was much harder. However, while doing that I got work in storyboards for films and learnt to do animations for short projects. Comics were put on the back burner for a while until recently when I decided to make my own comic and discovered your work again and was reminded how Will Eisner set up as an independent creator. It does seem to be the way to go. Many of my friends and colleagues in the industry are doing their own kick-starters now.
This one is definitely going to get saved and re-watched often. Thank you for taking the time to talk about this. Honestly my only hope was just to break even on my basic bills. If I can at least pay my bills and just make comics, that would be the dream. It's all about the genuine effort you put into it.
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This is a wonderfully straightforward description. It's not sugar coated, yet it's still very optimistic. It touches on a lot of topics coming from someone with real-world experience. My drawing students and I can't thank you enough. Best of luck at the C2E2.
I am (after 30 years of doubt, giving up, being unsure) trying to finally get back into trying to do a comic. I am wiser and able to draw faster than when I just dreamed it, and more sure of how to tell a story visually after being a storyboard artist for many years…
…I also play bass in a fiercely all-originals band.
So this resonated BIG TIME and immediately made me subscribe after watching. I’m more subscribing with the state of mind too.
Thank you and I’ll see if this works out.
Thank you Terry for this post on the truth on income in the field of comics.
Great story about your success and advice. Thank you.
Sir, this is the best comic video I found online, I checked out your page too, everything looks so cool! Hope you put out more content, your advices are amazing!❤
Excellent information! I appreciated every word of it. Thank you, sir.
it's funny you talk about that artist island.. I certainly noticed it from you and other artist. Sure you might do something here or there, retweet their kickstarter or some other promotion, specially if they've done the same for you.. I was disappointed at the lack of the "mainstream" longtimers who didn't help promote you, don't share others works etc. I know you've made posts about artists and musicians who you like and inspire you, but most artists don't even do that. Its all about building connections, getting likes and shares.. by a group who generally don't like and share well with others.
this is so helpful!
Great advice. Thank you
Will you talk in the future about digital distributing to companies like ComiXology?
This was fascinating and encouraging!
Gold! Like your comics on making comics, the straight info we need that's pure gold.
Thank you for this video sir. 👍🏽
Great video, thank you.
This was a great, great listen.
I obviously have nothing to add from the end of drawing comics, but from the writing side of thing...some solid grounding in writing and grammar, fluency in a language, lots of reading all help round you out and can send you into different areas.
You do need to perfect your craft and that takes time. Just be yourself!
Good luck in Chicago you two, always love you.
Thank you very much for everything you share. Especially for this episode, I didn't know what it looked like, and I didn't think I'd find out that much.
what an analogy playing in a cover band i always tell myself i need a job but you just layed it out ... very inspiring.
I'm at the stage of working a day job and working on comics the rest of the time. This gives me hope.
Thank you Terry. Very honest and inspirational video. I learned a lot. I am 51, have been drawing since I was a kid. Just lately paid for life drawing lessons and started to seriously practice. I might start with short comics. We'll see :) Cheers 👍
I just had the opportunity of being at C2E2 last sunday and I managed to buy a copy of Rachel Rising and I cannot wait to read it!
Great talk! I'm writing and illustrating my own comic and this is really helpful to know what I can aim for instead of shooting in the dark. Thank you!
hi. you know. recently i sen't my previous master (don't study mathematical physics people. or do, its pretty) to hell and enrolled in a more employable one (still physics though : D )and also started constantly learning to draw. never did that before with discipline. I don't know my goal with drawing yet. but I do know about some 'complications' of getting stable income in comics, so I am glad I'm doing my master. I am tired and busy all the time though.
anywho, nice video.
Thank you, Terry.
this was a great and helpful video.
Thanks for sharing this information, Terry. Very helpful and insightful to say the least. Your story is very inspiring and encouraging. I'm glad I was able to meet you this past weekend at C2E2 2023 and hope to see you again!
It was great to meet you John. I hope you had a good time in Chicago. Maybe see you at NYCC!
This was so inspiring and informative - thank you so much for sharing your story of breaking into comics. You discussed things I rarely hear discussed!
Terry, I admire you so much. You are a very generous artist with your audience, and especially with aspiring young artists who want to venture into this world of comics. Thank you so much! I wish you all the success in the world.
Great teaching about your experience and what to expect from the comic book market, I've listened similar story from an argentinian friend and artist, thanks for sharing it!
Good luck, many inspiration and always good health, to keep having your great art for many many decades!!
Your channel is amazing, this video really spoke to me, I hope more people find your channel since you deserve more views.
As always, your words of wisdom are deeply appreciated.
thank you for all the information to help inspire and inform people on this rewarding art form. As the old saying goes "knowing is half the battle" and having any tidbit of solid knowledge is always helpful in finding what direction to go and what to do. Thank you terry
Thank you for this video!
28:07 "You're playing in a cover band and you have no future" line hit me hard. Nice. Make more comics! That is part of why I've written my own original work (that's still waiting for my metaphorical garage band to find its hit).
Oh my goodness I needed to see this. I'm an island that's been waiting for the pirate father ship for years and years. Terry how do you balance writing and drawing? Did you begin working with any editors besides friends/family? I am stagnantly in the weeds on my scriptwriting and I don't want to draw my books without knowing/having an ending that I believe in. I had an ongoing that suddenly had too many characters to plot definitively and I just got worried about losing my audience, worried about creating a webshop because I'd have to pay taxes on merch. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
This is upfront, detailed, and great. Thank you for publishing this.
So much fantastic information. So helpful! Thank you for sharing with us.
Thanks Terry. Very motivating, informative and inspiring. 😊
Thank you for the information. I recently found copies of your very 1st works with Antarctic Comics. Did you decided to change Katchoo and Francine to fit that anthology series or were the characters recreated from that series to move forward to mini series?
Thank you for this!! All the best to you as always Terry :)
This is hugely inspiring, Terry. Thanks.
Great video, well explained and the insights are really eye-opening. Do you create an LLC when you decide to self-publish in order to work with Diamond or any other distributors? Not clear how you compensate artists for their page rate then a percentage of the sales. Also when/if Diamond makes an order after your on their preview catalog, do you need to fully upfront that initial printing cost? Thanks Terry!
I paid a small fee to copyright the comic book Strangers In Paradise, then more legal rights are gained once you published it and it can be proven as first to appear by that date. That protected me going forward. After the mini-series and before I launched the long ongoing series, I asked my wife to help me run the business and we paid a small fee to incorporate the company Abstract Studio.
I paid colorists out of pocket. The book is my work so there are no other artists or writers to pay. Once you list your comic for orders with Diamond, they collect the order then give you a PO for an order amount. You have a set amout of days to deliver them the books. You can take the Diamond PO to an established comic book printer and they will print your books with payment due in 30 days. Once you deliver the books Diamond pays you promptly and you pay the printer and it all happened inside the 30 day window. That's how I did every book I ever made... until kickstarter.
Hope that helps.
one more note: if you're a small press publisher, you can't afford to pay the artists and writers a percentage of sales. It's a major accounting job and if your sales are small its not worth the trouble. Just pay flat rates for the creative work. When I worked for big companies or draw a cover for another publisher, all I expect is the fee I charge. Percentages are for different publishing dynamics, like working on books that sell 6 figures and more. You don't bother with that if you're selling 30k books. And if somebody won't work without that backend deal, don't work with them. There are TONS of creators who will work for the upfront fee alone and I'm one of them.
@@TerryMooreArt Thank you so much for that input. As a writer trying to adapt a screenplay to a comic/graphic novel, it's quite evident there is a substantial cost to getting a book done before even considering submitting. A little hard to get in as a writer/creator I suppose since you take all the financial risks and the artist(s) gets his/her page, color, texting rates. Thanks again for the great content and taking the time to get back!
Thanks Terry.
It can’t be as simple as sending Diamond your book to be listed in their catalog, can it?
Thank you for sharing. Amazing insights.
Thank you for this, Good Sir.
Powerful episode.
Thank you for this.
Are you saying Previews pays for their order before you go to print? The books are delivered to them instead of you? They distribute the books?
I have heard elsewhere that Previews can take up to seven months after your book goes into solicitation to pay you. Is that inaccurate?
If I can put together a book and Previews deems me marketable enough to include in their catalog, they will pay me before I pay for printing?
Once Diamond places an order you have a limited time to deliver the book and Diamond issues a check on receipt of book. The printers we use in comics, like Marquis and Brenner, all print with 30 day billing when they know it's for a Diamond order bc they know the Diamond check covers the print bill. If it doesn't, it's up to you to pay the printing bill or its balance. The tension of this arrangement eases when you get into a routine with it on a series.
@@TerryMooreArt, 😯 Thank you.
Don’t forget the money you get selling your ebooks online.
good luck at c2e2
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Diamond doesn't advise for free Terry.
What advice from Diamond are you referring to??
@@TerryMooreArt advertise*
@@WarriorsforInfoTVOh. You're right, they charge for an ad page... unless you are a regular contributor with an exclusive distribution contract with them, then you can have a page ad with a new major listing. But you have to be a real money maker for them and you have to be under exclusive contract. They do NOT offer this to newcomers or publishers with low sales. You have to earn it, but just be aware it's possible as a business goal. I am shy but I was PR-gonzo the in the early years and any store who saw my Diamond ad page had already heard from me about the upcoming book and gotten advance art promo stuff before they ever saw the catalog. The ad isn't your golden ticket, it's just a reminder to the retailer who should have already heard from you. Hope this helps.