#29: Setting the Table for a New Year of Creating Comics!
2010 will be your biggest year in comics. I'm sure of it.
Why?
Well, you're reading this article for starters. Welcome to Year Two of Creating Comics! The Art + Craft. If you're new to the column, welcome aboard. And if you've been reading since I started writing articles full of tips, tricks and inspiration for making comics last June, welcome back. Today's column is going to be a bit of a preview of some of the things I plan on writing about in detail over the coming months. Consider it an article that sets the table for what's to come in this column, and an outline of things you might want to think about as you prepare to make 2010 the year you kick ass and take names in the world of comics.
You do want to kick ass this year, don't you?
Yeah, I thought so.
Dollars and Sense
If you think collecting comics, with cover prices ever on the rise, is an expensive hobby, just try creating them. I'm lucky. I have enough artistic chops that I don't NEED anyone else to make comics. But even if I'm not paying anyone, and the only cost is my time (oh so much time!) creating comics is STILL an expensive endeavor. Art supplies, printing costs, marketing expenses, convention table fees, travel costs, internet hosting costs, shipping...this stuff adds up. And if you are paying artists (which I also do, and advise), even if you're getting a great deal, those costs can accumulate quickly as well.
Now, if creating comics is a side pursuit or a hobby for you, that's perfectly fine. In my opinion, it's an incredible hobby. Most hobbies cost money to support, and it's customary to spend some of your hard earned dollars towards something that gives you joy. But, if you're at the point where you're serious about making comics and making money from those comics, it's time to treat it like a business. That means getting absolutely anal about record keeping. That means putting time into crafting a business plan, and engaging in long term strategery. That means taking a hard look at what you're doing that's working and making money, and what you're doing that clearly isn't working. And then doing more of the former and less of the latter.
CHECK-IN: For you, is creating comics a hobby or is it a business?
If you answered business:
- Are you keeping accurate and organized financial records for your comics business?
- Have you made a 2010 budget for your comics business, including anticipated expenses and income?
- Have you made a business plan that takes stock of where your comics business is today and where it's going tomorrow?
In future columns of Creating Comics!, I'll be guiding you through creating some of these documents and sharing my own.
Marketing
It'd be great if the only hat you had to wear as a comics creator was simply that...comics creator. But the harsh truth is this: No one cares about you. (Well, except for maybe your mom.) And even truthier: No one cares about your comic book. (Not even your mom.) We human beings, by design, are self-centered. The fact that you spend hundreds of hours, all your free time, and a good portion of your disposable income on your comic opus guarantees you all of ZERO readers. Why? Because every person on the planet deep down is thinking, "Eh? What's in it for me?" In addition to making great comics, you need to find ways to make people care. That's where marketing comics in.
If a component of your measurement of success in comics is to have readers (and it probably should be) you're going to have to learn to market your stuff. No, it's not ALL about marketing. If you can't also walk the walk, you're probably wasting your time talking the talk. But if you want success at any level, you're going to have to become a savvy marketer. The great thing about learning the principles of marketing is that they are among the most transferable skills you can obtain. The other great thing about marketing is that we're living in an incredible age where powerful and free social media tools are at all of our fingertips. Blogs, Podcasts, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr, Youtube...it's never been easier to find and become known by the readers who make up your target market.
CHECK-IN: Are you making the most of the free social media tools available to comics creators to market yourself and your comic?
- Are you active on Twitter and Facebook?
- Do you have an attractive website featuring great content?
- Are you active in online comics communites (such as Comic Related)?
- Are you reading articles, podcasts, and books on social media and marketing?
This year, I'll be covering tips and techniques for using new media tools to get the word out about your work and actually making people care about it.
Webcomics
What are you doing with webcomics? If your answer is "nothing" then you just gave me the wrong answer. Maybe your goal is to one day work for the big two. Maybe your role models are Brian Bendis and Robert Kirkman. Maybe you think a comic isn't a comic unless you can take it into the bathroom with you. So be it. But if you're dismissing webcomics, you're doing so at your own peril.
If Kirkman and Bendis were trying to break into the industry today, I guarantee they'd be putting out webcomics. Why? Because of the cost of print, webcomics are the only cost effective way to build a large readership. And thanks to the barriers to entry in the direct market, for some, Webcomics will be THE ONLY way to get your work in front of a mass audience. Rather than simply a next best alternative, webcomics allow a level of interactivity and immediacy with your readership that you don't have in print. And with the growth of comics on the iPhone, and with what's to come when Apple decides to take over the e-reader market, digital comics ARE the future. And with these mobile devices, you can even take them in the bathroom with you, so I guess they're comics after all.
CHECK-IN: Are you building your readership by publishing comics on the web?
If yes...
- Are you putting your comics out on a consistent schedule that will encourage a steadily growing readership?
- Are you interacting with your readership in ways to make them fans for life?
If not...
- What are you afraid of? You're not worried that if you give it away for free, they won't buy it, are you? ARE YOU?
I'm going to do a multi-part series on webcomics. It's only been a few years since I've been actively managing webcomics, but I've become a true believer.
Giving Back
What else do you have to give besides your comic? Who can you help? On a podcast a while back, I heard David Gallaher (a guy who had a TREMENDOUS 2009 in comics) say that when it comes to promoting yourself and your comic, "You can either out-spend or out-teach." Most of us aren't blessed with Scrooge McDuck's pools of money. But we're all given exactly the same number of minutes in a day, and that's plenty of time to reach out a helping hand to someone else. Spend all your time working on your comic and I think you're going to be disappointed when you find the rest of the world wasn't waiting with baited breath for its release. But lend a hand to a fellow creator and you'll find you've got support down the line when you need it. And believe me, to make it in comics or life in general, you're going to need the support of others along the way.
For me, I'm giving this column. I'm teaching classes on comics. And those of you who have sent me an email at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter @tylerjamescomic, you know I'm always here to offer feedback and advice. Just let me know how I can help.
CHECK-IN: How can you give back to the comics community or the world at large?
- Do you have specific knowledge you can share in an article, column, podcast or video clip?
- Are there people you can help get to where you are (even if where you are is just getting started?)
I'll be sharing info on teaching comics classes in an upcoming column.
Content is King
All of the above is important. Smart business planning, tapping social media tools for marketing, and giving back are all smart and I'd argue necessary for you to have a huge 2010 in comics. But this won't be a big year for you unless you're also putting out great content and a lot of it. The fact is, it's easier to talk and blog and tweet and podcast about creating comics than it is to actually make them. Don't fall into the trap of talking a good game and never backing it up with panels and pages.
This column is important to me. I've received a lot of strong feedback on it, and have had enough kudos to know I've helped people over the past six months by writing this column. But I'd rather be known for making great comics than writing great articles about making comics. So, it's a balancing act. But you and I should remember to put the bulk of our efforts toward creating great comic book content. This is part of the reason this column is going to a bi-weekly schedule in 2010. While I still have plenty to say and much advice to share, I also have books that need doing. Comics come first in 2010.
CHECK-IN: Are you putting your comic content first?
- What new projects are you going to start this year?
- Far more importantly, what are you going to FINISH this year?
2010 is going to be a big year for me and for this column. And I sincerely hope it's huge for you too! Hope you keep reading and share your thoughts, frustrations, and successes with me. See you in two weeks.
Attention Readers: If you enjoy this column, you might be interested in checking out The ComixStreet Recap. It's a new series I've begun where I share and comment on interesting topics, resources, and events relevant to comic creators. The column is bi-weekly, and posts on Thursdays.
Tyler James is a comics creator residing in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He writes and draws Over, a romantic comedy online graphic novel updating every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He also writes Tears of the Dragon, an epic fantasy webcomic. His work has been featured at Zuda Comics, and includes Interrogation Control Element, a political action thriller, and Super Seed, the story of the world's first super powered fertility clinic. When not making comics, Tyler works as a game designer and content producer for a software company.
Contact Tyler directly at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, keep up with him at his blog, or follow him on Twitter.
Previous Columns
1: Big Goals
2: Resolutions
3: The Great Idea
4: Research Part I
5: Research Part II
6: The Killer Pitch Part I - The High Concept
7: The Killer Pitch Part II - The Synopsis
8: Pay Your Artists
9: Zuda Comics- A Tale of Five Submissions
10: Creating Great Characters Part I (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
11: Creating Great Characters Part II (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
12: Structurally Sound- The Beginning
13: Your Reputation
14: Structurally Sound- The Middle
15: Structurally Sound - The End
16: Your First Con
17: Beat It
18: Memorable Scenes
19: Mailbag
20: Comics Dialogue - Part I
21: Comics Dialogue - Part II
22: Baltimore Comic Con - Part I
23: Baltimore Comic Con - Part II
24: Is It Worth It?
25: The Re-Write Part I
26: The Re-Write Part II
27: The Re-Write Part III
28: Taking Initiative
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