Catching a Vision Interview 009
Breaking Comics Out: Introduction
Catching a Vision, the weekly column on Comic Related from C. Edward Sellner, Founder and Creative Director of Visionary Comics Studio, provides practical guidance on how to break into the comics industry, as well as insights into this medium we all love. With resources you can order online, interviews and debates with comic professionals, and online workshops, this is your best introduction into the wonders of creating comics!
(NOTE: Yeah, I reworked the plan a little. This introduces Breaking Comics Out, the Submissions article is coming in a couple weeks, see below for more.)
Okay, we took our little odyssey trip in exploring what goes into CREATING a comic. We did our basic introduction into the crafts of writing, penciling, inking, coloring, lettering and editing. There we focused on the creative skills needed in working on a comic.
Another of those biggest and most damaging mistakes most aspiring creators make is that they think those creative talents and skills are the only ones they need to break into, remain in, and succeed in the comic book industry. Nothing could be further from the truth, the fact is, honing whatever creative talents you have is really just the first step for being a successful comics professional.
Again, if your goal is to simply create your dream comic, photocopy it at the local Kinko's and sell it to your friends, then, you probably don't have to worry about the rest. However, if your ultimate goal is to make a living as a comics professional, then focusing on just the creative ends of things is the surefire way to ensure you forever remain an ASPIRING professional.
Why you may ask? Well, let's take a look at some of the many and varied reasons.
Overview
Here are some vital statistics for 2008 from the site ComicChron.
As a whole, the comic industry saw between $680-710 million dollars in sales (including bookstore and newsstand sales). - Diamond, the undisputed largest distributor to the direct market of comic retailers, saw sales of almost $437 million.
- The top Trade Paperbacks had sales around $60 million.
- The top 300 Comics sold a total of over 81 million copies, for $265 million.
- If you look at the Market Shares, Marvel claimed over 40%, DC almost 30%, meaning between the two of them, they cover over 70% of sales.
- Dark Horse claimed almost 7% and Image almost 4%. IDW, is catching up to these guys, and had just over 3% of the market last year.
- This means the entire rest of the industry netted less than 20% of the market, with top publishers in this tier falling under a 2% total as a company, and most below a quarter of one percent!
My point here is that while as a whole, the comics market may be a drop in the bucket compared to the movie or book industry, it is still, clearly, a money-making entertainment industry that has shown itself to be a viable and legitimate business and market.
In any business, if you really want to break in and succeed, then you need to have some fundamental grasp of that business itself and that is a critical lesson many aspiring folks just don't realize.
Unfortunately, it's also a lesson many creative professionals who did break in never quite fully get either. For those folks, it's one of the main reasons a career stalls, they drop off the radar, or they waste their time in a lot of fruitless endeavors that require they invest tons of hours, and usually end up with nothing in return.
If you want to break into the industry, succeed in the industry, and remain in the industry, you have to be more than a creative talent, you have to be a savvy business person. The more you know about publishers, distributors, retailers, trends, demographics, product sales, marketing and the larger book market, the better off you're going to be. The more you manage and focus on the business end of your career with the same quality and determination as the creative end of your career the more likely you will be able to sustain the peaks of your success.
There's that question again... WHY? If I just want to write, draw, or color a book, why do I have to know all this other stuff?
Simple...
"It's Just Business... "
Especially when someone starts off in comics, chances are, you are going to be the only one looking out for your best interests. You may form or join a studio that represents a talent collective, like Visionary Comics Studio and that's great. You may even have a publisher that wants to work with you on something, that's wonderful. But at the end of the day, you are the captain of your own dreams, the hero of your own quest.
For example, at Visionary we work hard to represent all of our creators equally, to get their portfolios in front of the right people, to line up books for publication and to get the best return for our studio folks. But we can't do it FOR people, we can only do it in partnership WITH them. We have a bunch of great folks in our studio, but it is also painfully obvious that the people who are willing to push their own book, stay on top of projects, travel to conventions to network, promote their work and themselves online, stay focused and determined, and work with us as a team go MUCH further than those who don't.
Those who are great folks and quite talented, but join up, then wait for the ideal offers to come rolling in, usually end up sitting and waiting a long time. Worse, those who may be talented, but are jerks, self-serving users, or arrogant, well, they don't last long as part of the studio at all.
What's my point here?
Visionary Comics Studio is, first and foremost, a business. We are IN business to build our brand, make a name for ourselves and succeed. This is the case for EVERY Comic book studio, EVERY publisher, EVERY outlet for creators. If you are working with or for someone, they are most likely looking to build their credibility, their name, their brand, their success. With each of those outlets, Studios, Publishers, etc. part of making that success is the recruitment of talented people. Quality projects show the company as being viable, able to compete in the market.
However, what a lot of creative folks don't realize is that YOU as the creator are seeking the same thing. You are attempting to build your own reputation, your own 'brand' your own presence in the industry.
Creators who know the ins and out of comics, who don't need to be educated about every decision being made, or creators who hustle to stay on top of things, help manage projects they are involved in, help build a team mentality and contribute to the collective whole (whether Studio or Publisher) are showing themselves to be a more valuable asset or team member. The person who just sits back and does nothing to help out the team, or the person who just tries to use the collective for their own ends, is at best, more work than they are often worth, and at worst, an outright liability that CREATES more work than they are worth.
So, just like in any other job, you may get an initial look based on your resume, or in this case, your portfolio, but it will also be a lot of other factors that play into whether you are finally hired, or brought on board, especially in any long term venture.
So, how do you improve your chances on this end?
The Basics
Know the Business
This has two levels of meaning.
First, know the business of comics in general. Read up on the history of comics, the news media sites, check out publisher sites. Stay up on what's popular and what's not, what trends are picking up steam, which are dying on the stands. Know the players in the industry, especially the names and background of people who are movers and shakers. Read their stories and learn about decisions they made. Every bit of information you glean about the comic industry in general will make you a more valuable player on any team. It shows you're smart, professional, you know what you're talking about AND what you're getting into. It also increases the chances that in any partnership, you're going to bring multiple benefits to the table, which makes you more valuable to whoever makes the decision of whether you stay involved or not.
Second, know anyone or any group or business you target before you approach them for an opportunity to work with them. Whether this is a creator looking to partner with another creator for a project, a studio you're thinking of joining, or a publisher you want to work for, this is absolutely critical.
Every single day I get submissions from someone that may have creative talent, but clearly show themselves totally ignorant of Visionary Comics Studio and often comics in general. For example, a small thing, we provide complete submission guidelines on our forum. They are very detailed, very specific and, among other things, include a legal disclaimer we require included in any submission sent to us. Despite this, 60% of the submissions we get DO NOT INCLUDE IT. I especially love the ones that say "I couldn't find your submission guidelines... " Really? Means you didn't look.
No professional is going to want to work with someone so careless and business ignorant. If you haven't check out VCS' website, how can you know what we offer? How can you intelligently seek what services you may need? How can you contribute to the purpose and vision of the studio? Simple... you can't.
Conduct Yourself Professionally
As I've mentioned elsewhere, VCS initially recruited some 80 members based on initial portfolios and talent. We found less than 20 of that original crew were ready to be professionals. For others, whether it was being rude, immature, unable to meet deadlines, unable to commit, unwilling to help out for the good of everyone, or constantly misrepresenting themselves, or outright lying, they all showed themselves as unprofessional and were cut from the studio. Others chose to leave and, in most cases frankly, we were quite glad to hear it and held the door open for them on the way out.
The Comics industry is plagued with people who want to create comics, but have no idea how to work in comics.
Be Proactive
Chances are you are not so insanely talented that every door will magically open for you. While I was hanging out with Ron Fortier at NYCC, he shared a story about a young, struggling artist who got his first professional job illustrating a book Ron wrote. That artist was Alex Ross. If Alex Ross had to work at it, well, the rest of us probably REALLY need to.
You need to make sure you are going that extra mile to get out there. Be a regular at conventions with portfolio in hand. Check publisher and studio sites regularly for opportunities to submit. Search for contests, open calls for submissions etc. and make sure you follow up on every potential lead. Get yourself out there and find ways to get your name in front of people. Contribute to a comics media site, join forums and online discussions, use networking sites to connect to professionals, companies and fans and then monitor those sites for opportunities.
At the bottom of every one of my columns you see that long list of sites where me and/or my work is featured? Sites where people can connect with me? Sites where people can see my portfolios? I don't do that because I'm an internet junkie and have to have my own Facebook and MySpace and ComicSpace. I do it because they are all ways of getting OUT THERE.
Be Persistent
For 99.9999999% of us, any career in comics is going to take anywhere from 3-7 years to peak, and that is IF we are persistent in pursuing it. Be prepared for that and be ready to deal with that. There will be setbacks, there will be tons of rejections, accept it. The fact of the matter is a ton of creators published now, got rejections from their publishers for some time before their break finally came.
Part of the strategy in pursuing a comics career is to network, to build connections. If you regularly attend cons and professionally and politely introduce yourself around, sooner or later, some folks are going to remember you. If you strike up a connection with an established professional, build it. First and foremost a lot of people in comics are cool people and can be great friends if you get to know them as people. Second, many of these pros who do get to know you even as a periodic email friend, may be willing to give you some guidance, or review your work. At times, folks have lucked out and made a connection with someone willing to take them under their wing and teach them.
Keep at the work. Produce work. Produce pages. Produce scripts. You will improve your skills by staying with it, and show you have the potential to work in comics over the long haul, because you've shown that staying power in getting there.
Work At It and Work Through It
Most creators had their first published work be something they either self-published, or published through a very small publisher. Today, with the growing popularity of web-comics, there is no excuse for an aspiring creator to not have a body of finished work that they can show.
Some creators think of this arena as the lotto effect. I had a writer once who sent me a pitch and some pages of script for a VCS submission. I reviewed it, suggested some things to work on and sent it back to him. A week later he sent me an entirely different idea. What was he telling me with that? Basically, because the first pitch wasn't perfect and a 'winner' maybe the second one will be, if not maybe the third...
I call these folks 'pitching machines'. They show no desire to work through a project, hammer it out, hone it, tweak and fine tune it. They just jump from pitch to pitch hoping something clicks.
If you're serious, develop something you really believe in, then be willing to stick with it for a while. Find the right folks to connect with to get submissions packages done, post it on the web at a community web-comics site and see how people respond. If you're able, set up a web-site featuring your creations and show you can steadily produce work on them.
Be Straightforward
I find a number of aspiring pros struggle with this. They somehow feel the need to blow their accomplishments out of proportion as if they need to make themselves more than they are in order to get a fair consideration. This ranges from individuals, to groups of creators. Be honest about what you have accomplished and put it in perspective. Above all, let your work speak for itself.
If you're looking to be a creator in comics, your work is going to the primary factor. If you have talent and skill, it will show. If you try to pump up what you've done, sooner or later that is going to backfire on you.
Again, I've seen this happen. From the guy who had a tryout with us as an Assistant Editor, then was still passing himself off as a full member of our staff months and months after his editing services had no longer been needed, to creators who have self-published and sold a couple hundred copies of a book over several conventions, then list it as 'published' credits and describe the book as if it was some huge sales success and the new measuring stick of quality. Inevitably, these claims end up biting people in the backside and making them look more like jokes than serious contenders.
Be Smart and Assertive
One of the greatest crimes in comics are the studios and publishers who just take advantage of aspiring creators. It happens. A lot. Publishers who promise big pay, or big back end profits, who guarantee such and such a book will be a huge success, but the creator never ends up seeing a dime and often, the book never even hits the market. Studios that are headed up by a small select 'core' group who always get top billing over the others, and often are the ones giving the least credibility to said studio are using the backs of others to make a name for themselves.
I worked with one Publisher that owed creators thousands of dollars, and years later still had not paid that money out. I worked with another creator who wanted to tap my time and expertise almost daily in hour long phone conferences, wanted my guidance on developing and putting out his book, who wanted me to help shape the direction of the entire series, but when I mentioned setting up a contract to define my pay, percentage, or return for all this time... got offended. Now, I'm not even listed with a thank you. We also had some of those creators mentioned above, who had properties we helped them develop, edit, and oversee, sometimes even providing the teams for them. They left, published online or elsewhere and never even mention Visionary. One group formed their own little venture then tried undermining us by recruiting other members in our studio, despite such being a clear violation of a contract!
If you seek to get into comics, you more than likely are going to end up on the losing end of the stick from time to time, no matter how smart, savvy and careful you are. It's the unfortunate nature of the beast. But, the smarter you are, the more careful you are, and the more realistic you keep your expectations, you will find those times to be fewer and further between, with less investment lost each time.
While you should follow up on every opportunity out there, be careful in learning what all is involved. Your knowledge of comics in general will also help, because a lot of these rip-off or scam artists don't know what they're doing and if you ask the right questions and know the right answers, it will show a lot quicker when they give you the wrong ones.
Negotiate, ask questions and expect that if you need to make a commitment to them, they need to make one to you. Contracts are a tool of professionals, anyone who doesn't like having contracts is most likely hoping to rip you off. This is true with your work as a creator individually, or with any project or book you bring to the table as well. Once you get a contract... read it... thoroughly. If you don't understand something, find out what it means. If it means asking a lawyer or other pro you trust, do so.
Which leads into my final point here.
Get the Help You Need
If you are someone who has read the above column and is now scared out of your mind and don't feel you could ever handle all the business side of things, then find someone to help you.
This could mean retaining a lawyer or a business manager. Obviously, especially if you are just starting out, you may not have funds to pay someone, but you might have a friend, relative, or other connection that might be willing to help your star rise, even if that means they get something down the road, like a small percentage commission.
Another avenue is to join a studio or collective that brings this expertise to the table. Visionary's Business Manager, Charlie Hall, used to joke about his lack of talent and almost made it sound like his contribution to Visionary was somehow less than us 'talented' folk. However, he and I make good partners in owning the studio, because, his business skills, financial know-how, marketing and salesmanship are critical areas of need to know. They have been invaluable to the studio as a whole, and just as important to a number of our creators who chose to tap his insights. Even more, I think this is one of the things that makes Visionary stand heads and shoulders above a lot of studios for newcomers in comics, we have a business manager who is very involved in all we do.
It's frustrating for us sometimes when a member in good standing of our studio pursues a venture independent of VCS and we then watch them get burned. A number of times, when we hear what happened, we find red flags popping up in the earliest parts of the discussion, ones we would have pointed out... if only we had known.
So, if you can't do it all, find someone who can help. But also make sure you make your best effort and do what you need to do to truly hone your professional awareness, attitude and approach. Doing so will vastly increase the chances that you will make that big break someday, and in making it, also have a better shot at keeping it and making the most of it.
The rest of this series is going to introduce some of the key arenas or skills along the business end of things in moving your comics career forward. While they may not be as inspiring as the creative ones, they are JUST as important. Some of my points here will get repeated for emphasis, some will be tailored to focus on how they as a general strategy apply to that specific arena, etc.
After all, there isn't much benefit of trying to break into comics, if you can't end up breaking out a real career IN comics.
Next...
As we focus in on some critical business arenas in comics we're going to follow the same path as we did on the creative end, and look at each step in the process to see where we get.
Next week, we will look at a key and critical skill: Teambuilding, putting together the team to get it done. After that, the promised Submissions article. See 'ya then.
Join the discussion and add your thoughts on this edition, or the column in general. If you have any questions or suggestions for resources, post them or email them to Sellner so they can be included in future columns. Are you an aspiring or up and coming creator and would like to share your story? Email Sellner and let him know who you are and what you've done.
C. Edward Sellner is the co-founder and Creative Director of Visionary Comics Studio, a studio that within its first two years has drawn high praise from the media and attracted the attention of legendary creators in the comics industry. They have been digitally and print published in the mainstream market and their creators currently work with over a dozen different publishers. Their work has been featured on television news shows, radio programs and internet podcasts as well as featured in every major comics news site online.
Contact him directly at cedwardsellner@aol.com
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