As I read this, I was reminded about something I read years ago regarding a a major artist (who I won't name) having an exclusive contract with a major publisher but wasn't getting any work from them. As an attorney, I'm not sure who drafted that contract but I would have insisted on a certain number of pages per month to ensure that income was flowing. The artist also stated that his page rate had not significantly changed in years. This just feeds more about your post.
I do all the writing chores and work with artists to bring it to the page. My pay rate is crap, but I split the Patreon with them monthly and try to find other ways to subsidize my crappy page rate. They get half of my Kickstarter portion, and the real benefit I try to offer is schooling and counseling. I art direct and educate (don't think your lessons aren't liberally sprinkled in there), using what I have learned from others to help elevate their work, sending reference books from the greats of old and reference manuals like the Fairburn Method.
None of them are deceived, and none of them work under any delusions. My page rates are poverty, but they are transparent poverty for a webcomic that is trying to aspire to be more. I wish I could offer more, and I have had artists who wouldn't take anywhere near what I offer, and I understand completely and let them seek greener pastures. But I do try to treat people I work with fairly and frankly, and we keep looking to strike gold with something.
Anthology book is coming soon, as I convinced a publisher to offer work-for-hire, so I could get some of those artists a reasonable paycheck for their time, and hopefully a bit better exposure. In no small part because I want them to be paid better and see their work as valued and worthy. Heck, when the book is finally ready to go, I'll even get my writing page rate. Not art director money, which I did for the entire book, not editor money, just work-for-hire writer money which is considerably less than the page rate the artists are getting.
I guess my long-winded bit here is just me explaining that I am indeed part of the problem, but I am very much aware of it, and trying my best to make it better.
Thank you for the dose of pragmatic realism. It definitely helps me to avoid chasing any illusions of joining such a feudal system of creative abuse. It's bad enough just dealing with the technocratic misuse of one's work.
There is success to be found in comics. Vaughn and Staples must have made a bundle on SAGA. But this is a long tail profession. Tiny little peak group at top, and precipitous drop after.
Decades ago my inner pragmatist changed course from chasing the long tail of illustration and comics to the more immediate and profitable graphic design/ad biz. It was great but ultimately led to a less fulfilling creative career. And now, that I've spent the last few years moving back into Illustration and Comics, the realization that I'm too long in the tooth and generally impatient with any nonsense, has forced me to confront some hard truths about creative endeavors and grandiose delusions. Maybe that's why at this point, I create art more to satisfy myself than others. If others happen to enjoy it on the limited social media platforms I use, I'm happy with that. This mindset probably limits the reach of my art to art directors and publishers but honestly, for me, life is too short to go around chasing the unicorn tails. That's a game for much younger artists.
Not an artist myself but can see this for what it is: free (unless you too pay the small subscription fee) coaching, counsel, mentoring, supervision and consultancy from a demonstrably successful expert.
Expert advice is an education, even from a completely different field.
Sad to say, it’s the lack of transparency about pay rates that made me leave my dream about being a comic book artist after high school. There wasn’t anything publicly spoken about the business model back those days. And even fewer people with Asian last names. Oh, Ernie Chua (Ernie Chan), but he was just a regular Joe, not a big name like John Byrne or George Pérez.
Then Jim Lee entered the scene and all hell broke loose. I mean, could you imagine it? What if I hadn’t gotten scared that I’d never be able to support myself and just went for it anyway? I could have been part of the Asian invasion of the 80s!
So now me and my crew work on indie projects of the sides of our desks. But we lost the momentum of being young and constantly growing our talents and abilities. 40 years ago we might have had a shot. Now we’re all struggling just to draw hands that don’t look like rocks. LOL.
So 6.25 an hour to release my work through someone else who wants me sounds like a deal. Now, I KNOW I can work off contract and own reprint and repurposing rights.
Thanks as usual for sharing from your experience. There should be a book about the business before it changes again.
I was a scripter and editor for a small press comic book publisher for less than a year back in 2015. I really loved most things about the job. I say most because for every step forward i eanted to take to get comics to readers meant the editor-in-chief would take two steps backwards, forcing books' progress to be stopped. Plus, he rarely attended remote meetings that he scheduled with me. To make matters worse, he wouldn't pay editors snd creative staff. Now, I only work with publishers who actually pay me. Said pay isn't much, but I don't have the stress I did under that editor-in-chief.
As I read this, I was reminded about something I read years ago regarding a a major artist (who I won't name) having an exclusive contract with a major publisher but wasn't getting any work from them. As an attorney, I'm not sure who drafted that contract but I would have insisted on a certain number of pages per month to ensure that income was flowing. The artist also stated that his page rate had not significantly changed in years. This just feeds more about your post.
Yep, I know of several cases of this. They can really tie you up if you're not careful.
FWIW, I am the tiniest of small press publishers.
I do all the writing chores and work with artists to bring it to the page. My pay rate is crap, but I split the Patreon with them monthly and try to find other ways to subsidize my crappy page rate. They get half of my Kickstarter portion, and the real benefit I try to offer is schooling and counseling. I art direct and educate (don't think your lessons aren't liberally sprinkled in there), using what I have learned from others to help elevate their work, sending reference books from the greats of old and reference manuals like the Fairburn Method.
None of them are deceived, and none of them work under any delusions. My page rates are poverty, but they are transparent poverty for a webcomic that is trying to aspire to be more. I wish I could offer more, and I have had artists who wouldn't take anywhere near what I offer, and I understand completely and let them seek greener pastures. But I do try to treat people I work with fairly and frankly, and we keep looking to strike gold with something.
Anthology book is coming soon, as I convinced a publisher to offer work-for-hire, so I could get some of those artists a reasonable paycheck for their time, and hopefully a bit better exposure. In no small part because I want them to be paid better and see their work as valued and worthy. Heck, when the book is finally ready to go, I'll even get my writing page rate. Not art director money, which I did for the entire book, not editor money, just work-for-hire writer money which is considerably less than the page rate the artists are getting.
I guess my long-winded bit here is just me explaining that I am indeed part of the problem, but I am very much aware of it, and trying my best to make it better.
Thank you for the dose of pragmatic realism. It definitely helps me to avoid chasing any illusions of joining such a feudal system of creative abuse. It's bad enough just dealing with the technocratic misuse of one's work.
There is success to be found in comics. Vaughn and Staples must have made a bundle on SAGA. But this is a long tail profession. Tiny little peak group at top, and precipitous drop after.
Decades ago my inner pragmatist changed course from chasing the long tail of illustration and comics to the more immediate and profitable graphic design/ad biz. It was great but ultimately led to a less fulfilling creative career. And now, that I've spent the last few years moving back into Illustration and Comics, the realization that I'm too long in the tooth and generally impatient with any nonsense, has forced me to confront some hard truths about creative endeavors and grandiose delusions. Maybe that's why at this point, I create art more to satisfy myself than others. If others happen to enjoy it on the limited social media platforms I use, I'm happy with that. This mindset probably limits the reach of my art to art directors and publishers but honestly, for me, life is too short to go around chasing the unicorn tails. That's a game for much younger artists.
Not an artist myself but can see this for what it is: free (unless you too pay the small subscription fee) coaching, counsel, mentoring, supervision and consultancy from a demonstrably successful expert.
Expert advice is an education, even from a completely different field.
Brava
It’s an honor, thank you.
Sad to say, it’s the lack of transparency about pay rates that made me leave my dream about being a comic book artist after high school. There wasn’t anything publicly spoken about the business model back those days. And even fewer people with Asian last names. Oh, Ernie Chua (Ernie Chan), but he was just a regular Joe, not a big name like John Byrne or George Pérez.
Then Jim Lee entered the scene and all hell broke loose. I mean, could you imagine it? What if I hadn’t gotten scared that I’d never be able to support myself and just went for it anyway? I could have been part of the Asian invasion of the 80s!
So now me and my crew work on indie projects of the sides of our desks. But we lost the momentum of being young and constantly growing our talents and abilities. 40 years ago we might have had a shot. Now we’re all struggling just to draw hands that don’t look like rocks. LOL.
So 6.25 an hour to release my work through someone else who wants me sounds like a deal. Now, I KNOW I can work off contract and own reprint and repurposing rights.
Thanks as usual for sharing from your experience. There should be a book about the business before it changes again.
I was a scripter and editor for a small press comic book publisher for less than a year back in 2015. I really loved most things about the job. I say most because for every step forward i eanted to take to get comics to readers meant the editor-in-chief would take two steps backwards, forcing books' progress to be stopped. Plus, he rarely attended remote meetings that he scheduled with me. To make matters worse, he wouldn't pay editors snd creative staff. Now, I only work with publishers who actually pay me. Said pay isn't much, but I don't have the stress I did under that editor-in-chief.