Writing Comics: Advice on Going Freelance




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Going Freelance
"The first couple of years you don't make enough to pay the bills. The next couple of years you barely make enough to cover the bills. And then a couple of years after that you make enough to pay the bills. :-)

"I think a lot of people go work for a company and then jump into freelance. From what I've heard it makes the transition easier. Although if you have a lot of support (financial...) and are ready to tackle the market head-on then you might want to go for it.

"The first thing you need (after a portfolio obviously) is a list of people to send submissions to. I would suggest you get a copy of "Artists and Graphic Designers Market" by Writer's Digest Books. [Note this covers the US market].

"You should also get a hold of "The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines". This is a great reference source for pricing and what to expect in each industry.

Luc Belanger (Advice posted to the egroup, small_press_comics: used here with his kind permission)
Luc's Home Page: http://www.gingerillustration.com/comics.htm

Richard Starkings, who persuaded Marvel UK to hire me in the first place way back when, offers some useful advice about breaking into comics in this interview, Like a Chained Elephant, plus comments on the advent of Computer Lettering and more. There's another interview with this power mad publisher (hey Richard, put the missiles away, I'm joking!) here on the Comics World News.

Phillipines artist Gerry Alanguilan also has a useful guide on getting into comics today on his web site: alanguilan.com/sanpablo/2006/01/how-to-get-into-comics-today.html
PARENTS - BE AWARE THAT THIS LINK CONTAINS LINKS TO ADULT CONTENT

Script Writing
WORD COUNTS
Word Counts: One thing that was drummed into my head (by more than one writer or editor) is that when you're writing comics, let the pictures tell the story.
You should never overwrite and be ruthless about dialogue -- cut it, cut it and cut it to tell the story through the images as well as the words, but most particularly, the pictures!
Alan Moore recalled the standards of DC Comics editor Mort Weisinger in an interview for the fanzine Zarjaz #3:
"What he said was: if you've got six panels on a page, then the maximumn number of words you should have in each panel is 35. No more. That's the maximum. 35 words per panel. Also, if a ballon has more than 20 or 25 words in it, it's going to look too big. 25 words is the absolute maximum for ballon size.
"Right, once you've taken on those two simple rules, laying out comics pages -- it gives you somewhere to start -- you sort of know 'OK, so six panels, 35 words to a panel, that means about 210 words per page maximum... [so] if you've got two panels you'd have 105 each. If you've got nine panels, it's about 23 - 24 words -- that'll be about the right balance of words and pictures. So that is why I obsessively count all the words [in my scripts], to make sure that I'm not going to overwhelm the pictures. I've seen some terrible comic writing where the ballons are huge, cover the entire background..."
Alan Moore, interviewed in the fanzine Zarjaz #3 - the interview ran in #3/#4 and copies are available for £2 plus 70p postage each from Andrew Lewis, 39 Priory Court, Brynoch, Neath SA10 7RZ. Cheques/Postal Orders payable to A Lewis

NEVER STOP WRITING
Jeph Loeb was interviewd by the supermanhomepage in 2004, and offered this advice to writers when asked if he had any advice for breaking into the comic business, or into writing in general?
" Keep writing," he advises. "Every day. Write a page. Of something. Anything. Write what you love, what you know. Stay on it. If it's comics, get to know the editors. They are the ones who can hire you. Not other writers. Don't be a snob. Work for anyone. Get to know artists. Work for free and work up from there. And never, ever let anyone stop you from your dream."
How long it takes him to script a comic, he revealed, "depends on the issue, depends on the book. Sometimes they come very quickly -- a few days. sometimes it takes a few weeks of thinking, taking notes, coming up with moments and then finally sitting down and doing it. William Goldman who is one of my heroes and who wrote (among many, many things) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was asked how long does it take to write a screenplay. He said that he thought about Butch & The Kid for 13 years and wrote it in seven days. So. how long did it take him? A LOT of writing is done when you're not writing.
" That's hard to understand when you 're the writer's wife or girlfriend or boyfriend. It's hard to explain when you're on the couch for six hours, counting ceiling tiles that you're actually working. But, my mind never stops."
Loeb says he always tries to work with an artist on a book. " I always talk about the story with my artist at the beginning," he revelaed, "so he knows what he's getting into. I try and keep mind his concerns, strengths and the things he loves to draw.
"I write a full script -- very detailed description, all the dialogue, just like a screenplay. But -- and it's a BIG but --I tell the artist that it's there for him to interpret. I only ask that if they can, try to follow the pacing -- the rhythm -- of the dialogue, that'd be great.
Even so, when the artwork comes in, I re-dialogue the work to better suit the images. Sometimes that's a complete rewrite, sometimes, that's just putting the balloons on the page. I happen to work with brilliant guys who always astonish me with their work. It really is FUN!
• Read the whole interview on a number of projects Jeph worked on here:
www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/tv.php?topic=interviews/jeph-loeb2

BE PREPARED TO TAKE CRITICISM
"To write is to take chances. Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you don't, because the measure of success is in the eyes of the reader. And a subjective opinion is always right for that reader, always true for that person."
J. Michael Straczynski (7/10/04), writer, The Amazing Spider-Man, Babylon 5 etc. etc. etc.

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