Broken Frontier

I have an artist friend in the industry who calls me The Destroyer of Dreams, and after giving some thought to my part time nickname, I figured it may be a good a column as well as a good moniker.

Here’s the thing, I don’t set out to destroy anyone’s dreams, I just feel like it’s important to help people understand that their expectations don’t necessarily equal up to reality, at least in the comic book world.  I know because I was one of those DREAM BIG guys myself just before I leaped headfirst into comics, and then because I had expected a certain outcome for myself and my work, I was initially disappointed (see, crushed) in the results when they didn’t match up.

I honestly feel like I would be doing people a disservice if I continued to feed their expectations.  When I was starting out, there were various people in my life who constantly fueled the fire, telling me how successful I was going to be and how my books were going to shoot to the top and blah blah blah.  Well, when you’re fed thoughts like that, you start to think that you can leave your day job, live your dream, and plan out your life.  The reality of it is, just getting published does not mean you’re on a fast track to Successville.

There are a number of young, ambitious writers I have been working with, and each one of them has that glimmer in their eyes that says, “This is my moment!  This is when magic happens!”  And while it is magical to hold your first published book in your hands, your bank account could care less.  I’ve said this before, but the fact is, you’ll most likely see little to no money off of your first book. 

While the publisher’s goal is always to make some green off of you and your work (otherwise they wouldn’t pick it up in the first place), they’re secretly just hoping to break even. 

They’re putting thousands of dollars into your series, and as such, they have to make their investment back before you ever see a cent.  You could have the greatest mingling of characters since Flash’s rogue gallery, but it doesn’t change that fact that you still need to sell more copies of your book than there are interested readers for you to make money.

That’s the math.  No getting around the math.

The people who have it right are the people who do it because they love to do it.  These are the creators who have other jobs that they actually enjoy, and then pursue comics as a part time passion.  This allows them to go into things with much smaller expectations, keeping them from being disappointed, and then if mainstream success comes, it’s a pleasant surprise and not intentional.  These are the true indie creators.

This is not me.  I have wanted to make a living as a writer since I was a wee little lad, so I understand, relate, and completely agree with those people who want to DREAM BIG and get rewarded for their hard work.  But, at the same time, it’s not an easy road and I think everyone is better off knowing that than having to stick out their thumb and hitchhike their way down it on their own.

Yes, you can make a living in comics, but it’s not a point A to point B journey.  You have to pay your dues, build a fan base, and network like a mother trucker.  (And more often than not, wait around until the licensing money comes in.) The more books you can put out the better because you allow yourself more revenue streams, which means, you need to be writing and creating every moment of every day when you’re not working your other gig.  Put down the X-Box remote and dive into your future, otherwise, you’ll come face to face with THE DESTROYER OF DREAMS!

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA