Broken Frontier

I’ve been writing for the past ten years now.  I’ve had plays produced, film scripts shot, even a television pilot get picked up (and then crumble in the wind).  The one thing I’ve never been able to do is live off the writing.  Until now.

I stand at a precipice of my career.  I’ve already gone well past the “hobbyist” category, deriving portions of my income from the publishing business.  How small a portion remains to be seen though.  But, that being said, I’m still reliant on a dead-end day job to make ends meet.  Up until now, the two have met a nice balance, using early morning, lunch hours, and after hours to keep up on my own business.  In recent weeks though, as my company stands at the launch of our second book, to much critical acclaim I might add, the question sits before me.  Do I do this full time or what?

So I figure, it’s time to do another of my reality checks, through this column, about the realities of making a living doing comics.  Truth be told, very few people can do it.  There’s plenty of folks who work for the Big Two who still have day jobs.  Hell, if it wasn’t for movie deals a considerable number more would still be doing the 9 to 5 grind.  Just about every comic professional I know still does some form of side work, whether it’s graphic design or ad copy, it’s still something that’s not comics.  The reality of the market is that there’s not enough money to go around, and consequently the people you’d think were getting paid a lot, probably aren’t.

It’s a taboo subject on just about every creator’s message board.  There’s always a thread started by a newbie or a troll “Hey (Insert Creator’s Name) How Much You Make A Year?” or something of the kind.  Well, frankly, it’s rude to ask, but I suppose it’s a valid question. So, let me just summarize what just about every creator would reply, in the most diplomatic way possible:  “Not as much as you think.”  It’s true.  Just look at the overall economics of the industry and you’ll see that it’s nigh impossible for there to be THAT many guys running around in top hats and tails, with giant bags of money with dollar signs on them. 

So, why do we do it?  Just about everybody I know says the same thing.  They love it. It’s a passion.  In the back of a lot of fans’ heads, especially when thinking about creator-owned work, is “They’re just doing it for the movie rights.”  Well, as a publisher of creator-owned materials, let me just tell you, there’s a helluva lot of easier ways to sell a movie than to spend months on end cobbling together a comic and the money it takes to make it all happen properly.  Sure, you end up with a great little package to help pitch your concept, but, at the end of the day, it has no more intrinsic value in the Hollywood market than a properly written script.  The value isn’t reflected by whether or not the property does well in the comic market.  You can have the biggest selling creator-owned title on the stands and it still means squat to the Hollywood execs. Because, in some cases, all they care about is an easily sellable concept that they can package and make a fortune on without much thought.

Alright, so now my initial statement here was that I was planning on making a living off of writing.  That’s a bit of a lie.  Really, I’ll be making a living off of publishing, with the writing money to supplement me as I look for more work.  That’s the meat and potatoes of it.  It’s the life of a freelancer, whether you’re working in Hollywood, slinging coffee at Starbucks, or cleaning toilets at Central Station, you’re always just looking for the next thing to get you out of what you’re doing.

Am I excited at the prospect? Sure. In some ways it’s a completion of a lot of the dreams I’ve had most of my life.  Of course, that’s tempered with a good natured dose of skepticism (I mean, they say the deal’s done, and yet, I have no contract) and fear (how far is that money really gonna get me?). I guess having these feelings means I finally have joined the ranks of the true comics professionals. 

Now, please, buy my comics so I can afford breakfast next week.