Thread by @DirkManning

Longtime comic veteran @ErikJLarsen has been getting what I feel is a lot of undeserved flak for suggesting that sometimes it's OK for comic artists to work for free -- especially when they're starting out. I've been sitting on some thoughts about it I'd like to share... [THREAD]

I know the "Artists die for exposure" mantra all too well... and I get it. We all want to get paid for our work, and there's something to be said for being expected to be paid for your work even as a beginner.

But there's also something to be said for EARNING that position, too.

I came-up into being a professional comic writer (I''m not an illustrator) by way of entertainment journalism, and as such I spent A LOT of time with rock bands.

Almost all of them played countless concerts and clubs for free for two reasons:

1) To hone their skills

2) To build an audience

As a comic creator who writes but can't draw, that's the approach I took to my own career in comics. Work for free upfront in order to earn the position to expect (and get) paid for it later.

When I began recruiting artists for my first comic -- the longform online anthology series called NIGHTMARE WORLD back in 2002 -- my approach and pitch to artists was simple and direct: The comic is hosted online and the content is free, but it will get you PRACTICE and EXPOSURE.

SPOILER; No one died from the exposure they earned from working with me on at least one -- if not several -- stories for NIGHTMARE WORLD.

However, several of them were able to use the work to build their online portfolio and prove to publishers they could do this professionally.

NIGHTMARE WORLD ran a total of over 52 eight-page stories over the course of several years. Some artists did one story, most did several. For free.

Why?

1) They enjoyed the stories
2) They got to hone their craft
3) They got exposure and work samples for their portfolio

Time passed, and eventually I was offered a publishing deal with a small publisher for NIGHTMARE WORLD... and I was terrified.

Why?

Because I didn't want to make money on the work of the creators who agreed to work for free, but I didn't have the money to pay them page rates.

That being said, I also know getting NIGHTMARE WORLD in print at a bonafide publisher would help raise the profile of a lot of the artists -- and myself.

When the solution came to me, I reached out to the whole team (it was close to two dozen artists, give or take) about it.

I told them all -- with their blessing -- I'd like to go ahead with the publishing deal, outlining the perks of having the book in print.

I also made them all a promise; If the book made a profit on the publishing deal (through direct market sales), they'd get paid before I did.

We all knew the likelihood of making any real profit on the pre-sales of the book was unlikely, as we were ALL up-and-comers at the time, but the deal sat well with everyone, as we all trusted each other.

Besides, for the most part these were short eight-page stories, you know?

That's not me trivializing their AMAZING work, mind you... but rather a matter of keeping it in perspective: They drew 8-page stories that played to their strengths and interests with what were usually VERY flexible deadlines...

And, again, they were getting a lot of exposure.

REMINDER: None of them died from the exposure they got from drawing one -- or even several -- NIGHTMARE WORLD stories for free.

A lot of them went on to land paying gigs at publishers including @DCComics, @IDWPublishing, @ImageComics, and more, though.

Let me also make this clear: I'm not taking any credit for the success anyone I worked with earned during or after working with me on NIGHTMARE WORLD.

What I am saying, though, is that the experience of working on the series did help them all... even if it wasn't a paying gig.

Everyone wants to get paid to do what they love, but I can't help but feel that sometimes people forget that the flip-side of that equation is paying your dues.

Want to get paid to draw (or write) comics? Demonstrate that you can do so on a professional, paying level, you know?

Time passed, and NIGHTMARE WORLD was then picked-up by @ImageComics -- specifically, the @Shadowlinecomic imprint -- and we were offered the chance to be part of their new online comics hub...

For free, For exposure. For a chance to demonstrate if we could bring in new readers.

I talked to the whole team about it, and, again, everyone was cool with it. As expected, we didn't make any profit from the smaller print publishing deals, but at least everyone could now add published work to their resumes and got some free books out of it (to sell or keep) too.

Point blank, @Shadowlinecomic was unsure if NIGHTMARE WORLD would draw any new readers, but we came highly recommended by an editor there at the time because of all the buzz around us (as creators) and the title.

The EXPOSURE of the series -- and our work -- earned us that buzz.

By our second month on the online comic hub we were the most-read comic on the site, and we remained that way for the entire two-year syndication of the series.

We were able to parlay that EXPOSURE -- for the publisher and us -- into a formal print publishing deal at @Image.

Again, I reached out and the same deal on payment remained in place: If I made a profit, they'd get paid before I did.

Furthermore, they (and I) could now tell publishers and editors that they had work published by @Image. That was -- and remains -- a big deal and opened doors.

SPOILER: As is the case for a lot of creators, NIGHTMARE WORLD didn't make much profit after being published by @ImageComics. That's NOT a dis against the publisher. They gave me the ball and I ran with it as far and hard as I could at the time, and the "I" on the book helped us.

Did I mention how much having publishing credit at @Image helped me and the artists -- all of us who worked for free, for EXPOSURE -- on one or several (or, in my case, 52+) short eight-page stories?

We honed our craft for EXPOSURE and all reaped MANY rewards from doing so.

And that's the point that I think got lost on a lot of people in @ErikJLarsen's original posts: Not all rewards and perks are monetary, folks.

There are many jobs where you are expected to trade pay for experience (teachers, doctors, skilled trades)... for EXPOSURE to the work.

The experiences I gained from not only writing NIGHTMARE WORLD, but also working with artists, editors, publishers, printers and more could be seen as working for only for EXPOSURE... but that's an incomplete analysis.

We were all also working for -- and gaining -- EXPERIENCE.

And that's the part I encourage all of you to consider when someone makes a snarky remark about how "artists die from exposure." No one died from the EXPOSURE hen working for free alongside me, but they all got EXPERIENCE from it, and that turned into paying work for many of us.

EPILOGUE:

Eventually I parted from Image/Shadowline (on good terms), and took NIGHTMARE WORLD to @DevilsDue comics, who was resurrecting their brand and as such willing to take some risks in terms of publishing strategies.

This excited me, and I went to them with a plan...

I was able to use the name/brand recognition, and general "buzz" I had built around myself and the artists I worked with (and the comics we created, now including several other non-NW titles, all also done under the same "exposure" deals) to turn to @kickstarter to release them.

My comics have now made over $125,000 in pre-sales on @kickstarter alone. That's doesn't include my sales through comic shops, Amazon, or my very aggressive comic convention circuit/signing tours I do every year.

I'm in this position because I worked for EXPOSURE and EXPERIENCE.

And all the comic artists who worked alongside me on titles like NIGHTMARE WORLD for free when we were all starting out?

When NIGHTMARE WORLD finally made a profit with a $45,231 @kickstarter through @DevilsDue, I wrote them all checks for their work, as I promised a decade ago.

There are a lot of variables in my experiences -- and the experiences of the artists I've worked with over the years -- but I hope this provided all of you who read it some food for thought on this whole "exposure" debate.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more comics to write...

But for those of you who want to learn more about MY journey and how you could apply the lessons I learned to your own, consider picking-up my book WRITE OR WRONG: A WRITER'S GUIDE TO CREATING COMICS through Amazon:

amazon.com/Write-Wrong-Wr…

(Interestingly enough, I first wrote WRITE OR WRONG -- hosted at @Newsarama, and then later at @bleedingcool -- for EXPOSURE and EXPERIENCE, too.)

(For those curious/hungry for it, WRITE OR WRONG Volume 2 is tentatively scheduled for a late 2019/early 2020 release)

[END THREAD]