October Passed Me By

Post #01

The dreaded first words of the dreaded first post. You’re supposed to make them count, but the pressure is imaginary yet palpable. Best to move on.

I want to talk to you about making comics, the saga that is the road to publication, and everything inbetween.

That’s a lot to cover, so for now we’ll start at the point I’m at right now… In short, I’ve agreed a publishing deal for my book HARU. I can’t say much more until contracts are signed, but it’s been quite a journey to get to this point. This is actually the third time I’ve been standing at the gates like this. The previous two crumbled due to events beyond my control, and it sucked but served as a reminder that this industry, this world, can be brutal. Even if people are nice, these things may be beyond their control too, so we move forward with kindness in our hearts, always greatful for each person who responds with love and warmth.

Damn I sound like a self-help book there, but what I’m saying is; you gotta look out for yourself, kid, but you can be nice at the same time.

I guess a good way to wrap up this first post is to talk about some of my ongoing attempts to make a living from this, and the projects involved. Firstly, when I receive & sign the contract I should be paid a little to be able to concentrate on making the HARU books, but until then income is shoddy, so here’s what I’m doing;

1. I’m still doing some bits of freelance design & website development work. It’s not ideal but I do like working with people.

2. I’m working on scripts and video edits for some Skillshare videos about my watercolour process.

3. I’m planning another art tool / resource for writers and artists. This may result in another Kickstarter in the next year sometime (hopefully).

4. I’ve been asked to talk to a couple of Universities about creative practices. I’m not sure what this will entail just yet but I’m excited to be doing it.

5. More book pitches, one written by another author, and multiple written by me.

6. I’ll be taking my newest book, Lustration, to Thought Bubble in a couple of weeks and then I’ll be releasing it on my online shop and to wholesalers.

7. I’m planning a series of prints based on my past travels, through Etsy & Printify (so that I don’t hold stock of these prints in my increasingly crowded shed - it’s already full of my self-published books and will continue to be so).

It’s hard to balance it all because there are always overheads, and I have lots to maintain for past website clients (server costs, file storage costs, domain registrations & other web tools and subscriptions), and for books the profit margins of self-publishing are so slim. I feel like every time I look at it there are more expenses I hadn’t thought about before.

But that’s part of it. Working out what works and what doesn’t, and how you can tip the scales in your favour. Like everything in life, it’s incremental, a learning curve. Everything builds even when it fails.

That’s it for now. I’m only planning on posting updates once a month, at the start of the month. Hopefully I can share a little insight with you about the process and things involved in comics publishing.

Thank you