Now that you have your script polished and ready to go, you’ll need to assemble your indie comic team! For this part of the guide, we’re going to assume that you only know how to write. Don’t feel bad, I can only make chicken-scratch drawing myself! This guide will also go under the assumption that you are the indie comic creator looking to hire talent to bring your vision to life. If you, happen to be a comic or cover artist, I can’t guarantee that this post will be useful to you.
Also, I’d like to make a disclaimer. I am not claiming to be an expert. I am just sharing my thoughts and opinions based on the experiences that I’ve gone through as an indie comic creator. Please do your own research before using your own hard-earned money to pay others for your indie comic venture.
After you get your feedback from you editor, you will need a comic artist, cover artist, letterer, book designer and, perhaps, a graphic designer for ads and a mentor to help you along the way.
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Where can you find your team?
As mentioned in the previous port, there are many online places where you can hire artists. Job marketplace websites such as UpWork, Fiverr and Freelanced.com are excellent places to find people who can bring your indie comic to life! You can even find freelancers on social media websites, as well. I, personally, posted a job on Freelanced.com and got many candidates for a comic artist within a few days. Reaching out to artists on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter can be decent places to look for talent.
Contract & Formal Agreement
After you contacted your recruits, make sure that you write up a contract or formal agreement between the two of you! I know this part can be tedious and boring, however it’s essential to do this so that all parties have expectations in the right place. Things can get nasty between each party if a person doesn’t live up to expectations. Just watch the Social Network movie to see what I mean!
When writing the contract, be sure to communicate the pay rate and method of payment. PayPal and bank e-transfers are fantastic methods of payment. I recommend doing research on other methods of payments before sending your money through those channels. And really take the time to write everything you want out of the contract. Add every detail you can think of! It’s essential that your contract states that you own all market returns for the sale of your indie comic!
What are some Reasonable Pay Rates?
I’ve seen many people online post different rates for their work. Here is the list of reasonable rates that I’ve seen artists charge:
Cover Artists - $100 to $500 USD
Comic Artists - $90 to $140 USD for each fully colored, lined/inked and grayscaled page.
Letterer - $10 to $15 USD per page
In terms of rates for graphic designers for ads, book designers and mentors, there’s no right answers. I personally have not used these services.
I wouldn’t pay more than $100 USD for each service. All graphic designers that you come across are at different stages of development, depending on who you hire. If they spend a day or afternoon making your ad, $100 USD is a reasonable rate. The same line of thinking applied to your book designers. If they don’t spend any more than a day on their services, I wouldn’t engage in a pay rate more than $100 USD.
How much Funding would you Need to Break-Even?
Of course, you’ll need to be able to pay your team to bring your vision to life!
Let’s assume that you’ve got an indie comic script that’s 30 pages long. Let’s, also, assume, that you need it fully colored, and you need all other services to make it look professional. If that’s the case, here’s the amount of funding that you’ll need to achieve your goal.
Cover Artists - $100 to $500 USD
Comic Artists - $90 to $140 USD x 30
Letterer - $10 to $15 USD x 30
Graphic Designer Ad Help - $100 USD
Book Design - $100 USD
Adding all the costs above together gives you anywhere from $3,300 to $5,350 to break-even!
You might have to pay more depending on how much you want to spend on advertising/marketing. Also, keep in mind that you’ll have to pay printing and shipping costs if you want to send print copies to your supporters. And if you’re a self-publisher looking to get into the retail space, keep in mind that retailers take a chunk of the sales of your book.
So there you have it folks! Publishing your indie comic is far from easy! But it can be done.
If you’re wondering how to fund your indie comic, I’ll be posting a no bull#$% guide on that next week!
Until then, stay groovy!
Pat Murphy out,