It can be a huge task to get your comic graphic novel from script to print. Just because you need to put more effort in it, there is no reason why you can’t write a comic book. The best thing you can do is to plan carefully, budget, and research to decide whether it’s a good idea to use a traditional publisher or self-publish it. If you are looking for a comic book artist for hire , then you need to figure out the style of artwork you want before choosing the person to work with.
Once you find a comic book illustrator, you should give them all the information about your needs, such as number of pages, a summary of the story, color, your budget, and many more. This post discusses the key things worth knowing before you write a comic graphic novel.
Hiring a comic graphic novel artist
If you intend to self-publish your comic graphic novel and decide to let your audience read it, then you must get a comic graphic novel artist or an illustrator. Self-published and independent comics are crucial in the publishing industry. Many new artists and writers tend to play a significant role in the independent market. And, this is usually a good stepping stone when they want to get into the mainstream market. Creative stories and new ideas can keep the book market interesting and vitalized.
If you want to work with a publisher, they can hire and handle a comic graphic novel artist. Therefore, you may have to submit your script to a publishing company. If a publisher thinks that your story is good for their company, there is a good chance that they can hire a comic graphic novel artist to work on your novel without your help, though some may want a comic graphic novel artist to work on the novel before you pitch it to them.
Regardless of whatever happens, it’s always crucial to make sure that you format your script properly, especially if you decide to self-publish it and hire a comic graphic novel artist to illustrate the story.
A comic graphic novel can be good, but allowing the illustrator to put it into a comic script may give plenty of extras and unexpected tasks even for the most experienced illustrators. Remember that a comic script has a different structure from other types of writing. For instance, a comic script can have page downs while a screenplay tends to break down by scene. Also, a comic script page can usually have several pages and panels.
The good thing is that there are many books and online resources you can use to help you understand comic script formats. Attention to detail and research are key to a smooth and productive flowing project. It’s worth mentioning that comic graphic novel artists usually manage projects differently.
Self-publishing a comic graphic novel
It’s a good option to self-publish your story, especially nowadays when there is on-demand printing. Many writers and artists usually successfully self-publish their books thanks to their great following and reach via social media platforms or even a dedicated fan base. They can do this without the support of publishing company’s resources and marketing teams.
With on-demand printing and e-comic services, self-publishers don’t have to produce tons of copies of the comic graphic novels to get them on the market and make profits. This also implies that they no longer have to find a place to store their books, only to find them lying around for many years because they didn’t expect low customer demand when they printed the comic graphic novels. The risk is low with print-on-demand and e-books, so you can begin small and increase quickly with a rise in demand.
You can find some companies that are ideal for cheap, small, and quality print runs. Some of them even have online stores where you can upload your comic graphic novel for direct on-demand printing sales at no extra cost. Even better, you can set up your prices and retain the profits after deducting their production costs. Besides, they also manage the packing and shipping of your comic graphic novels directly to your customers. As you can see, this is a great arrangement, especially if you don’t intend to manage the process of production and retailing part of self-publishing.
Remember that when self-publishing works well depending on the services you use, you can still be responsible for all the marketing and financial aspects of publishing a comic book. This includes distribution, scheduling, convention appearances, and ensuring that your novel gets into the hands of your readers.
Aside from these, you may have to fund future comic graphic novels. No doubt, it can be a good idea to self-publish your comic graphic novel, but it can be a challenging task, too. Some people can have a huge success with their first book while others may take a couple of years and several attempts to succeed. The truth is that hard work, good planning, and a great product can be the deciding factors when it comes to success.
You should note that a comic graphic novel artist’s fee requires you to pay it. This can be a page rate that includes a buy-out fee or even an advance that has royalties that you have to pay additionally in the long run. You can be passionate about your book, but this may not be the same with the potential comic graphic novel artist. A comic graphic novel artist expects you to pay them for their contribution. After all, it takes a lot of skill and time to create the best artwork for comic graphic novels, so you need to reward them financially accordingly.
Understandably, few people can have enough money to hire a comic graphic novel artist. But a lack of funding must not stop you from achieving your goals. Some comic graphic novel artists allow their customers to pay by installments. Therefore, you should keep this in mind if you think that the potential artist is not within your price range.
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