Are my numbers good?

[Steven Forbes]

Nice, Dave!

Pretty damned close to breaking even!

-Steven

[ChrisMcJunkin]

Originally Posted by dmh_3000

I'm counting from December 2008, since the spreadsheet starts with Living With Insanity, so about two years.

The numbers are for both my webcomics and my projects over at indyplanet. With Steven's advice I also took out the projects that never kicked off (Only two that I invested any money in thankfully). The money I'm counting that I've earned include donations from Living With Insanity, plus two flatting jobs and a couple of lettering gigs.

Wow, I just did the recalculations and I'm only $1100 in the negative.

Well, I'd say you're doing decent then for a span of 2 years, you're looking at only a loss of $550 a year. I'd guess a lot of other people have had to dig deeper. Honestly, as long as you have a decent income coming in to help support your publishing efforts I think you'll manage fine until things really take off. Best of luck to you!

[RonaldMontgomery]

Hey, Steve. I feel like you've been trying to turn over a new leaf these last few months. I think you know what all I'm talking about.
Nobody's perfect. We all make mistakes, and we all deserve a second chance. You're trying. Some people see it and appreciate it.

As far as numbers go, I think that it would be nice to have a self-sustaining enterprise, but is that realistic for a wannabe writer like me? I've reconciled myself, at this stage, to comics being my hobby. Can somebody give me guidance?

[ChrisMcJunkin]

Originally Posted by richcapo

Speedball Lamictal with salvia and it's not hard to go from congenial to pissed on a dime. Or just go from dealing with pleasant people to contentious ones. Either way.Never tell another man they fascinate you.

_Richard

I'm fascinated by all sorts of people for all sort of reasons, dude. Some because of their ability to inspire or create, others for their goodwill and the deeds they do, others for just trying their best. I don't understand why I should never tell someone that.

Or do you just mean it in a gay way because you have all this pent up latent love for Forbes?

[dmh_3000]

Originally Posted by Steven Forbes

Nice, Dave!

Pretty damned close to breaking even!

-Steven

Originally Posted by ChrisMcJunkin

Well, I'd say you're doing decent then for a span of 2 years, you're looking at only a loss of $550 a year. I'd guess a lot of other people have had to dig deeper. Honestly, as long as you have a decent income coming in to help support your publishing efforts I think you'll manage fine until things really take off. Best of luck to you!

Thanks guys. I hope that this year the gap will either be closed or at least getting there.

[Steven Forbes]

Originally Posted by RonaldMontgomery

Hey, Steve. I feel like you've been trying to turn over a new leaf these last few months. I think you know what all I'm talking about.
Nobody's perfect. We all make mistakes, and we all deserve a second chance. You're trying. Some people see it and appreciate it.

As far as numbers go, I think that it would be nice to have a self-sustaining enterprise, but is that realistic for a wannabe writer like me? I've reconciled myself, at this stage, to comics being my hobby. Can somebody give me guidance?

Thanks, Ronald. I appreciate it.

Here's what I suggest:

Don't "reconcile" yourself. What that is, to me, is a sign of defeat. Do you want to be defeated?

Because I want this so much, I sacrifice some of the transient things: going out to the movies (except when there's something coming that I HAVE to see, like Thor), going out to eat, spending extravagant amounts of time with friends (I have those!) and some extended family (I've got a BIG, close family).

I keep current with what's happening in comics as much as my budget and time allows, and I make sure that I keep striving not just to create, but to get better with every project.

Want a self-sustaining enterprise? Find your niche, and then work the hell out of it. Part of my niche is not just to edit comics, but to try and bring what I've learned to others. Thus, ComixTribe was born. There's a plan in place to make that a self-sustaining enterprise. It's going to be slow going at the start, but there's a plan.

If your niche is writing for others, then do that. Find what character you'd like to write, and then re-write some of that character's adventures. Don't go too far off the deep end, but show an editor what decisions you would have made with that character, and where you could go from there.

Write short stories for anthologies. Go from one shots to multi-parters. Show variety, and try to be fast while still bringing quality.

Above all, be dependable.

I wrote a book for Jamal, and it took me several months to get through it. I had to find voices for brand new characters that not only weren't mine, but I also had no frame of reference for.

Difficult. And while I was excited, I was also stuck. So I worked through it slowly, trying to make sure that the story made sense, that I was moving it in the right direction, and that the characters had their own voices.

The first draft wasn't all that good. I sent it to him, looking for direction. He liked parts, and not some others. I then got distracted with other work I was doing, and it sat. And I tried to find the voice for it, and it sat.

Then I gave myself a deadline, and I told Jamal when he could expect it. Then I sat down and wrote the fuck out of it. He liked what I did, and I haven't had any changes come back on it.

The point is, I was slow. Could I have been faster? I think so. But I also think the story would have been different if I were. I now know what the character voices are, how to find them, and how to bring them out. The next one will be a lot faster coming out of me.

Anyway, find your niche, and work it. Find ways to make it sustain itself. That also means you're going to have to put in the work for it.

Find your niche.

Did that make any sense?

-Steven

[Steven Forbes]

Originally Posted by dmh_3000

Thanks guys. I hope that this year the gap will either be closed or at least getting there.

To echo Chris, Dave, I don't think that $550/year is that big an expense to overcome. It's not that big of a hole.

How much money do you spend eating out in a year? My wife and I don't go out that much, but at the same time, I think we spend about that much in a year. Either at a sit-down restaurant or in fast food.

And it's not like it's money you're never going to see again. You have things that you're working on, working towards, and can continue to sell. So, really, as long as you keep working it, it's just a matter of time before you see yourself not just breaking even, but making money from your endeavors.

Again, good job. There are MANY creators out there who wish they were as close as you are.

-Steven

[dmh_3000]

Originally Posted by Steven Forbes

To echo Chris, Dave, I don't think that $550/year is that big an expense to overcome. It's not that big of a hole.

How much money do you spend eating out in a year? My wife and I don't go out that much, but at the same time, I think we spend about that much in a year. Either at a sit-down restaurant or in fast food.

And it's not like it's money you're never going to see again. You have things that you're working on, working towards, and can continue to sell. So, really, as long as you keep working it, it's just a matter of time before you see yourself not just breaking even, but making money from your endeavors.

Again, good job. There are MANY creators out there who wish they were as close as you are.

-Steven

Thanks, it's good to be reassured that I'm not putting myself into debt. The main reason I started this thread was because I had no numbers to compare mine to so I had no clue whether I was doing good or bad.

Hope this gave everyone some perspective.