Where to begin??? Part Two…

Now that you have a better understanding of your motives behind your desire for creating comics, let’s talk a little bit about the creative process – assuming that is that you answered the questions in the previous post.

No matter what your skill set is, it is imperative that you acquire a new one – the skill of acquiring skills…

What do I mean by this? Creating comics, especially successful comics, is NOT just about writing fascinating stories, drawing pretty pictures, a splash of color, word balloons, folded up all nice-nice with a staple in the middle. On top of understanding the basics of writing, illustrating, color theory, and page layout, you have to educate yourself on every nuance of success: financial understanding, direct and viral marketing, advertising, management, time management, – This one is key (We’ll get into time management in a later post) – achievements and winning mindsets, price points, pitches and hooks. Bringing all of these facets together is what will help you produce a book people will take notice of. It’s the difference between selling out at conventions and being the creator in Artist Alley that everyone is walking by not paying attention to. In other words, not buying their comic.

Once upon a time you had to have a large marketing budget and a staff to implement it. In today’s market with the Internet and social media, the playing field has been leveled giving new creators unprecedented access to a legion of devoted comic readers. Having a grasp on marketing basics and the like will give you a leg up on the competition.

You will never know it all. However, it is imperative that you have at least a basic understanding of each of the categories listed above. Now, you could go back to school and spend every day, all day in the library (Yuk!). Or, you could just check back in every week. I will be covering all of the above, and then some, in future posts (Shameless Plug ).

Speaking of school, let’s take a look at a little equation. Now I know what your thinking, “But Jonnie, I done did fail ‘rithmatic.” Don’t worry, it’s not that kind of equation:

Information + Confusion + fear of failure = Procrastination.
Procrastination = no comic.

Now what do I mean by information + confusion? Quite often we find ourselves with the need to learn all we can – which is a good thing. However, because we want everything to be just right, we tend to tell ourselves “I need to learn more before I begin.” When we think along the lines of “learn more before I begin,” we inevitably find ourselves overwhelmed by the amount of information we are trying to process – thus creating confusion. Another way to put this would be information paralysis. Paralysis defined: The loss of voluntary movement.

Of course the biggie in the equation is fear of failure. Is this what is keeping you from moving forward? Hmmm? Did you know that this fear of failure stems from an insecure part of you? “Insecure?! Them thars fightin’ words!” Maybe. Unfortunately, it’s true. It is a part of you that whispers in your subconscious ear, “You’re not good enough” or “What if you fail?” It is this fear that is causing you to be unsure of where to begin –Thus leading to procrastination. And what does procrastination equal? That’s right, no comic.

However, which fear is greater: The fear of failure, or the fear of regret? The good news is, if you do not pursue your dreams of creating comics, you will never fail at it – That is a certainty. The bad news is, you will look back the rest of your life with 2 nagging thoughts: “I wonder” and “I wish I would’ve.” So ask yourself, which is the greater fear: Fear of failure, or fear of regret?

Just so you know, I suffered from that very form of insecurity for some time. The idea for my comic, The Miscellaneous Adventures of STYKMAN™ rattled around inside of me since the mid 90’s. It wasn’t until 2002 that I ignored that voice and gave the comic world it’s first glimpse of the Bumbling Buffoon of a Branch. However, the voice had returned for a little while until it was silenced altogether in 2005 with the release of the actual comic. You see the fear of regret was stronger for me than the fear or failure.

So where to start? Simply put, just start. I know that sounds rather simple and elementary, but really, just start. It really doesn’t matter where. Write out a plot, develop some dialogue, draw some character designs, or a single frame – Just start. The thing that truly holds people back is the need for everything to be perfect. They see and hold a completed comic and think that somehow, through osmosis maybe, their comic will suddenly be completed and everything will be perfect. It doesn’t work that way.

A terrific analogy would be The Great Wall of China. Huh? That’s right, China. When one looks at such a magnificent monument – an incredible, awe-inspiring work of man – one cannot help but feel a bit small and unsure. How did they..? Where did they..? It’s amazing. It’s a miracle. Well, no, not really. Amazing yes, miracle no. When you really think about it, it’s just a pile of bricks, one stacked on top of the other – Just as comics are one frame next to another. Be it one frame or 10, 4 pages or 48, that’s all comic books really are. So where do you begin? Right where the builders did – choose a brick. Then, lay another one on top of it, then another, and another, until you begin to make a little progress. By the end of the day, you won’t have built The Great Wall, but you’ll be further along than you were.

Think about it this way: when you first learned how to drive. Although you sat next to family and friends for at least 16 years while they drove you around, when it came to your turn, suddenly everything you were observing took on a whole new meaning. Turning the key, putting the vehicle into drive slowly stepping on the gas and pulling out into traffic terrified you. You were as nervous as a man with a toupee’ walking into a ceiling fan store. However, over time as you began to apply and practice the actual task of driving, it has become second nature for you. Instead of white-knuckling the steering wheel, heart racing, sitting fully erect, eyes darting back forth, every move orchestrated with uncertainty for fear of an accident, your now leaning back in your seat, one hand on the wheel, cruising the highways with confidence. Could you still get into an accident? Of course you could. However the odds are considerably lower. Why? Because you began to apply what it is you had learned and through continual repetition and application your skills and confidence level improved over time.

So what are you waiting for? Climb on in and turn the key. Remember: You will always miss 100% of the shots you never take.

“Once you master the basic skills there’s an artistic zone where possibilities for innovation are seemingly without end.”
-Perry Marshall The Definitive Guide to Google Adwords

To your success,