4. CONSIDER SELF-PUBLISHING

No one's calling you back. Your cheeks are stained with tears of self-pity. What do you do? Two words: self publish. Yes, putting out your very own small press comic is a monstrous undertaking, and only the most industrious soul should even consider it. Not only does self-publishing involve many non-creative aspects of comic book production, it also requires a decent amount of start-up capital, so having a good financial base is a necessity. And having a practical plan of action wouldn't hurt. But if it works, you get major bragging rights. There are 5 steps:

1. Know what you're in for
2. Come up with a concept
3. Partner up
4. Create the book
5. Find a printer and distributor

1. Know what you're in for

Opting to create your own book means shifting many of the responsibilities of production (typically associated with the business side of the industry) onto the creative team. In other words, if you're planning on self-publishing, you'll have to do a bunch of business-y stuff, no matter how much you hate it.

2. Come up with a concept

Before you can even think about drawing your own book,you have to come up with a feasible concept. If you've been bouncing a cool character or story around in your head for a while, start fleshing it out. If you don't have an idea handy, think back to all those wild superhero designs and make-believe situations that you concocted as a kid. The key is finding a concept that's unique, interesting, and never been done before.

3. Partner up

Once you've got your million-dollar idea, you'll have to find some help. As diligent and hardworking as you may be, nobody can go it completely alone in this industry. Here are possible helper roles:

  • A writer (if you're not much of a scribe yourself). Find one who can translate your vision into a workable script so you can concentrate on the visual side of things.

  • An inker (if you don't ink your own stuff).

  • A colorist.

  • A letterer (if your budget permits you that luxury).

  • An accountant to handle the financial matters.

  • A lawyer to tackle legal issues like copyrights and contracts.

All of this is contingent on the size of your budget, of course. You'll probably have to pay for accountants and lawyers, but you might be able to wrangle in some talented weak friends to do the other stuff.

4. Create the book

Once your support personnel are in place, you can go about the creating your book. From a purely artistic point of view, this means you'll have to translate your writer's script into 32 pages of fluid, coherent artwork. Plot out each page and work your penciling magic. Then send them to your letterer, who will fill the captions and word balloons with dialogue. The letterer will then pass the pages on to the inker, who solidifies your pencil lines and prepares the pages for color. The colorist then applies the final treatment. Put all the completed pages together, and you've got yourself a comic book.

5. Find a printer and distributor

Finding printers and distributors definitely falls on the more technical side of things - you'll have to make a whole bunch of decisions, including how big a print run you want to have (10,000 copies is a standard size for a small, black-and-white book), what kind of distribution option you want (direct market vs. newsstand distribution), and how much you're willing to pay for everything. This is where your nerdy business friends come in. (For your information, Imprimerie, Quebecor is the largest printing plant for the comic industry, while Diamond Comic Distributors is the most widely used distribution company.)

Once you decide on a printer and a distributor, you'll have to call each of them up and send them samples of your work to convince them that your book is the next "big thing." For a great guide on how to navigate the whole self-publishing process (as well as a list of top printing and distribution companies in the comic book industry), pick up a copy of How to Self-Publish Your Own Comic Book. Don't worry… it has plenty of pictures.

And who knows? Maybe we'll see you sitting behind a professional artist's table at the next convention.