Indy Comics Writer

I’m still getting the hang of this collaboration thing. As a writer who can’t draw, I have to work with other artists. Sometimes I get impatient and try to work with artists whom I know aren’t quite right for my projects.

It may be that they’re just not good enough yet. Or maybe their style doesn’t fit with my story. But because these newer artists are willing to work free, I jump at the opportunity to collaborate with them. Then, reality sets in. They begin turning in pages and the work is … unpublishable.

This has happened twice to me in the last two months. Both times I made the fatal mistake of taking too long to mull over my next move. I should have immediately written both artists and ended our collaboration. And I should have been honest about the reason: The work they turned in wasn’t of a high enough quality for publication. Instead, I hemmed and hawed. When I finally did spring the bad news, both artists were understandably ticked at me.

I think I’ve resolved both situations. Not exactly amicably, mind you, but at least no one wants to kill me. At least I hope not …

The lesson here is an obvious one: No one likes to be the bearer of bad news. But sometimes you have to be. And the sooner you get it over with, the better for everyone.

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