Indy Comics Writer

Sometimes writing for comics seems like a thankless job: No one wants to pay new writers. Artists are tough to find, and often disappear in the middle of a project. The industry is so dominated by two big players that it’s almost impossible to land a job anywhere as a writer in the comics world.

But for all the stresses and frustrations, comics writing is still great fun. For one thing, it’s creative. For another, the medium allows you to tell stories in a way no other medium can.

And, most importantly, it’s not commercial real estate.

Let me explain this: One of my major freelance non-fiction jobs involves writing for and editing a commercial real estate magazine. These days, everyone involved in the magazine is a bit touchy. If you’ve not turned on the TV or read a newspaper in the last year, you might not know that the U.S. real estate industry is suffering a major crash. For our magazine, this means it’s harder than ever to get those ads.

Because of this, the salesmen working on the magazine are taking out their frustrations on the editorial staff. For instance, last month, I held out a column written by an advertiser because we didn’t have enough space for it. Instead, the column is running in our January issue. You’d have thought I went to that advertiser’s office and set it afire the way the sales staff reacted. I’ve been dealing with the wailing and whining all day. In fact, I am ready to set an office on fire, the office of the magazine that I edit.

Anyway, this kind of aggravation makes the headaches that come with comic-book writing seem like a vacation to Hawaii. Remember this the next time you’re ready to toss those dreams of making it in this field.

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