When To Drop A Writer

Sometimes, there will arise a problem between writer and artist. There are plenty of reasons for this to happen, and when it happens, the adult thing to do is to just message the other person that you’ll be breaking off business dealings with the person and then going on to the next project. You can negotiate, especially if you have a split-profits deal, so avoid blocking them for as long as possible (although in some cases a clean break is best). Each situation is unique, so get as much advice as possible before making a rash decision. Also, remember that in business, paranoia is a good thing: Keep records of every interaction. How you’ll proceed is up to you when you decide to break up, but something needs to be done.

[Keep in mind that these apply, in a fashion, to you as well. That is, if you want to keep the writer and therefore the possible continuing paycheck, try not to have these apply to you as well. Also, this list is useful for writers as things you should be aware of and avoid doing yourself.]

11) Ego Issues

Sometimes, there will be issues on whose path is the better one to go with, and this disagreement will come up frequently between two artists of any stripe: When they agree on a single path, worlds can be created, but disagreements can burn them down. This isn’t uncommon: Art is something that requires a certain ego just to be able to do it. All artists require a certain mix of self-confidence and arrogance just to do what they do, to present their perspective of the world as truth in a universe of differing perspectives, and this gives all collaborations between artists the possibility of combusting.

This is one that goes both ways, so we’re starting here. Writers and illustrators will have conflicts, humans being humans, and there are certain things that will help mitigate that (such as a trusting relationship or an employer/employee relationship), but even the two most loving individuals will decide it’s time to move on; two egos as powerful as artists can’t work together forever. So be aware that it will happen, and that it requires a level of maturity to recognize when it happens; you don’t want to be seen as some sort of immature diva.

10) Not getting you pages on time.

Communication is important; it’s so important that this is going to come up a couple of times in this conversation. This is a problem that pertains especially to comics, but it applies to anything with a script. Deadlines are important, especially in the comic world; however, even great comics only have so much leeway when it comes to fans receiving product. The importance of meeting deadlines cannot be stressed enough, especially given it slows down the process: It can make the artist miss deadlines, which can make the production run late, and that can mess up the delivery schedule. After a while, this can get irritating and then create downright hatred, especially if there’s no good reason for it or if a good reason has been going on for too long.

It’s only a matter of time before it becomes unbearable, especially if the fans keep pointing it out and it becomes a problem to enjoying the comic, but it can make reading the comic a pain and a business problem.

[Oh, and don’t do this one yourself, where you’re the one late getting the artwork back to whoever is compiling it for the final product. You don’t want to be the problem.]

9) Hard to contact.

The writer should always be contactable. Period. You may have questions that need to be answered regarding the art, the business, or other related issues. A writer who removes themselves from the loop becomes a liability, even if the script is awesome; it’s just a matter of time. If the writer becomes too hard to contact, or just gives short non-answers in response to queries, then the writer becomes virtually useless and can start hurting the business, especially if they’re doing the dreaded “just figure it out,” and especially even more so if they hold all of the licenses and contracts; you can only do so much without the paperwork. So if there are communication issues, make sure that you bring them up, especially if you have issues created by the lack of communication.

8) Things aren’t being clarified.

Sometimes you have questions and the writer isn’t there for you. This pertains to dimensions and DPI just as much as it does to what type of armor the knight is wearing, the specific weapon being used, and even what kind of drink the hero likes. These may sound like niggling little details, but they can be important, especially if you need to do some research to determine what it looks like. As such, don’t be afraid to ask for links and this is one time AI art may be helpful to show exactly what the writer wants. However, these things should be clarified whenever possible, and if they aren’t, then there’s a problem.

This also applies to business details. Even in the most black-and-white contract there are bound to be details that need clarification, and it gets worse if the contract is pretty much boilerplate. A common issue is who keeps the original art, but other issues, such as when to expect payment, royalties, deadlines, and other issues are always coming up. The writer should be able to clarify those issues as quickly as possible; if not, it’s a definite red flag and you should start separating from the writer as quickly as possible.

7) Too many details, too little time.

Too many writers are told to treat art like a movie with no budget limit. While this helps free the imagination, it creates issues for the illustrator: The writer has no problem creating environments that require drawing a lot of details and possibly creating coloring issues. Worse, the writer thinks that these should be charged the same as less detailed drawings and that the same deadlines apply. If the illustrator can’t communicate that more time is required for the drawing, then pressure will build up over time, possibly creating fractures in the relationship that can grow over time. If this is a continuing problem and ends up soaking up too much time, it may be time to part ways.

6) No real feedback.

Illustrators thrive on feedback; it helps keep them on track and avoids communication issues in the future. It also avoids illustrator drift, when an illustrator keeps evolving over time so that there is little consistency between the drawings at different stages (this is relatively okay, but there are some situations where it can cause confusion, especially for newer readers looking at older pages). By providing feedback, even a basic “that’s awesome, keep it up,” the writer helps corral this drift. In that regard, too little feedback can be an issue.

[Yes, too much feedback can be problematic as well, especially if it’s contradictory. While you can slap the writer figuratively to calm down the comments, too much contradictory advice needs to be dealt with, as it’s pretty much the writer covering his butt in case there are issues later on: He’s covered all sorts of problems so if it comes to a court case, he has evidence you screwed up. Suffice to say it works against him as he’s shown that he’s provided rather unhelpful advice on how to proceed.]

5) You find out what he’s saying about you.

This is pretty basic: The writer perceives issues with the art and forgets you’re following his social media accounts. The issues can come from any number of sources, ranging from he’s tired of dealing with criticism, you’ve ticked off the boyfriend/girlfriend, or he actually hates what he’s doing, but the bottom line is that you need to suddenly do damage control because of the actions of someone else, and someone else you should have trusted. More specifically, if there were issues, then they should have been brought up in private. If the writer refuses to drop it and at least discuss it in private, it’s time for a separation.

4) Okays pages THEN demands re-dos.

Nothing is worse than thinking something has been taken care of and then it popping up again. While there are some legitimate situations for this (such as continuity errors or due to the current political winds), if it happens a lot, then there are other issues involved and it’s time to have a talk. In essence, while you may have promised a certain number of re-dos, it is possible to take too much advantage of that policy and create problems for you, especially if the issues are minor.

[Conversely, if you’re making too many mistakes, especially minor ones, it may be time to debate if the project is right for you or your circumstances.]

3) Asks for too many complete re-dos.

While you may have promised a certain number of re-dos (usually one or two per page), it is possible to ask for too many re-dos. This usually means that the writer is changing the script while the comic is ongoing, or is allowing outside pressures to influence his work, which can cause a lot of frustration for you. It’s up to you to decide when too much is too much, but you need to cut the writer off from his re-do addiction as quickly as possible.

2) But the exposure!

This is sort of conditional: If you’re young and don’t have much of a portfolio, it’s okay to do a few projects for free to establish your portfolio, especially if it’s a short project. However, if the project has any real length, it’s time to discuss payment. Also, if you have any kind of experience (i.e., you have an established portfolio), then don’t even consider being paid in exposure. And “but he’s famous” doesn’t work here: If he’s famous then he knows he should be paying you. So don’t be taken advantage of if you can avoid it.

1) He’s not paying you.

If you aren’t getting paid, just drop him like a hot potato. The art is yours (he didn’t pay for the copyright so he doesn’t own the art); do what you will with it. There’s not a lot to say here beyond your talent and time are worth something; if you aren’t being compensated for it, don’t do it.

* * * * *

When it’s time to break up, the ideal is to make it as non-dramatic as possible. While acrimonious splits seem to be the norm, the less drama involved, the better: It makes you look better if you’re the one who walks the high road. Also, remember that documentation is important; once you notice a problem, start creating a paper trail. Take screenshots of messages. Make sure you have copies of all relevant paperwork. Get a lawyer if suing the person is possible (distance and location may make that impossible in a world where two people can do business from two different countries. Also, if you use some sort of teleconferencing (such as Zoom or some other form of facetime), try to keep recordings of every meeting (and your machine, if it’s set for graphics, should have the memory available, especially in a cloud-based world).

Paranoia is your friend.

Oh, and watch out for social media. This is another reason to make sure that you have the receipts: If they try attacking you, you’ll have a way to defend yourself; this is especially important if the person attacking has a lot more followers than you do, and if the supporters are especially rabid. It’s likely that your popularity will take a major hit, and it may be one that you may not recover from, but at least you’ll have the tools to defend yourself. Divorces are rarely amicable, after all.

So there are plenty of ways to tell that it’s time to part ways. Just make sure that you’re protected when you do.