Entries Tagged as 'Mailbox'
Cartooning Dos and Don’ts (Advice to a Young Cartoonist)
Got this a few days back:
My name is (name omitted) , and I just graduated from Baylor University in May with a degree in English Lit. While there, I also cartooned for our campus paper, The Lariat, for a good five semesters or so. I just narrowly missed getting to work with our new assistant media adviser, (name omitted), but she has mentioned that she knew you from school and that you’re open to advising students looking into cartooning as a field. To that end, I’m writing to see if you have any practical advice on making a living off of drawing. I’ve visited Andertoons and read your FAQ (so trust me, I plan to “draw, draw, draw”!). But do you have any stories or advice regarding the path you took? Maybe mistakes you learned from or things you got a jump on? I figure any advice I can get from those who have gone before would be super-valuable.
I’ve offered advice before, and regular readers will know that I don’t often tend to wax poetically about art and inspiration and all. I’m assuming that’s a given.
When I look back, the help I needed most was nuts and bolts advice. So, some Dos and Don’ts for you:
DON’T - Bet it all on syndication
That’s not to say that the syndicates aren’t all very nice, but it seems there’s fewer and fewer breakout strips, and the newspaper industry isn’t in the best of health anyway. Don’t get me wrong, there’s always room at the top (and I haven’t looked at your work) but the odds are pretty long on making a good long term living with a syndicated strip. You might be better served to…
DO - Promote yourself
I’m going to assume that your cartoons are really good, so that means you’re about a third of the way there. Get your site working well and get it noticed. Blog. Look at your competition and see what they’re doing and do it better and more often. Eventually you won’t have to do so much of this, but count on thinking about it hardcore for the next year at least. That being said…
DON’T - Create what you think will sell
Trust me on this. Doing what you think will sell because you need/want to make money is the wrong way to go. It comes off false and readers sense it. Do what you think is funny and find people who think the same way. You’ll be happier, funnier and make more in the long run. Hence…
DO - Be a business
Learn what an invoice is and make yours clear and professional. Get up to speed on some basic accounting. Invest in good materials and equipment. Have your W9 ready to fax over. Be professional on the phone. To a client you shouldn’t be Johnny Someguywhocandraw, you should be Johnny Inc., who knows what they’re doing.
OK, that’s about it. There’s a ton of other really good cartooning blogs out there for more help and inspiration. Check out Mike Lynch, Tom Richmond and Mark Heath for sure.
Good luck!
Technorati Tags: andertoons, blogging, blogs, business, cartoon, cartoonist, cartoons, comics
New Email/RSS Formatting Brings Relief
I’m always trying to think of ways to improve Andertoons for my readers and customers, and I’ve been getting a lot of nice emails about the recent daily cartoon formatting change.
From a loyal Andertoons reader:
Ahhhhhhhhhh. I like this format SO MUCH better. The other one with the small thumbnail was a pain in the neck and too time consuming to click, wait for it to bring me to the main site, etc.
Great improvement!
Aw shucks… Thanks!
BTW, if anyone has any ideas on way to improve the site or the blog, just drop me a line!
Technorati Tags: andertoons, cartoon, cartoonist, cartoons
Mailbox! - Legal Throwdown Edition
Got this today:
Your cartoon with 2 women, where one states that she has decided to quit sleeping her way to the top and second base her way to middle management, is very offensive, and could result in a sexual harassment lawsuit, for you and/or anyone who posts or shares it. Thought you would like to know. If in doubt, you may want to have an attorney or compliance export review cartoons, of this nature.
Oh good heavens…
Make sure you tell PETA about that “…no one knows you’re a dog” cartoon too.
Technorati Tags: andertoons, cartooning, cartoonists, cartoons, law, mail
The Email I Hate Most - Mailbox
I get this email about once a week from various folks who come across our favorite cartoon website:
Looking for the cartoon that has General Custer on the front line, battling Indians with handguns and rifles. Standing in the wings is a salesman with a Gatling gun (early machine gun). The caption reads: I havent got time to see a salesman. What we’re using works just fine.
Can you tell me where to find it?
Ugh… Seriously, once a week.
I just got it again from a nice fellow, but every time I see “I haven’t got time to see a salesman,” I want to scream!
Anyone know who did the original on this, his/her address, and sleeping habits?
Technorati Tags: andertoons, cartooning, cartoonists, cartoons, email
The Gag Cartoonist’s Business Plan
Got this in my email the other day:
Hi there,
I am a product design student from Wales, UK and I am working on an assignment where I have to come up with a business plan. I just wanted to know what it takes to set up a business in cartoon illustration, and what it involves, as this is an area I have great interest in. What do you do that sets your business apart from other similar businesses?
I’d be very grateful for any information you could offer.
Thanks very much for your time.
Normally I just ignore stuff like this. I get a fair share of “tell me what all your markets are and how I make money” emails, but the above note seemed nice and it gives me an opportunity to blog about the business side of gag cartooning.
Let’s see… Business plan…
I’ve used the phrase before – more so recently – but to be honest, cartooning isn’t the kind of business where you get your idea, get a loan, set up shop and hope to make a profit in a year or two.
Here’s some advice on how I’ve done it so far (I say “so far” because it’s a precarious job and I may very well be wearing an orange apron next week while directing you to the key copying guy), and I’m going to keep it more on the financial end of things:
1) Keep your day gig as long as you can
I worked for a screw manufacturer, a metals distributor, and a auto advertising website for a combined total of about six years before making the leap, and even then it was with the caveat that I juggle cartooning with being a stay-at-home dad.
Being a professional cartoonist most realistically means fitting it in, even when it’s your only source of income.
I drew cartoons early in the morning before work, on my lunch hour and at night for years. Now I do it while the kids nap, go to preschool, and on the weekends. (Note - lately my schedule has eased a bit since hiring a babysitter for a few hours, two days a week, but that’s taken me almost 10 years to be able to support as an expense.)
2) Things you should buy
As I said, cartooning isn’t business as usual, but there are some things I found helpful starting out:
- A cheap computer - My first was an Emachine that came with a printer, monitor and scanner for $500. It worked and allowed me to get things done. You can buy a stable of Macs later.
- Gag Recap - I’m not sure if this is around anymore, but it was a good place to get the big markets and see what sold. Subscribe for about a year and then drop it. (Note - Don’t ask other cartoonists for markets. Nothing says “I’m a complete and total amateur!” better than asking professionals to give up their hard-earned sources of income. Think about it.)
- Good newspaper subscription - You’re gonna run outa ideas fast. Good cartoonists read to stimulate the writing process. I love the Chicago Tribune.
- The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker - You can get the paperback for about $25 now. Starting out I raided about every library in the state and read every book of cartoons I could find. This is more or less a one stop gag cartoon education.
- Mountain Dew - You’re gonna be up early and stay up late. Coffee is good too.
3) Things not to buy
Even more important is avoiding unnecessary expenses. Don’t bother with:
- A drafting table - It’s nice and it makes you feel professional, but no one cares what you drew the cartoon on. I worked at a coffee table in my living room for almost a decade.
- Mailing lists - Don’t waste a grand and upwards for hundreds of markets that couldn’t care less about cartoons. Use Gag Recap to find the biggies, read cartoonists’ blogs and websites, and peruse libraries and bookstores.
- Business cards - I had 1000 printed up and used about five. Plus, your style is going to be changing a lot early on. A total and complete waste.
- NCS membership - You need to be earning at least half of your income off cartoons to even really apply, but as much as it’s a great place to meet other cartoonists, it’s largely social, and certainly not neccesary to work as a cartoonist.
- How-to-cartoon books - It’s not rocket science here folks, and if you can’t draw a little already, you shouldn’t be looking at a career in cartooning. Most are outdated. Read blogs.
4) Watch your money
Anyone will tell you most businesses fail early because of accounting issues. Know how much you are making, spend as little as you can initially, and track it to the penny.
Generally artists don’t like the business end of things. Learn to be good at it, or be an instant success and hire an accountant.
5) It’s not about the money
It’s hard and it’s often discouraging, but if you love it you’ll keep doing it because in the end, no cartoonist really does it for the money.
Technorati Tags: andertoons, business, cartooning, cartoonists, cartoons, money
Orange Alert
I recently got two emails about this cartoon.
Here’s the first:
Dear Sir, I dont understand this joke. Please explain it to me.
And the second:
Today’s cartoon, “This, my fellow poets, is the enemy,” LOVED IT!
Obviously I like the second email better, but, honestly, I sorta knew this’d be obscure when I did it.
Here’s the thing, first writer: nothing rhymes with “orange.”
Seriously. Go ahead and try it.
So the joke is that a group of poets (folks who rhyme a lot of the time) would really hate that word.
Why do a cartoon that 99.9% of the population won’t get? That’s the great thing about being an independent cartoonist – I can do whatever I think is funny.
And the .1% of people who get an oddball cartoon like this, generally think it’s really funny.
Technorati Tags: andertoons, cartooning, cartoonists, cartoons, mail
Mailbox - The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
For a change of pace, and because I had a really good ugly email, here’s three emails I’ve gotten recently.
The good:
Used one of your cartoons for company newsletter I write every Sunday. First time - pleasure to pay a reasonable amount for a good product and zero hassle. Thanks for your service - I’ll be back, next time I’m desperate on a Sunday night deadline. Maybe sooner.
Can’t enough of that.
The bad:
I think your cartoon are so idiot I heat them I have never seen something so borring and stupid but even of that I love you
Oooooooookay…
And here’s the ugly (from a successful cartoonist I’ve admired for some time):
Hi, Mark, was looking at something else, and came across your site here (and of course your comments at the Wisen.) Gotta say, I’m shocked and disappointed you are giving your cartoons away for free; you’re in some of the top markets in the country, so you don’t need the exposure. It really devalues cartoons everywhere when even good cartoonists do this. But you say on that page it gets you more work…how’s that working for you?
What I absolutely love is that first there’s the dressing down. Then, just in case it’s profitable, ‘how’s that working for you?’
I don’t feel obliged to explain myself or my business model to friendly emailers, much less this person.
My response:
Thanks for your email! And thanks for stopping by the site!
Technorati Tags: andertoons, cartooning, cartoonists, cartoons, email, mail
Dear Recycled Paper Greetings, I GET IT! - Mailbox
Normally I save my Mailbox entries for goofy emails I get, but today’s mail was goofier than normal, so here it is:
Let’s see… The top left is copy of Reader’s Digest from my editor. I’m in the October 2006 issue (page 13)…
…with this cartoon. Nice.
The bottom right are a few rejections from Harvard Business Review. Pretty standard, and I sold them recently.
But the big brown envelope underneath is a load of rejected material from Recycled Paper Greetings.
You might remember a particularly crappy rejection letter from RPG a while back. Well, since then I’ve gotten a few of these packs back from them. Today’s is pretty typical:
Five packs I sent out between March 2, 2006, and April 4, 2006. Two opened, the other three unopened.
I’m fine with rejection, and I haven’t sent them anything since their “dear God, stop sending us stuff” letter. But, criminy, enough with the rubbing salt in the wound already!
I GET IT! RECYCLED PAPER GREETINGS DOESN’T WANT MY CARTOONS!
It’s pretty clear that not only did they not take the time to even look at most of what I sent them (even though they took seven months, and accept, hell, solicit submissions), but they clearly didn’t read the little postcard I include with everything I send out. (Ironically, it was paper-clipped to the top of today’s returned stack.)
“To save on postage, I no longer ask for my cartoons to be returned to me via SASE. Instead, please indicate your intentions by checking off an option below and returning this card to me. Please recycle any unwanted cartoons.”
No, you read that right…
“Please recycle any unwanted cartoons.”
You’d think Recycled would understand this. But no, they send back mostly unreviewed submissions Priority Mail. What a waste of postage, energy, and time.
It’s very clear RPG doesn’t want to do business with me. OK. I don’t need or want Recycled’s business.
I work with a number of greeting card companies, and I have one in the wings that I’m very excited about. (More later…)
But enough already with the packs.
I think next time I’m gonna refuse it and let them choke on it when it comes back.
Technorati Tags: andertoons, greeting cards, magazines, rejection
Invoice “Re-consideration” Request
Got this a while back from a largish textbook client, and thought it’d be interesting to post:
Dear Mark,
Invoice # REMOVED for permission to use REMOVED and REMOVED
We have received from REMOVED the invoice for your kind permission to use two of your cartoons in REMOVED
Many thanks for this, but before I pass it for payment, I just wanted to check the invoice total of REMOVED - I realise this is for two cartoons, but it is the highest charge for any cartoon being used in this book. As REMOVED is a not-for-profit organisation, I would appreciate any re-consideration of this sum that you can give at this time.
As soon as I hear back from you I will pass the invoice for payment.
With all good wishes
REMOVED
So here’s the gist:
- We wanted the cartoons
- We agreed to the price
- We’re printing the book with your cartoons
- But now we want to pay you less
Ummmm…. No.
Nice try. Someone there has some chutzpah, but no.
Technorati Tags: andertoons, books, cartooning, cartoonists, cartoons
Mailbox - Brown Bear Edition
I don’t normally post the few complimentary emails I receive in Mailbox, but, hey, it’ll be a nice change of pace.
This from a woman who used this cartoon to open a presentation:
So I decided that I really needed to set the stage for the comic (Brown Bear) to be best received by 35 brand new teachers at 8 am in the morning and here’s what I did:
I asked them if they were all familiar with Brown Bear and held up the book and they all nodded. I told them that I realized we had a long day ahead of us but that I wondered what in th eworld happens to storybook characters after the film crew leaves and Eric Carle packs up and returns to wherever. What did those forest animals do while they were living off the land and their royalty checks. Then I put up the overhead of your comic and there was dead silence and then substantial laughter - then I said, sounds like the squirrel wished he had had the lead role…thanks, it was fun
See, this is what I love about doing business online. I do this relatively obscure cartoon about a children’s book, and someone finds it and is able to use it.
Anyway, thanks for the lovely email!
Technorati Tags: andertoons, cartooning, cartoonists, cartoons, websites
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Daily Cartoon
