At least, I hope. WonderCon Anaheim is at the end of March and I am only now finishing pencils and layouts.
If I go on hiatus at work in the next two weeks which is entirely possible, I may just make it. It’s a rare opportunity to have full time to dedicate to my projects. The personal cost is astronomical.
I’ve actually looked into hiring a colorist towards the end to make sure I don’t miss the print deadline I set. It’s not that I don’t like or can’t color my own books, but it is aside from from lettering the only major part of the process I feel comfortable delegating.
And that’s always a big question for indie creators – how much do you delegate? For me it’s simple, I can’t delegate things I can’t afford in terms of time. Money isn’t always the issue, I am pretty proud of the fact that I never spent a dime on production software for my books. Printing costs, conventions, travel and meals are the largest periodic costs that are unavoidable, and yes, I don’t always cook my own food before a convention. I used to.
But knowing some very good and professional colorists lately has been a blessing. My friend Jamie Gambell, another indie publisher has this delegating thing down to a tee – be honest, pay what what you promised, be specific.
We here too many stories about comics Pros getting into fights over unpaid projects, creative disagreements and other ephemera. But I’ve been a work for hire guy most of my life and know that when I put my goals ahead of the project’s goals, pain is all it causes. And yeah, there were times I thought the pain would be worth it.
So maybe it’s time to delegate a few things. Can’t hurt, right?