R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I've touched upon this point many times on my personal blog, but I think it needs to be brought up again.

Everybody I currently work for I respect, and they respect me. We treat each other with respect. Working for these persons is a pleasant experience. I do not invite working situations into my life in which I am disrespected. Being in a situation where you are treated with disrespect is not worth the money you are being paid. Even if you think you can deal with the disrespect -- believe me, it will take its toll on you eventually.

So it's a fundamental part of working and being happy and fulfilled: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

As I've mentioned before in other posts, I've often found myself in the position where other people (friends or strangers) confide in me about being disrespected in the comic book industry. Part of the reason I started the Comics Revolution Mailing List is to remind myself (nay, immerse myself) in all the positivity Comics has to offer -- like bleach for my soul to counteract all the scary stories and cautionary tales.

Here's just a point to ponder and leave you with.

If people in the industry really stood up to incidences of extreme disrespect -- just came together and said "no, this is not cool" -- it would help with the most serious and virulent cases. I hear things like "well, this has been going on for years and it's just an absolute nightmare disaster that's killing me inside like a cancer." Well, as much as telling me privately is therapeutic (I guess) -- unless people in this industry stand up and demand respect these things will not change.

We in the comics industry are not simple hobbyists just doing something that doesn't matter and isn't serious business. We are in one of the most exciting and important forms of art in the world. We need to be treated with that level of respect at all times, the same level that people in other industries and media enjoy. We have certain basic rights: being paid fair wages, being treated with professionalism, and being respected.

And if we do not set the bar high for ourselves, if we do not have standards -- then we ultimately get what we deserve. Which is to be treated like eternal interns, eternal children, cowering cogs in a fearsome machine. To be treated as if Comics is doing us the favor by even looking in our direction. We -- even moreso than the publishers -- set the tone for how we are ultimately treated.

We have to be the Change.

The Tao of Comics Freelancing #1: Those Who Do Not Have, Get Even Less

I've written variations on this theme before, but probably not with such a philosophical bent. While I think the specifics of getting work as a comic book freelancer are important -- how to write the perfect pitch, etc. -- there are also broad concepts that are crucial to understand.

"Those Who Do Not Have, Get Even Less"
This is probably the cruelest of the realities of being not just a comic book freelancer, but a job-seeker in general. It's way easier to get a job when you already have a job.

That makes no damn sense, does it? Sheesh, if you have a job, you don't really need one! It's when you don't have a job and the bills aren't paid that you need a job.

That said, listen to The Tao of Comics Freelancing -- "Those Who Do Not Have, Get Even Less."

There are two factors at work here. First, those who are already employed look more "attractive" to an editor or potential boss. If you are so highly valued at one publisher, there must be something awesome about you. It's like a built-in recommendation -- but also something more than that. It's about one person wanting something (or somebody) that another person has.

The second factor is more metaphysical. You tend to attract what you already have. If you have employment, you will tend to attract more employment. If you have abundance, you will attract more abundance. And if you are desperate, potential employers will stay away from you.

It is, in my view, not even a personal thing. It's impersonal. It's the law of the universe. And I've seen it play out over and over again.

I've never got freelance comic writing work when I was really desperate and needed it to pay my bills. Ever. I only get assignments when I'm already employed. I only get assignments when I have other assignments. This has happened without fail.

And that goes for gigs beyond comic book work, as well. The sure-fire way for me to hear about old projects that were put on hold, or the status of job applications I put in months ago, is to be happily employed in another job. Once I am secure in that feeling of being employed and experiencing abundance -- all the offers come flooding in.

Conversely, my moments of desperation have apparently sent out stinky wave lines that keep editors and other employers scarce. Even when I put up a brave front. Because inside, I'm consumed with financial fears, insecurity, etc. I have nothing, and I'm attracting even less.

The $10,000 question then becomes: if I have nothing, how do I get something? How do I attract abundance when I am presently living the opposite of abundance?

Answer: I stop trying.

Sounds crazy, right?

I just take a look at how much time and money I have to coast on for several days or a week (or a month), and then work on strengthening myself. I stop being desperate. I stop contacting people in a frenzy. I stop looking at classified ads in a panic. I just focus on my strengths, get back in touch with the things I love to do, and just follow that path.

If you find yourself between jobs and have been caught up in the Panic -- take at least a few full days to get into Strengthening mode. Stop trying during this time. Get in touch with yourself.

**Note: "stop trying" doesn't equal "drinking a bunch of beers, watching daytime TV, and sleeping a lot." You ARE doing work. It's just work on yourself.

And what will happen is: leads will start coming to you. It will be really small at first. It might not even look like a job lead. Someone you knew a long time ago might contact you out of the blue about advice on some project. You might be invited to an event that will lead to a chance meeting which will eventually lead to a gig. But I promise you that if you give yourself the time to step out of Desperate Mode and fall into Strength Mode, things will start to turn around.

I write all of this from both my own repeated personal experience and by observing others.

Next time in The Tao of Comics Freelancing, I will discuss a related topic that will ensure you are never caught in Desperate Mode: "Thou Shalt Have A Backup Plan"

Welcome To The Comics Revolution

Welcome to the official blog for the Comics Revolution 2012, Comics Are For Everyone. This blog will become, hopefully, a collaborative space to discuss and share ideas about the Five Goals of the Comics Revolution (to be implemented by 2012):

The Five Goals:

1. Return Comics To The Masses

2. Create Tomorrow's Heroes & Icons

3. Increase Opportunities For Comic Creators

4. Eradicate Sexism/Racism/Homophobia in Comics

5. Give Back To The World

This blog is also the new temporary headquarters of the women in comics organization Friends of Lulu. Friends of Lulu's mission and that of the Comics Revolution are in many ways similar, so for the time being news on both will be reported in the same place.

This blog was invented to be a place of dialogue and support for both persons within the comics industry and comics fandom. Since I wrote the series "Goodbye To Comics" on my blog in 2006, I have often found myself being a sounding-board for many persons both within and without the industry regarding mistreatment, frustration, discrimination, and more. This at times has felt overwhelming -- besides lending a sympathetic ear and writing the occasional post on my blog, what could I really do to make things better?

The Comics Revolution is meant to be a remedy, but one with a results-oriented, positive approach. The key to The Comics Revolution -- and to the goals espoused by Friends of Lulu -- starts with each one of us. It starts with a quietly revolutionary change in the way we think. In starts with us not looking at Comics as a tangle of problems, but as the potential site for solutions.

Comics Are For Everyone.