I don't doubt that Billy Joel told that story, but sales charts make it seem apocryphal. Especially considering that Piano Man had been a hit and gotten significant air play (and let's be perfectly clear that it's not you, BBZ, that I'm doubting).

Still and all, I agree with you about Woods' solo being a very important part of the song and it may well have been a major contributing factor to it's popularity, but I still say that either Woods or his manager really should have looked a lot closer at the remuneration offers before settling on the flat fee, and Woods' manager deserved either a reprimand or worse for either making this type of decision or allowing his client to make the foolish choice.

Hey, fuck you too, Kerry.

You want to address the question of why you're worried about contracts if there's no money to be made?
by Allen ...

Well that doesn't sound terribly conducive to actually having an actual discussion. It's almost as though you want to ask a question and get a specific answer as opposed to getting other people's impressions and opinions, and that your attitude inhibits you accepting answers that don't fall into the exact parameters you've envisioned.

Is it possible (if you're still here) that you aren't really interested in any opinion other than your own or one that agrees with yours?
by Ivan..
get my point guys? and Steve, and Rick?
Pat Broderick

Eh, boy...

First off, learn to use the Quote function, Pat. Parsing your words from others' is quite a chore. Figuring out the whole concept of "paragraphs" might serve you well, also.

Now, it was Kerry who insulted me, Pat, in his third post here, saying essentially "fuck you" to me. I just don't mince words.

He thinks he can come on here and have the exact discussion he wants (tagging onto another thread rather than starting his own, btw) in a matter of hours? How egotistical.

The call for the mods is very juvenile on your part, Pat. What do you want them to do? Ban me? Issue a warning? Give me a good scolding? Grow up.

What we've got here with "Bela Lugosi Presents" is a project without sustainability. John Cassaday and Bruce Timm may have tossed off a little thing to get it started, but what will issue five look like? My guess is a bunch of no-name amateurs drawing reject Joe Landsdale scripts (if the the Papercutz Tales from the Crypt is any indicator). Kerry may have the inspiration to do the project because he thinks it would be "cool," thinks it's clever to use Lugosi in the Crypt Keeper role, or whatever. But look at what happened to the content of Eerie and Creepy over time, and Warren actually paid those creators.

Since they're using the "Lugosi International" logo, I'm assuming those folks are getting paid:

http://www.lugosi.com/business_contact.html
http://www.heatlicensing.com/html/bela_lugosi.html

So what the issue is with paying the people doing the work, I don't know. If you want to see the work exist, pay somebody to do it. Really, it's that simple. You don't have or don't want to spend the money? Move on and forget the whole thing. Trying to come up with a contract that essentially states the talent is working for free only increases the likelihood that somebody will slash the tires on the publisher's car (hey, maybe that's why so many of these amateur guys they hire are foreigners).

So far, I see Pat Broderick arguing that, because he got a deal (whose terms he declines to divulge) that's not offered to other people, the company is okay; and Kerry Gammill argue that he can't afford to be in business if he has to pay his workers. The first is (shall we say) unintelligent, and the latter is reprehensible.

The only parameters I envisioned were that the feedback be about the question I brought up. There seemed to be plenty of criticism of Bluewater's contracts. Since I'm in a similar situation and would like to avoid the kind of complaints some of Bluewater's freelancers have, I wanted to see how you guys thought the contracts could be written. Simply telling me not to publish and questioning my motives does nothing to address the problem of small publisher freelance contracts.

Bring Back Zot, thanks for your comments. And Pat, it's good to talk to you again. Thanks for your valuable insight.

Pat Broderick's,and others too,advice regarding distribution and formats are obviously well informed,but I say offer even a meager page rate and then percentages for higher sales,reissuing and repackaging of material on top of that. A page rate of,say,$75 for a finished page might be insulting-- well,go ahead and insult me! It insures that I get something for my efforts and if there's success,I share in that too. Actually,I'm sure you'll get lots of upper tier creators who will want something short to work on in the downtime between bigger assignments. Also,the b&w format would be a huge cost saver and could be a big winner as well. With today's higher quality paper and printing,artists working in a variety of media would have much crisper production than the Warren days. If you've already commissioned some color work,you could parcel it out with a color 'insert' each issue as Warren did. Good luck on this and-- Basil Gogos cover?!!-- you seem to be doing it right so far!

Point 1.
Well actually you’ve just made my point for me. The fact that I’ll use the command c command v function has no significance what so ever.
Point 2.
My not divulging the details of my contract shows professionalism.
Point 3.
If it’s the baiting only that these message boards are good for. Then fine.
Point 4.
All opinions are subjective. But are they all constructive? nope!
but their sure as hell entertaining.
Point 5.
I'm in the mosh pit again.
Pat Broderick

Bela Lugosi? That's just so old. Heck, it was old when I was young. My only advice - do something that's up to date, instead of harping back.

Wow! Kerry Gammill is in the house! Loved your run on Superman.

Here are a couple of more suggestions. In checking out the website, it's pretty clear this is a labor of love for you.

1. Don't underestimate your own selling power. You had a great run writing and drawing comics in the 80's and 90's, both on Power Man and later on Superman. Even though you've been out of the loop a while, I'm sure there are fans that still remember your work. When this is coming out, get on various websites (Comic book resources, IMWAN, comicon, etc) and market yourself and the book. Sure, you might bump into a few ornery fans, but that's part of the game.

2. Consider other collaborators. Pat Broderick is a good example. It sounds like you two know each other. Assuming you like each other, maybe Pat could guest-draw a short story.

3. If Gene Colan is healthy enough, see if you can get him to draw a cover. When I think Lugosi, I think Dracula. When I think Dracula, I think Colan. He is reachable at www.genecolan.com

4. Contracts are meant to protect people conducting a transaction. Even more basic is trust and decency. If you treat people honestly and openly, and both sides know what they are getting into, then the contract is only there to codify your trust.