My Advice To Aspiring Comic Creators, Part 1

With the launch of my first graphic novel Crossbone Jones: And Other Twisted Tales, I wanted to give some advice to aspiring comic creators.
I’ve learned a lot from the blogs of Jim Zub and I made a YouTube playlist of Professional Advice.
The following is my opinion based upon my experience as an emerging comic creator.
Research the Industry
You can make a lot of rookie mistakes by not taking the time to read a company’s submission guidelines or a contract carefully enough.
Research what it is like to enter a creative profession so you know if the workload is something you can handle.
Working in comics is just like any other job–it can be rewarding or soul-crushing depending on what you are doing and who you are working with.
Marvel and DC:

You’ve heard of them. You’ve seen their movies. You love superheroes! Too bad they’re not going to hire you unless you’ve been working in comics for about a decade. Moving on!
Creator-Owned Indie

Image Comics, Dark Horse, Boom! Studios, and others. These are the creator-owned publishers you should be focusing on. They have clear submission guidelines for what they are looking for.
Pick Your Discipline
Writer, Penciler/Inker, Colorist, Letterer.
Page Rates

 
Working with Collaborators

You can find a collaborator at a comic convention or online.
If you’re a writer who wants to work with an artist, you can write a “work for hire” agreement. “Work for hire” means that the client (Writer) owns all the work the contractor (Artist) produced as if they created it themselves. That being said, never neglect to credit your artists for their work. Or you can create an equal partnership as co-creators.
Red Flags

• Contractors asking for more money than the Client can afford.
• Team members not responding to email.
• Team members being unenthusiastic about the project.
• Don’t mix business with friendship.

Storytelling
Here are three books that I found helpful and really fun to read.
Making Comics

Wonderbook

Save the Cat