The one thing I have always tried to do on my Face Book page, in life and, of course, on CBO, is be straightforward and honest. In publishing -especially in comics- that is not liked. But screw the liars, crooks and back-stabbers.
I try to make it clear that wannabe creators have to get rid of the rose-tinted glasses. The chances of you earning a decent living in comics are...very poor. However, you have to make every penny count. From the tools you use to draw and the paper you draw on I try to give pointers. You want to ignore them then that is your decision but so long as you have read and understood.
Another way you will get screwed over is in dealing with a publisher. "I am the publisher -everything is in my hands and you, wannabe, are in no position to make any demands!"
Wrong.
For many years I campaigned with others for creators rights -yes, it is fully documented that certain UK creators ran a campaign of trolling, hate mail and even spreading lies against me because of this. One famously wrote (I still have the date and time stamped comment from the old CBO) that there were no grounds for creators to argue -the bosses were the ones in charge.
Before you deal with publishers KNOW your rights. The Summary of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886) will tell you what you need to know. If some publisher pulls the "that doesn't count in the United States" bull-shit let everyone know. He/she is a crook.
World Intellectual Property Organisation:
http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/summary_berne.html
Know your rights as creators and do not get exploited.
No comments:
Post a Comment