Collaboration discouragement

[Maps]

Allyn... how did you you do it?! Show collab askers your ways!

[AllynCrowe]

I'm really good at what I do, albeit a bit slow.
Also I responded to the artists asking for collabs, not the other way around - and I have finished works.
I may have gotten ridiculously lucky as well?

[saak]

SILENCE

[AllynCrowe]

Not sure if you're a fan, or telling me to be quiet

[Maps]

You sly Crowe...

But that’s awesome. Smart on the finished works. I think I’d have a crisis if I had to continuing writing while in a collab.

Do you usually ask for samples of their work or are you fine with anything?

Honestly, I’m not looking to collab (never have been), I’m just genuinely curious.

[saak]

fan here, not the other way

[Karmillina]

I don't think it's luck as much as you have chosen your partners carefully!

[marvelescent]

But as a person who write and draws, you'd have no need for my sort of collaboration. There may be people who don't feel they have a good story, or who's goal is to get featured and can't come up with something. It could be someone who's bad at English but enjoys drawing. I don't think the opinion of some uninterested people should ward off the possibly interested.

[AllynCrowe]

I looked at samples of the work for one person, and they at mine as well, and decided the art and writing styles matched. We're working on things rn, but we're both slow and in it for fun.
The other collaboration is a paid offer for a shorter comic, where the artist wasn't confident in their writing. I sent my own writings, and the artist agreed to it, so I am finishing that project first

That's my experience with collabs thus far, but I also got very lucky.

[Maps]

I’m glad it’s been working out for and thanks for sharing! Also thank you for letting me “interview” you

[joannekwan]

That's my experience with collabs thus far, but I also got very lucky.

More like your collabs are successful because I think you hold yourself very professionally, are open to sharing your finished works, and aren't expecting the world (like a webtoons feature) from the collab.

[Karmillina]

I didn't mention I both write and draw to express I don't need someone to collab with. Rather, that there is another activity that takes time and effort and I couldn't afford to give that time to someone I'd not trust, specially because these people come to me precisely because I already have a project; they do know I already have my hands full. But if it was a person I knew how they work and what they're going for, I'm sure I'd accept. I know I would do it for my friends because I trust them wholeheartedly, either for drawing or writing, and I know their skill level and work ethics, but for someone I don't know, not so much.

[AllynCrowe]

Oh wow a fan, I never thought this day would come! Can I have your autograph?

[marvelescent]

Do you have any advice for a person who does not have completed work?

[AllynCrowe]

No problem, I don't mind ^^

[AllynCrowe]

Oof, that's a difficult one. Honestly my first advice really would be to just go in feet first and commit yourself to finishing that work. Not to discourage you, but it's one thing to know how to write a good start, and to find your writing style - it's a whole different task to know how and where to end things, and to be able to really grasp how to weave a storyline. The latter is a very important skill, and I think the thing artists look for as well.
It will also really boost your confidence and writing skills in general, and I think that it would help you in more ways than just collabs.

In my experience artists aren't really keen on jumping into a collab, so just try to apply to the artists that are looking instead. And be lucky

[marvelescent]

I humbly thank you, haha. No really though, I'm confident I can, but I know the only way to show is to work. So I'll just keep it going. And also, like you said, find this looking

[Maps]

And similar to what @AllynCrowe said about how they go to artists who are asking for a writer, maybe writers can collab by just putting themselves out there saying, “I am a writer looking for an artist who is in need of a story”. Maybe that way artists struggling with story-writing can reach out, and it might not matter as much if it’s unpaid in this context.

[skicoak]

I looked at samples of the work for one person, and they at mine as well, and decided the art and writing styles matched.

That's one of those parts of some of the collab calls that mystified me.

What kind of project is completely open to ANY kind of art/ ANY kind of visual storyteller ? It's just a red flag to me that the writer doesn't have a clear vision or isn't communicating the story's focus.

Sure, good artists can adapt, but if a writer was telling me in their pitch that they value someone good with body language because of unspoken subtext...I'm already getting a sense of craft in the project.

[AllynCrowe]

Don't be afraid to be a beginner, or to write things twice or thrice over. Rewrites and edits aren't failures, they're inherent to the art. You'll hit blocks and difficult patches, but those are the parts where you just have to power through and keep writing. Eventually you'll get there.
I don't think there's anything other to say than that. Just go and do it, one finished work is better than ten beginnings or ideas floating about.