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hakei
Jun '22

Hello everyone,

I'm an artist currently toying around with the idea — not actively seeking atm — of hiring a writer/story assistant to help me with my ongoing comic (or a future new comic).

Since there's not a lot of artists looking for writers, I'm not sure what sort of information should be most beneficial to writers, when they're looking at hiring posts.

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This is what I had in mind for the writer role:
* Paid position
* Has to be proficient in the genre my comics are in
* Storywriter for existing characters and world (so has to be familiar with them)
* Helping with writing of new episodes, overall plot planning and plot progression
* I still get the final creative say

I am not sure:
* How are writer pays calculated? Per episode? Per panel?
* What's the general turnaround time for an episode script (50-60 panels)
* Is it doable weekly?
* Is this sort of position even worth posting a hiring notice for? Is working with pre-existing characters/world something most writers would NOT be interested in? It does mean the writer might have to deal with the plot holes and plot weaknesses I accidentally put in lol.

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I'd appreciate any insight from writers!

Tell me what sort of information you'd want to see before considering to take on a role such as this — or anything else you'd like to tell me in advance that helps writers.

(I do imagine since the writing is for an already on-going story, I'd have to find someone who already is a reader of my comic AND is willing to be a writer for it.)

Thank you.

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Kuma
Jun '22

I haven't taken any paid work for webtoons-style comics, I have done projects alongside my girlfriend who is an artist.

Traditional Comic-books tend to have a per-page payment. When it comes to Webtoon I would charge per 10 panels give or take. It also depends not only on the panels, but all the pre-production needed to do the work.

Worldbuilding, character development. Even if there is an idea already, you need time and some work to get into the thick of it.

50-60 Panels are totally doable weekly, even twice a week if the writer has the time (I would do it weekly because I have a day job, but I might do 3 if I dedicate a full week) But it also depends how deep the work is. Action tends to take a bit more if you want the writer to plot the actions (At least from my experience)

Swamp
Jun '22

Genre is key! I think writers with limits often relate to pretty broad categories. (Can they write comedy? Horror? For children? Are they comfortable writing a sex scene?) There's both skill limits (I am not a pure comedy writer) and personal limits/preferences (I am not comfortable writing evangelical projects)

An episode a week is 100% doable. Writers often have word count based pay, but that gets trickier on comic scripts since you could pretty easily bloat description to get more pay.

I think a lot of writers, me included, are over the moon for the chance to write for pay. Heck, a lot of writer's jobs involve working on somebody else's IP. Superhero comics, ghostwriting, TV writer's rooms, etc. I'd recommend
-Having a contract where they have a script ready every week on X day, you have edits back by X day, and they make changes by X day, maybe 2 weeks behind the art.
-Development meetings. They can pitch ideas, ask about issues, and point out concept problems you're having.
-Ask for a writing sample, and a script sample if you can.
-Remember you can ask for specific types of scripting. You want to make sure the writer understands how to pace action for comics and communicate motion. More detail, less detail, if you want notes on paneling, etc.
-If you can pay professional wages up front, you don't need to offer royalties, but, the lower the pay, the more I'd recommend also offering a percent of profit.

When you're willing to pay, you're the boss, so you get to call the shots. The biggest thing I'd be careful of is making sure you're on the same page about the 'final say' issues. The more you can be on the same page up front, the less you have a frustrated writer doing the same scene five times for no additional pay. (But you also don't want to pay extra for changes and incentivize mistakes)

hakei
Jun '22
Kuma

Alright, thank you for the insight!

Worldbuilding, character development. Even if there is an idea already, you need time and some work to get into the thick of it.

Haha for sure! I've brainstormed with other comic artists about how to do some of my previous episodes, and even then I had to divulge a llooott of background and future information — I imagine if I have a writer, we'd have to set aside a lot of time to discuss those specifics in detail.

hakei
Jun '22
Swamp

I think a lot of writers, me included, are over the moon for the chance to write for pay. Heck, a lot of writer's jobs involve working on somebody else's IP.

That's great to hear! I was worried I would potentially irk the world of writers by stepping over a line that I didn't know about :joy:

-Having a contract where they have a script ready every week on X day, you have edits back by X day, and they make changes by X day, maybe 2 weeks behind the art.
-Development meetings. They can pitch ideas, ask about issues, and point out concept problems you're having.
-Ask for a writing sample, and a script sample if you can.
-Remember you can ask for specific types of scripting. You want to make sure the writer understands how to pace action for comics and communicate motion. More detail, less detail, if you want notes on paneling, etc.
-If you can pay professional wages up front, you don't need to offer royalties, but, the lower the pay, the more I'd recommend also offering a percent of profit.

Awesome, thank you very much for the concrete checklist! I wouldn't have thought about a lot about this in advance at all.

1 month later

closed Jul 27, '22

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