B&N Week 158: Top 10 ComixTribe Posts of 2013
It’s another Tuesday! Not only that, it’s also New Year’s Eve! What are we doing? We’re still doing countdowns. The last countdown of the year, as a matter of fact.
First, I want to thank all of you for reading. It’s been a great year, and we really and truly wouldn’t be here without all of you. So, thank you.
What am I counting down this week? Well, it’s a retrospective. This week, it’s the top ten ComixTribe posts. These are posts this year that I believe were either important, or are necessary reading and should be read again. These will be in no particular order. Ready? Let’s start.
10. Editorial Flow. Don’t have an editor onboard? While it may be problematic, this post is here to help mitigate those problems by giving you a reasonable flow for how a project should go. Give it another read. It’s a bit long, but well worth the time investiture.
9. Hard Truths. Bits and tips on how to make better comics. Lots of quick hits here, but again, well worth another read.
8. Ask Questions, Learn, Then Do. This is all about self-help. It is never a bad thing to ask for help, especially as a newbie—sometimes, a quick answer is a quick answer. However, you’re also damaging yourself if all you ever do is ask the question and rely on others to answer it for you. Another worthy read.
7. Lettering, Parts 1, 2, and 3. These articles aren’t meant to replace any book on lettering at all. These articles are there to give some basic history, and then take you through some of the basics of lettering and how it relates to the page, as well as give you some tips. One tip you should always remember: never use Comic Sans!
6. Negotiating. This is something that lots of creators don’t do, or don’t know how to do. This article is meant to help with that problem, giving tips and tricks when it comes to negotiating. What is found here won’t work for every situation, but nothing is a cure-all for everything.
5. Everything You Need To Know About Small Press Distribution. Another longish column, but Tyler goes into every distribution channel, explains them, and gives very pointed bullet points about each and every one of them. If you don’t read any other columns, read this one and the Editorial Flow.
4. Noooo! That’s My #$%#ing Idea!What Are Your Options When Someone Steals Your Idea. Another good column, with tips and advice as to what you can do when this inevitably happen to you. It’s happened to me on a number of occasions. If you haven’t had someone steal your idea, then you’re either very, very new, or you’re not prolific enough. [Or you’re just very, very lucky.]
3. Mistakes. Everyone has made them at one point or another. Mistakes should be learned from. This article talks about mistakes, and how to learn from them so that they are not repeated in the future.
2. Borders, Time, and Color. This is another important article. It is big on theory, but should help with the practicality of telling your story. Remember that while creating a comic is really a collection of moving parts, these are big parts of the whole.
1. Rejection. This article is about the causes of rejection, as well as how to handle it. Understanding the causes of rejection can be as important as how you deal with it, and this article talks about that.
Those are what I believe to be the top ten columns we’ve written this year. What do you think? Discuss it in the ComixTribe forum at Digital Webbing.
Still no homework. It’s the last day of the year. Be safe tonight. We want everyone to show up next year with all their appendages in place, and faculties still working.
See you next year!
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Category: Bolts & Nuts, Columns
