How to hire, and work with, a Freelancer

Excerpt from the Graphic Novel 3 Knights in India by John Steventon

Believe it or not, but Freelancers are people, just like you. Sure many of us work from home, some even in pajamas, and many of us actually enjoy our work, but we're still people, just like you. We even appreciate the same respect you would give to others in a workplace, and respond well to kindness. And guess what? Just like you, we expect to get paid for our work.

Now, I can't speak for other Freelancers, but I can say that as a Cartoonist, freelancing is not always a barrel of monkeys. Yes, cartoons are fun and colorful, and nice to look at, and yes, a good cartoon sure looks easy to draw, but guess what? It's work. Even though it can be a lot of fun, it is indeed work, and it takes time. That is time that I can be doing other things, like spending time with my family.

So please, if you are considering hiring a Freelancer of any sort, pay attention to the following, which I have taken time from my busy schedule to prepare.


1) Freelancers are not volunteers.

To reiterate, this is work. When you buy a cartoon from me, it may look simple, but it does take time for me to do. Only an hour, you say? A few hours? That's not long. Perhaps, but it is my time, and I value it. You are also paying me for the years it took to develop the skills that I have, for the uniqueness of the work that is mine, and certain rights to use that material.

I have a family to feed, so why do I get called names and insulted or ignored when someone asks me for a quote, and I take the time to give them the most fair and reasonable quote that I can? Hey, I'm not out to rob you, and I know that I have competition, so I am as fair as possible. I may work cheap at times, to help out a charity or small business, but I usually do not work for free (although sometimes it sure feels that way.)

2) Freelancers are professionals: You should act professional as well.

Be polite in contacting a Freelancer, and provide as much information as you can. Pricing for a cartoon can vary considerably. I am not a mind reader, and if it takes me 5 e-mails to find out who you are and what you require, then the price is going to go up.

And please, if e-mailing, provide a useful heading. Most of the emails I get from people who think they are professional usually ends up clogging my Spam filter because they use headings like 'picture', or 'label'. I may not open your email if I cannot tell that it is business.

A freelancer needs to know who you are, what kind of business you run, how big is that business, what you are looking for in terms of size, color, detail, etc. Also, how are you going to use the artwork you hire me to create, who will own the rights, how many copies will be printed, if it will be printed or used on the web, etc.

Please give as much information as you can up front. And if you have a budget, please let us know. If you are only willing to spend a few bucks on a drawing, then go find a high school student and remember that you will get what you pay for. If you don't have a large budget, then go into negotiations willing to compromise.

Please do not respond with insults or rude language. This is a reflection on what kind of person YOU are, and makes me oh so very happy that I did not waste another moment with you.

3) Do respond to all correspondence, and follow up with us.

If you don’t like a quote, or need time to think about it, then please let us know, politely. Failure to respond is very rude, and if I do not hear from you in a day or two, I will assume that you are not interested, and remove you from my schedule.

Often a condition of my working with you is a copy of printed work. If you promise this, or anything else, please follow through, even if it’s just a “thank you, everything went well with the project” note.

And if later on you find a problem with the work, then let us know that as well. I’m here until your job is done to assist you in its completion. That job is a reflection on me, and I’ll back it up completely.



These are just the highlights, of course, and as you can tell, problems that I have to deal with on a regular basis. Now, to be honest, most of the people that I have worked with have been great. On the flip side, there are some lousy Freelancers out there: people who bail on clients, can’t or don’t finish work, etc.

When entering a working relationship, it is best for both sides to be up front and professional. Because you may have worked with some awful Freelancers is no excuse to approach me with hostility. And I won’t be grumpy towards you just because I’ve had some bad clients.

Promise. :0)

Self Publishing 201: The Price is Right

Whether you are a fan, or a fellow creator, there is one golden rule to publishing and self-publishing, and that is: Printing ain't cheap.

I cannot afford to buy every book that I would like, and I keep that in mind in creating my own books. It's tempting to publish every little thing that you do, but to be successful, you should only put your best stuff out there. With that in mind, the biggest dillema for a Self-publisher is pricing.

I spent 3 years working on 3 Knights in India, and feel that I should be compensated. On the other hand, I want people to read the book, regardless. If I give the book away at cost, then the printer gets paid for my hard work. If I add some profit to the top for myself, then the book price gets higher, and fewer readers might be willing to give it a chance. The base price for printing is fixed, so any discount comes from the creator's pocket.



PLEASE keep this in mind when buying books, especially from self-published authors or small presses. These books are going to cost more, so if you like a book, or are interested in a book, and are feeling generous, then remember that the little extra that you are spending is going to a great cause. You are supporting the arts, basically, without the tax breaks. :0)

Some printers are greedy, and charge too much... some Creators are greedy, and charge too much, and some Publishers are greedy and charge too much. It's easy to do this for any business, where the slightest profit can mean staying in business... or not. Big companies have little excuse for greediness. Putting aside that comic books are full of advertisements these days, and focussing on Graphic Novels and other books, these companies get deep discounts for printing.

Golden Rule #2: The more you print, the cheaper the base printing cost. This means that when Big Comix has 10,000 issues of a color comic printed, they may be paying say... $1.00 or something for EACH comic. A similar comic will cost a Self-Publisher probably $5 to $6.00 EACH comic, with a print run of only 100 or 200 copies. A few minutes of your time can show you that the Self-publisher, if he or she could actually miraculously sell all of their comics at the outrageous price of $7.00 each, is still not going to make much of a profit. And chances are, only their mothers are going to pay $7.00 for a comic book.

Self-publishers have no excuse for being greedy, though. Sure, a huge profit is nice, but realistically, you are not going to sell a lot of books at high prices. To be perfectly honest, you shouldn't be self-publishing to begin with if you are looking for a profit. Heck, go work at Walmart for a week, and you'll earn a heck of a lot more than you will Self-publishing... in a year. Unless, of course, you have a lot of friends and supporters who really, really love your stuff.

Self-publishers have several options, but when it comes to printing, anything above and beyond photocopied mini-comics is going to be quite expensive. Your options include print-on-demand, vanity presses, and printing presses.

PLEASE do not go to a vanity press with any expectations of selling loads of books. The only good thing about them is that they will usually get you an ISBN number and may get your book into internet stores like Amazon or Barnes & Noble, which will get your name out there. The bad news is, they usually have outrageous fees in the realm of hundreds of dollars that you most likely will not recuperate.

Printing Presses are very expensive, although they do the best quality work. Unless you have unlimited resources, though, it's just not realistic. With higher base costs, your book is definitely going to be priced higher than the competition's. And you will not be able to get your book in bookstores because every bookstore requires a fee to carry your book, which usually is in the 45 to 65% of the cover price range, which sometimes is more than the printing costs, which means you are losing any chance at profit, and may even be losing money.

Print on Demand is your best option if you want qaulity books at reasonable cost. Some of these are ridiculously expensive, and some are not the best quality. I chose Lulu.com for my books because the quality is great. The cost, though, is still pretty high, although they do give discounts to you, the publisher, if you buy lots of copies of your own book. This is great if you are selling the books yourself, or need copies for book signings. If you keep your profits low, you can sell from their shop, assuming, of course, that you have an audience.

THAT is another topic entirely, though.

For now, keep in mind that Self-publishing is expensive. I try to keep my prices reasonable, and have even swallowed my pride for the Holiday Season, and am now offering discounts on all of my books. I said that I wouldn't do that, because hey, I've worked hard on these books!

Still, I want you to read them. I create because of an inborn need to communicate, and tell stories. And no story is complete without a reader.

The Seat of Creativity, or To Sleep, Perchance to Dream :0)

This morning my Wife awoke me at some ungodly hour (It was still dark out). She had coffee but didn't offer me any, so, like an automaton, I somehow stumbled to the kitchen looking for a mug. As little gears in my head made tiny whirring noises in their search for 'mugs, coffee, where', I saw a strange orange glow forming in the sink.

It was the sun, and instinct nudged me to stand before it. I stood tall as the glow enveloped me and I thought 'I am Stonehenge'. For one moment I felt as one with that wonderous stone monument, and knew how it must feel each winter when the sun rises before it.


Did I say 'awoke'? Um, no coffee, remember? So yes, I can honestly say that creativity and inspiration reside in the subconscious mind. I am a vivid dreamer, and even remember dreams from my childhood in the same storage place I keep real memories. Many of these dreams have been the inspiration for stories, although I don't keepa dream journal or anything.

Still, like now, I find myself some mornings (or late nights) quickly writing down certain things before the moment deserts me.

And no, I'm not going to write a story about a guy who thinks he's Stonehenge.

I might, however, get a good blog out of this. :0)

Cheers, JOHN :0)