Facebook Groups
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@NessIllustration I’ve never joined any such groups but it’s interesting reading all your experiences. I recently joined the Scbwi British FB group but it’s fairly quiet, I joined more for networking, I don’t know if you would have better luck on one of these , I think they are all closed groups.
Even after my limited experience with the enquiries I’ve had so far I would much prefer an agent, like you have Ness.
I recently had a potential client, self publish author, tell me they were selling their clothes on eBay to afford me but because my contract was apparantly ridiculous they wouldn’t go through with it. (Just a standard AOI contract) -lucky escape I think. -
@peteolczyk Wow! That's... wow. Self-published authors have a way with the guilt trip don't they.
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@NessIllustration if someone emailed me and asked me to illustrate a story about a doughnut I would have a hard time passing that up lol
Seriously tho, more often if its self published their is a lack of understanding about what to do, they will expect you to do the graphic deign, theyre very close to the story so may not like constructive feedback or will get you to make silly changes because it doesnt resemble their grandmother that the story is about. So many headaches and that's after they agree to hire you, up until you sign something they can just drop off the face of the earth you never hear from them again, it's so unprofessional. If a publishing house did that they would be blacklisted.
I used to think i'll give them the benefit of the doubt, it might be an amazing story and they might be awesome to work and that may be the case sometimes (i'm not saying all self publishers are clueless) but they are few and far between. So my policy is to run away.
I was so deflated because I was dealing with this so much and I wasn't getting anywere. Then I got a book offer email from a proper publisher, their first email they sent laid out everything - price, timeline, art direction everything, no back and forth just straight up info.
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@peteolczyk Never fall for the guilt trip. I had a self publisher tell me his wife fell ill and her wish was for his book to be illustrated and he just wanted her to see the sketches, so could I do some up over the week end... to which I said no.
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@NessIllustration @Phil-Cullen as soon as the guilt trip is there, it sounds like a con, or if they turn their nose up at a contract. Or even, rewrite your contract including all the terms and licence periods and send it back to you.
Has anyone had that one yet?
A proper publisher and/ or an agent sounds like a dream come true. -
@Phil-Cullen Dang that's a new level right there!
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@peteolczyk How awful, I'm sorry! I haven't had anyone rewrite an entire contract, thank god!
An agent can be wonderful but they are not all created equal. Last year when I was signed by my first agent, I was so elated and thought all my problems would be solved, now I just had to sit back and they'd shower me with work. Turns out in a year they sent me 1 job, and a badly paid one at that! It wasn't even a book but a few individual illustrations. At the time I had even dropped a recurring contract I had with a mobile games company because I thought soon the agency would be sending me so much work - after a few months I had to go back to them and ask to hire me back. Not exactly a fairy tale! Thankfully my new agent has been much more of a success so far But I still rely a large part of my income of the contracts I found myself.
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@NessIllustration hi, I know which post you mean. When I first saw it, I knew it was going to be a messy I discussion. I didn’t want to engage in that one though. There’s a proverbs that says “You’ll never win an argument with a fool.” I too have argued my fair share on those groups but there’s just no changing most of them so I gave up. Almost all of them want to earn as much as possible, as soon as possible, while spending as little as possible without giving much thought to the quality of their product. And the sad thing is that they’re getting away with it.
I got a gig there a year ago. I’ve mentioned this here before. The author could only afford to pay 1k. That time, I was studying for my board exams. I had no gigs coming in, no money but the she gave full creative freedom and a very lose deadline. It took us about 6-7 moths to complete the book but we were very satisfied with the end result. I haven’t had the same experience since.
I’ve been posting my work on those groups lately in order to find some side hustle. I’ve been getting a lot of inquiry but when I give my rates they all go silent. I’ve had a lot of unsavory encounters on those places. Most of the self-publishing authors just don’t know the industry and they’re just looking for a profit.
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@Nyrryl-Cadiz Yeah I don't think there are any reasonably priced gigs to be found there. If there are, they are 1 in a million and would take a lot of time and effort to find. It's probably a waste of time, there is no good business happening there. Hopefully your new agent starts sending you stuff soon
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I guess it’s normal for it to be an imperfect struggle, with a mixture of agency work, your own clients and sometimes difficult ones at that. I’m still trying to find my way with it and work out what to expect. If I ever stumble on some good luck on a Facebook group I’ll definitely let you know.
- 10 days later
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@NessIllustration I'm a member there too and I did a book for a client from there that writes and publishes around 6 books a year, it was my first paid book to illustrate and was paid decently and I'm doing another one early next year and possibility of more work, so I guess it is possible although rare, in terms of the drama I just try stay out of it, most of the people on there have no idea what they're talking about so it's pointless lol
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Facebook groups can run hot and cold. I think it depends a lot on how they're set up, how well they're moderated, the specificity of the membership's interests, etc.
I guess all groups are like that on some level. But artistically-inclined Facebook groups seem to have gone the same direction that old Google+ groups went, and where DeviantArt has gone in some ways: the more they embrace a wider demographic of experience, the less pertinent and relevant they become to those who aren't necessarily on the low-to-mid-range of the learning curve...
The SVS Forums seems to have escaped that paradigm, luckily. I have to wonder if it may be the nature of the "old-fashioned Forum" user-interface that seems to be less and less common for a lot of social media sites. You have to really be actively looking to participate on Forums--it's not a passive thing in a lot of ways. And that weeds out a lot of the more flippant, less-caring, less-invested participants. I think it has elevated the quality of the conversation here significantly.
I used to be a proponent of FB groups, but now... Not so much. The quality isn't worth the cacophony anymore.
There are some relatively "newish" options, for finding groups of like-minded individuals. Discord is probably the trendiest social media phenomenon that has a substantive place in the diaspora, and there are individual artist-centered groups/communities popping up there all the time. All the Discord "servers" (i.e. groups/communities) seem to have different flavors and different features (some including voice chat for videogaming or monthly challenges, etc).
One in particular--Discord for the Arts--has a significant SVSLearn cross-membership.
The thing that separates Discord groups is that they are invite only. You can't just search and join. They aren't "public" groups in the traditional sense. They skew toward the younger demographic, so most of the legit working professionals are in gaming/rpg/concept art/animation/comic art and have robust personal followings, and use Discord in conjunction to their Twitch streaming channels and Patreon bases to augment their personal project income streams outside of their DNR contracts.