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Colleen Doran on How Comic Conventions Affect Her Bottom Line

Published Thu, 05 Jul 2018 09:30:16 -0500

Last updated Thu, 05 Jul 2018 23:10:00 -0500

The following was posted exclusively to comic creator Colleen Doran's Patreon followers. It is reprinted on Bleeding Cool with permission. She followed this with another post for Patreon donors answering follow-up questions. But this is the original, a post titled 'Where Does The Money Go?' She writes:

I spent some time this weekend going over my income/expenses of the last ten years to see if I could make wiser use of my resources. I am careful with money, but going to shows isn't just about money, it's also about time management.

A comic artist's expenses often include appearances, advertising and marketing, paying a lawyer, buying equipment.

I stopped going to shows regularly when I was unwell, barely doing two a year. Recently, I've attended as many as ten a year. I'd forgotten how that cost adds up!

I don't attend conventions that don't cover my appearances costs, so I usually don't pay out of pocket for most travel. However, I went to the UK last year to work on a project, and that was on my dime with frequent flier miles covering the plane and upgrade.

If a convention pays for my travel, I try to upgrade my flights (if the show didn't cover it for me, which sometimes happens,) because I need to keep stress down. Stress can trigger a flare-up of auto-immune disease – if that happens, I'm better off not going to a show at all.

Baggage fees, tips, and other travel costs really add up. There are cabs and trains not always covered by the show. Even when you do get a per diem, or appearance fee or both (which is taxable,) the per diem goes right back out the door to pay for these things.

Until I got an iPhone last summer, I was paying hefty prices for phone calls, and had no way to process credit card payments at shows: a new iPhone isn't cheap. Since I live in a rural area with bad cell phone reception and wasn't doing many shows, it wasn't necessary to have one before. Now it is.

Here are my 2017 expenses.

Travel $4525
Food $1607
Shipping $4914
Advertising $2231
Artist Insurance $560
Office $3204
Supplies $2957
Resale $5206
Utilities $2078
Commissions and Fees $2847

Then I had expenses for legal fees, repairs, car expenses, and interest on business debt.

Even though my income last year was solid, my expenses were higher than normal because of convention costs. I know major artists have much higher costs than I do, so they're probably giving the side-eye to my comparatively low spending here. But if I don't think the money is going to give me a return on my business investment, I don't spend it.

I know artists who fall into the trap of spending money because it's deductible without considering if the expense moved them forward as a creator. Early in my career, I made that mistake, too. Learned my lesson. Tax-deductible doesn't mean free.

After talking to my colleagues, they agree my annual expense is about standard for creators who work in the biz at a certain level.

I didn't hire help last year, so there were no non-employee compensation costs. But I will have Allan Harvey back working on A DISTANT SOIL restoration in a few months, and that effort will continue into 2019.

I'm cutting advertising to the bone. Since Project Wonderful is gone and I refuse to give Facebook another dime, my ad costs will drop by ¾ this year.

US taxes allow you a daily travel meal allowance of about $50 (it's complicated and varies by location,) or half your actual costs. I was on the road for almost two months, so $1607 is a conservative deduction.

Shipping now costs me more than it did when I was self-publishing and shipping thousands of books every month while attending 20 shows a year! Mailing a couple of A DISTANT SOIL graphic novels overseas can cost nearly $40 now.

Office and Supplies costs include printer ink, computer equipment and programs, a router, art supplies, books, web expenses, and even movies. You never know when you're going to get that pop culture gig assignment. I never dreamed I'd be working on THE VAMPIRE DIARIES comics, so those dvds turned out to be a good investment!

Adjusted for inflation, office and supplies costs dropped from my self-publishing days. Until I need a new graphics computer, that is!

My supplies spending will fall drastically this year. My inventory is in order and except for Bristol board, I don't really need anything now.

I tend to buy most art supplies in December, since a good income year means I could use the extra tax deduction, and art supplies can last through a lean year. Pens, and archival quality papers, paints, and ink can be very expensive.

Supplies to pack art and books for shipment can be pricey, too. I use a very thick acid free board to back original art, and it costs $1 per sheet. The cost of a new laptop will eat up a huge chunk of my office budget this year.

The Utilities cost will drop in 2018 because I am no longer paying up to $300 a month in data overages. Even so, I pay $100 a month, though I don't take the full deduction because of personal use. Same goes for the phone, which can run more than $100 a month.

Resale covers all those books I buy to sell on my website and at shows. Since I'm not doing many shows now, this cost will drop as well. I get an allotment of books from the publisher when I do a project, but they don't last long, and after that I have to buy extras. Sometimes it's just not cost effective to resell a book at a show after paying to ship it there.

Commissions and Fees are the fees to ebay, the credit card companies, Paypal, and agents. Sometimes the agent fees come off the top, sometimes you pay after you get paid.

Artist Insurance is a liability insurance in case someone stubs their toe in my studio. It also covers losses on original art and equipment both in the studio and in transit. Even at this price I am under-insured, and will upgrade later this year.

Cutting back on shows in 2018 is a good decision. Some artists make crazy money at shows and I did very well last year, but I find they cut into my energy for making books, increase chances of getting ill, and since I don't do unauthorized prints, pins and other unlicensed merchandise as is common at conventions, my income opportunities at shows are limited to original art, licensed prints, and books.

If I were cranking out bootleg Princess Leia pins, I'd be cleaning up. But I can't do that.

There is a reason why artists charge for sketches at shows: conventions are expensive to attend even if you are a guest. If you're not an actor or a Stan Lee-level comics creator, you may be getting a guest fee, but you're not getting actor-level fees. You need to be earning at a show.

And the more shows you attend, the fewer books you make.

I love my patrons, I love getting out to see my fans, but I bet they'd love me back more if I did more books. And I'd rather do more books, too.

Anyway, that's where the money goes.