What would be a standard percentage a writer would get for an ongoing comic?

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justcrash

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Hello all, just looking for advice. I am about to sign a contract I am fairly excited about. I created the character and do the writing. The publishing house has paired me with a penciler and of course, they are handling the publishing and costs associated with that as well as running their business.

Long story short, I am being offered 25% of sales for my written work, they get 75%. I have a decent understanding of business so I understand the disparity between the amounts. I am just wondering if this is pretty much the industry standard or should I push for more, and if so, how much?
 

Richard White

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There are a number of variables you may or may not be considering here:

say the comic was selling for $2.50 (Yes, that's an old price, but work with me here.)

After Diamond takes their cut, the publisher is making $1.00 a comic.

So, are they offering you 25% of cover price per sale or 25% of net? One would be 67.25 cents per comic the other would be 25 cents per comic. So, given the fact, they'd actually be paying you over 65% of any money realized from sales, I suspect they're offering you 25% of what they get from Diamond.

Also, if it's net, how are they figuring net?

Since the publisher is paying the printer, artist, colorist, etc. out of that dollar, your 25% might be pretty good. If they're offering you 25% after they take out the printer's cost (figure roughly 55 cents per comic if it's a color book, somewhat less if it's B&W) - well then you're getting into diminishing returns.

Which, honestly is why most artists/writers push for a page rate rather than straight royalties.

However, without seeing your contract, there's no way to say definitively if this is good or not.
 

justcrash

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There are a number of variables you may or may not be considering here:

say the comic was selling for $2.50 (Yes, that's an old price, but work with me here.)

After Diamond takes their cut, the publisher is making $1.00 a comic.

So, are they offering you 25% of cover price per sale or 25% of net? One would be 67.25 cents per comic the other would be 25 cents per comic. So, given the fact, they'd actually be paying you over 65% of any money realized from sales, I suspect they're offering you 25% of what they get from Diamond.

Also, if it's net, how are they figuring net?

Since the publisher is paying the printer, artist, colorist, etc. out of that dollar, your 25% might be pretty good. If they're offering you 25% after they take out the printer's cost (figure roughly 55 cents per comic if it's a color book, somewhat less if it's B&W) - well then you're getting into diminishing returns.

Which, honestly is why most artists/writers push for a page rate rather than straight royalties.

However, without seeing your contract, there's no way to say definitively if this is good or not.


Would there be a way to show you without me blasting my info all over the place? lol

- - - Updated - - -

And regardless of if there is or not, thank you for responding, sir.
 

Richard White

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Would there be a way to show you without me blasting my info all over the place? lol

- - - Updated - - -

And regardless of if there is or not, thank you for responding, sir.


I'm a former comic writer/self-publisher from the 90s, which is how I was able to quote the numbers listed above. What I am not is a lawyer, so while I could "examine" the document, all I could do is say, "Yeah, this looks O.K." or "I'm a little concerned about this...", but it would strictly be a layman's opinion.

What you're going to need to do is talk to the publisher (after re-reading the contract) and find out exactly what they're figuring your 25% from. Remember, too, Diamond is going to want to have three issues "done" before they let you put the first one in the catalog, unless you're signing on with one of the big five (D.C., Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, Dynamite), unless you're taking over an already existing comic.

If this is a new venture, Diamond may not even accept it, so you could wind up doing three scripts and the book never comes out. Be sure there's a kill fee in case something like that happens. (if you've done the work, you should get some compensation for it.)

That's my basic advice. You might get more current advice if the mods moved this to the Comic Book/Manga section.
 
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CaoPaux

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*zzzap!*

Moved from BR&BC.
 

veinglory

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I am not an industry expert but was a comic artist for a couple of projects some years ago. Based roughly on a division of labor 25% does not strike me as unreasonable.
 

Eltondiva

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Richard, may I PM you a question about page rates? I have a project underway with an artist who works this way. Thanks very much.
 

Richard White

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Richard, may I PM you a question about page rates? I have a project underway with an artist who works this way. Thanks very much.

You can, but be warned, I haven't worked in comics in years. I can tell you what I've heard by dealing with authors and artists at conventions over the past few years, but I'm not an "authoritative" source.
 

Bicyclefish

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After finding out what that 25% comes from -- gross, net, etc -- you may also want to consider asking creators directly via a well written, polite email.

Years ago when faced with some unsavory types from a small comics "collective" and needing nonlegal advice, I looked to people I thought may have experience in a similar situation. Everyone I wrote to answered, and I learned there are quite a few pros who are receptive to helping as long as you're patient and don't expect it.
 
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