A spine split of up to 23 the length of the book, a missing back cover provided the front cover is still attached, severe water damage or residue damage. The survey aims to build a resource about standard rates in the comic book industry for comic creators. A high grade, like an a or mint, is good, while a low grade. How much should you charge as a freelance translator. Connecting comic book writers and artists public group facebook. What is the typical rate of comic artists who charge by the page. Obviously unless youve got some serious credibility as a comic letterer, its not going to probably be a huge charge. In rare cases, a comic book will look much better than the given grade. What is the average salary for a comic book artist. Everything you need to know about submitting comic books. What is difference between book rate and media mail. This survey is for comic book professionals to fill out in order to gain an anonymous idea of what page rates were in the industry for 2018. In 2008, the bureau of labor statistics claimed fulltime comic.
How much does a comic book artist make per project. Types of damage that place a comic in fr range include. The data below was gathered anonymously from a sample size of 100 comics professionals. I still utilize this approach because i believe in it. You can think of the grade of a comic book like a grade on a report card. Your book is a 300page black ink paperback sold on the us marketplace your royalty per sale to a customer from is. Media mail rates are limited to the items listed below. Comic bookgraphic novel artist ongoing work perpagerate. These typically run between 160210 pages per volume, unlike a lot of western comics that run under 100 pages. In addition to finding collaborators, this is a great place for feedback and advice. How dc contracts work thrillbent comics for the rest of us. Additionally, we hope that this data will encourage professionals not to accept work that pays below a living wage.
Comic book grading learn the scale and how to apply it. In this youre paid a flat rate per job category penciler, inker, artist, colorist, letter, and writer per page of the book. Apr 02, 2019 there isnt a page rate for them, so theyre for promotional purposes only. Dec 14, 2011 this is a useful article for both artists, and people looking to commissionbuy art, specifically in the realm of comics. Comic book scripts technical tricks and troubleshooting. Comiclink is the online vintage comic book and comic art auction destination featuring comic book auctions spotlighting the most desirable cgc graded examples of key comics, as well as comic art auctions featuring the biggest names in comic book illustration from the. Media mail shipping is a costeffective way to send educational materials. I think that a 32page comic is much less work than a 80,00090,000 word novel manuscript which usually takes a year or more. Comic book graphic novel artist ongoing work per page rate, full details and negotiations for successful applicantsbidders. After the publisher pays for its staff and operational expenses, there may be little left over to. If your time is highly variable, you might need to use another method. Cert is peopleperhours proprietary ranking algorithm which factors in all the things our buyers care about a freelancer, in one synthetic score. Cost of publishing a book book selfpublishing services.
From the beginnings of american comics in the mid1930s right up until the early 1980s, comics artists and writers were what we call today workforhirethey were paid a perpage rate by publishers, nothing else, and had no ownership stake in or claim to their creations. Mar 17, 2009 whats a good per page rate for a comic book ameture penciler. The best way to understand why a specific comic book received a check mark designation is to refer to the graders notes. This is a lot cheaper than media mail and provided exclusively for libraries. Comic book grading is the process of determining the grade or condition of a book, which directly influences its value. Jun 07, 2011 comic book colorists pay varies by experience. Graphic novels sometimes also follow this model, or they are contracted based on a flat fee for the whole project. What are the going page rates for writers and artists in.
If you have the potential of earning royalties above your per page rate, your page rate may be lower than those who do not have rights to royalties. A comic book in fr condition may have nonstory elements such as coupons, ad pages, or marvel value stamps cut or torn out of the book. There isnt a page rate for them, so theyre for promotional purposes only. The book cartoonist was paid a page rate that seemed to have little relationship to the number of comic books sold with his work on their pages. The term grade is used to describe what condition a comic book is in. The cover of a comic is what typically takes the most abuse. Most of the popular titles that artists, like david. Comic link the online vintage comic book and comic art. The largest online source for comic book pricing in the world. Lets me preface this by saying that asking how much art should cost is a bit like asking how much food should cost. Connecting comic book writers and artists public group.
If you happen to be a writer looking to hire an artist, or perhaps you are an artist whos been approached by someone looking to hire, its good to know what the sort of baseline is when you are deciding on how much to charge, or conversely, how much you can expect to pay. If the book has full bleed inside pages, please select onesize up as your book size, then enter final trim size here. The data represents a resource in the process of being built given the small and nonrepresentative sample, we are not drawing conclusions or interpreting the data at this point. I am also working on a comic, but more in the japanese manga style. In these rare cases, a check mark will be placed on the label by the numerical grade. What do marvel, dc, dark horse, idw, other imprints, and. Comic book series proposals for our comic book line comic book series proposals must have at least eight pages of final art included with the pitch material so they can see what the finished comic book pages will look like. Marvel would then maintain roughly that page rate for the rest of the 1940s and all of the 1950s, 2325 pages worth of comic book stories, with 2 pages of text pieces.
Keep in mind that this is the cost of producing professional artwork only, and does not include the cost of webmastering, publication, solicitation, distribution, advertisement, etc. Aaron albert, a collector of and an expert on comic books, has studied, taught, and written about the comic book genre for more than 20 years. Dont put too many panels on a page or too few, either scripts are traditionally broken down by the page and by the panel e. The best possible existing condition of that comic book. The book rate was mainly for books when it was first created, but if your intention is to send books to or from a library, then you should use the cheaper alternative known as library rate. Jul, 2018 page rates 2017 posted on july, 2018 july 16, 2018 by stephanie cooke the survey aims to build a resource about standard rates in the comic book industry for comic creators. An accident of comic book history, the page rate formula was established in the very beginning, ironically and unwittingly, by the newspaper syndicates.
I think most veteran comic book writers could finish a script in under, say, 100 hoursfast enough that quite a few authors write for 23 comic book series each month. Eventually the text pieces ceased existing, so it was 25 pages of comic. If your book has photographs, illustrations, or graphs, youll want to increase your page count accordingly. So, any input as to the average comic book length or, at least a good length for an issue. Please only report missing issues after attempting a thorough search, and do not submit false information. Additional linking pages following the home page theme. Mainstream comic book companies such as marvel, dc and darkhorse pay per project at an agreed upon page rate.
Maybe starting out and working with an unproven writer for a short story or something for fun and learn, but not at any of the publishers. Freelancers are ranked from cert1 up to cert5 with the top 0. Asa guidelines to comics page rates and conditions australian. From the beginnings of american comics in the mid1930s right up until the early 1980s, comics artists and writers were what we call today workforhirethey were paid a per page rate by publishers, nothing else, and had no ownership stake in or claim to their creations. Now for the long answer the best way to move forward is to be as informed as possible. What are the going page rates for writers and artists in the. Visit payscale to research comic book artist salaries by city, experience, skill, employer and more. Most jobs in comic book art are on a freelance, pay per page basis. While your perpage word count may change depending on choices made during your interior layout, this initial calculation is a good place to start. What would be a reasonable amount to pay an artist for a. This method of figuring out your base really depends on tracking and making good use of your time. Please consider your bidding amount at this is for ongoing long term work. For instance, if you want to have the final book trimmed at 5. Then cost of a typical marvel comic book by year adjusted for 2017 dollars finally, cost per sotry page of a typical marvel comic book by year.
Posted on july, 2018 july 16, 2018 by stephanie cooke. I get asked a lot whats a decent page rate for comic book work. Please fill out the following form to report an issue missing from the database. The results of this survey are kept 100% anonymous and will be used to. Most collectors will accept any page quality except for books with slightly brittle or brittle pages in a collectible comic. As with grading all collectibles, there is a degree of subjectivity as there are many factors to consider and all of them must be weighed to determine an overall grade. The economic reality of indie comics page rates the beat. Everything is different for everyone of course, but these rates are pretty standard for the big three. What is your primary source of income within the comic book industry. Variables in page rate include the popularity of the character and the book, as well as the reputation of the graphic novelist. We will continue collecting surveys about 2016 rates until may 2017, and these results will be updated quarterly. Page rates are from the graphic artists guild handbook.
The results of this survey are kept 100 % anonymous and will be used to maintain our web site as a resource for all. Its time once again for our annual page rates survey. Book printing costs for printondemand mill city press. Straight from the graphic artist guild handbook for pricing and ethic guidelines 2001. The charts detail the amount of story pages in a typical marvel comic book by year. This service has restrictions on the type of media that can be shipped. The definitive list of comic publisher submission guidelines. Aug 09, 20 though he wont reveal what he makes, his page ratethe amount an artist charges per page drawnis among the highest in the business. The bid that you make should reflect a single page rate. Eventually the text pieces ceased existing, so it was 25 pages of comic stories. Some mainstream comics companies pay a royalty over a designated sales threshold. Play scripts and manuscripts for books, periodicals, and. As a reality check on those 1978 recommended rates by the never actually formed.
Generally, one comic page has between five and nine panels per page although onepanel splashes can be used to great effect. Sound recordings and video recordings, such as cds and dvds. When initially looking at a comic book the first thing one will notice is the cover of the book. When comic book artists draw a scene on a panel, how big is the actual panel theyre drawing on before its.
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