I’ve been writing since I can remember. I make a living off it, too, writing feature stories for consumer and trade magazines. But last year, I attempted the big challenge: I decided to break into writing for comics.

It didn’t help that I can’t draw a thing. Most comics publishers want creators who can handle both the art and writing chores on a graphic work, or they want to work with established teams of artists and writers. I didn’t have the drawing work or the team.

But I got lucky. I found Bluewater Comics, www.bluewaterprod.com, an independent comics publisher. I wrote a note to Darren Davis, head of the company, outlining my writing experience. He took a chance on me. Early next year – January, I hope – Bluewater will publish the first issue of GEARZ, a four-issue mini-series that I wrote. I've currently working on another mini-series for them, and I'm enjoying the work immensely.

Like I said, I got lucky. Breaking into comics is tough. I’m trying to find homes for two other series that I’ve created on my own. So far, I’ve not found any takers. But I’m not giving up.

And why is that? Why do so many people, like me, want to write for comics? I have my ideas. But first, let me rattle off four reasons why, if you’re a writer or artist, you should try some other medium:

1. You’re not going to be able to write adventures for Spider-Man … or Superman or Batman or any other character you’ve ever heard of. Unless you’re a big name writer, Marvel or D.C. isn’t going to want you. The folks at Marvel simply aren’t going to hand the reigns of any of their Spider-Man titles to some writer they’ve never heard of.
2. There’s no money in it. Unless you’re working for one of the big two, don’t expect to get rich writing for comics. The people running most independent comics companies publish because they love the medium. They don’t make money, so they’re certainly not going to give much to their writers or artists. A large number of independent publishers pay their creative talent on the back-end, meaning that writers and artists get a percentage of the profits from the books they create. Given that most independent titles make little to no profit … well, you get the idea.
3. It’s extremely frustrating. The process of creating a comic is a slow one, and one that’s usually filled with setbacks. If you’re a writer, you’ll turn in your script and then wait – and wait, and wait, and wait some more – for the penciler, inker and letterer to finish their jobs. If you’re an artist, you’ll wait – and wait, and wait, and wait some more – for your publisher to finally solicit your book. It’s not unusual for smaller publishers to go out of business with a large number of books still in their pipeline.
4. Hooking up with a publisher, even a tiny one, is extremely difficult. Even the smallest of independent comics publishers get swamped with submissions from would-be comics artists, letterers and writers … especially writers. Most don’t have time to even respond to all these submissions.

OK, that’s four big reasons to stay away from the comics industry. But there must be a reason why so many artists and writers want to tackle sequential art, right? There is: It’s fun.

Really fun.

There’s nothing more thrilling if you’re a writer than seeing your words turned into amazing pictures. And if you’re an artist, there’s nothing like the challenge of tackling sequential art. Think about it: Each panel in a good comic is a little piece of art.

So, if you’re hungry for dollars, want instant success and wouldn’t mind a little fame, stay away from comics. But if you want a real challenge, and if you want to work in a medium that can be a blast, give it a try. If you make it, even just a little bit, you’ll never want to stop.