So I am in the process of creating a story for a comic book (my first one) and while telling my friend about the story idea i had he pretty much decided he was the artist without me really asking him. I mean i would be more than happy to create this with my friend seeing as he is pretty much my best friend and all and i think it would be fun. The problem is though that when i first told him about the idea it was the day i came up with it so naturally it has evolved into something bigger and more personal to me and is not really what i originally thought it was going to be. My friend though thinks that its "our" story and has decided that my new ideas for it arent what he thinks it should be. I don't want to be a dick and tell him like it's my story and that i get the say but at this point he doesnt really want to do what i see the story being and also doesnt want to fallow the way i see it visually either. I'm wondering if anyone has a similar experience or some advice for me. Also as soon as i get the first draft done i will be posting it for review.
I feel like i left some impotant things out like, anytime we discuss it he ends up talking about how he wants to get famous off of it or make alot of money off of it. The only thing i ultimately want out of this whole thing is one cory of the book for me to have and the satisfaction of completing the story. I am not a write by any means but have always had ideas for stories. music is my true passion and it is what i am good at. This is just a fun project i want to see through to the end. I just dont think him and i are seeing eye to eye on any element of this from the story line to the end goal.
I've always worked alone, therefore have never encountered this problem. This, I find a tricky one. It is easy to be wise after the event and say you should have finished your story first and let your friend know that the story text was not negotiable, if that is how you felt. However, we need to look at the problem as it stands. imo. once you involved someone else (unless you stated from the onset that their role was to be the artist and only the artist and they were to leave the text up to you) then your friend will see himself as an equal partner in the project, and it is only natural to assume that their mind will be tossing thoughts around and coming up with ideas. It is up to you to say either 'yes I do... or no I don't agree with this or that idea' Maybe you just need to be more assertive - failing that; Then, I would go along with this as a partnership, a one off, and put it down to experience. You'll know better next time. This is only one story, you say you have always made up stories, I'm sure you will come up with other stories.
You can say no to him at any time. You will feel like you are now kind of stuck with him, but you are not. It sounds like you really don't want to work with him, so just tell him that you have no need for his services. He might get offended or whatever, but if he's really your friend he will try to understand. Just say thanks for being so enthusiastic about your idea, but that you want to get the story completed before you even think about illustrations, and ask him to please understand. It's not that you don't want to work with him, but you're new to this so you want to try on your own for a while. I'm not sure if this is different for comics, but I know for illustrations of books, (Children's books to chapter books), publishers actually pick the illustrator. They have a lot of great artists they keep on file and pick someone out of the bunch that would be a good fit for your story. If you are doing your own illustrations, that's fine, but publishers typically don't condone authors finding their own illustrators. I know it can be really hard to say "No" to someone. I totally know the angst you are probably feeling right now. I play bass, and people are always asking me to play gigs, and while I like doing gigs sometimes they turn out to be a much bigger hassle than they are worth. The sooner you can muster the courage to tell him, "No, but thanks anyway," the better you are going to feel about yourself. He might try to convince you otherwise, but stick to your guns. You might have already been overly polite and said to him you'd love to have him illustrate (even though you didn't want him), and that's okay. Just say you thought on it more. Anyway, good luck, and post if there are further developments and want more advice.
thanks for the advice guys. ive pretty much decided that what im going to do is tell him that i am going to write the script for the book and when im done with it i will give it to him and he can decide if he wants to draw it. the book is pretty much a religious satire and while i am not religious he is so he has limits to what he will or will not do. utimatley the story is not worth the friendship to me and while i dont think he would ever take it there he is very sensitive. and as trilby said this is a lesson learned for sure.
Good luck Skippy and as FBM has already said if your story is accepted by a publisher, then I think they will appoint an illustrator/cartoonist.
You seem to have a similar problem as Dr MAd in the publishing-section. I had to check that it wasn't the same poster
let this be a good lesson in why you should never begin collaborating with anyone on your work without having a detailed collaboration agreement in place... and when you finish writing the script, for heavens sake, don't let him draw a single line, without having him sign one first... here's the best one you'll find anywhere: http://wga.org/uploadedFiles/writers_resources/contracts/collaboration.pdf you just need to change/add a few words here and there to tailor it to your situation... if you need help with it, drop me a line and i'll fix it up for you... love and hugs, maia
