Tips: Finding story help or an artist/writer/collab

[Jazzbie]

I thought I'd write this since I keep seeing threads with little or no content asking for help. "Need manga artist for my idea!" threads also tend to spiral into the same pattern, so I figured some tips for making a more successful thread would be useful.

I've also included good and bad examples for clarity.

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Tips for Making: General help/"what do you think?" threads.

1. Don't make a thread if you have nothing to show.
This should be common sense, but really don't make a thread in the comic creators forum when you have zero plot or sequential pages to show. I know drawing your characters and writing their bios is fun but that's really not a 'plot' that people can help you with.

Examples

Good:

Hey there
I am looking for feedback on my comic. It is a sci-fi story about a boy named Mat who works as a zookeeper for the prestigious "Galacticon"; an enormous space station containing every known animal in the galaxy.

It is a disgusting and thankless job for Mat who has 250 different types of feces thrown at him daily. He jumps at the chance to be transferred to the delivery portion of the ship, and it is here that he uncovers a sinister plot that could destroy the Galacticon and all the animals inside it!
The First pages:
[image]
[image]
And the script:
[link to script]

So please tell me what you think or what could improve my story!

Bad:

i haven't started drawing the manga yet but i've been working wit the characters.. i drew the main character..[image].. and i don't have a name for her yet! help? o3o anyway.. i'm working on my chara what do you think so far??

2. "But I can't share my idea or it will be stolen!"
I am going to quote Amentar here, it's harsh but I think some tough love is in order for this mindset.
Amentar:

First, there's no way in hell your plot is that original. What you're saying about your character and plot creation process shows you're a noob. Second, you're insulting everyone here by assuming that we're thieves. And if hell froze over and you did have something stolen, the majority of people here would support you as the original creator. Third, you can't think about your story as though you own every element of the entire thing. Just as you've undoubtedly taken bits and pieces from stories you love, people taking bits and pieces of your work doesn't count as copying.

Get over yourself and post your plot if you're serious about wanting feedback. I suspect you fear negative criticism because you're in love with it, though.

3. Don't prioritize success prematurely.
Basically loading the first paragraph with "going to be bigger than naruto/bleach" as "i am aiming to get an anime"...and then having nothing to show. I won't even get into how the odds are massively stacked against you, but i will say your priorities are rather backwards if you're crowing about success before even completing the first page or issue.
It's fine if you secretly want this, but let the work be the one to speak.

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Next up: finding an artist/writer/collab.

[Jazzbie]

Tips for finding: An artist/writer/collab.

1. What do you want from the other person?
What is it that you expect out of your artist? What kind of story do you wish to draw? Being vague here wont help you here, try to give as much info possible to the other person, but not so much that you're coming off as too demanding or have a wall of text.

In general:
-Have good spelling. (ESPECIALLY for writers)
-Have samples
-Include short summary of what you created/Want to create
-Try not to make it a wall of text that will scare people off
-Have a way for them to contact you

Examples for Writers

Good:

Hey there,
I am looking for an artist to draw my comic. It is a horror story about a girl named Kat who works as a guard for the prestigious "Galacticon"; an enormous space station containing the most vicious criminals in the galaxy.

This will be written into three 20 page chapters, and I would like to have a buffer of pages before updating twice per week online. For the art style black and white is preferred but not necessary. I would like a realistic or grungy style, and not something manga or cartoonish.
A samples of the script:
[link]

You can contact me here, via PM, AIM or through my primary email: [e-mail]

Bad:

hey i'm looking 4 an artist, Pm me and we'll talk lolz

Examples for Artists

Good:

Hey there
I am an artist looking for a writer. I am hoping for a short story (under 30 pages)that is fun and lighthearted.
-------------------
Here are my page samples:
[Link to previous projects/Deviantart/site]
[image of ACTUAL COMIC PAGE]
[image]

------------------
For genres I enjoy drawing:
-Romance
-Strong female leads
-Fantasy
-School settings
-Comedy

I am not interested in:
-Horror
-Action
-BL
-Sad stories


You can contact me here, via PM, AIM or through my primary email: [e-mail]

Bad:

hey i'm looking for an writer, i'll do any genre (*chances are you wont) and my art stile is chibified and really crappy(*don't insult your own artwork) and i have no samples lololol

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Misc tips:
-Try not to refer to previous collaborators/artists in a negative manner in your pitch. Yes it sucks when they leave, but mentioning it is just going to make it look like you're a pain to work with and were the possible reason they left. It's like mentioning exes on dates when you wanna get laid. lol
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Other forums for finding collabs:
Smackjeeves forum
Drunkduck forums
Online comics. net
Digital webbing (not very amatuer friendly)
Deviant art

[Jazzbie]

[reserved]

Mmkay I might turn this into a 'misc tips' if we get enough. Feel free to add your own input of you have any smile

You can post now.

[-2o]

You forgot the big one: Compensation.

Too many artists/writers come in and end up frustrated and annoyed when they get chewed out for not stating directly "This is a project for fun" in their OP. The way I see it, you're better off saying it's for fun than "gaia gold" or "recognition" The former which is more or less worthless (especially in the amounts usually offered) the latter which is just ******** insulting because the recognition is a right, not a bargaining tool.


(I like the ideal of a giant comic creators super thread, by the way)

[fanartist]

Maybe have a list of genres people can pick and choose from for the "will do/will not do" list? And having a list of ratings would be nice too. For instance, PG-13 is probably as far as I'll draw in terms of comfort level.

Also, a list of strengths and weaknesses would be helpful (Such as I'm not a very good character designer :'< And I hate toning =_=a).

[daydreamer_girl]

Subscribing to this. It was totally needed. Seriously.

[BlackBeanAce]

well Jazzbie you have to realize a lot of user on this site are either students or little kids.

What I'm trying to say is that we will see a lot of "bad examples" here and it is within our control to read them or not, but it is not within our control to make them not post.

And I feel odd about your choice of Amentar's quoting, there are tons of great advises here and you have to choose Amentar's? I don't know about you but I feel that person has anger issues or have watched American Idol for too long.

[Jazzbie]

BlackBeanAce

And I feel odd about your choice of Amentar's quoting, there are tons of great advises here and you have to choose Amentar's? I don't know about you but I feel that person has anger issues or have watched American Idol for too long.

It was good advice for the topic at hand. If you know of a different quote, feel free to post it here and i may switch it.

I'm getting the vibe that you just have a beef with the user, and not the advice itself.

[BlackBeanAce]

Jazzbie

BlackBeanAce

And I feel odd about your choice of Amentar's quoting, there are tons of great advises here and you have to choose Amentar's? I don't know about you but I feel that person has anger issues or have watched American Idol for too long.

It was good advice for the topic at hand. If you know of a different quote, feel free to post it here and i may switch it.

I'm getting the vibe that you just have a beef with the user, and not the advice itself.

I don't like the way Amentar presents her ideas, and sometime the ideas are inaccurate, and if you try to correct her she would call you names....

And she called my friend a idiot/racist for no reason....but that was a long time ago...and it doesn't really concen me anyway, but still...

[Jazzbie]

BlackBeanAce

Jazzbie

BlackBeanAce

And I feel odd about your choice of Amentar's quoting, there are tons of great advises here and you have to choose Amentar's? I don't know about you but I feel that person has anger issues or have watched American Idol for too long.

It was good advice for the topic at hand. If you know of a different quote, feel free to post it here and i may switch it.

I'm getting the vibe that you just have a beef with the user, and not the advice itself.

I don't like the way Amentar presents her ideas, and sometime the ideas are inaccurate, and if you try to correct her she would call you names....

And she called my friend a idiot/racist for no reason....but that was a long time ago...and it doesn't really concen me anyway, but still...

O-kay do you think the advice I quoted is inaccurate? Because I think it's spot-on even if it's harsh.

And I will probably add more quotes from other forum goers if i find them relevant smile they are free to post them up here or even make their own threads though, lol.

[-2o]

BlackBeanAce

well Jazzbie you have to realize a lot of user on this site are either students or little kids.

What I'm trying to say is that we will see a lot of "bad examples" here and it is within our control to read them or not, but it is not within our control to make them not post.

The way I see it is less about controlling the post than it is about controlling the extent to which these threads clog the forum.

What would you rather have: Person posts bad topic---> a half dozen posters all drop the same advice -----> they argue back and forth and therefore keep the topic bumped up at the expense of more content filled threads OR Person posts bad topic ----> Link to this thread is dropped. ----> person either reads it or doesn't ----> OP either adjusts their thread so it will be more successful in which case a thread runs a decent course, so whatever ----> Op doesn't adjust but who gives a ******** because they can argue with empty space?


Of course it would only work if the regs that like to spend pages upon pages arguing with some kid who clearly wont get it would just simply move on and let those threads die but one could hope.

[Amentar]

Yay, nice guide. How do we get this stickified? And thanks for the quote, though you might try snipping out the second and last sentences to make it more general.

[I3ek]

Great advice, but I admit I don't have high hopes for it making a difference. Those who are conscientious enough to read this would probably be smart enough to do it the proper way in the first place, and those who are doing it incorrectly don't bother to read this thread. Hell, most of them don't even read the forum rules. Of course, it's probably just as hard to prevent some of the forum's harsher critics from posting in these threads, too, and keeping them afloat...

Granted, I would love to see everyone taking this advice, so I'll cross my fingers and hope that it makes at least a small impact.

As a suggestion, maybe you could include a pre-made form where people can opt to simply fill out the blanks. That might improve the chances that some people might utilize this thread. People are lazy, and if they see they can just copy and paste something and fill in a few blanks, they might be more ready to do that than read this whole thread. That's what I had back in the good ol' days when I ran a "Seeking" directory, and it worked fairly well.

[daydreamer_girl]

I3ek

Great advice, but I admit I don't have high hopes for it making a difference. Those who are conscientious enough to read this would probably be smart enough to do it the proper way in the first place, and those who are doing it incorrectly don't bother to read this thread. Hell, most of them don't even read the forum rules. Of course, it's probably just as hard to prevent some of the forum's harsher critics from posting in these threads, too, and keeping them afloat...

Granted, I would love to see everyone taking this advice, so I'll cross my fingers and hope that it makes at least a small impact.

As a suggestion, maybe you could include a pre-made form where people can opt to simply fill out the blanks. That might improve the chances that some people might utilize this thread. People are lazy, and if they see they can just copy and paste something and fill in a few blanks, they might be more ready to do that than read this whole thread. That's what I had back in the good ol' days when I ran a "Seeking" directory, and it worked fairly well.

Think of it this way, instead of going to individual threads and posting the exact same piece of advice over and over, you can just say a brief message and link to this thread. Saves you time, instead of repeating everything to the same amount of dense people.

[wickeddelight]

The sad fact is, there are so any more writers looking to collab than artists that it really doesn't seem to matter how nicely a writer advertises for an artist; if you don't want to do something short and you're not offering cash, you're our of luck. emo