Comic Related - If It's Comic Related, You'll Find It Here!

#28: Take Initiative

There has never been a better time in the history of the universe to put ideas into motion. So what the hell are we waiting for?

Welcome back everybody! While this Creating Comics! article will, of course, focus on things comic related, it truly applies to anything in life. We live in amazing times where the possibilities for pursuing our passions are seemingly boundless and the opportunities for interacting with people with shared interests and passions have never been greater. I recently read a book called Tribes by Seth Godin. A central tenet of Godin's book is this: Ideas that spread, win. And in case you haven't noticed, it's never been easier to spread a good idea. The internet and social networking tools are changing the way we interact, and offer incredible promise for spreading powerful new ideas. Want some proof? Sure thing. Let's talk about three good ideas in the comics community that have spread like wildfire over the past year.

Item 1: If you're an independent comics creator, I'm guessing you've heard about Indy Comic Book Week. (If not, you need to be paying more attention.) Indy Comic Book Week isn't so much an event as it is a call to action. When Diamond Distributers announced earlier this year that it would not be shipping comic books the last week in December, a few independent creators saw this as an opportunity. The simple idea: Since there won't be new Spider-mans and Batmans on the shelf that week, perhaps, for just that week only, comic book stores would be willing to carry some new independent titles and place them in that prime new arrivals shelf space. A good idea, for sure. If they wanted to, I'm sure the originators could have had some success with it, contacting all their local stores and getting them to carry their books. Might have been a savvy move for a few creators, and turned into a nice local story. But they didn't choose to keep the idea to themselves. Through the power of social media, they shared this idea with the world, and Indy Comic Book Week is no longer just an idea or a call to action. It's a movement. Now dozens, if not hundreds of creators around the country (world?) are involved and more than twenty comic shops have signed on and will be vocally supporting the event. Independent creators are out there hustling to get their books done. Ka-Blam has signed on and is offering discounts for Indy Comic Book Week books. Creators are using innovative tools such as KickStarter as a method of fundraising to cover printing costs for their books. Indy Comic Book Week is becoming a big deal, and though still a few weeks away, I'd argue is already a success. Ideas that spread, win.


Item 2: I'm still kicking myself for not attending the New England Webcomics Weekend earlier this year. In March, hundreds of webcomics creators and enthusiasts convened on a small town in western Massachusetts for an impromptu festival to celebrate webcomics. Conceived and organized by Meredith Gran of Octopus Pie as an excuse for a small group of her cartoonist peers to get together for beers, with an invitation to fans to join along, the idea caught on like wildfire. Before long, the guest list for NEWW read like a veritable who's who of movers and shakers in the webcomics community. The event consisted of webcartoonists exhibiting their work, panels on topics like how to make a cool t-shirt, and the Half-Pixel crew even recorded a live episode of Webcomics Weekly during the event. Positive reviews and pictures of event reverberated throughout the webcomics community immediately after, and as a result, webcomics weekend events, such as the recent Dallas Webcomics Expo are sprouting up in other areas. Ideas that spread, win.

Item 3: This article goes live on Day 30 of the 30 Characters Challenge. If you follow me on Twitter, no doubt you've heard of it. In late October, having put off fleshing out characters for a new super hero universe I wanted to create long enough, I had an idea. I should commit to creating a new character each day for every day of November...30 characters in 30 days. I realized that if I kept this idea to myself, I'd only be accountable to myself (and thus not very accountable.) So, I decided to share this idea with the world...or at least my tiny corner of it. But instead of sharing it as a declaration of "Hey look what I'm doing?", I decided to share it as an invitation of "Hey look what I'm doing? Care to join me?" And as it turned out, more than twenty other creators were just as crazy as me, and decided to take up the challenge. As a result, hundreds and hundreds of new characters have been created (all of which can be seen and commented on at the 30 Characters Blog.) A supportive community of creators has sprung up around this simple month-long challenge. And there are even creators out there who have decided to do the challenge on their own, posting to their own blogs. Ideas that spread...well, you get the picture.

These three items are just a small fraction of the wonderful grass-roots ideas and events that are spreading across the comics community. Now I have to ask, what about you? Do you have an idea? (Of course you have a freaking idea! You have tons of them!) A better question is this: What can be learned from the recent implementation of these successful ideas when it's time for you to implement yours? Well, here are my takaways:

1.) Simple is beautiful. One of the most glaring commonalities of the three items mentioned above is that the initial ideas behind them are ridiculously simple. "Create 30 characters in 30 days, one for every day in November." "Webcartoonists unite for a weekend festival celebrating the artform we love!" "No books shipping from Diamond? Not to worry, comic book shops...Indy comics has you covered." Good ideas? Okay, sure. But we're not talking Einstein levels of genius here. More often than not, ideas that spread, ideas that win, are simple and direct, and can be summed up in a pithy sentence or two. When ideas are simple and clear, they're easily plugged into the sentence that starts, "Hey, did you hear about..." And if you want your idea to spread, you want a lot of people saying that sentence. So if you have a good idea, think about how you can express it as simply, clearly, and directly as possible...and then watch it spread. (NOTE: This is especially true for your comic book idea pitches as well. If you can't sum up your story idea in a sentence, you're not ready to pitch it.)

2.) "The Man" isn't in charge anymore. Guess what? Big media doesn't have a chokehold on the good ideas anymore. There are independent Youtube channels with higher viewership than some network TV shows. The ideas mentioned above weren't initiated by large media entities, but rather by engaged members of the comics community at large. Many creators reported that New England Webcomics Weekend was among the most enjoyable and successful shows they've ever attended. Apparently, you don't need to be Wizard to put on a good comic book show. (Just ask Scott Kurtz.) The Indy Comic Book Week Team (Jake Ekiss, Vinh-Luan Luu, Paul Milligan & Matthew Warlick) didn't have to get anyone's permission to put out their call to action. We're living in an age where it's up to you and I to give ourselves the green light.

3.) Honesty + Authenticity + Accessibility + Transparency = High Chance of Success. You know who I feel bad for? The hucksters, the charletons, the tonic peddlers... they're living in the wrong era. Maybe we're just a nation of cynics and skeptics (which isn't always a great thing) but people today can spot a phony from a mile away. The only choice is to be authentic and upfront with people. Keep it real. When I was getting 30 Characters off of the ground, I used a free Wordpress Blog to post my call to action and encouraged comments and feedback. From that, I quickly sought to pull other creators into the Challenge, gave them author privileges on the blog, and listened and responded to feedback about how it should be organized. If your idea is going to require the participation of others, it's best to be honest about what you are asking from them, and accessible to the tribe you're building.

4.) It's not about taking the credit. An important question to ask yourself when initiating an idea is this: Is this idea about you or is it about the change you wish to see? If your idea is solely intended to promote yourself or make you a bajillion dollars, it's going to have a tough time spreading. If the event was titled Meredith Gran's Webcomics Weekend and she charged large table fees to participate, not as many creators would have made the trip. If the guys behind Indy Comic Book Week tried to monetize the idea, acting as a middle man between participating shops and creators, the idea would not have gained the momentum it has. Had I made 30 Characters entirely about me and my comics, I'd probably be the only one doing it. Focus on building and spreading the idea. Do that well, and the credit (and perhaps the financial return) will eventually come.

5.) Take a shot. What's the worst that could happen? "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," right? I mean, we all know it's true. "We won't make 100% of the shots we don't take." Yup, heard that one, too. In fact, one of the biggest aspects of the collective American mythos is the celebration of our pioneer, adventurous, risk-taking spirit. It's supposedly ingrained in our DNA? And yet, how many of us are truly taking any risks? What about you?

Here's a test. When was the last time you completely failed at something? Anything? Big or small? When was the last time you tried a new sport or skill and fell flat on your face? When was the last time you approached a beautiful stranger and were completely rejected cold? When was the last time you tried a new recipe and it came out awful? If it's been awhile, it could be just that you're WAY too awesome. (Possibly.) But more likely than not, it's that you aren't taking enough chances. And why? It's because we have an almost paralyzing fear of failure. There are psychological and physiological reasons for this of course. After all, rejection stimulates the same areas of the brain as physical pain (and physical pain sure does suck.) Negative criticism impacts most people negatively about three times as much as encouraging praise does positively. But at the end of the day, if the idea is a good one, and you give it a shot, even the worst case scenario is better than not doing anything at all.

If I had put out my invitation for 30 Characters and heard a crickets-type response, what then? Well, hell, I still would have done it myself and brought some new characters to life. If the Webcomics Weekend idea never caught on, it still would have been a good get together for local webcomic creators. If 99% of comic shops said thanks but no thanks to the Indy Comic Book Week idea, well, there's still that 1% that say sure, we'll put up your books. The point being, even if the idea never catches on, what have you got to lose? Take a chance every now and again. Be afraid to fail, and do it anyway. It's called living. Try it some time. You just might like it.

Because this is an article on a comics news website, these are the examples of ideas that have spread wider than their originators had ever dreamed within the comics community. But things like this are happening everywhere. If you haven't heard of Gary Vaynerchuk, just wait about five minutes...the guy is everywhere. He's a guy who transformed his passion for wine and people into a multimillion dollar business and a 10 book deal. (Take 10 minutes and watch this clip when you finish the article. He'll make you laugh and fire you up.) Or how about the guy behind iwearyourshirt.com? He's taken a ridiculously simple idea and turned it into a new career, making a killing as a professional t-shirt wearer. Opportunities abound, regardless of your passions. The time to act is now.

In this article, I've tried to share my take-aways and tips for making things happen. While the possibility and prospect for turning your good idea into something great has never been better, I want to finish up on the question of why. Why bother? What if my idea is going to require a lot of work, with no guarantee of success? If it's truly a good idea, surely someone else will have it. Why not let them do the work? You already said it can't be all about the credit or the money. Why me? Why now? Why bother?

To answer this question, I'm going to borrow again from Godin's Tribes and the most memorable line therein. "Initiative = Happiness." Think about it, because it is 100% true. The happiest people I know are the ones who regularly and consistently put ideas they are passionate about into motion. They don't wait for the world to happen to them. They make things happen. In an earlier article in this series, I talked about how to develop great ideas and the frustration caused by ignoring a great idea. It's still a little early for New Year's resolutions, but how's this for a lifetime resolution: Resolve to never let another good idea die in your head. If it's something you're passionate about and have the capability and resources to pursue, then get after it! And it if it's not something you'll be able to tackle alone, then share it with the world, and perhaps someone else will run with it. We only get one shot at this life. Why hold anything back?
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Readers Note: Creating Comics! The Art + Craft will be taking a short hiatus. This will be the last article in 2009. I sincerely want to thank all of you who have been reading, commenting, or emailing to say you've found value in this column. I'm taking a breather due to the always busy holiday season approaching, as well as to spend some time putting into motion some of MY big ideas for 2010. If there are specific topics you'd like me to address when the column returns in the new year, please let me know.

Finally, if you've enjoyed this or any article I've written in this series and want to take a minute to give me an early Christmas gift, please consider commenting below, sharing with a friend, posting a link on Twitter or Facebook, Stumble it, post on Digg or Reddit, or any of the other ways we share things we like in this amazing interconnected world in which we all now live.

God Bless and have a happy holiday season.

Best,

Tyler James

Tyler James is a comics creator residing in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He writes and draws Over, a romantic comedy online graphic novel updating every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He also writes Tears of the Dragon, an epic fantasy webcomic. His work has been featured at Zuda Comics, and includes Interrogation Control Element, a political action thriller, and Super Seed, the story of the world's first super powered fertility clinic. When not making comics, Tyler works as a game designer and content producer for a software company.

Contact Tyler directly at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, keep up with him at his blog, or follow him on Twitter.

Previous Columns

1: Big Goals
2: Resolutions
3: The Great Idea
4: Research Part I
5: Research Part II
6: The Killer Pitch Part I - The High Concept
7: The Killer Pitch Part II - The Synopsis
8: Pay Your Artists
9: Zuda Comics- A Tale of Five Submissions
10: Creating Great Characters Part I (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
11: Creating Great Characters Part II (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
12: Structurally Sound- The Beginning
13: Your Reputation
14: Structurally Sound- The Middle
15: Structurally Sound - The End
16: Your First Con
17: Beat It
18: Memorable Scenes
19: Mailbag
20: Comics Dialogue - Part I
21: Comics Dialogue - Part II
22: Baltimore Comic Con - Part I
23: Baltimore Comic Con - Part II
24: Is It Worth It?
25: The Re-Write Part I
26: The Re-Write Part II
27: The Re-Write Part III