Selling Yourself

Living the life of the gainfully unemployed is a constant game of self-promotion, solicitation, and motivation with the possibility of maybe gaining the slightest step towards the promise of some kind of reward.

(It could be said this describes the life of a freelancer as well... go fig.)

Every now and then, though, you'll come across a job prospect that genuinely piques your interest. That makes you realize all you've been doing to find a job up till this point isn't as much as you COULD be doing. It inspires you to do more.

This happened to me last month when I came across an ad for a "Creative Director" at a company that produces promotional "idea pitch" videos for circulation on the web. The videos on their website were clever, entertaining and genuinely interesting, and the overall vibe I got from the company was a positive one, so I decided to put that extra effort into telling them how awesome I am.

My only problem? I've never been a "Creative Director," or any other kind of director, in my life, and I could only guess at what such a person might do. Yet I still felt a pull towards the position. The epiphany that eventually struck me led to what you are about to read: a self-promotional piece written in the casual, conversational style of their videos, with an emphasis on entertaining, educational storytelling, explaining why I thought I was right for the job, despite maybe being under-qualified at first glance. I posted it as a private page on my personal website so that, after reading it, they might browse through my other work to learn more about me. It was, effectively, my cover letter.

Sadly, I never heard back from them (which is why I'll be replacing their business name below with "Company-X"), but I wouldn't hesitate in encouraging others to make this sort of effort when applying for a job they're passionate about. It may seem risky, but sometimes these risks pay off. Make your passion known. Don't just rattle off facts at prospective employers, engage them. Show them that you're a person who WANTS to do the job, not just a robot who can do the job.

Anyway, I invite any tips, advice, or criticisms regarding what you read below. Maybe next time I do something like it (and I'm sure I will) I'll actually get a response.

~*~*~*~

Hello, Company-X. Let me tell you a story...

Have you ever read a comic book?

Of course you have; everybody loves comics.

Well, maybe not that guy...

But do you know what goes into making one?

Every comic starts with a Writer.

(You’d be amazed how many people don’t realize that.)

Today, comic books are much more of a writer-driven industry than they were even a decade ago. Whether you’re looking at the corporate assembly lines of Marvel or DC, or the myriad independently-owned publications, comics -- like any story-based medium -- are born in the head of the writer.

If that writer is lucky, he is also a skilled artist and letterer... but more commonly, the writer writes and he relies on other talented individuals to handle the rest of the creative chores.

But what if a writer doesn’t already work for one of the Big Two? What if he’s just a regular Joe with a dream of making comics?

First, that writer needs to find himself an artist. If he’s lucky (you’ll notice “Luck” becomes an essential part of the creation process), he’ll find an artist who can cover the full spectrum of duties: pencilling, inking, and coloring.

If not, he'll likely need to find a different person to handle each aspect.

(Just in case you’re keeping count, that’s FOUR people working on a single comic book.)

1) The Writer provides the story…



2) The Penciler translates the writer’s words into images…



3) When needed, an Inker brings depth and weight to the penciler’s illustrations…

Like so.

(Far more than simple tracing...)

(...popular myth notwithstanding)

4) Finally, the Colorist adds vibrant life to the images…

And what about the words?

Well, that’s where the Letterer comes in. The letterer is tasked with fitting all of the writer’s dialogue into the word balloons, and placing them throughout the panel -- it may seem simple, but you’d be surprised how difficult and precise the art of lettering is, and how important it is to the reading experience.

That brings us to a total of FIVE team-members.

Five separate, yet equally important factors which must come together perfectly to produce a single comic.

If you have the time, you can let each team-member take as long as they want… but that’s not very realistic is it? Not if you want to put a new comic in your readers’ hands every month. Even with tons of lead-time, the deadline always rears its ugly head, so it becomes essential to keep the wheels on the creative train running smoothly.

In a big publishing company, it’s the editor’s job to make sure the talent is on-schedule, but in the world of independent comics, that responsibility falls to the person who kick-started the whole endeavor in the first place… The Writer.

The writer sends the scripts to the penciller, acts as intermediary between penciller and the inker, inker and colorist, and when the art is finished, the writer gets it to the letterer to work his magic.

On a good week, all pieces of the creative machine can be working simultaneously.

So, what would you call the person who conceives the story, finds artists to draw it, keeps them on schedule to get the finished art to the letterer in time to get the finished book to the publisher in time to pass it to the printer in time to hand it to the distributor in time to send it to the stores in time to get it on the shelves by Wednesday?

Well… I guess you’d call that person a Creative Director, wouldn’t you?

Sounds awfully official, though. All the writer wanted was to tell a story. That technical, managerial, business stuff was just what he needed to learn in order to make his dream a reality.

Hi.

I'm a writer.

On my best days, I am a comic writer.

Most importantly, I am a storyteller.

I've never held the title of "Project Supervisor," but what I have done is incepted, overseen, and completed several comic book projects. I have a creative mind and an artist’s eye, and I know how to manage multiple elements of a single project while communicating openly and clearly with the artists involved to ensure everyone has the best experience possible while getting the work done on time.

Within my mind is the architecture of a Creative Director.

I’ve explored your website, I’ve watched your videos, and as you can see, I found myself inspired. I want to be a part of your team and I am willing to learn whatever is necessary to make that a reality. I knew nothing about making comics before I decided I wanted to write them... In this case, I'm confident I have more of a head-start than that. Given the opportunity, I know I will make a valuable addition to your team.

Of course... in order to prove that, I need to be given the opportunity.

The ball is in your court.

No pressure.

Thanks for your time. Feel free to poke around the site.