John Ostrander: Freelancers Live Without A Net
As the comics world knows, writer Peter David recently had a stroke. I’ve known Peter for a long time and I both respect and often envy his talent, skill and the breadth of his work. Peter has health insurance but there are plenty of bills that just won’t get covered and, as pointed out here on ComicMix, fans who want to show financial support can do so by purchasing his work at Crazy 8 Press. That’s incredibly easy; not only do your help Peter and his family but will probably get a damn fine read out of it at the same time. Like I said, Peter is a very talented writer.
Peter’s better prepared (as far as anyone can be prepared for something like this) than many in the field; he has health insurance and most other freelancers – including myself – don’t. It’s hard to get, and harder to afford, health insurance when you’re a freelancer. By it’s very nature, a freelancer’s life is precarious.
Take for example, job security. There isn’t any. Beyond your current contract (if you have one), there’s no guarantee you’ll have a job when it ends. You may be on a title for a long time, but that always ends. I had a “continuity contract” at one time with DC which guaranteed me so much work (and health insurance) within a given time frame, but that is long since gone. I don’t know if it’s offered any more. It was difficult for me to get a mortgage back when I bought my house (which I no longer own) and I dare say it’s tougher now if you’re a freelancer.
When you’re a freelancer, you only get paid for the work you actually do. There’s no sick pay, there’s no paid holidays, there’s no paid vacation. You sometimes get royalties ( or “participation” or whatever term a given company chooses to call it) and that’s nice. Amanda Waller’s “participation” in the Green Lantern movie sent me some nice bucks that were sorely needed at the time but that’s like finding an extra twenty in your jeans that you forgot you had. You never know when it’s coming and you can’t rely on it.
In some cases, you can’t even be sure you’ll get the check. The major companies are reliable but the smaller ones can be iffy. One company went into bankruptcy owing me thousands of dollars that I never saw. As I grow older, I continuously worry about getting work. For the past ten years I’ve done Star Wars comics over at Dark Horse but, with the sale of LucasFilm to Disney, that could change. (And, no, I don’t know any more about that than you do.) Will I be able to get other work? I’m going to be 64 this year and haven’t worked in an office for maybe 35 years. What office would hire me now?
When I was just out of college and aiming for a life in theater (another financially iffy occupation), my mother really wanted me to get a master’s degree in English. That way, I might be able to teach, have something to fall back on. My problem was – and is – that I know that if I had something to fall back on, I’d fall back on it. I had to work without a net, I felt, if I was going to make it at all.
Right now, it feels like I’m on the high trapeze and all the lights are out. At some point I’m going to have to let go of the bar and soar into the darkness and hope there’s another trapeze for me to grab. I have no pension, I have no life insurance or health insurance, I have no net.
This is not a pity plea. This is my life and I’ve chosen it. I’ve made my decisions and I live with them as best I can. I wish I had followed Peter’s example and branched out more into other media. I’m happy with some decisions I’ve made and regretful of others. That’s life.
What I’m doing is issuing a warning. There are many, many young writers and artists out there who want a career in comics. Very, very few can make a living off of it and, in many cases, that living only lasts a while. Some, like my fellow ComicMix columnist Marc Alan Fishman and his cohorts at Unshaven Comics, work day jobs while doing their comics work in their increasingly disappearing spare time. Once they’ve created the work, the Unshaven Comics crew also takes to the road, selling their comics at conventions. Ask them how tough that gets.
If you want to make comics a career, go for it. But you should understand what you’re getting into. I love my job and feel fortunate to have been able to do it for as long as I have. However, a freelancer’s life – whatever field – is precarious at best. It can be very scary.
If you want to try to make a living as a freelancer, just make sure you can deal with the idea of living without a net.
MONDAY: Mindy Newell
Wow, thanks for the shout out John. And yes, you have it exactly right. When we decided we wanted to be in comics, we already had steady girlfriends, and rent payments to make. There was no chance we could try it without a net. We made that choice 5 or 6 years ago because we simply had to. I have the utmost respect for you, and Peter David, and ALL the creators who took the chance I could not. And for what it’s worth: if Unshaven Comics sells Samurnauts off for a cool million, you’re on permanent staff with us. :)
Great article Mr. Ostrander! I never knew this little dark secret about freelancers until my best friend, Hector Collazo (former Marvel/DC inker and illustrator) had to go freelance and struggled not only with bills but having no health insurance. Sadly, like Peter David, he had a stroke two months ago and passed away quite suddenly. He was 45.
We all love this medium but we need to support its artists and creators because it’s a hard profession to stick to and make money out of. I admire the Peter Davids, the Jon Ostranders, and all the other creators who manage to not only entertain us but squeeze out some measure of income out of creating great art and stories in comics. I wish you luck, Mr. Ostrander. I wish you a speedy recovery, Peter.
I think hat is an important message, letting new and would-be freelancers know the risks.
But it’s also important to be aware that there are ways of building a net. Some of hat is discipline, saving at times when he money is moving well to be better set up. It’s knowing that there are freelancer organizations that can help you hook up with cheaper insurance, and the way the insurance landscape is changing with Obamacare.
And then there is the great net, the one that has kept me going for the last decade: marriage. It’s not why I married her (when I proposed, she was a student), but a wife with a steady job and insurance benefits proves to be a wonderful net, relieving much of the stress.
Joseph Campbell advised us to “follow your bliss.”
If only 99.9% could…
There’s a financial reason why I work full-time as a nurse.
Hey, my wife and I have been walking that highwire since 1988, after I quit Marvel and she started getting writing jobs from children’s book publishers. We’re still at it. We will still be at it when we drop dead with pen and pencil in hand. This is not a career for the faint of heart. You are warned, kiddies.
I’m one of those wannabes who followed Mom’s advice and earned an English degree to fall back on. Just as your column notes, I fell back on it. It’s been a steady and often rewarding career, but not what I wanted.
Mister I’m a hugefan of your work and specialy on your last star wars (the legacy saga include) I didn’t know your situation about health insurance. I’m French so it’s difficult for me to see something like that possible specially when you past 60 year’s old. My dad had 63 me 34. The system care it different. But lately things are changing and maybe the Europe will had the same difficulty. So I’m very concern about what you said because its concerns all of us on the world. The tips you gave are good thank for your expertise actually we must all paid for extra care and hoping we will never need it. Thank you again for all you dedicated work on telling great storys on the univers!!
Thanks, John! As a freelance writer married to a musician, I can attest to the truth of what you say. Not only is insurance prohibitively expensive for freelancers, but even if you manage to have it, it’s easier for them to drop you, if you get sick. The rules that protect those who get insurance through a job, don’t apply to us. Supposedly, we should be able to get affordable insurance through one of the new exchanges, starting in 2014. It remains to be seen what their definition of affordable is.
Your article is very accurate … freelancing is difficult and getting worse. Fees are still dropping, most ADs are visually illiterate (on those rare occasions you work with one) and most of the stuff we work on is utter tripe.
I think the art schools are 50% of the problem, they keep churning out far too many students looking for work and most of them are not professionally ready … which further drives down rates.
The other 49% is the reading public. They whine about quality but will not, under any circs, pay extra for it. And to top it off, they buy through Amazon et al., which is a major component of the devaluation of creative work.
The last 1% is us, the commercial artists. We need to be far more realistic in dealing with certain (no, most) clients. When a guy with a pension, health plan, nice house, expensive suit & fancy car tells you that he (and it’s almost always a he, never a she) cannot afford paying you even minimum wage for a several months of 7-day work weeks, you are not negotiating a job. You are being screwed.
Screw him back. Be imaginative, something will come to mind.
I agree with you about art schools. Some (not all) give the student NO real professional training.
When I say ‘professional’ I’m talking about the business the student is about to enter not their portfolio.
No matter how good an artist you are it won’t matter if you think deadlines are something to be played with.