One of the biggest fears that I have in creating comic books is the potential inability to finish a story arc. I try to have the entire story run completely outlined and planned out to the best of my ability. However, life sometimes throws us curveballs that might cause us to fall into the realm of incompletion. For some, self-doubt will keep them from ever finishing the very things they claimed to be passionate about. How many friends, family members, or acquaintances have you known who started something incredibly passionately, only to give up not long after.
For me, I started approaching other creators in my mind with a three-book rule. I feel that once you have published, produced, and distributed three titles, we are truly colleagues. Why this number? Simply because I have witnessed so many creators disappear after making one or two books. This scares me to think of because we are being robbed of what could potentially be amazing stories.
Still, the reality is that people come into the world of creation for a reason. For some, it is true to have an expression of ourselves printed in some tangible form. For others, it is a hustle to potentially make money. I will go ahead and squash that idea for anyone thinking you can just pop into the comic world and make bank if no one knows you. It simply is nearly impossible to happen. However, if you still insist to pursue quick cash in comics, I wish you the very best of luck. The longer you are in any given field, the more you realize what other people are seeing and thinking. Sometimes this can help bolster your outlook, and other times it can simply be upsetting.
I want to encourage everyone that the pursuit of self-edification through creation is not just a prideful act. If it is birthed out of the spark of creativity, then it is not just for you, it is to give a voice to something that others might connect with. This is something that can be tainted and veiled, where some people come into the fold pretending to be for creativity when they are trying to exploit consumers. This happens in any artistic field, and you can see it on a large display just walking around a Comic Con’s artist alley. What things are original? What things are copies of other people's content?
Be original. Be in the creative world to share your voice, not just copy off of another kid's homework. We are all unique, and in the artistic realm, we are all weirdos. Find the weirdos who help elevate you, and don’t worry too much about the ones that are trying to hold you back. Most of all, do it for the love of it.