Hi everyone!
Today I want to talk about something practical and important: paying in stages.
There is no universal rule for this, but over the years I have lost a significant amount of money to people who did not have my project’s best interests in mind. They were more focused on enriching themselves than on delivering good work.
My solution has been simple: I pay in stages.
In comics, this usually means paying per page. The number of pages I commit to depends entirely on how well I know the creator. With long term collaborators I trust, such as the amazing Gideon John who recently coloured Cascade 2, Fauna, and Cascade 3, I am willing to commit to larger batches.
With someone new, I start small, even as small as page by page.
When I was young, I was taught an important lesson: whenever you take a risk, be willing to lose everything you’re risking.
Hiring creative contractors follows the same rule. Through miscommunication, delays, or even deliberate action by the contractor, you can lose everything you pay someone. It is shockingly easy for that to happen.
Be deliberate. Decide what you can afford to risk. Never pay more than that amount without seeing delivered work that you like.
Good luck out there.
– Ed