CSotD: A Different Kind of Studio Tour
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Christopher Baldwin pauses between Storyline 2 and Storyline 3 of Spacetrawler to give us a look behind the scenes.
Now, if you've ever wondered who the one person is who has a blog but isn't particularly into science fiction, that would be me. Or, to put it another way, "there's one in every crowd" and, in the on-line crowd, I'm the one.
But if my interest in science fiction is low, my love of good storytelling is high, and Spacetrawler, which I started reading out of loyalty to Chris, has drawn me in on its own merits.
And, since the next exciting chapter is about to launch, this would be an excellent time for you to start reading it. There's even a New Readers page to get you up to speed. (Hint to webcartoonists: If your story has continuing stories or a set cast of characters, you need one of these pages, too.)
This unusual episode is very amusing and a little startling for those of us who followed Christopher back in his "Bruno" days, when his on-line personna indicated neither the inclination nor the off-the-cuff sense of humor to have done something like this.
But it's also a very good example, even an over-the-top example, of an important aspect of success in webcomics, which is that you have to create a personal bond with your readers. It's usually done in comments below the strip or on a forum, but there are very few successful web cartoonists who can just put their work online and not reach out to readers beyond that.
And another hint to webcartoonists, as well as a necessary disclaimer: Christopher and I have been working together for roughly a decade and have, together, produced seven serialized stories for young readers, and we are booked to do an eighth together this coming year. You can see the first few chapters of each, and the wonderful illustrations for the first few chapters of each, right here.
I don't know how much money Christopher has made through this collaboration, but certainly something in five figures, which isn't much spread out over a decade but remains better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
But here's where the disclaimer becomes a tip: I first approached Christopher because, at that stage, he had run "Bruno" for about six years with very, very, very few if any breaks. Not only was he updating often, but he was faithful to his schedule.
Since I was working on the side of creativity where money is being shelled out, where people are expected to show up and where things are supposed to happen on time, it was necessary that I find someone who kept to deadlines. Complaints about flu or balky ISPs or recalcitrant software are fine, as long as they are followed by the phrase, "but, anyway, here it is," where "it" is both on time and excellent.
And, on the rare occasions when Christopher either wasn't able to take the time for a project or wasn't "right" for it, he handed me off to people who shared his dependability, including Dylan Meconis and Clio Chiang, but also an artist from that talented little community whom I didn't get to work with.
Which meant that, when I gave my granddaughter a copy of "Anya's Ghost" this past Christmas, I got to say, "I almost worked with her on a project, but she was too busy, so I did it with Dylan Meconis instead. You remember, I gave you Dylan's book, 'Bite Me," last year?"
The point of all this is that, when someone is name-dropping as I am here, you want to be one of the names they are dropping. And, which is more important, when someone is recommending people for a paying gig, you want to be one of the people they recommend.
That doesn't happen if you don't show up at your own drawing board every day, all alone there in your little garret, and produce and post good work on a regular basis.
When I was first starting to become a writer, I found inspiration in some lines from a John Stewart song, "And those who hold the hope, they just sit and smoke their dope, and they talk of 'where it's at' and all the books they never wrote."
I never wanted to be one of those people.
Hm. This seems to have turned into a lecture. Well, what if it has?
For more information on web cartooning, come back into the vault and share my 2010 visit to the New England Webcomics Weekend, where you'll meet Christopher and Dylan, as well as Jonathan Rosenberg, late of "Goats" and now of "Scenes from a Multiverse."
Or skip the grand tour and just enjoy this interview with Christopher, which can also be found there:
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