If Your Fans Are Happy...

San Diego Comicon. My publisher and I open a box of books we'd received just in time for the show. Because our printer was always perfect and pristine, this is the ONE time we didn't ask for a proof copy, in order to make the show deadline.

This was in the days of paper layout. We literally waxed certain elements into place. As we pulled the first copy of the book from the box, we saw – the waxed title logo had fallen off the front cover, and the book had been printed without its title. It had shipped all over the world AND IT HAD NO TITLE.

This was a Desert Peach issue dealing with rape in the military. The cover art I had done was graphic and frightening. Staring in horror at the book with no name, we looked up to see the first approaching fan. With a copy of this book in his hand. We braced ourselves. The fan lifted the book, and said, in awe:

“This is so profound. You let Donna's artwork speak for itself.”

While I was still standing there with my eyeballs and tongue stuck in place, my editor responded – cool as a copperhead:

“Yes, it was a difficult artistic decision, but I trust Donna in her vision.”

I jumped right in and pretended along with him. I am still in awe of his quick thinking and outright gall.

Do I have to tell anyone my publisher – as a child in Texas – went to cotillion?

What we learned: if the fans think whatever you do is wonderful, agree with them. It doesn't matter if you've made a mistake. If they're happy, say Thank You and pretend you meant to do that.

Fun With Senior Projects

Always help the youngsters with senior projects.  While answering questions can make us feel like, "Oh, geez, how am I an expert on this?" go ahead and do it anyway.  Drawn books and cartooning are HARD work -- those of you who did it before the interwebs know what it was like to do it all alone, as The Only Nerd in the neighborhood.  Or the house.

As for what follows: Sometimes these things fall apart -- trying to get art done is HARD, even for professionals.  Especially for professionals like me, who have the procrastinator gene in about 75% of their cells.   I DID email back and told the student to tell their mentor to stop using the idiot term "graphic novel," which is almost as stupid as "Speculative Fiction" (No argue with me; it has since mutated into - put down your coffee -- "Imaginary Fiction").

Wonder if the hooked-up mentor is an in-house teacher they didn't have to pay extra?  Just sayin.'  And they really do need a class in bullwhip publishing -- as in, "You've got a deadline!  Get on the paper or get a bloody stripe down your back! Wa-chow!"

Anyway, so nothing goes to waste:

1. What is your typical day like?

D: Get up, do business (Hotmail, gmail, banking, bill-paying, marketing - PING, Twitter, Facebook). Fart around on Facebook a while, which often picks up customers. Researching and getting freelance newspaper stories and photos, doing art, layout, erranding, whatever needs to be done for the day. I try to get in walks on the beach (including picking up litter), or fishing; some kind of exercise. Work in the garden, yard, with chickens. In the summer, do house repairs, painting, etc. Always plenty to do. In the evening, while doing more art, like to watch videos (mostly police prodedurals and animation).

2. What supplies do you need/use for your comics?

DB: Traditional: Paper, dip pens, ink, brushes, sometimes technical pens, watercolor. Digital: scanning, tablet, GIMP coloring, OpenOffice for layout, MacBook for all processing and publishing layout (extra files dumped onto extra hard drive; MacBook upgraded to 4 GB).

3. How long do you work each day?

DB: From ten to twelve hours, on average.

4. Does making comics alone pay the bills or do you also have to have a day job?

DB: A little of everything. Artists have hundreds of employers over a lifetime. You have to run your own business.

5. How long does it take to make one page? One full comic?j

DB: In my case? 56 years (it's not a valid question without including training, research and length, size, processing, etc., of the drawn book),

6. When did you start doing art related activities (drawing, coloring, art classes, etc.)?

DB: 1954

7. Where did you get your inspiration to be an artist?

DB: You can't help it. You just do it. It's like an obsession. Or a disease. :D

8. Who was or is your favorite artist ? In other words, is there another artist whose talents you admire?

DB: Ancient Egyptian tomb linework, cave paintings, Mayan temple art, ethnic and native arts (especially that of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska), Japanese 19th-century print art, Paul Brown - the horse artist from the 1940's. I like a lot of modern drawn-book people, including Roberta Gregory, Carla Speed McNeil, Diana Sasse, folks like that.

9. Who helps you make your comic(s), and what tasks do they perform?

DB: I'm a one-woman band. I do it alone.

10. How much time in a day do you spend doing art related tasks?

DB: Most of 'em, in one form or another.

11. What are the advantages and disadvantages between drawing by hand and using a drawing program like Photoshop?

DB: It's all toys. I'm faster than anybody on pencil because I've built my head files and hand muscles and bones for decades. Tablets are fine, too, though not as fast. Whatever you work with and like, will be fine. It depends on the artist.

12. Which do you prefer- working on paper or on a computer?

DB: Depends on the project.

13. When you are at a convention and people ask for a special drawing, what guidelines do you use?

DB: I don't ask people for drawings, and never have. I'm my favorite artist. Well, it's TRUE.

14. What is the process for printing/publishing a comic? What differences are there for publishing a web-comic?

DB: Let me try to do this as short as possible (when it comes to publishing, I could bore for England):

POD: check out FAQs at http:lulu.com and http://www.createspace.com, and find a drawn-book printer you like. My favorite is http://www.ka-blam.com Note: these are PRINTERS, not PUBLISHERS, so you can print on all of them. You're the publisher.

Webcomics: I like http://www.webcomicsnation.com Go out and find out you like. And use http://www.projectwonderful.com on it - or as soon as you can use PayPal. For credit-card processing on a website, hit http://www.ccnow.com

Traditional paper publishing: Do you have a few thousand extra dollars and a warehouse staff lying around? :D

15. How did you move from creating art for personal enjoyment to also being paid for it?

DB: It just happens. Hang around with artists and people who love art, and they'll ask you for art. The golden rule - always -- 50% up front, and 50% upon approval. And NEVER EVER EVER EVER release your copyright unless they can offer you a LOT of zeroes in the price. Now go and read http://www.copyright.gov This is VITAL. Another professional site you should know: http://www.gag.org

16. Are there any art-related tips or advice you can offer?

DB: Have fun. Work hard. Research. You know when you're doing good work, and when you're doing bad. DON't copy -- and NEVER steal somebody else's copyright, no matter what somebody offers you. It's just unprofessional. Only fans do that, and they should find out if a company or artists allows it (I do).

17. Is there anything that you think I missed regarding important questions and would like to share with me? If so, please state both the question/topic and your response.

DB: Try to always have fun. If you're making lots of money but you're unhappy, you might as well just go get a job at Boeing. If you're an artist, you can ALWAYS find somebody to buy your stuff. You can paint signs, and do CD covers, and design tattoos, and print t-shirts (http://www.zazzle.com is good). You can go to shows and find many many people who want art. You can't ever be fired. You'll work very very hard, and it's often very frustrating, but you'll always have so many roads you can travel you never have to give up. You'll never retire -- you'll probably fall dead at last over your latest, best painting or comics page. Which is the best way to go. And probably why artists don't fear death.

Speaking of dying, I need more submissions at http://alittledeathcomic.com !

If you are inspired by these answers to ask more questions, send them to me.

End of interview.  The student's email follows: 

This is an update on my senior project stuff, but it is also a thank you/apology letter as well. I have to thank you all for taking time to help me with my senior project. I have read all of the questionaires that you guys sent back to me, and I will use that information as a guide to help me in the future. Now here comes the apology part. The other part I was supposed to do was to sent 5 images to be critiqued so that I could redo them and get them critiqued agian. I was going to have them sent sooner, but here's why I havn't. first off it was trouble making the drawing in the first place. The first pictures that I had made before I startred this project I didn't really want to send because they weren't really that good, and they were almost the same (as in being drawn from the boring side view)  but when I tried to draw a new picture, I just couldn't get the the thing drawn. I know these alone are not a good excuse for the delay, but the next part is the true reason for why I may not send them at all. The biggest part of my senior project is my field of evidence, where I would work with a mentor through May 21-25 on the project. I have to accumulate 30-40 hours of work on this. While my project advisors definatly agreed that this electronic communciation thing may be a good experenice, it wouldn't count towards the field experience hours I need. My advisors have kindly hooked me up with someone who is currently my mentor on this. Now what I am doing is converting the novels thatI have started writing over the past 4 years into comics/graphic novels (the mentor is guiding me through this process like critiquing the script and synopsis, helping me with how a page should look etc) so thats currently what im focusing on now, but with both that and other school work to do, I don't really have time to do the drawings I meant to send (especally since I have to do some character illistrations in its place.)

 

So I'm sorry I'm kindoff cutting out of the deal, but I got to keep up with the part of my project thats actually counted. I may or may not sent the drawings I promised just so I can get the feedback. Even though I'm probably not going to be working with you guys on this project anymore, if you still want to see the drawings, or if you just still want to work with me (which you probably wont given your busy schedules) just message me about it.

 

thanks

THE PUBLISHER VERSION OF GAMING

I just want to see if I can do this.

With OpenOffice:

Das ist ein schönes Pferd, daß frißt und dann mich trägt am Übermorgen.

On Firefox:

Das ist ein schönes Pferd, daß frißt und dann mich trägt am Übermorgen.

And then with this:

˙ʇƃäɹʇ suǝƃɹoɯɹǝqü ɥɔıɯ uuɐp pun 'ʇßıɹɟ suǝƃɹoɯ sɐp 'pɹǝɟd sǝuöɥɔs uıǝ ʇsı sɐp

The Donna Barr Trade School

Now I've had a couple of students serving internships with me from the MCAD, I've had a chance to think about what I can really offer and what I need out of it.

I am no longer going to offer internships; I don't need people to show up here to do scanning and scut work.  I need to be able to pass on years of experience in art, writing and publishing -- and be paid for it.  Instead, I am offering a trade school.

If you're short of time and money and just want to get to work in any end of this industry, consider that I can offer you the same training as a college, with fewer costs in time and money.

Online option:  only three students at a time.

Required programs: Skype, GIMP and OpenOffice required. ComicLife optional.

The details for a one-month course; you must be a legal adult:

1. Costs for either on-line or in-place option:  $4500.00 Paypal (with additional fees) or money order.

In-place option:

2.  If you opt for training with me directly, you will find your own place to live while training, and feed yourself.

3.  You organize and pay for your own travel.  If you are late because you didn't take into consideration the distances or bus routes, you may not change your schedule; you'll have a lot of travel to do in this business and you can't be late for anything.

4.  Courses will consist of five hours per day, with an additional lunch break, from Monday through Friday.  You will have weekends to yourself, but you will be expected to finish all assignments.

5.  The first two weeks will be drawing, writing and comics layout.  The second week will be more full training in open source programs, including the art manipulation program GIMP, the layout program OpenOffice. The final week will be networking, accounting, marketing, small press publishing, cooking and health hints for authors, etc.  

Be prepared for a LOT of work, and no pity if you don't get it done (you'll never get any from a editor).  Time at the beaches and in the forests of the Olympic Peninsula can be earned by finishing projects in time for weekends.  Since I seldom get out to see them myself, I will be willing to provide transportation so I can see them too. However, I am not a hang-out buddy, so don't expect it.   I'm also a working freelance reporter, so I may have to leave you to work on your own; you should have enough independence to work hard without supervision.  Please don't bring up personal or family problems, unless we're just gabbing on beach-runs -- then anything's fair.

At the end of this course, you should have the tools you need to go out and work in the comics industry with fewer expensive or scary surprises.  It will not gain you recognition in academia, unless you think associating with an historically-recognized comics author will do so.  It may not necessarily open any doors for you (although I have a huge list of contacts who will listen to my recommendations), but it will give you the tools for being prepared to do so yourself.

You will also have the right to contact me any time after the class with reasonable, well-thought-out questions about anything having to do with comics, as well as access to my extensive colleague and reader community.  Your performance will count. If you make a bad impression during the course, you can redeem yourself by future life performance; I do not burn bridges, and people can change. Points are given for honest effort.

First person who signs up and pays for this gets to take me out to to the Clallam Bay Inn for fish n' chips and beer and a walk on the beach; no holds barred on the evening's conversation or questions.

ARGH! Missing pages

This refers to a problem in the BOOKSTORE.

The missing or mixed-up pages for AFTERDEAD 2. Download and print out and stick in book. And yell at me for some original art (a nice little bookplate you can put right in the book), for your trouble, IF you already have a copy of this:

It's the BOOKS.

Me and Rob Dougherty on Facebook are having a difference of opinion about selling books. There may be a problem defining terms -- or perhaps the booksellers feel extremely threatened by new marketing methods?

I thought I was being pleasant when expressing how we use the internet, and can't ignore it -- maybe I should have used smiley Emoticons? On the other hand, getting upset is always a great way to start a meme! We may both get good PR out of this -- there is no such thing as bad PR in marketing, after all (well, unless you're leaving a beach full of oil-choked dying ducks, or poisoning whole villages in India).

Anyways, here's the discussion:

Rob: At the Indie Book Sellers cause, it is about who is selling the books.

Me: It's ALWAYS about the books. That's the point of the exercise. The actual connection is Author to Reader. Everybody else is a middleman. We need middlemen, but without authors and readers there are no middlemen. It IS possible to have authors and readers without middlemen -- it's clumsier, and takes more effort, but it's possible -- but not the other way around.

No, wait, I tell a lie -- with the internet, every day it's LESS clumsy and more possible.

I WANT independent bookstores so I'm cooperating with them. But I don't NEED them any more -- more and more authors don't NEED them any more. I just don't want them to go away. I LOVE them. Call me old-fashioned. Call me sentimental -- but an indie bookstore is about the personal touch, and an atmosphere. It's about a tradition.

(The dream of an indie bookstore -- and this has been backed by authors, publishers, ad builders and readers -- is a shop whose owner has eclectic tastes, an open mind, and knows his or her stock -- and you can get a cookie and a cup of tea to read a book with. And there's a cat on the back stacks. I think we've all been --happily --infected by Shakespeare and Company...).

Rob: Donna....I understand what you are referring to; however, the Independent Book Sellers cause is about the book sellers, those that fell passionate enough about the books place them into the hands of potential readers. Your perspective of the absence of the middleman is what disturbs me the most.

Maybe you can find a group that is dedicated to nothing more than online sales. Your perspective is not one that I agree with or support. We as booksellers do not need authors, such as yourself who have little if no respect for the art of hand selling. Your insulting perspective will provoke me to not carry your books in our shop.

I will be sure to share your perspective with the many indie book shop owners and staff who feel as I do. As a member of the American Book Sellers Association and the New Atlantic Independent Book Sellers, I have the capacity to share your rather insulting messge with many and will. I cannot wait to start hearing from them as your ill-informed opinion is perhaps the most twisted and demonstrates a very poor reflection of your respect for book sellers. If cutting the middle man out completely is something that you seek, than I am sure your message will help you accomplish that.

I have deleted your membership to the Indie Book Sellers cause.

Me: I'm sorry if I've made you feel I don't like indie booksellers or don't want to use them. I'm just pointing out that there are many other means of selling books now, and if you don't pay attention to that, you'll lose track of what a lot of the market is doing.

Authors use middlemen and readers buy from them simply because they're a useful tool. There is absolutely no reason a traditional bookseller can't take advantage of the new systems.

Your answer is interesting. I might post it on my blog and Facebook and twitter the links. I think a discussion about the future of bookselling by ALL methods needs to be begun. None of them needs to be mutually exclusive.

IndieBound Links Fixed!

Abracadabra, now all the links at the Little Store work!

I'd used my affiliate ID, but it was new, so it was probably getting into the system. My bad for working faster than computers (and who hasn't locked up a system by doing THAT?).

I just found out that Indiebound is just a marketing campaign with the American Booksellers Association, promoting publishers who pay them.

I told them that Bowker -- the people who make the ISBN numbers -- weren't a publisher or printer. The guy I got the email from said Bowker doesn't dropship. Well, d'uh. They just make the books trackable all over the planet. They're the ones you go to so you can list with the Copyright office.

Anyway, if you're a reader, PLEASE consider using your independent bookstore to help you get my books. I know it's an extra step, but don't we all enjoy the delightful clutter where we can dig and discover? The muffins and fancy bookmarks, the strange stairways and cats on the stacks?

Try the Indie Bookstore links now. If they say the books aren't listed, you know better. A truly good indie bookstore will get it for you.

And if they can't -- well, there's me, and there's Amazon.

What a concept!

Another blog entry yanked out of an email. A reader contacted me about a children's charity book a colleague was putting together. I told the reader I had a few pages that had only appeared in a mini (I was going to say "very limited" mini, but that's a redundancy).

He wrote back saying the publisher would probably want original work, even if it did appear in a mini. I wrote back and said that if the guy wasn't paying, he should be on his knees to all the nice artists, crying, "Thank you! Thank you!"

The GALL of these people, putting together everything from charity books to 24-hour comics, and all of it riding on FREE work from artists. But do they ever think of putting together the cash first? Do they even look for an arts grant or get a LOAN?

The goddamn printer gets paid, and UPS, and everybody in the project -- including the PUBLISHER -- and who gets hung out doing it all for free? The people doing the most work! How the hell did THIS mess get started??

I'll give you one guess who's fault this is, for building the system -- even admitting it in his books -- but that would make too many little heads spin. Let's just say I get sick of being expected to paint bed-frames in a production line.

What a lot of people don't realize is you can get an author or artist to do ANYTHING -- if you just pay us!

What a concept! You get what you pay for! Are your heads spinning yet at such a revolutionary idea?

For example: Transformations (where I'm just storing the damn thing).

I don't LIKE writing TF -- but I get paid for it, and I'm good at it.

Here's another project I got paid for pretty nicely (but not enough for what they wanted) and don't want to do any more of:

Yaoi Hentai #4

Mostly because the publisher doesn't understand this: Artists' Rights.

So the next person who gets the idea to put together a nice little book, find a damn arts grant to pay the artists first, before making us do all this damn work, because you want to swan around at SDCC pretending to be a Publisher, with your own little stable of grateful scribblers.

Or are you just too butt-LAZY?

States I've been to -- What about yours?

If you'll look in the left column, you'll see a map of states I've been to.

Want to help me fill in the map?

Get your store or gallery to fly me in for a show or a signing!

So many Updates -- and tough talk on companies.

Found some new things, took some things off The Little Store.

So far, I've found one completely reliable ad site: Project Wonderful

I've found one absolutely reliable Print-on-demand company, that pays every single month, and passes along all savings in economies of scale: Lulu.com This is also my site for ebooks and downloads.

I only work with Booksurge because Amazon signed a contract with them for POD delivery and no one else, and they allow black-and-white and color pages in the same book.

I've found one reliable posting -- but not very good at the paying -- site: Webcomicsnation.com

I'll list anything else that's good if I find it.

My model for sending customers and retailers through a site, complete with ads, printing, shipping and free shopping cart: The Little Store.

Got questions? Just email me.

Dumping the Distributors -- the Naked Peacock

A small group of people on a select email list have received the following as a pdf (it downloads -- I think -- as a jpeg). This group includes publishers, classic authors, and a library buyer.



The drawing is a very basic model for correct use of the print-on-demand systems.

You will notice there are no distributors, warehouses, or taxable inventory, and that prices are very little over wholesale, for both customers and retailers. If the author chooses, no publisher is necessary.

Books don't go out of print unless the author makes that decision. Books are printed on acid-free paper. No one handles the books except the POD printer, shipping company (UPS, USPS, etc.) and the end buyer. Payments are tracked automatically and delivered monthly to payment sites (for example, Paypal). Accounts are always available to the author.

(Don't attempt to fit this model into the 18th-century book distribution systems we've all been using. It has no relevance to those systems.)

Aren't they nice?

Latest Amazon/Booksurge thang:

The Amazon rep called up and oh so nicely said, with the new Booksurge contract -- and a total favor to me (I should be grateful, right?) -- would be wiping the accounts I owed them because of the older model of contracts they originally had with authors. Quote: "We'll start fresh."

This makes me wonder if they're wiping all these accounts that owe them money because of the right-hand-pays, left-hand-bills model they're using.

The rep didn't want to hear about the Lulu model (customer -- including retailers if they directly to the site -- covers manufacturing costs, shipping, small profit fees to author and Lulu) that ultimately keeps the prices down for the customer. Can I say "huffy"?

He attempted to pat me on my head by telling me I didn't know about professional publishing. Yes, I think I'm quite aware of over-orders, returns and shredded books. The only professional distributors who get it right are in comic books: leftover books are sold, then discounted, finally given away as loss leaders. If a comics retailer gets a damaged book from me, they have only to GIVE it to a likely-looking customer. It never fails: a few bucks given away results in a brand-new addict rushing back in for an order that can come to $125.00 on the spot.

When I spoke to prose authors early in my career, they were quite starry-eyed about getting 50 cents a book. Now I know about manufacturing costs, shipping, etc., and considering the retail costs of books, I'd like to ask: what are the publishers and distributors doing -- shipping those books in golden boxes? Or is the money being dumped into the huge waste model of returns and shredding? It's going somewhere -- who's getting it?

Booksurge was set up by prose authors, who don't want to know. Comics authors know because of our ridiculous censorship model that put our art form in the toilet -- and which we are gradually hauling back out with the roto-rooter of independing publishing and a lot of female authors -- who have to work outside the boxes because the art form didn't give a damn about us.

Oh, and Amazon now say, "WE pay the manufacturing costs." Oh, so that's not the customer's money? Where are they getting this money they're calling "theirs?" Same place governments get theirs?

That's the customer's money. I don't want 30% of the net -- I want a rock-bottom cost that covers manufacturing, shipping, and a bit of cash to the printer, author and distributor. Customers can afford to buy more, so more money all around. More books distributed. More books in the long run.

Then again, with the new electronic-reading devices, this may all be moot anyway.

Amazon and Booksurge Are Run By Idiots

I've recently been trying to get it through the little pin heads of the actual human beings at Booksurge/Amazon that they cannot give Amazon a 55% markup AND the author a 30% cut OF THE GROSS.

This has caused massive confusion and anger among thousands of Booksurge publishers an authors, who were never told it was not out of the NET.

We've been trying to figure out for years why the publishers and authors keep getting billed for manufacturing costs, when in POD the customer is supposed to be covering those. A wienie accountant did her job recently very thoroughly -- as she's supposed to -- and sent out thousands of dunning notices for thousands of dollars, and this is when this screwup came to the surface.

I've told them to go look at how Lulu.com works -- customer pays for manufacturing and shipping, and throws a little fee at Lulu, and a couple bucks for the author, for each book. One action, one time, and every month Lulu dumps a payment into the my Paypal account. If we want to see our accounts they're right there on the site.

Booksurge CAN't cover manufacturing costs. No matter how high we mark our prices -- screwing the customer -- we can't get the costs high enough to get around that 30% cut. Later, they expect us to turn around and write them a check from the money they sent us. Since nobody's known this was from the gross, we've not budgeted to pay it back. They pay with one hand and expect it back with the other.

In real terms, this means thousands of publishers cannot pay back Booksurge. Amazon is wrapped up in these payments.

I'm glad I haven't got any stock in Amazon....

(PS; when Bank of America pulled out of Clallam Bay, I said it was to get into the mortgage bubble and have the cash to grab foreclosed properties when the crash came. I also said Soviet Union practiced "state capitalism" not "communism" {which has only ever been practiced in its true form by small villages run by women). So pay 'ttention when I start pointing. Cassandra said Troy would burn.})

Insupportable Light Ships In December

The new revised "An Insupportable Light" will ship in December, not in November. So you have one more month to get those copies ordered. Since Diamond sends out orders in November, and I hit Lulu.com for books as soon as I get the order, you should still be safe ordering for the winter holidays.

Note: still negotiating with Amazon/Booksurge as they cluelessly scramble to figure out how to sell and track accounts for POD (A problem Lulu solved 10 years ago, and is still improving).

If a Booksurge book comes out at Amazon, you'll be able to tell it from a Lulu book, because the Lulu books have dark green (as in the attached illo) where the Amazon books will have purple.

The books that ship from Diamond will be from Lulu. Lulu books are better priced and better quality -- but give your comics shop a break and order from them! first, if you can afford to.

Diamond is still a good company (those of you tearing your hair over our beloved <>, believe me, compared to the rest of the publishing industry, they are a dream. And they keep track of accounts accurately and immediately.)

Fun With Lulu

Any time you see me put the word "fun" in a title it means Shoals Ahead.

Had some problems uploading the Stinz novel: damaged files. Weirdly enough Lulu's site upload works a lot faster than using the ftp site, at least from the PC.

Sigh. Yes, I have more than one computer, now. We gradually work the old rickety ones out, while loading new things into the new ones, with new formats and hardware. I feel like I'm dealing with the Hitchhiker clones. So far, the laptops are named Black Beauty and White Nite. I've had to revive Butthead for finding old files, because Black Tower kinda died one day when the cat stepped on the power switch.

I've put a notation on the Little Store page, but at least you'll know where to find the novel when the !$$#!! thing finally behaves.

Oh, and I've finally finished enough pages for another small AFTERDEAD. I may be using MagCloud for a short run (Oh, boy! Another brick wall around the industry I can leave a Donna-shaped hole in! Which is how a colleague says you know which way things will go, because I'm limping and talking to myself) but it will be up on Lulu. I hate using Booksurge because they kinda sorta don't know who they are any more, but it's the only way to put up all the color.

Since I started processing the revised Stinz and scanning and cleaning all the files for the Desert Peach collection, I've hardly done any drawing. If I can just get the Stinz done next winter then I'll have the major work out of the way and available for good and can get back to some artwork. If I still know how.... ;P

Stinz Novel

Hokay. I got that Stinz novel thing revised and uploaded at my Lulu page.

I've just ordered a hard copy to proof. AGAIN. I've informed Bowker that the new 13-number ISBN will replace the former version's.

The price for Lulu's version is the Marketplace price. I'm seriously thinking about giving direct-market readers (my site orders) a serious discount. Which I just did, at The Little Store.

410 pages, 28 illustrations. I've removed the "thou" form. Ya gotta love Open Office Spellcheck/replace. Though it created weird stuff like "woryoury" and "Yough" I had to hunt down and kill. And all the 'sts'.

And I finally have a beginning I like. As much as a writer ever does.

And shouldn't a novel about war have a red cover? I think so.

Who Dis Stinz?

Seems there's a band out there called "Stinz."

Hmmm.... Now how do I link up so we both sell more?

Any of my street-team geek readers, please contact me at donnabarr at hotmail dot com.

Latest Layout

After the last computer crash, I am learning how to use Open Office to lay out a whole book, including illustrations and different sections.

Open Office even has all the drawing tools I need (both my brother and I consider the eraser function to be a white brush).

Screw these expensive, complicated programs that work only with PC or Mac, but never heard of the other. Who needs this crap?

Open Office is DA BOMB.

My booky goodness

Another great store carrying my stuff: Things From Another World.

Go see their easy-to use site!

Binding, My Ass

What can the internet do? Shall we see? I once offered this language to an animation-industry artist, and after thinking a moment, she said, "They'd jump at it! No lawyers!"

So here we go.

"THIS contract shall be binding on ALL movie studios, publishers and all other middle-men who sign contracts with me. If it's between the quotes on this posting -- and you sign a contract with me after this date -- this contract is binding upon you. You are responsible to find and understand this contract in conjunction with any contract with me. This is a public blog. Hereafter:

"This is a contract binding upon all movie studios with whom I (as understood by the artist/writer/ Donna Barr, born in 1952 and Not From Earth) shall henceforth negotiate for use of my work:

If any studio shall wish to use my (see I) work in movie/s, for t-shirts and other tchatskis or internet shenanigans, send $4 million dollars to an off-shore account in my name and then go away and never bother me any more. If you wish to contact me again, every contact -- in voice, flesh, pixels or throwing one of those fuzzy green tennis balls for my dog (I'll get one) -- shall be billed at $1 million per contact.

The same goes for any publisher (you know who you are) who wants my copyright. You're lucky I don't make this retroactive."

For those of you who are getting those manga-based contracts that demand copyright, just remember this: if they can't afford to buy your copyright, they can't afford to sue you. I didn't say "Take the money and run," but you get the idea.

Hey, we didn't start this. We just want to draw and write stuff and not end up on the street when we're old.

(For those of you who are not my readers, this is supposed to be be funny.)