How to Face Your Fear of Your First Comic Book Job

EPISODE 30– Jessica

Friday Failure Club — FACE YOUR FEAR

Goal 100 catering gigs in a year. Jessica gets her first catering gig. I’ll show you my first freelancing job out of the Joe Kubert School that paid me money. First jobs are terrifying. You don’t know what to expect. You don’t know how people will react. You don’t know if they’ll like your stuff. You don’t know if they’ll praise you. We want the praise. Are we willing to do the good work to get it?

“Got my 1st catering gig.”

My very first comic book job, I had come home from Kubert School and I sent all my resumes out to all the marketing shops in the area. I showed them my portfolio and I got some storyboard work. They needed two sets of storyboards. One was for an electric company, one was for a bank. I was scared to death if I would get them done on time. Or if they would be good enough. They weren’t good. and they weren’t done on time. Made me feel like such a loser. I did get paid for the work. And they were a little happy with the work. But it wasn’t the quality of work I wanted to do.

Things are happening because I started initiating things and started doing it.”

I wouldn’t have gotten the job, if I didn’t send out all those resumes and set up a portfolio showing of what I had currently done. You’d be surprised where you can go when you take the initiative to just start something.

Everything in my life. All the projects I’ve started…all the relationships I’ve had…only happens if you take the first step. No one is going to be waiting to hand you life on a platter. You have to take the life you want.

“This is an opportunity.”
“This is out of your comfort zone.”
“I don’t know if in 5 years if I’m going to be saying this is amazing. Or if I’m going to I’m going to be saying this stinks.”

Yikes. I didn’t know if I wanted to be doing marketing and making storyboards for the rest of my life. I hated finding clients. I hated not having steady work. I hated not knowing if I would find another job. I just don’t like looking for work all the time. This is why the freelancing life never appealed to me. And I’m always self-conscious of my own creations.
I don’t like working on a deadline. So these things always come up as maybe not the best job for me. I only did that one set of storyboards.

“I have 3 of my best friends who have worked with food before coming to help me.”

When you have a job, that has to get done. It is best to hire as many people as you can to make sure the job gets done. I know many artists that hire out inkers. I know many colorists who hire out flatters. You can do more work, get more jobs, and create more money if you have more people working on a project. Plus, they should make you look better than you can do it, if you were to do the job all by yourself.

If you do it alone, you may risk doing a lousy job, or not getting it done on time. Artist teams are a good thing.

If you want to know more about making teams to fulfill your dream, download Dream Streaming Teams.