This is a matter of us disagreeing how to say that, and how useful parts of it are.
Scott Kurtz has made his own statement about the TP Pilot contracts (I suggest you read the whole thing. Although I disagree strenuously with some points, his description of newbie desperation is spot-on.)
"The contract is so completely one-sided in favor of Tokyopop that it’s caused a ridiculous stir in the comic industry blogosphere."Obviously, I object to my posts about same, my kicking over rocks and tipping over carts, as ridiculous. Nor do I agree with
"No amount of blogging, ranting or light shining is going to stop publishers from offering shitty contracts to first-time creators. Going after Tokyopop is a pointless endeavor; a futile gnashing of teeth."As I wrote to Scott just an hour ago:
"I'm surprised you would say that that the stir is "ridiculous" given that your most recent podcast was about how to avoid reamers like TP. (I listened to the whole thing.)As Tom Spurgeon said to Heidi and former Wizard staffer Keil Phegley at The Beat:
TP is an IP farm, Platinum for manga. Creators DO need to be warned away from them. It is our JOB as experienced creators to say when something is wrong. In illustration and prose, creators have guilds to do this for them. In comics, we have ourselves. Not speaking up just because there are bunches of companies as reaming as TP is is a disservice to the community...."
"...shame on you for supporting Kiel’s assertion that writing about this stuff is somehow not worth doing because it may not make some arbitrary standard of difference he ascribes to it. You of all people should know better. It’s always worthwhile to write about the business ethics of publishers."In my letter to Scott, I conclude:
"Someone must stand up and tell creators why the TP (and Platinum, and so on) contracts are bad.Here's what Bryan Lee O'Malley said about alternatives the day after he thrashed the contract:
Then, as I have done (and will do again) and Bryan Lee O'Malley did do, talk to people about the alternatives. "
"Listen to me: there are so many ways of getting your comics read by people. You can print them up on a photocopier, sell them at your local comic shop / record shop / independent bookstore. You can put them on the Internet - I believe you're all familiar with this invention. It costs very little and takes away none of your rights. Many of my good friends make their living entirely from having comics on the web. You don't need this.Me, I gave out a grant. I moved my work from Image to the web and have talked tirelessly about publishing on the web before and since. I reject the assertion that shining light on lousy business practices is a waste of time and resent the suggestion that I and others only engage in a "a futile gnashing of teeth" and offer nothing of value in terms of example.
"Seriously, though, I spent years doing the invisible shit work that nobody wants to do. I lettered, I did crappy design work, I did bad inking jobs on other people's fine work. I did not win a contest and I was never an overnight success. The instant-gratification-American-Idol mindset is so sad, so damaging. Everyone I know who's successful got that way by hard work, gradual building of an audience, nonstop hustling, plenty of luck."
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divalea- Lea Hernandez-DivaLea
- Atelier DivaLea
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Screw him. Let's all be loud about all of it.
And consequently worth doing even if there isn't one person that does that, just for the chance that one may.
In your premise about someone avoiding TokyoPop because they read an article about their contracts, this assumes that the person would have signed the contract had they not read the article. In that scenario, it means they either didn't read the contract or didn't understand it. (I don't really know which of these is more likely, but both are bad.) In either case, that's a problem with the artist not knowing the score.
I think Scott's real point is that that's the important piece of the puzzle. If the artists read and understand the contracts, they can determine which ones are a bum deal for themselves. Just ranting about TokyoPop isn't going to solve the root issue, which is artists who can't spot a bad contract when they're handed one to sign.
So, in his podcast (that was referenced in the post above), he was focusing on the artists, not on the publishers.
My focus has always been on what would be the most useful for creators considering signing with or entering one of their damn dumb contests: explain why the terms suck, demonstrate alternatives.
Which is why I objected to his wording that suggested that I and others were engaged in a fruitless activity.
One might disagree with how Bryan Lee O'Malley took apart the contract, but it certainly was in plain English.
Desperate newbie, been there. Eep.
Edited at 2008-05-31 04:33 am (UTC)
Right now, all the comickers community has for guidance and education are themselves.
How I wish that could happen with the crap I was involved in.
I don't know why I expect more from people.
On topic, what Kurtz fails to realise is that there is time enough in the day to talk about what publishers and practices to avoid (someone needs to read the fine print and look out for the little guy) and discuss alternatives and good publishers and contracts. I have no idea what he thought he was trying to say.
That would've gotten my dander up except that I've been exposed to it so often it just elicits a tired yawn.
I'll assume that was the generic "you," instead of the Lea "you."
Regardless, you missed the point of my post entirely, and you don't seem to know the first thing about publishing, and I sure don't need a lecture on it from you.
I'm going to assume have not read anything but Scott's post about my post, not my actual posts, in which case you only have Scott's picture of what's being discussed.
In short, if that "you" was directed at me: you don't know shit about me.
Come back when you can tell me what else I've said about publishing and creator's rights and powers.
Edited at 2008-06-03 06:51 pm (UTC)