When E.C. Steiner and I were working on Think of the Children, I had this idea that its slogan should be “I Bleed CMYK.” It’s a satirical horror story about the history of comics, so referencing the cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks that are inherent to the printing process seemed natural. For production reasons we didn’t use a lot of color, so the slogan was abandoned. But if I were going to use it for something different in 2012, I might change the statement to “I Bleed RGB.” 

Here’s why. Within the last two weeks I’ve read four well-thought missives about the state of the comics industry in 2012 and how to succeed as an independent creator.

1. Sean Gordon Murphy posted his “5 Year Plan” advice to his deviant art blog.
2. Warren Ellis made “5 Predictions About the Immediate Future of Comics.” 
3. Dean Haspiel rallied himself and others with “Publish or Perish: R/Evolution of the Comix Auteur.” 
4. Finally, Augie De Blieck Jr. speculated in the Comic Book Resources Pipeline that 2012 would be the “Rise of the Creator.”

I think all of these provide useful advice, whether you’re a beginning comics creator or a seasoned professional trying to figure out your place in the changing landscape of the industry. Three of the four mention digital comics as a model to maintain an independent career. Another three consider personal branding and social media to be crucial to keeping that career afloat.

Yet while I found all four pieces intriguing, I started to wonder where it was that they overlapped. If there were a Venn diagram between the ideas generated by these four guys, what would be its intersection? And how could I apply that to my own strategy for 2012?

Here I’m going to summarize where I think they intersect. Because I’d like to see a dialogue about these topics, I’m posting this to both my blog and my Google+ account, so we can interact with these ideas together.

1. Creators should make use of digital comics to maintain an independent income.
   
   For small press or independent creators I think the primary vendor currently catering to your distribution is Graphicly. I recommend building a relationship with people like Micah Baldwin, Ron Richards and David Carp over there. They’ve been very supportive of my work so far.
   
   Also keep an eye out for the “roll-your-own” models that Ellis mentions. They could have a significant impact on how we earn money for our work. Ellis also seems disappointed that more established creators haven’t gone digital first with their work, while De Blieck sees digital as an alternative revenue stream that can eventually become passive income for creators.
   
   If established pros aren’t going to take advantage of digital’s possibilities, maybe indie creators should get in there and strike the iron while it’s hot.

2. Creators should brand themselves. Then they should actively market themselves and network via social media.
   
   Establishing your brand makes you recognizable as an individual among the thousands of hay needles in the comics field. As De Blieck points out, creators need to pick a niche and market it so their audience begins to understand their identity. We are all judged by our online personas so it’s important to create a positive association with your name. Figure out your goal, define who your audience is and then choose the appropriate channel to communicate with them. Direct readers to your content and make it easy for them to share and curate for you.
   
   
3. Creators should pursue alternative revenue like crowd funding and (again) digital distribution.
   
   According to Haspiel, “We have proof that crowd funding works and that community is key.” Look at how successful people like Jeremy Bastian, Renae de Liz (Womanthology) and Alex de Campi were in 2011. They made the kind of money necessary to sustain a living in comics, before their product was finished. The tools are out there, now it’s up to us to use them wisely.

So how am I going to apply these ideas to my own 2012 strategy? Think of the Children is already digital, but I’m considering releasing my earlier comic Border Crossings digitally as well. I also know that any project I publish in 2012 will be digital, with print editions that have unique materials and designs.

Notice how I linked to Graphicly up there? That’s marketing my brand. Cheerlead for me and I’ll cheerlead for you. I’ve been consciously considering my brand across different social media platforms, my current comics work and the non-fiction articles I write (like this one). Originally I intended to spend 2012 working more on Border Crossings. But it no longer fit my voice, so I switched gears to another project that I’m much happier with. When it’s released I think it will be unique, but will also fit in with how my audience identifies with me.

We used Kickstarter in 2011 to fund the physical editions of Think of the Children and I learned a lot from the process. I want to use it again in 2012 to pay an artist up front to work with me on one of my other two projects. A paid artist is a happy artist and I don’t have the money in my pocket to pay them the page rates they deserve. If you’re an artist reading this and you’re looking for a project to work on and want to raise money, let’s talk. 

Looking back on the CMYK vs. RGB metaphor I began this piece with, it’s interesting to note that the RGB spectrum has a much broader reach than CMYK. Here’s hoping that including digital distribution, alternative revenues and strategic branding into your master plan in 2012 will also give you a broader reach as a comics creator.