Do I Need an Editor for My Webcomic?

As I create my webcomic … especially as I’m just starting… I ask myself, “Do I need an editor for my webcomic?”

Outside of comics, I’ve worked in the graphic design and web design industry for quite some time. So, I’ve been exposed to these creatures called ‘editors.’ Although I haven’t worked directly in publishing, per se, my graphic and web design work gives me ‘some’ inkling as to what editors do and what value they add/take away from the creative process.

I’ll start with this … ‘yes, you need an editor’ and ‘No, you don’t need an editor.’

OK, that was helpful, wasn’t it? … Probably not. Ha! And then, at the same time, entirely!

OK, as I contemplated this question for my webcomic, Ogrexx, several thoughts went through my head about his subject …

An Editor … they want $money to edit my stuff … dang, I don’t have a lot of money for this right now.
An Editor … aren’t they the ones who ‘stifle’ creativity and take out or needlessly change the good stuff in the story/art?
An Editor … how does one even become an editor? Have they ever created anything themselves? Who are they to say what’s good or bad?
An Editor … why don’t I like the idea of someone being ‘above’ me or my art? … Why do I feel the artist/writer is subordinate to the editor? I don’t like it!
An Editor … ‘editor’ seems to have a negative connotation to it, right? … to ‘edit’ is pretty much the same as ‘to do evil’ isn’t it? … all I can see/imagine is barrage of ‘RED’ lines through everything I created … “here’s where you are wrong, and here’s where you are less than sufficient, and here’s where you are just “bad, bad, bad, bad, bad … oh, and also, bad!” … oh, the negativity of ‘editing!!’

Hey, I’m creating a webcomic! Self-published! Really? Do I need a @#$&*’n editor?

OK. I’ll settle down …

So What Are Editors Good For?

I don’t use an editor … yet. Maybe someday I’ll have the luxury to hire one. But as I start my webcomic, I don’t have the luxury of paying a good editor properly. Nor do I think I’ve matured my comic enough to warrant the need. So, in the meantime, I’ll be my editor. But what does that mean?

I think … the number ONE PURPOSE/VALUE for having an editor is this … an editor can read your webcomic and predictably assess your audience “gets it. And like it?” … That’s it! If your editor can do that for you and do it well and consistently, keep them close to you and pay your editor well!

Because there’s a LOT to the editing process.

I’ll explain …

Will My Readers Get It?

As I create a story, I, the author/creator, certainly get it, right? I know what’s going on. I know all the background, the setting, the plot, where this is going, and all the characters make sense to me. The timing/flow of the story works … or at least, “I” think it does. Well, of course, and that’s because I’m the creator. But what about my readers? Will they get it?

A good editor puts him/herself in the shoes of a reader and YOUR target reader. What else have they read lately? What storytelling patterns/techniques do those storytellers use? What’s in fashion? What’s out of fashion? What’s too daring? What’s too safe?

Much of this feedback will have to do with the technical tools/mechanisms/structures used to tell and set the story.

If your readers understand what’s going on, that’s great. Job #1 is complete. But you’re not done. The next question is, will your readers like it?

Will My Readers Like It?

Well, you likely like your own creative work, right? I hope so! But how do you know if your readers will like it? Can an editor help you with that? In my opinion, yes and no, an editor can help you with that.

Some editors only look for ‘technical’ flaws in your craft … the artwork, the grammar, the pace, the mechanics, etc. At the same time, other editors may claim to understand reader preferences and trends. They might be able to tell you what’s been ‘overdone’ or ‘old fashioned.’ Or, they might be able to advise you to add twists to the story to make it juicier or add characteristics to characters to make them more lovable and identifiable.

But, whatever you do, don’t ask your mom, your friend, or even an informal online forum for their editorial feedback … why? Because they are likely biased. They are too likely to tell you what you want to hear (because they like you) instead of what they think of your work. And/or they aren’t a typical consumer of your product … remember, not EVERYONE is into your ‘kind’ or ‘genre’ of work. Right? That’s UBER important!

Another reason is that they are not ‘trained’ to give you the constructive feedback you need.

That’s right … while people always have their opinions about what your comic should be or shouldn’t be, that doesn’t mean they can intelligibly/academically tell you what your work needs to be. And there! Lies the value of a good editor!

Who Can/Should I Ask for Feedback?

I struggle with this question. Well, maybe not struggle, but ponder. Frankly, I think it depends first on why you are doing your webcomic in the first place.

Some may want to make an income from their webcomic.

If this is the case, then I think the $ highly dictates who you ask for feedback because the questions will largely orbit around ‘How can I make money with this concept/story?’ … thus, the editing should come from someone who sees the profitability in monetizing your creative work. The feedback will likely be more ‘commercial’ in nature, right?

Others may want to publish a webcomic for its merit only. Revenue from the comic is not required or a priority.

In this case, an editor’s role would be to provide ‘technical’ feedback first and ‘originality’ second. For example, if I were to write/create a non-fictional webcomic on ‘Emperor Caligula,’ I may seek editorial input and review for accuracy from a reputed historian on Ancient Rome.

The Value of a Good Web Comic Editor

A good editor CAN INDEED improve your work … and wouldn’t that be dandy! eh? … mainly because they are skilled at pointing out the cause and effect of elements you use in your work. For example…

FLOW: your comic progresses too slowly … you have a lot of detail, which is good, because the reader understands what’s going on and who is who, HOWEVER, the pace is BORING! Pick up the pace!!

Or …

TENSE: Grammatically, you have too many errors and inconsistencies. You’re not good at writing narration or talking bubbles. Grammatical errors are distracting! Period. You go back and forth between 1st and third person, even within the same spread. It just makes it harder to understand what’s going on.

Or …

EMBELLISHED ART: OK … so, I see you like to make a lot of lines … not only that, but you do not believe in standard square frames … however, your methods make it difficult to understand the storyline flow and your artwork overly dominates the written content of your comic. But maybe needlessly so … all those details you put into the garbage can … does it contribute to the story? I don’t think so. I think you just wanted to draw a killer garbage can when it could have just been an ordinary garbage can … the drunk man passed out next to the garbage can was much more important, yet you gave it less attention.

Who Should You Choose As Your Web Comic Editor?

As of this posting, I don’t have an editor for my webcomic. I don’t have the luxury, money, or time to do so now. But if I could, I would.

So, in the meantime, I have to ‘edit’ my webcomic on my own … and that’s a challenge. Why? Again, because I’m the creator, which means:

I already like my work. I’m biased.
It can be difficult to see/read my comic from a non-biased third-person point of view.
I have zero experience editing comics … so I don’t know what’s worked for others.

What If I Don’t Have a Webcomic Editor?

It can be tempting to ’emulate’ what other print or web comic artists have done, right?

I teach graphic and web design at a local community college. One bit of advice I give all my students is that NOTHING should go on the design, web, or print without reason … and “I just like it” is not an acceptable reason.

So, I’ve taken that to heart with my webcomic. As I draw and write … yes, it’s a two-part endeavor … I edit my work … is this line necessary? Is this word or sentence necessary? … I have to remove it if it’s not contributing to the story. Hey! I just ‘edited’ my work myself … much success!

And I must not let myself tire of that. One difference between self-published and commercially published titles is that self-published titles don’t have the same ABSOLUTE ‘must-publish-on-time’ demand as commercial publications have, right?

So, in the commercial publication world, … editors serve/contribute another IMPORTANT role … get the shit done and published on time!

As comic consumers, we often disregard/under-appreciate that just about any commercial publication is under significant demands to produce and publish on time. Everyone on the team relies on the sales revenues. So, if a publication is late, sales/revenues are late/delayed. That makes it difficult for everyone on the team, not just the artist or writer. So, naturally, there will be times when the quality of the story or art suffers a bit to meet a timeline, right? If every writer and artist had ‘forever’ to write or draw the story, well, there’s a good chance every issue of that comic would be abysmally late.

The Reality of Being Self-Published

When you are self-published … you don’t have that (same) demand. But, your readership can lose interest if you’re not timely enough with your publication. We saw that happen with Image Comics in the 1990s when Image was ‘owned’ and ‘edited’ by the comic artists themselves. Some titles were published much more consistently than others. “Spawn” was fairly good but not perfect. “The Maxx” by Sam Keith was better. But I specifically remember ‘Pitt’ by Dale Keown being quite inconsistent. As a consumer/fan, I became frustrated and eventually abandoned the title.

Could an editor help you stay on time? If you don’t have that discipline yourself? Perhaps. But, if you already have that discipline, you won’t need an editor to keep you to the publication timeline you promise your readers/subscribers.

And, even in the self-published digital comic art world, if you don’t think consistent/reliable/anticipated publication matters to your readers, think again. Especially if you’re attempting a paid subscription for your content … regular, consistent publication is a MUST! It’s just WAY too easy for a digital reader to lose interest and go elsewhere/not come back ever again.

So, if you are your editor … at the very least, COMMAND you publish regularly and consistently if you hope to succeed with an online comic. After that, your self-editing checklist could include:

Have I written too many words? Can I use fewer words?
Have I written too few words? Can the reader understand enough to know what’s going on?
Have I drawn too many lines? Is there anything in the art that’s unnecessary or distracting?
Have I drawn enough lines? Have I skimped on details of person, place, or action?
How is the pace of the story going? Too slow? Too fast?
How is my frame-to-frame transition? Too much/abrupt? Too static/boring?
Is my history accurate? Too generalized/stereotyped?
Is my drawing accurate? Too generalized/stereotyped?

I’m sure you could add other criteria based on your storytelling preferences.

For the rest of the editing, I write and draw the panels. Then, I came back to it a few days later. I can accommodate if it doesn’t make sense to me then or if I don’t like the story’s pace. If I like it, I have to trust someone else will like it, and the rest will take care of itself.

Final Note

Most importantly, no matter where you are in this process, … new comic artist or venerable veteran, have fun! Don’t over-edit yourself. You’re less likely to succeed as a webcomic artist if you don’t enjoy your work.

Can there be times it gets to be a drag? Keeping up with timelines, creative ideas, etc.? Sure … there likely isn’t ONE periodical published artist who hasn’t had their frustrations with ‘the routine’ … so, … POWER THROUGH IT! … even if it means, at times, you’re not able to give it your best … do it, publish it! … after a while, you’ll regain a whole new level and maybe even unique sense of satisfaction. And maybe at that point, you’re doing your art for you … if someone else likes it, too, well, … that’s nice. But I don’t need to keep doing the art I love to do.