FAQ for Seeking Letterers

[davidskeleton]

I was looking for and maybe missing a frequently asked questions forum when searching for a good freelancer to do lettering for a project.

Am I missing something somewhere?

I know there is a lettering showcase but one would think there would be a thread someplace out there with frequently asked questions as I have now, in searching for a good letterer for a comic book project I am working on.

I could probably do the lettering myself and possibly risk my entire project by the amateurish skills that I would have in Illustrator. I would rather find a good freelancer to do this for the project that would have the skills to bring the project to the next level.

In doing this, I have a ton of questions from what I can expect from a good freelance letterer to what a good freelance letter would expect from me.. I know I can find what most letterers are using in the latest software and average prices per pages and find lists of freelancers et cetera but I have come up with a list of questions that I can not find answers to and I am sure that dealing with different freelancers you will find different scenarios but are there some basics out there that most cover? And how do they stack up against one another?

Maybe this thread could be a start of such a topic or it can be moved to another forum thread where this would be appropriate? Either way and in case, I guess I will drop some of the main questions that I have just in case there are some freelance letterers out there reading this..

..and anyone that has any helpful resource or forum links where I can find such answers would be greatly appreciated.

..DO THE LETTERERS FIND A GOOD FONT FOR THE COMIC BOOK PROJECT? AND ARE THE FONTS INCLUDED IN PRICING? OR ARE YOU REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE FONT FOR THE FREELANCER?

..DO THE LETTERERS HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE BOLD, HYPHENATED, ITALIC.. ET CETERA OR IS ALL OF THIS OUTLINED IN THE SCRIPT WHICH WOULD BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WRITER? (OR WOULD THIS BE ADDRESSED AFTERWARD WITH A DIRECT LINE BETWEEN LETTERER AND WRITER?)

..ARE THE LETTERERS UNDER A NON DISCLOSURE CONTRACT IF THEY ARE RECEIVING HI RES FILES OF THE ARTWORK TO WORK ON TOP OF ESPECIALLY WITH PLACES AS DEVIANTART WHERE THEY MAY SHOWCASE THEIR WORK.. BUT THE PROJECT MAY HAVE A STREET DATE WHERE SUCH PROJECT HASNT BEEN ANNOUNCED/LAUNCHED?

..ARE PARTICULARS DISCUSSED IN ADVANCE WITH SIZING INCLUDING dpi.. AND COVERED WITH PRELIMINARY REQUIREMENTS FROM BOTH FREELANCER AND CREATOR/COORDINATOR? IS THERE A STANDARD AS 600dpi AND ARE THESE STANDARDS DISCUSSED IN ADVANCE?

..DO LETTERERS WORK WITHIN PRESET AREAS DESIGNED BY THE ARTIST/WRITER OR HAVE THEIR OWN DESIGN AND IS THIS REQUIRED TO BE OUTLINED, AND OR IS THERE A PROCESS WHERE THE LETTERER WILL PRESENT THE PRELIMINARY 'SKETCH' WHERE PANELS AND WORD BALLOONS ET CETERA WILL BE PLACED THEN ACCEPTED AND FINALS WILL BE BASED ON THESE 'NOTES?'

..WILL A LETTERER PRESENT NEW IDEAS THAT 'JUST MAY WORK BETTER..' AS FAR AS DESIGN, PACING, AUDIENCE DIRECTION (AND MAYBE EVEN INCLUDING A MORE SOLID FONT DESIGN) AND OBVIOUSLY SUCH A SCENARIO WOULD REQUIRE A MUTUAL AGREEMENT BUT DO SUCH SCENARIOS OCCUR? OR ARE LETTERERS MERELY GOING THROUGH THE PACES BASED ON WHAT IS GIVEN TO THEM.. (THIS ONE PRESENTS A LOT OF THOUGHT AS I WOULD ASSUME THAT A GOOD PROFESSIONAL LETTERER WOULD KNOW HIS NAME WAS ATTACHED TO SUCH PROJECT AND WOULD NOT JUST WATCH IT GO DOWN IN FLAMES WITH HIS OWN NAME ATTACHED TO IT.)

I appreciate any response or help with this, as well as a Moderator direction if this needs to be moved to a different area or whatever else appropriate.

I also appreciate any links to other forums that may be discussing this kind of topic and answering any of these questions.

Maybe all of these questions are based on a case by case scenario that is all discussed in a more formal meeting once the particular freelancer is found and interest is gained, as the mutual agreement/contract is formed.

**I definitely know that my grammar is horrible and my story would go through an editor before going to a letterer so I hope that this thread in no way prevents any letterers from contacting me or replying to this thread in fear that I would expect the freelancer to do my editing for me.

Any freelancers that are interested in any freelance work in lettering that have a bunch of answers on this topic and would be interested in discussing these questions and or my project can feel free to contact me as well.. I posted a link on my Google+ page looking for more information I will attach that link where you can contact me through my profile hangout email or google messenger..

My Google+ Link seeking faq letterer information

[L Jamal]

..DO THE LETTERERS FIND A GOOD FONT FOR THE COMIC BOOK PROJECT? AND ARE THE FONTS INCLUDED IN PRICING? OR ARE YOU REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE FONT FOR THE FREELANCER?
Letterers have there own fonts that use and that is included in the pricing. If there is a specific font that you want used, then you may have to provide it if the letterer does not have it. In most cases, the letterer will just purchase it themselves.


..DO THE LETTERERS HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE BOLD, HYPHENATED, ITALIC.. ET CETERA OR IS ALL OF THIS OUTLINED IN THE SCRIPT WHICH WOULD BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WRITER? (OR WOULD THIS BE ADDRESSED AFTERWARD WITH A DIRECT LINE BETWEEN LETTERER AND WRITER?)
That's the responsibility of the writer and should be outline in the script.


..ARE THE LETTERERS UNDER A NON DISCLOSURE CONTRACT IF THEY ARE RECEIVING HI RES FILES OF THE ARTWORK TO WORK ON TOP OF ESPECIALLY WITH PLACES AS DEVIANTART WHERE THEY MAY SHOWCASE THEIR WORK.. BUT THE PROJECT MAY HAVE A STREET DATE WHERE SUCH PROJECT HASNT BEEN ANNOUNCED/LAUNCHED?
It's common courtesy not to showcase projects before given permission.

..ARE PARTICULARS DISCUSSED IN ADVANCE WITH SIZING INCLUDING dpi.. AND COVERED WITH PRELIMINARY REQUIREMENTS FROM BOTH FREELANCER AND CREATOR/COORDINATOR? IS THERE A STANDARD AS 600dpi AND ARE THESE STANDARDS DISCUSSED IN ADVANCE?
If you are deviating from standard in any manner, then you should discuss it in advance. Even if you aren't you should discuss it, so that everyone is at the same starting point.

..DO LETTERERS WORK WITHIN PRESET AREAS DESIGNED BY THE ARTIST/WRITER OR HAVE THEIR OWN DESIGN AND IS THIS REQUIRED TO BE OUTLINED, AND OR IS THERE A PROCESS WHERE THE LETTERER WILL PRESENT THE PRELIMINARY 'SKETCH' WHERE PANELS AND WORD BALLOONS ET CETERA WILL BE PLACED THEN ACCEPTED AND FINALS WILL BE BASED ON THESE 'NOTES?'
Printing live areas are pretty standard.
I give you my final product for review and you can make changes to those finals as needed. There is not prelim.


..WILL A LETTERER PRESENT NEW IDEAS THAT 'JUST MAY WORK BETTER..' AS FAR AS DESIGN, PACING, AUDIENCE DIRECTION (AND MAYBE EVEN INCLUDING A MORE SOLID FONT DESIGN) AND OBVIOUSLY SUCH A SCENARIO WOULD REQUIRE A MUTUAL AGREEMENT BUT DO SUCH SCENARIOS OCCUR?
I will often make suggestions for changes that work better with the art without changing the story.


OR ARE LETTERERS MERELY GOING THROUGH THE PACES BASED ON WHAT IS GIVEN TO THEM.. (THIS ONE PRESENTS A LOT OF THOUGHT AS I WOULD ASSUME THAT A GOOD PROFESSIONAL LETTERER WOULD KNOW HIS NAME WAS ATTACHED TO SUCH PROJECT AND WOULD NOT JUST WATCH IT GO DOWN IN FLAMES WITH HIS OWN NAME ATTACHED TO IT.)
Most of the time, there is very little that needs to be changed unless your working on a project with artists/writers that are new to comics.

[davidskeleton]

Thank you very much for this, and also for contacting me through Google. I really appreciate your helpful answers and also your support.

[DaveyDouble]

..DO THE LETTERERS FIND A GOOD FONT FOR THE COMIC BOOK PROJECT? AND ARE THE FONTS INCLUDED IN PRICING? OR ARE YOU REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE FONT FOR THE FREELANCER?
- I would have thought that generally, the letterer will have a toolbox of fonts, and there won't be 'extra' charges for them just as there isn't extra charges for the plumber using their tools to fix your leak. If however you have a particular font in mind, there would likely be some kind of extra charge. Remember, it's not about the font though, it's about how well the letterer is doing their job.

..DO THE LETTERERS HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE BOLD, HYPHENATED, ITALIC.. ET CETERA OR IS ALL OF THIS OUTLINED IN THE SCRIPT WHICH WOULD BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WRITER? (OR WOULD THIS BE ADDRESSED AFTERWARD WITH A DIRECT LINE BETWEEN LETTERER AND WRITER?)
- If you, as the writer, want something in bold type, mark up the script. If you don't and the whole thing comes back either flat, or with bold in all the wrong places, you have no-one else to blame. What you're referring to is an Editor (paging Mr. Forbes...)

..ARE THE LETTERERS UNDER A NON DISCLOSURE CONTRACT IF THEY ARE RECEIVING HI RES FILES OF THE ARTWORK TO WORK ON TOP OF ESPECIALLY WITH PLACES AS DEVIANTART WHERE THEY MAY SHOWCASE THEIR WORK.. BUT THE PROJECT MAY HAVE A STREET DATE WHERE SUCH PROJECT HASNT BEEN ANNOUNCED/LAUNCHED?
- Put it in the contract. put it in an email. But remember, they're likely proud of their work and want to show it off. That pride will bleed through to the quality of the work itself, and the odd page in deviantart, out of context, from an indie title isn't going to bring the world to it's knees. I tweet screens of what I'm working on all the time. It can be used as a force for good!

..ARE PARTICULARS DISCUSSED IN ADVANCE WITH SIZING INCLUDING dpi.. AND COVERED WITH PRELIMINARY REQUIREMENTS FROM BOTH FREELANCER AND CREATOR/COORDINATOR? IS THERE A STANDARD AS 600dpi AND ARE THESE STANDARDS DISCUSSED IN ADVANCE?
- If it was me, I'd want either a 300dpi jpeg or the original layered file in order to generate one. Why 600dpi? Is that 11x17 600dpi? Good god! Print is 300dpi ~6x10, so you're originals are VASTLY oversized. It's not really a good thing. There's a whole argument right there about visual acuity.

..DO LETTERERS WORK WITHIN PRESET AREAS DESIGNED BY THE ARTIST/WRITER OR HAVE THEIR OWN DESIGN AND IS THIS REQUIRED TO BE OUTLINED, AND OR IS THERE A PROCESS WHERE THE LETTERER WILL PRESENT THE PRELIMINARY 'SKETCH' WHERE PANELS AND WORD BALLOONS ET CETERA WILL BE PLACED THEN ACCEPTED AND FINALS WILL BE BASED ON THESE 'NOTES?'
- Quite often, pencillers will rough in dialogue and caption areas which the letterer can work over. In the end, the letterer is one of the last in line, and it's up to the penciller to make sure that there's enough room available for them to work. If there's not, there's not going to be a whole lot your letterer can do about it, other than bring it to your attention.
There is a 'Live' area on a page template, which most pencillers use (as well as a trim and bleed line).

..WILL A LETTERER PRESENT NEW IDEAS THAT 'JUST MAY WORK BETTER..' AS FAR AS DESIGN, PACING, AUDIENCE DIRECTION (AND MAYBE EVEN INCLUDING A MORE SOLID FONT DESIGN) AND OBVIOUSLY SUCH A SCENARIO WOULD REQUIRE A MUTUAL AGREEMENT BUT DO SUCH SCENARIOS OCCUR? OR ARE LETTERERS MERELY GOING THROUGH THE PACES BASED ON WHAT IS GIVEN TO THEM.. (THIS ONE PRESENTS A LOT OF THOUGHT AS I WOULD ASSUME THAT A GOOD PROFESSIONAL LETTERER WOULD KNOW HIS NAME WAS ATTACHED TO SUCH PROJECT AND WOULD NOT JUST WATCH IT GO DOWN IN FLAMES WITH HIS OWN NAME ATTACHED TO IT.)
- You get what you pay for really. Some letterers are just going to slot your dialogue in. Personally (I'm primarily a penciller) I work with a writer on all the aspects after they have the script, and changes get made. I do things as an artist that simple don't look like a good idea when your typing out a script, but work perfectly as a drawn page. Same goes for dialogue and captions. When I read the script, I'm basically having to act all the parts, and that includes figuring out how to make the characters speech distinct. Sometimes this involves changing the dialogue to something else, whilst keeping the same point. Sometimes, it's just a case that there are too many damn words. Again, this is really the Editors job.

[Steven Forbes]

I heard my name, and like the djinn, I arrive.

I have some things to do today, but I will write a more comprehensive response, as is warranted. Look for it this evening. (My day just got more full.)

[Gonzogoose]

..DO THE LETTERERS HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE BOLD, HYPHENATED, ITALIC.. ET CETERA OR IS ALL OF THIS OUTLINED IN THE SCRIPT WHICH WOULD BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WRITER? (OR WOULD THIS BE ADDRESSED AFTERWARD WITH A DIRECT LINE BETWEEN LETTERER AND WRITER?)

As L. Jamal said, most of the time this is the writer's responsibility. However, there are cases in which the writer will leave it up to the letterer, or has been my experience. Same goes with sound effects. Generally, they are included in the script, but there are instances a writer will say "Add them where you feel necessary."

..WILL A LETTERER PRESENT NEW IDEAS THAT 'JUST MAY WORK BETTER..' AS FAR AS DESIGN, PACING, AUDIENCE DIRECTION (AND MAYBE EVEN INCLUDING A MORE SOLID FONT DESIGN) AND OBVIOUSLY SUCH A SCENARIO WOULD REQUIRE A MUTUAL AGREEMENT BUT DO SUCH SCENARIOS OCCUR? OR ARE LETTERERS MERELY GOING THROUGH THE PACES BASED ON WHAT IS GIVEN TO THEM.. (THIS ONE PRESENTS A LOT OF THOUGHT AS I WOULD ASSUME THAT A GOOD PROFESSIONAL LETTERER WOULD KNOW HIS NAME WAS ATTACHED TO SUCH PROJECT AND WOULD NOT JUST WATCH IT GO DOWN IN FLAMES WITH HIS OWN NAME ATTACHED TO IT.)

I will also suggest changes or breaking up long speech or the like that doesn't change the story if I feel it will work better another way. Even when given placement guides (which does occasionally happen), I'll present another way if the suggested placement could be done more effectively without covering key art or to help the eye flow better.

As far as "going through the paces," I feel lettering is as much of an art as any other discipline, so most letterers certainly aren't just doing that. As you stated, we have our names and our craft on these projects too, so we want them to be the best they can be.

Just wanted to add a little to those two questions.

[Steven Forbes]

Okay.

Gmail is being stupid, and I have a column to write. It's going to be late, but oh, well. I had some things to take care of that took precedence. So, now I'm here.

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

I was looking for and maybe missing a frequently asked questions forum when searching for a good freelancer to do lettering for a project.

Am I missing something somewhere?

Yes. There's no such thing.

I was talking about this question with my wife, and I realized something: we have a lot of newbies that come through that don't know much of anything, and those of us who've been doing this long enough look at some of the questions with disdain. There are some basic newbie questions in here, but there are also some things that most of us don't even think of and take for granted. After I finished rolling my eyes, I stopped to think of things, and realized that there were some good learning opportunities here. So, let's talk about it.

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

I know there is a lettering showcase but one would think there would be a thread someplace out there with frequently asked questions as I have now, in searching for a good letterer for a comic book project I am working on.

Every project is different. Everyone learns these things in the course of creating comics, so there isn't an FAQ as such.

However, to pass on just a little of my disdain, some of your questions remind me of the long and sprawling FAQ that the Image submission thread had become. People over-thinking instead of just following the directions. That's how some of this read.

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

I could probably do the lettering myself and possibly risk my entire project by the amateurish skills that I would have in Illustrator. I would rather find a good freelancer to do this for the project that would have the skills to bring the project to the next level.

Good for you. However, I believe you should try your hand at lettering, anyway. Not so that you can get good enough to letter the book, although that would be an admirable goal, but so that you can learn how much dialogue can comfortably fit on a page. Lots of new writers run off at the keyboard, trying to fit a ton of words into an extremely small space.

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

In doing this, I have a ton of questions from what I can expect from a good freelance letterer to what a good freelance letter would expect from me.. I know I can find what most letterers are using in the latest software and average prices per pages and find lists of freelancers et cetera but I have come up with a list of questions that I can not find answers to and I am sure that dealing with different freelancers you will find different scenarios but are there some basics out there that most cover? And how do they stack up against one another?

So, if you know you can find most things on your own, and you know that different things happen in different scenarios, then you should know that most of your questions are going to be unique to the project and the team involved. Remember that over-thinking I was talking about?

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

Maybe this thread could be a start of such a topic or it can be moved to another forum thread where this would be appropriate? Either way and in case, I guess I will drop some of the main questions that I have just in case there are some freelance letterers out there reading this..

..and anyone that has any helpful resource or forum links where I can find such answers would be greatly appreciated.

I had thoughts of moving this to the lettering section. I'm surprised this didn't find its way there already. That's neither here nor there. I won't move it, though. Let's get into it.

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

..DO THE LETTERERS FIND A GOOD FONT FOR THE COMIC BOOK PROJECT? AND ARE THE FONTS INCLUDED IN PRICING? OR ARE YOU REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE FONT FOR THE FREELANCER?

This is a good question. One I never thought of when I was starting out.

A lot of it depends on the project. Most of the time, the letterer would just put the pages out, and the creator wouldn't even know the font used. This is what you're going to run into most of the time.

Most letterers have a huge library of fonts for their work, even though they may only continually use maybe six or so. One is a general dialogue font, and the others would be general sound effect fonts. Special characters in the story may need special fonts. A computer/robot/android may need a font that's different from a human. Aliens. Gods. It really depends on the needs of the story. Most letterers will have a font that will be able to cover what's needed.

Font prices are "included", unless the letterer has to buy a new font for whatever reason, or--Lord and Lady help them--they have to create a new font. Creating new fonts is a painstaking process. Most of the time, you won't have to worry about it. And by "most", I mean almost never. Most of the time, the letterer has what they need to do the job.

(When it comes to buying a new font, that would be on a case-by-case basis, and will depend on the letterer as to whether or not they want to pass on the cost to you. If you wanted a particular font used that the letterer didn't have and you were insistent about it, they may pass that cost on to you. If they saw a font that would work perfectly for the story and they saw they would have other uses for it, too, they may just buy it and not even tell you, absorbing that cost. If they have to create a font, I wouldn't expect them to eat that cost. Not unless they were being well paid, and liked the challenge the project presented. Nate Piekos, creator of most of the fonts other letterers use, created a font for a noir mystery book pretty recently. He discussed the creation of it and why, but didn't say anything about passing the cost on to either the creator or the publisher. Did he absorb the cost? No idea. That's between him and the client. I only bring it up as an example that creating a font for a project can happen.)

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

..DO THE LETTERERS HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE BOLD, HYPHENATED, ITALIC.. ET CETERA OR IS ALL OF THIS OUTLINED IN THE SCRIPT WHICH WOULD BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WRITER? (OR WOULD THIS BE ADDRESSED AFTERWARD WITH A DIRECT LINE BETWEEN LETTERER AND WRITER?)

Here is where I rolled my eyes. This information is in the script, and if it were necessary, you could always "talk" to the letterer within the script itself. Happens all the time.

There are some things you don't see too much of anymore, though, such as underlining or italics in actual comics. Most of the time, you'll only find bolded words. Most of the time.

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

..ARE THE LETTERERS UNDER A NON DISCLOSURE CONTRACT IF THEY ARE RECEIVING HI RES FILES OF THE ARTWORK TO WORK ON TOP OF ESPECIALLY WITH PLACES AS DEVIANTART WHERE THEY MAY SHOWCASE THEIR WORK.. BUT THE PROJECT MAY HAVE A STREET DATE WHERE SUCH PROJECT HASNT BEEN ANNOUNCED/LAUNCHED?

Another eye roll.

The only contracts that anyone on the creative team is under are the ones you create yourself. Most creators don't put up all the work they're doing as some sort of showcase. Maybe a page or two, but out of context, they are worth very little.

This sounds like newbie paranoia. I know, because I was paranoid when I was new. You'll get over it, I'm sure.

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

..ARE PARTICULARS DISCUSSED IN ADVANCE WITH SIZING INCLUDING dpi.. AND COVERED WITH PRELIMINARY REQUIREMENTS FROM BOTH FREELANCER AND CREATOR/COORDINATOR? IS THERE A STANDARD AS 600dpi AND ARE THESE STANDARDS DISCUSSED IN ADVANCE?

Another eye roll. This question you answered yourself when talking about individual projects. You should always discuss what's expected of the freelancer, no matter what part of the creative team they are.

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

..DO LETTERERS WORK WITHIN PRESET AREAS DESIGNED BY THE ARTIST/WRITER OR HAVE THEIR OWN DESIGN AND IS THIS REQUIRED TO BE OUTLINED, AND OR IS THERE A PROCESS WHERE THE LETTERER WILL PRESENT THE PRELIMINARY 'SKETCH' WHERE PANELS AND WORD BALLOONS ET CETERA WILL BE PLACED THEN ACCEPTED AND FINALS WILL BE BASED ON THESE 'NOTES?'

This is a good question, but there are also elements of over-thinking.

A printed comic has three main areas. There is the Live Area, the Bleed, and the Trim. I speak about this at length and why things go the way they do at my site, Comixtribe.com. Read the article to get a better understanding.

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

..WILL A LETTERER PRESENT NEW IDEAS THAT 'JUST MAY WORK BETTER..' AS FAR AS DESIGN, PACING, AUDIENCE DIRECTION (AND MAYBE EVEN INCLUDING A MORE SOLID FONT DESIGN) AND OBVIOUSLY SUCH A SCENARIO WOULD REQUIRE A MUTUAL AGREEMENT BUT DO SUCH SCENARIOS OCCUR? OR ARE LETTERERS MERELY GOING THROUGH THE PACES BASED ON WHAT IS GIVEN TO THEM.. (THIS ONE PRESENTS A LOT OF THOUGHT AS I WOULD ASSUME THAT A GOOD PROFESSIONAL LETTERER WOULD KNOW HIS NAME WAS ATTACHED TO SUCH PROJECT AND WOULD NOT JUST WATCH IT GO DOWN IN FLAMES WITH HIS OWN NAME ATTACHED TO IT.)

A lot of that will depend on the letterer. The letterer is not the editor, most of the time. Their job is to cut and paste, while making the work aesthetically pleasing. Some of what you're talking about is within the purview of the editor, not the letterer.

Letterers are the same as everyone else: they want to get paid for their work, and they want their work to be seen by being published. This means they should be doing their best work at all times. Some of the work may be hackery, but I'm willing to be you an entire paycheck that unless something truly egregious has taken place, you won't find the letterer being blamed. You'll either be blamed as the writer/creator, or the editor will be blamed, if there is one attached. Spelling mistakes? Punctuation errors? Bad grammar? All of those are on the writer and the editor. None of that is the letterer's fault. Badly shaped balloons, tails that point to ears or elbows instead of perfectly visible mouths, and dialogue that covers important art? That's the fault of either the letterer or the editor.

However, most of the reading public will never blame the letterer.

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

I appreciate any response or help with this, as well as a Moderator direction if this needs to be moved to a different area or whatever else appropriate.

I also appreciate any links to other forums that may be discussing this kind of topic and answering any of these questions.

Go to Comixtribe.com. There is a wealth of information there about creating and publishing comics, most of which will be found at Bolts & Nuts and Comix Counsel. If you're a writer, you may find good experience at The Proving Grounds, and may want to submit something yourself. I'd read a column or two before submitting, though. It isn't for the faint of heart, and I do not suffer fools gladly. I tell the truth, and I'm fairly blunt about it. You have been advised.

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

Maybe all of these questions are based on a case by case scenario that is all discussed in a more formal meeting once the particular freelancer is found and interest is gained, as the mutual agreement/contract is formed.

Some of them. Others are just learned as you go along. Really, you could do a lot worse than to go to ComixTribe. While relatively new, there is still over three years worth of weekly content there to help new creators make their way from idea to the shelves. Our mission statement is Creators Helping Creators Make Better Comics. Between Tyler and I, we've covered most of the wickets you'll run into when it comes to bringing a book from inside you to getting it on the shelves. Just because I'm a jerk at times doesn't mean the information isn't good. (Nor is it dry. Some of them are fun reads--well, as fun as can be, given the topics.)

Originally Posted by davidskeleton

**I definitely know that my grammar is horrible and my story would go through an editor before going to a letterer so I hope that this thread in no way prevents any letterers from contacting me or replying to this thread in fear that I would expect the freelancer to do my editing for me.

This may sound self-serving, and it may even be so, but here's my advice: always hire a competent editor. I don't care if you hire me or not. Just hire someone who knows what they're doing. You don't have to agree with them, you don't have to take their word as gospel, but understand that they're there to help make the work better, not kiss your ass. They have their own ideas of how a story should go, and while they shouldn't try to make your story into their story, you will always have to contend with their filter of experience.

Hope some of this was helpful to you.