AMA: A typical week

Q.: Maybe you have talked about this before (I cannot do podcasts as I get too sucked in and then can't work, but music is fine), but what is the breakdown of your work week? Like this much is the main strip, this much is After Dark, this much is commissions, etc.?

A.: Beginning cartoonists often ask me to describe my typical week to them. And they’re usually shocked at how much time I spend doing non-comics tasks! However, before I go any further, I want to say this: I LOVE this fucking life. I worked 18-hour days for about twelve years to get to the point that I could even think about doing this. Now that I am, I’m insanely happy. Keep that in mind in case any of this sounds like complaining. It’s not. I thrive on the challenge.

I teach two classes (three hours each) at the University of the Arts on Mondays. I enjoy the experience, and it keeps me on my toes mentally. I’m a pretty high-energy guy when I have an audience in front of me, and my classes are brisk. When I get home around five o’clock, I’m wiped out.

Tuesdays are much the same. I record two ComicLab podcast episodes with my friend Dave Kellett. It’s another experience that leaves me very happily brain-dead. I need to schedule some very easy tasks for the rest of the day. I’ll usually spend the rest of the day fulfilling Amazon book distribution requests, scheduling promotional social media posts, and doing business-admin tasks on my list (taxes, profit-loss statements, contacting podcast sponsors about invoices, etc.).

Wednesdays are catch-up days. If I need to spend some time writing, I’ll do that. If I’ve fallen behind on Evil Inc, I’ll finish the bottom of the page on Wednesday so it can be colored overnight and posted on Patreon on Thursday morning. If I’ve been productive, I’ll start writing and drawing EiAD — or, if there are commissions to do, I’ll start those.

Thursday is a hybrid day. I need to process the Evil Inc page so it can be read across several social media platforms in both traditional and vertical-scroll formats. It needs to be backed up to prepare for the eventual book, and the entire package needs to be archived. Then, I take all that and schedule social media posts, upload them to my website, prep them for Patreon, etc. I’m lucky to be anywhere near my Cintiq by two o’clock. But if I get that lucky, I start working on whichever comic or illustration has the most pressing deadline.

Fridays are usually drawing-heavy days. I may do a little light admin/social media in the morning, but I can usually rely on being at my drawing station for most of the day.

I often work on Evil Inc on Saturday and Sunday — about five hours each day. If there are family things schedules, those take priority. If not, I’m sneaking off to a small workspace in my bedroom to start working on pages. I typically spend Saturday mornings uploading and scheduling ComicLab episodes and writing pieces for Webcomics.com.

On any given day, I’m also responding to comments on social media, checking in on the Discord servers for Evil Inc and ComicLab, staying on top of website maintenance, responding to emails, updating promo material for my sites and my email newsletter, assembling a new eComic, and about a dozen other incidental tasks that arise.

And none of this is the same from week to week. If I have difficulty writing, I’ll spend more time working those issues out and have less time for the other tasks on my list. That happens from time to time. Likewise, a complicated scene with a high-detail background (like Wingman’s trophy room) just takes longer to draw. The entire first quarter of the year is dominated by tax prep. I always tell myself I’ll prep a Kickstarter campaign in the first three months of the year, and when that time rolls around, I’m amazed that I keep forgetting how long tax prep takes!

Hiring an assistant

You’re not alone if you read all that and thought I needed an assistant. I wrestle with this constantly. I’ve experimented with this several times and haven’t found the right fit. I need a very specific set of skills — from Photoshop to social media. I can’t spend much time teaching someone how to post content on social media. And it would make things infinitely more manageable if the person had a working knowledge of Evil Inc — storylines, characters, etc. Moreover, I don’t want someone “OK” with NSFW content. I want them to be eager to work with that shit! I have no problem with the person working remotely. In fact, I prefer it. But working remotely means trusting that the person is reporting their time accurately. And I trust very few people in that regard. I’ve come close a couple of times, but it just doesn’t gel.