My name is Robert Finch, you may know me as Ruyei on this site I have been scripting for comics for 8 years and writing for over a decade, and I have completed and work on multiple comic projects both of my own creation as well as developing the ideas of others. Being professional in my dealings I attract a fair number of collaborators This summer I'm dedicating my time on top of my usual life duties to freelance writing, and of course given my experience with comics I thought I'd offer my skills as a writer for 10$ a page with research and editing hours included. I've completed and worked on numerous comic projects with artists from around the world and as a prose writer I've had several short stories published in small journals. You can find a fair amount of my comic work (and some of my prose work) through my dropbox link https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ntr67c0ctgxu ... LSQAa?dl=0.
Through my portfolio you'll see wide variety of genres as well as scripting style, thus promoting my versatility. I've worked on everything from historical fiction to jungle fantasy and through my research hours I can adapt and learn from any subject you'd prefer. As a writer though I consider myself specializing as a concept guy. Want to do a Space comic? What about a protagonist exploring an alien culture who still holds on to the vestiges of a monarchy? Like Westerns? What about an alternate universe setting where the Mexican American war never happened? Therefore there would be a cold war type atmosphere, with there being a "no man's land" in Texas as both countries fight for the land by recruiting typical wild west types to instigate a proxy struggle over territories. The more detail on the type of story you want the clearer I will be to your vision and if perhaps you want to respond to a topic I don't know about, like the Hindu Vedas, it's apart of your package that I read up and learn how best to treat it!
Why am I charging? This is an argument that has resonated throughout the forums regarding artists charging for what many consider a hobby, but the true difference between paying a collaborator and not paying a collaborator is that when you offer compensation you are literally buying time. As in, rather than spend my time in other ways working on making cash I need to survive, through supporting me you buy me free time that I can use to work on your projects. I am busy otherwise with continuing my schooling, managing important life-functions, and when time allows working on my own comic projects and novels.
But don't others have free-time and are willing to sacrifice it for free? Perhaps, but know this. On both the artist and writer side when you offer no compensation you make a substantial risk of getting someone who is doing the project on their spare time. Spare time is often limited, and thus an eager collaborator may start strong but within three e-mails simply stop responding due to his work demanding hours or any number of valid excuses (I once had a collaborator become an undercover cop and have to stop a project, no-joke!). Occasionally you'll get someone who has the time issue worked out, but as I stated you take a major risk and it can be very frustrating spending months or even seasons searching for simply a dependable writer. Often that writer will be doing incredibly dedicated, but doing it on his first run. It can be very frustrating since you often don't know what kind of collaborator you have until work on the comic begins.
Here's what you'll get from me. I have as I mentioned eight years of experienced and I am dedicated to my craft. I have written full length graphic novels, worked in both American and Manga style, and have written in a variety of genres ranging from crime to high fantasy. I am the sort of guy who responds to all e-mails within 24 hours and is often very available to talk through Skype, phone, or virtually any instant messaging service (If I don't have it I have no issues making a new account!). Not only have I a varied resume but I'm a great communicator and value almost as much as my craft the importance of keeping the collaborator informed every step of the way. In other words, I won't charge for long e-mails
. I am very skilled working with international clients with varying masteries of English and although I'll be closer to your vision with more detail, I am very skilled at taking simple ideas to fully realized worlds and creating a meaningful and unique plot out of your content.What the service entails is that not only will I work for 10$ a page but for every standard issue comic issue I'll throw in three hours of free research time and one free do-over on top of standard editing if I don't get it right the first time. You'll also get one hour of live (Skype or phone) consultation time for every week I'm working for you and an unlimited supply of e-mail correspondence regarding your project. Buying additional time for any of these services will add up to simply paying me $10/hour for each task. What is not included free (but which I highly recommend) is my skills regarding the pitches and portfolio submissions for publishers. This is a completely separate service and although it's not very expensive (still 10/h) I feel that given that it takes a completely different set of skills that it should be billed separately.
Prices of course are negotiable but note that I can't afford to work for free and that lower rates means possible loss of elements of the package such as research time or even a slower speed from me (for example rather than the script completed in a week it may take longer...ect).
My e-mail is robert-finch@comcast.net and I can be found the same way for Skype. I won't give out my phone here but e-mail or skype me with interest and we can work out communicating. Initial consultations are free so don't hesitate to take advantage of them. The standard way I receive payment is through PayPal but if you have an alternate means of paying cash I'll look into how I can receive it. I've wired internationally before so if that is your case it's not an entirely new experience for me.
I'm ready to start the conversation and go the distance. I have a lot to offer and in the amateur circuit that can make all the distance.
Sincerely,
Robert Finch/Ruyei