OK, creators…saddle up. Here comes a big lesson that doesn’t sound like a lesson at all. YAY! I see a lot of creators complaining they’re being taken advantage of, but — past a certain point early in career — this has never really been a problem for me. Why?

I come from old-school New York City illustrator-stock. If there is a more officious, penny-pinching, constantly-angling group of creatives, I’ve never met them. The mantra from day one of my pro education was KILL FEE/HALF UPFRONT before you touch pencil to paper.

What’s a kill fee, some may ask? Well, if the project is cancelled, you get paid a nominal fee for your “wasted time” (sometimes half). It’s important because a TON of project don’t ever reach the finish-line. Without a kill fee, you, the creative are left holding the bag.

Then there’s half pay upfront, which has been my minimum in for DECADES. It very quickly separates the serious from those publishers that are just fucking around. People don’t sign up for immediate money out if they don’t MEAN it. And I never start until I have that money.

Before I lived by these rules, I occasionally took on projects I was excited to work on, and, invariably, I was never paid for any of them. This is fine if you’re OK with that, of course, but judging by the posts I see, most are NOT OK with it.

And the last thing I’ll say is: you can choose to do something or not. No one can take advantage of you creatively without your cooperation. Again, this might sound like an un-revelation to most, but I assure you, it appears to be a rampant problem. Don’t agree to shit work.