# Magazine Comic: how much should I ask? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magazine-comic-how-much-should-i-ask/215373 "2003-11-26T13:59:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Short\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Short\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magazine-comic-how-much-should-i-ask/215373/1 "2003-11-26T13:59:01Z")
An editor of a Belgian magazine for truckers has expressed an interest in my work. I have sent a sample one-strip comic, which, apparently, has garnered positive reactions from said editor (yay me!). The problem is, since I’m not a professional illustrator, I have no idea what to ask for the service, and I don’t want to sound like a complete idiot. It’s a fairly simple one-strip gag comic, in colour, for a magazine published every two months. Are there any published comic artists who can help me determine an asking price as a beginning illustrator? ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magazine-comic-how-much-should-i-ask/215373/2 "2003-11-26T15:29:44Z")
[pinky in mouth] One meeeelion dollars [/pim] No clue here. Brian ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magazine-comic-how-much-should-i-ask/215373/3 "2003-11-26T15:42:32Z")
If there’s no one here who can answer your question, I suggest contacting some smaller but well-known comic artists online. Someone like David Simpson from [www.ozyandmillie.org](http://www.ozyandmillie.org) or Aaron Williams of Nodwick and Full Frontal Nerdity ([http://www.gamespy.com/comics/nodwick/index.htm](http://www.gamespy.com/comics/nodwick/index.htm)). Does Keenspace have a messageboard for comic artists? Surely that question has come up before. Another possibility is the [freelancer forum](http://forum.rpg.net/forumdisplay.php?forumid=12) on [www.rpg.net](http://www.rpg.net). Congratulations, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magazine-comic-how-much-should-i-ask/215373/4 "2003-11-26T16:01:14Z")
A small-town American newspaper or trade magazine would pay you about $25 for what you’ve described. You might want to go to the library and pick up a copy of _Artist’s Market_. Even high-end publications like _Playboy_ or _The New Yorker_ pay between $75-200 for cartoons, a relative pittance (Most of those artists sell to numerous magazines and keep a hand in at the local ad agency to pay the bills). Last time I picked up a copy of _Playboy_, they had a grand total of eight cartoons cor the entire issue, all of them by familiar veterans of the magazine. My advice? Take their check for 30 euros (or whatever) gladly and cash it immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Short\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Short\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magazine-comic-how-much-should-i-ask/215373/5 "2003-11-27T08:58:15Z")
Thanks for the advice, everyone. At least now I have some sort of touchstone. ---
**Author:** ![Anal\_Scurvy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@Anal\_Scurvy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anal_Scurvy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magazine-comic-how-much-should-i-ask/215373/6 "2003-11-27T17:57:09Z")
go to [www.penciljack.com](http://www.penciljack.com), register for the forums, and ask around. Not pros, but they can definitely point you in the right direction. There’s also a similar, but more professional, online community with “poo” in the URL that would be a great resource, but I can’t find it in my searches. ---
**Author:** ![Sketch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Sketch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sketch)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magazine-comic-how-much-should-i-ask/215373/7 "2003-11-27T20:53:28Z")
That’s [www.eatpoo.com](http://www.eatpoo.com)