This month I thought I’d talk about something specifically from a writer’s perspective – how to recruit and work with an artist on your strip or comic. Obviously, your first task is to actually approach an artist about working with you. These days that shouldn’t be too difficult. After all, there are loads of places online you can now visit to make contact with artists and illustrators, and view their work. There’s www.deviantart.com and www.comicspace.com for a start. You could also trawl a few comic-related messageboards as they often contain dedicated threads for writers seeking artists and vice versa.

LAST month I looked at having your comic or graphic novel distributed by Diamond so this time I thought I’d suggest some ways you can get your book into the hands of punters if Diamond isn’t an option for you.

So your comic is finished, it's beautifully written with gorgeous art and a fantastic eye-catching cover. What's next? Well, you have two choices – either you can go straight to a printer and get a couple of hundred copies knocked out to sell through your website and at conventions. Or, alternatively, you could hold fire on the printing and approach Diamond about getting your comic distributed to direct market stores all over the UK, ROI and North America. If it’s your first attempt at publishing a comic, it might be an idea to wait a while before approaching Diamond. That isn’t to denigrate your efforts but, let’s be honest, your first attempt isn’t going to be anywhere near as good as, say, the fourth or fifth books you publish. In 2002, I sent Diamond the first book I ever wrote and published – Devilchild Volume I: Hell Is Round The Corner – and they rejected it. Back then I was a bit upset but now I can see that they were absolutely right; my comics needed to improve in every area before it would be good enough to sit on the shelves alongside books by actual professional writers and artists.

So, you want to try this self-publishing lark but could do with a few hints about how to go about it. Hopefully you’ve come to the right place for a bit of advice – not because I’m some kind of expert but because I’ve made loads of mistakes during my self-publishing voyage of discovery and therefore know many of the pitfalls to avoid. There are 10 pointers for all first timers below – they aren’t commandments just ideas and things that have worked for me over the five years I’ve been doing this. Take from them what you will…