Chewing Pencils

Can you tell me how to start. I know somebody who is not a professional cartoonist. But really is doing good cartoons. How do you usually start this kind of hobby or work at home small business. Please advise me on what to do to convince  him to submit his work. Where should we start.molly

The first step is probably the hardest when making the transition from hobby drawer to professional cartoonist. Every step after that still feels more like a stumble than a deliberate step, but at least your falling in the right general direction!

I’ve outlined much of what your friend needs to consider in the Top Ten Tips for Becoming a Professional Cartoonist, but should emphasise that it takes more than good drawing skills. Good storytelling ability and business sense are equally, if not more, important. Assuming that both of those are already there, the first step for your friend is to start submitting work to editors to see if he can get published.

I would avoid the newspapers to begin with, as the newspaper market is extremely competitive and difficult to break into. He might do a bit better with magazines or approaching corporate business/marketing agencies directly to illustrate some of their in-house publications.

The harsh reality is that it’s going to take some hard work beyond the drawing to start getting published. Tell your friend not to quit his day job just yet, but to work at his cartooning career in his spare time and let it grow from there.

A few more hints on how to sell your work can be found here. Encourage your friend to read through them and give some of them a go!