Younger comics creators, you need to know this: if a small indy publisher makes you think you can be "blacklisted from the industry" for requesting monies owed you, they're lying, full-stop. They don't have that kind of power. In fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of anyone who does. Fight back.

Also if they say you’ll get paid later for whatever reason, they’re lying.

On the other hand, letting people know that the small indy publisher tried this might get THEM blacklisted by all the creators, who for some reason dislike working for companies who don't pay them for their work.

In fact, I can't think of any reason any sensible publisher would want to do this... why would you want your good name tied to, "Oh, AND they tried to frighten me off by telling me they'd get me black-listed"? Talk about handing someone a gun in the hope they won't use it.

The only person who has that power is Clive Spankowitz, the arch-biblomancer of the 7th Sphere. But he’s been in a meditative trance for the past 17 years, making it unlikely that he’d be singling you out.

Man I hate when I have to pay to get paid

I mean what are they going to do, not pay me harder?

I can think of a few people who can get you blacklisted from the comics industry. They have titles like "arresting officer", "your honor", and "members of the jury" and you would have to do something far more serious than ask for what's owed you.

this is good to hear because in college we learned to NOT get blacklisted from the industry, come to find out there is no blacklist 😂

Doesn’t this mean the money’s gone?

@victoriastrauss.bsky.social's Writer Beware website is mainly aimed at the fiction writer publishing scam market, but other authors have similar issues.