Accountability and Responsibility in indie publishing

Hi my name is Chris!

I’m a self-published author, illustrator, and one of the co-founders of Band of Bards (an independent publishing house based in Buffalo, NY).

I’ve been involved in indie comics for well over a decade now, and I hope that A Great & Terrible Blog can be a resource for others, something that can be used to gauge what it means to publish independently, from my perspective and experience.

Lets work together to make this industry a better place.

1. A Great & Terrible #1 is done! How is fulfillment coming along, and is there any progress on issue #2? (I love good news!)

2. Ongoing: Accountability and Responsibility in Indie Publishing

It’s worth taking a moment to say thank you. I’m incredibly grateful for the chance to make the first issue of AG&T, and for the support this debut Kickstarter has received—especially from so many of you reading this newsletter. This project wouldn’t exist without that support, and I don’t take it lightly.

Putting yourself and a project you poured part of your life into out and into the world is a tremendous task. You have to believe in its success while accepting that not everyone can back it. The economy is tight, there’s no shortage of great projects, and sometimes familiar names you expected to see just aren’t there. That’s part of the process, and part of growing as a creator.

… and that’s my imposter syndrome talking, and in reality I just need to move on.

“Putting yourself and a project you poured part of your life into out in the world is a tremendous task.”

Since the end of the Kickstarter campaign I’ve been working hard alongside my editor, Foxboro, on finishing the issue #2 script, and I’m happy to report that it’s in the can. Hopefully I can find the money to get the art started as I begin to crank out the campaign’s fulfillment.

We’re trying a new thing this time around and for those who backed the book and grabbed a physical copy, you’ll have a few extra surprises in your packages.

I still have a ton of work in front of me, but the books are being printed as we speak, and I’m so excited.

And now since we’re well on our way toward completion (via Tornado or Sky Bird), AG&T is also getting a little bit of a logo update.

Setting the Table: What “Accountability” Actually Means Here

This is the beginning of a short series on accountability, and our responsibility as creators and stewards of this industry. It’s time to talk plainly about what works, what fails, and why infighting keeps holding us back.

Drop the ego, the personality cults, and the bad-faith narratives. We can do better, and the industry will be stronger if we actually try.

It’s time for some ground rules and expectations.

Accountability isn’t blame… it’s ownership of outcomes.

Responsibility isn’t static; it shifts as roles, power, and scale evolve.

Indie doesn’t mean we’re immune to harm, exploitation, or bad systems, and if we truly claim independence, we inherit a duty to build systems that are better.

It’s not pointing the finger at someone else, or clenching up to say “not my problem.” It’s not torching someone publicly because your feelings are hurt or you feel slighted… failing to instead have a conversation with the other party about it.

Accountability is your ownership of an outcome, good or bad.

When you’re a creator, you have a lot of responsibilities. Your managing a team, your relationships, your own work… not to mention if you’re like me, we’re doing it while also working a day job. Maintaining trust with all of those parties that you’re working with is EXHAUSTING… I get it.

When trust breaks down, accountability doesn’t mean blame that person… it means stopping, reassessing, and deciding whether repairing that fracture is possible.

And sometimes, it isn’t.

That’s the part we don’t like to talk about. We don’t want to be the party at fault, or accept the accountability for our actions that caused the breakdown.

There is no perfect community. There is no perfect partner. There is only good faith (or the absence of it) and the work required to maintain it when things get hard, slow, or uncomfortable.

Indie publishing is built on accountability, and relationships. That means communication isn’t optional. It means ethics don’t disappear when timelines slip. It means venting has consequences, silence has consequences, and so does failing to ask questions when you had the chance to do it.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not great at communicating. But responsibility isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being willing to get better when you realize where you’ve fallen short.

If we want an industry that’s safer, fairer, and more sustainable than the one we inherited, then accountability has to run in every direction, not just uphill, not just online, and not only when someone else messes up.

That’s the work.
That’s the expectation.
And if we’re serious about independence, that’s the price of it.

Next issue… “Predatory tactics exist” - This may not be what you expect.

Love,
Chris