About half of the post-fees and taxes raised for THE GARLICKS via Kickstarter goes towards paying me to produce the art for THE GARLICKS, which will be serialized online three times a week, readable for FREE, and then will be collected into a trade paperback.
This pay I've budgeted for gives me a year of financial security so I can focus solely on making THE GARLICKS. In the interest of letting you see exactly where your pledges (and your wonderful confidence in me) are/is going, here's my monthly budget:
My base pay is $125. a page, 12 pages minimum per month. That pays for this on a monthly basis:
Rent $300.
Food $300. (Even rice and beans cost money, and I have cats and two teenagers.)
Utilities $240. (Hey, busted water heater!) and phone.
Gas $50. (Going without a car isn't an option in a city without proper public transportation.)
Summer daycare (and evening daycare during the school year) for my son with autism. He requires constant supervision and time with peers. $200. (Without the daycare, I can't work, his sister can't work, and we're all effing miserable.)
Health insurance $30.
Car insurance $80.
Meds $40. (That are, quite literally, lifesaving.)
Paying back personal loans made to me and bills that piled up while I wasn't working: $150./month
The remainder goes into savings against large regular expenses like car inspection and registration, tax preparation, taxes, and also emergencies or disasters. (Broken car, broken glasses, the aforementioned busted water heater, sick me, sick kids, you get the idea.) Things that can wipe out funds for rent, food and insurance. (Hi ho, drove around with expired registration for three months, car water heater blows up, prescription co-pay doubles...)
I'm hoping this will make you more likely to pledge or even increase your pledges! Your money is going towards not only a new graphic novel, but helps a cartoonist and single parent of two teens (one special needs, one hoping to go to college) keep her household together.
THANK YOU! Please keep sharing THE GARLICKS Kickstarter across all your social networks!
xo,
Lea
