MattBrady
01-10-2005, 10:27 AM
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/CBMaker/newlogo.jpg" width="200" height="179" align="right"><i>by Ryan McLelland</i>
Welcome back to <i>Comic Book Maker</i>, the series on how to create and market your own comic book! These series of articles will run concurrent with the actual creation of a comic book titled the <b>Wise Intelligence Anthology</b>.
Over the last several weeks I’ve written ten short stories and been lucky enough to assemble a crack team of artists to draw my babble. The artwork starts to come back and it fills me with such joy, seeing how the characters truly can come to life on the page. As the artists start to ink their work I begin to look forward. Creating a comic is the truly easy part; it’s getting your book published that is truly the bear.
By no means do I want to think small. I want to send my comic to many publishers to see who might bite. I started assembling my list of publishers to submit to by going into my basement and pulling out all the comics from this year’s Free Comic Book Day. As a comic fan I picked up and read every single free comic that I could get my grubby little hands on. A lot of the smaller companies put out great anthology comics to get mouths watering and try to attract new fans.
So where does one begin in trying to submit to a publisher? Before even looking at submission requirements for each company I consulted my trade paperback copy of <b>Quantum: Rock of Ages</b>. Writer Philip Clark decided to throw in an article he wrote in the trade titled ‘Writing For Comics’ which is a short overview of how to bring a comic to life. Rather then reinvent the wheel, I figured I would clue you all in on what Philip knows to be important when submitting to companies.
“A lot of people think that once they’ve written a comic book script, all they have to do is find the nearest publisher and submit,” Clark says. “Doing this would be suicide. Almost no publisher wants to read a full script, and most simply don’t have time to read one from an unknown.”
What Clark recommended is putting a few specific items into a presentation or promotional kit. This breaks down into 5 items: a one-page synopsis of your idea, 3 to 9 pages of sequential art, character descriptions, an issue-by-issue breakdown, and 2 to 3 pages of script.
Clark’s article also includes another interesting notion, “If you’re really smart you’ve come up with an eye-catching cover and have bundled it into a mini-comic. Also known as an ashcan, this is a popular and easy-to-make format that will really send a message to whomever you approach.”
My thoughts lie on what publishers ask for versus what you can give them. You will find that most publishers are nice enough to publish their website address inside their comics and publish their submission requirements on their website. I would think that including a mini-comic might be good, but I also hate to inundate a publisher with material and have them looking at all this stuff going, “Why in the hell is Ryan sending me all this crap?”
Publishers do want to publish comic books. That’s what they are in business to do. Ben Dunn, founder of Antarctic Press, recently said it this way to me, “Be true to your style. Depending on what it is you want to submit you should gear to that. If you want to submit your own story then sell it as if it was the great American comic. If you want to work on company properties then show you can be trusted to handle the characters.” This is what publishers are thinking and this is exactly what they want.
A good query letter is key. It is one of the most important aspects in this entire process, especially if you are a creator sending out works that are half done. Sometimes writing and art does speak for itself, but you do want to be able to sell yourself. You want to show a publisher that you are capable of not only being a creator but also a businessperson. The last thing a publisher wants is to open a submissions package and have a query letter that reads:
“YO! What up! Here’s my newest comic <b>Frogman and Tadpole Boy</b> and this is that greatest thing you’ve ever seen! You’d be a fool not to publish this! Seriously! Send me a check and I’ll whip this bad boy up and you can print the next sixty issues!”
I’m sure that’s a bit over the top but I’m also sure that many people out there don’t realize that a query is something that is professional. You want to sound confident without being cocky. You want to tell publishers what you want them to read without having a six page query letter (that’s what a synopsis is for). You want to be able to sell yourself.
There are quite a number of places to look on how to write queries and pitches, but a great group of articles was written last year by Lee Nordling. Nordling is the Executive Editor of the Platinum Studios Comic Book Department and Platinum’s Website (http://platinumstudios.com/press/press.php?press_number=092903) has links to three articles Nordling wrote for another comic book website on pitching. You might think a lot of what is being said is broad, but what Nordling writes on how to sell a pitch holds true when trying to pitch your comic book. Getting what you want down to the core while still telling what you want to accomplish is quite important.
I want to try and keep my query letter very KISS (not the band, but ‘Keep It Simple, Stupid’). I’m not trying to pitch a movie or the next great thirty issue maxi-series. What I am pitching is a one-shot followed by a three-issue mini-series. What I figure I want to tell publishers in my query is (1) a little about the comic, (2) some of the artists and their accomplishments in the field, (3) mention my ‘guest-stars’, and (4) what I have done thus far in the writing field.
One blurb that always stands out in my mind is the paragraph that ran in every issue of Jeff Smith’s <b>Bone</b>. ‘After being run out of Boneville, the three BONE cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone, are separated and lost in a vast, uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures...’ is the quick fill a reader would read on every inside front cover. It’s simple and easy while being straight to the point.
I want to try and develop something that quick and to the point. This way publishers know right away what the book is about and if there may be any initial interest. My very rough idea goes something like this: ‘On the lush campus of New Jersey State University, the fraternity brothers of Delta Rho Gamma (AKA ‘The Dragons’) try to figure out a way to fit their classes into a busy schedule of mid-afternoon drinking, larger-then-life fraternity parties, and hooking up with every girl they can get their hands on.’ I’m sure that could even use more editing, but it does tell submission editors exactly what this comic series will be about.
I also want to tell about my writing accomplishments. I’m not going to go on and on about every single article I’ve written or the time I was interviewing Angelina Jolie while getting to compare our respective lip sizes (both are quite substantial). I do want to mention briefly what I have done, letting them know I’ve been writing for some time. If they want to see what else I’ve done I can always send writing samples or they can just look me up on the Internet.
The important thing to remember is keep the query letter professional, keep it simple, and show that you are able to pitch your work. Being able to write a professional letter to a business speaks volumes about you and what you are capable of. Again, the guy who writes in boasting that <b>Frogman and Tadpole Boy</b> is the most incredible tome since <b>Watchmen</b> not only is kidding themselves, and providing some unintentional humor for the pitch reader, but is also setting themselves up right for failure. That is, unless, <b>Frogman and Tadpole Boy</b> <i>is</i> the best thing ever. Then I’m just dead wrong.
<i>Questions? Comments? Leave your thoughts here on the message board OR give Ryan a write at comicbookmaker@hotmail.com . Read the blog at http://wiseintelligence.blogspot.com .</i>
Welcome back to <i>Comic Book Maker</i>, the series on how to create and market your own comic book! These series of articles will run concurrent with the actual creation of a comic book titled the <b>Wise Intelligence Anthology</b>.
Over the last several weeks I’ve written ten short stories and been lucky enough to assemble a crack team of artists to draw my babble. The artwork starts to come back and it fills me with such joy, seeing how the characters truly can come to life on the page. As the artists start to ink their work I begin to look forward. Creating a comic is the truly easy part; it’s getting your book published that is truly the bear.
By no means do I want to think small. I want to send my comic to many publishers to see who might bite. I started assembling my list of publishers to submit to by going into my basement and pulling out all the comics from this year’s Free Comic Book Day. As a comic fan I picked up and read every single free comic that I could get my grubby little hands on. A lot of the smaller companies put out great anthology comics to get mouths watering and try to attract new fans.
So where does one begin in trying to submit to a publisher? Before even looking at submission requirements for each company I consulted my trade paperback copy of <b>Quantum: Rock of Ages</b>. Writer Philip Clark decided to throw in an article he wrote in the trade titled ‘Writing For Comics’ which is a short overview of how to bring a comic to life. Rather then reinvent the wheel, I figured I would clue you all in on what Philip knows to be important when submitting to companies.
“A lot of people think that once they’ve written a comic book script, all they have to do is find the nearest publisher and submit,” Clark says. “Doing this would be suicide. Almost no publisher wants to read a full script, and most simply don’t have time to read one from an unknown.”
What Clark recommended is putting a few specific items into a presentation or promotional kit. This breaks down into 5 items: a one-page synopsis of your idea, 3 to 9 pages of sequential art, character descriptions, an issue-by-issue breakdown, and 2 to 3 pages of script.
Clark’s article also includes another interesting notion, “If you’re really smart you’ve come up with an eye-catching cover and have bundled it into a mini-comic. Also known as an ashcan, this is a popular and easy-to-make format that will really send a message to whomever you approach.”
My thoughts lie on what publishers ask for versus what you can give them. You will find that most publishers are nice enough to publish their website address inside their comics and publish their submission requirements on their website. I would think that including a mini-comic might be good, but I also hate to inundate a publisher with material and have them looking at all this stuff going, “Why in the hell is Ryan sending me all this crap?”
Publishers do want to publish comic books. That’s what they are in business to do. Ben Dunn, founder of Antarctic Press, recently said it this way to me, “Be true to your style. Depending on what it is you want to submit you should gear to that. If you want to submit your own story then sell it as if it was the great American comic. If you want to work on company properties then show you can be trusted to handle the characters.” This is what publishers are thinking and this is exactly what they want.
A good query letter is key. It is one of the most important aspects in this entire process, especially if you are a creator sending out works that are half done. Sometimes writing and art does speak for itself, but you do want to be able to sell yourself. You want to show a publisher that you are capable of not only being a creator but also a businessperson. The last thing a publisher wants is to open a submissions package and have a query letter that reads:
“YO! What up! Here’s my newest comic <b>Frogman and Tadpole Boy</b> and this is that greatest thing you’ve ever seen! You’d be a fool not to publish this! Seriously! Send me a check and I’ll whip this bad boy up and you can print the next sixty issues!”
I’m sure that’s a bit over the top but I’m also sure that many people out there don’t realize that a query is something that is professional. You want to sound confident without being cocky. You want to tell publishers what you want them to read without having a six page query letter (that’s what a synopsis is for). You want to be able to sell yourself.
There are quite a number of places to look on how to write queries and pitches, but a great group of articles was written last year by Lee Nordling. Nordling is the Executive Editor of the Platinum Studios Comic Book Department and Platinum’s Website (http://platinumstudios.com/press/press.php?press_number=092903) has links to three articles Nordling wrote for another comic book website on pitching. You might think a lot of what is being said is broad, but what Nordling writes on how to sell a pitch holds true when trying to pitch your comic book. Getting what you want down to the core while still telling what you want to accomplish is quite important.
I want to try and keep my query letter very KISS (not the band, but ‘Keep It Simple, Stupid’). I’m not trying to pitch a movie or the next great thirty issue maxi-series. What I am pitching is a one-shot followed by a three-issue mini-series. What I figure I want to tell publishers in my query is (1) a little about the comic, (2) some of the artists and their accomplishments in the field, (3) mention my ‘guest-stars’, and (4) what I have done thus far in the writing field.
One blurb that always stands out in my mind is the paragraph that ran in every issue of Jeff Smith’s <b>Bone</b>. ‘After being run out of Boneville, the three BONE cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone, are separated and lost in a vast, uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures...’ is the quick fill a reader would read on every inside front cover. It’s simple and easy while being straight to the point.
I want to try and develop something that quick and to the point. This way publishers know right away what the book is about and if there may be any initial interest. My very rough idea goes something like this: ‘On the lush campus of New Jersey State University, the fraternity brothers of Delta Rho Gamma (AKA ‘The Dragons’) try to figure out a way to fit their classes into a busy schedule of mid-afternoon drinking, larger-then-life fraternity parties, and hooking up with every girl they can get their hands on.’ I’m sure that could even use more editing, but it does tell submission editors exactly what this comic series will be about.
I also want to tell about my writing accomplishments. I’m not going to go on and on about every single article I’ve written or the time I was interviewing Angelina Jolie while getting to compare our respective lip sizes (both are quite substantial). I do want to mention briefly what I have done, letting them know I’ve been writing for some time. If they want to see what else I’ve done I can always send writing samples or they can just look me up on the Internet.
The important thing to remember is keep the query letter professional, keep it simple, and show that you are able to pitch your work. Being able to write a professional letter to a business speaks volumes about you and what you are capable of. Again, the guy who writes in boasting that <b>Frogman and Tadpole Boy</b> is the most incredible tome since <b>Watchmen</b> not only is kidding themselves, and providing some unintentional humor for the pitch reader, but is also setting themselves up right for failure. That is, unless, <b>Frogman and Tadpole Boy</b> <i>is</i> the best thing ever. Then I’m just dead wrong.
<i>Questions? Comments? Leave your thoughts here on the message board OR give Ryan a write at comicbookmaker@hotmail.com . Read the blog at http://wiseintelligence.blogspot.com .</i>