(Last time I wrote this post, it wouldn't show up... so here it is again!)
One of the editors from Dark Horse, Diana Shutz, stopped by a local comic shop last week, Drawn & Quarterly, to talk about comic-related things.
I was, quite unfortunately, unable to attend, but some very good friends of mine were able to and I provided them with a few questions I wouldhave liked to ask her. Mainly, stuff about sending in written proposals for comics; what's the best format tosend it in, what has a better chance of making it, are serial stories more suited than single-shots, etc, etc.
The answer I got sort of surprised me, considering there's an entire section on the Dark Horse website that explains how to send in written proposals. Quite simply, no one at Dark Horse is actually paid to read written proposals. It isn't anyone's job to do so, so if they read it, it's more like a favor to you more than anything.
Of course, that doesn't mean they'll toss out scripts if they don't know who you are. The important thing is to get them to read it, so they might still read it if your script is accompanied by a mini-comic (or even better, a complete comic) even if the artist that drew it isn't staying on board for the project.
So with that in mind, I'm going to give it a try with a comic series I've been working on for a bit. It's a series unsuited for the Z2H format, so I've kept it aside during all of this. I'm thinking I'm going to draw it myself, but I would gratefully welcome the help of any artists willing to dedicate some time to it (and get exposure with Dark Horse, too!).
Comments
02:01 Sun Jun 29th, 2008
I've been meaning to send Dark Horse something for years and have always taken comfort in the fact that they have remained open to written proposals. That answer surprises me, but it won't stop me from sending something in. I hate just sending things to 'submissions' or 'dear editor' type letters -- does anyone know who at Dark Horse would be most likely to consider new writers?
02:11 Sun Jun 29th, 2008
You would want the editors to read them, I guess, but like I said, there's no specific person in charge of reading unsolicited scripts. I would also recommend checking out their forums under the Comic Creation section; staff tend to respond in a timely and informative manner.
02:47 Sun Jun 29th, 2008
Good call. I think I'll submit to the editor that responds to most posts in that section of their forum. I don't know if the Dark Horse editors care, but I've heard a lot of novel editors (and agents) say that query/cover letters should be personalized -- so no 'dear editor' or 'to whom it may concern' and do your best to figure out if it's 'mr.' or 'ms.'
03:55 Sun Jun 29th, 2008
Actually, I know that most publishers will prioritize writing submissions that are in comic form, that is, submitted with artwork. Imagine you're a publisher, or an editor, and you've got some time off, AND you're not home sexing your wife, playing videogames or driving your kids around. What would you rather read: a complete text pitch, or an original comic package? Think about it. Text = longer to read, needs to read the action, need to identify what the characters are like. Comic = character are instantly identifiable, and you can tell is the writing fit a comic page. It's a no-brainer, really. We're lucky Z2H works the way it does for CCN. EXTREMELY lucky.
06:41 Sun Jun 29th, 2008
I don't think the editors would bother taking the time to prioritize the unsolicited 'slush'. I know that they do pull out mail from people they recognize and give priority to that, of course. Otherwise, they'll just rifle through the slush in the order it came in if/when they get around to it. I'm not saying they wouldn't prefer getting submissions in comic form, but if they allow written submissions, they'll still give them the same initial skim as any other slush. Plus, don't forget that a lot of editors started out as writers.
06:54 Sun Jun 29th, 2008
Head wall = BANGBANGBANG(you just hope the paint chips land in their lap so they pay attention)
07:07 Sun Jun 29th, 2008
If you bang your head hard enough against that wall, they might notice the blood splatter...but I doubt that's the kind of first impression you want to make.
09:09 Sun Jun 29th, 2008
Unless your story is Slaughter Inc. I don't know about submitting comic writing but from everything I've heard about submitting short stories or novels you generally get a paragraph. If you haven't hooked the slush pile editor by then you're toast!
20:11 Sun Jun 29th, 2008
MrIrony: '...they might still read it if your script is accompanied by a mini-comic (or even better, a complete comic) even if the artist that drew it isn't staying on board for the project.' You've got to be careful with this, though. If an editor signs off on a package, and you can't produce the package, all bets are off. An acquaintance of mine had a book accepted at Image; the artist went on to get paid work at Marvel and had to take himself off the Image project--which led to the Image project getting dropped, even though a new artist of professional quality was found. The other thing to worry about is whether the artist you get to work with you is producing work of a sufficiently professional quality. If the artist's storytelling chops aren't up to snuff, it could end up looking like the writer doesn't know what they're doing. Of course, finding an artist who's good enough who's willing to sign on with an unproven writer is a task in and of itself... F
20:12 Sun Jun 29th, 2008
Genrewriter: 'I'm not saying they wouldn't prefer getting submissions in comic form, but if they allow written submissions, they'll still give them the same initial skim as any other slush.' Speaking as a former submissions editor, I really would not count on that. Diana Schutz is on record saying she'll read anything she gets in minicomic form, but I haven't heard/read her saying the same about written proposals. And it's much easier to read 22 pages of comic than 6 pages of proposal. And easier still to look at one page of comic and go 'Nope, this guy's not ready.' The thing that a lot of people don't understand about submissions is, as a rule, editors aren't looking for good material. They're looking for a reason, any reason at all, to say 'no.' Art isn't professional? Thanks for submitting, not what we're looking for. Idea doesn't sound original (even though it may be very original in execution, the logline sounds like the X-Men)? Thanks for submitting, not what we're looking for. Writer sent 22 pages of script when your submissions guideline specifically says send 5? Thanks for submitting, not what we're looking for. There is a lot of good stuff floating around out there looking for a publisher (I like to think some of it's mine). And the amount of stuff that isn't good enough that's floating around out there looking for a publisher is mind-boggling. Frankly, it's borderline miraculous any portion of any slush pile anywhere ever gets read. I'm semi-convinced--no, scratch that, I know for a fact that some companies maintain a public submissions policy not because they're interested in receiving submissions from new and interesting new creators, but because they know a good portion of their readership is wannabe creators and they don't want to alienate them by flat-out saying 'You don't have a chance.' There's stuff you can do to increase your chances of getting read. The big one is networking, making contacts. Thanks to the net, this has never been easier; that said, a face-to-face connection is going to get you a lot farther than e-mail. My first piece of advice to anyone wanting to break into comics is 'Move to New York.' Getting a book in print is a big thing--it shows editors you've got what it takes to finish what you start (and man, there are a lot of creators out there who talk a good game but can't play one when the chips are down). If you can get it published by someone other than you, that's even better. That said, how you're perceived by a finished product is going to be affected by the talent of your collaborators, so make sure they're as good as or better than you. Getting an established pro to contribute to your book might work. The guy who wrote IDW's F/X reportedly paid John Byrne in the area of $20k to draw the first issue, but having Byrne on-board got it picked up for a six-issue run. Getting a good agent or manager will get your stuff through doors you probably wouldn't be able to get in on your own. It hasn't gotten me any sales, yet, but I've got material on the desks of editors at more than 12 companies that just do not take submissions from people without representation. (As far as I can tell, this model applies less to the direct market superhero comic publishers than more mainstream book publishers getting in to graphic novels.) Even if you've done everything you possibly can to get people to read your stuff, AND your stuff is good enough to be published, you're still going to end up having to deal with what the publisher's currently looking for, what they've got planned, what's working this month, what movie was first at the box office the weekend... It's a tough row to hoe--for everyone, including the guy reading the submissions. It's hard to tell someone they don't have what it takes, harder still when you don't have the time to get into what they could do to get what it takes, hardest of all when you can't see them EVER having what it takes, no matter what they do. Well, that's me bummed out for the afternoon... F
00:02 Mon Jun 30th, 2008
Foley: I was talking about what I had learned about Dark Horse specifically. Image have their own very specific guidelines, and I do believe the situation you just mentioned is explained somewhere on their site; that is, that the artist that comes with the pitch needs to be the artist that sticks with the project.
02:54 Mon Jun 30th, 2008
Yup, yup. I've looked into a ton of publishers and their submission requirements. I think Dark Horse is actually one of the only ones I've seen that even accepts written submissions. Most of them are pretty clear that they expect to see pages. It doesn't necessarily need to be the whole book, but more like about 5 to 8 pages of material to accompany your pitch. And yes, they expect your whole team to be onboard for the duration of the project. In some cases, after it has become established you might be able to get away with changing artists if the publisher okay's the switch but that's always a risky deal and they might feel like your pulling a 'bait um, switch um' and pull the plug so it's best to bring people onboard that you expect to be able to keep onboard and do solid work at the same time. BTW... Bravo, Foley! I didn't even know someone could fit that large of a comment within one signal comment. It's like a blog on into itself. Great info, though. Definitely topnotch stuff.
04:30 Mon Jun 30th, 2008
I remember looking up Slave Labor and they have a pretty neat bottom line when it comes to comic submissions. I felt they were a pretty good first publisher to go to, provided you had a full team. That's probably why I diversify myself as much as posible to cover most bases. And It's probably why SLG has a lot of black and white stuff, too :D
14:19 Mon Jun 30th, 2008
I know I've mentioned this before, but I was preparing to send the Alma script to Dark Horse when I first heard about Z2H, and went this route instead. I dunno how they would have reacted to getting a big wordy 88 page tome arrive, but it probably woulda been recycled pretty quickly. Still, knowing that they MIGHT read it did help me actually finish the script in the first place, so that's good.
15:19 Mon Jun 30th, 2008
Somewhere in their massive piles of submissions are a few scripts of mine that are no longer for sale... Jerks.
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Titan.inc
01:32 Sun Jun 29th, 2008
Hmmm.... fascinating indeed... wonder if that's true with Image... I doubt it... but it is kinda alarming to know... oh well... I guess...