Finished products and submissions to companies

[goransix]

Hi, guys.

I’m new to the board and new to comic-book writing. I’m from Melbourne and I have a background in filmmaking. I’m keen to get into comic-book writing.

I’ve been doing my research about the industry overseas and the industry in Australia. I’m a little confused, however, about the publishing process. EDIT — ignore this — I've figured it out.

Thanks.

[antains]

Hi goransix,

I'd be surprised if there was a hard-and-fast rule. A few notable Australian talents have had books published wherein they have done everything.

It might require door-knocking some publishers to get an idea of what they want and if they want a graphic novel at all.

Ant.

[wilco440]

I understand that for a proposal to a publisher, you need a team (penciller, inker, etc.). Do you still need a team if you’ve self-published a graphic novel and intend to submit that novel to publishers? Does this approach present any problems to any party?

Getting original comic work published can range from relatively straight forward (self publishing), to almost impossible (mainstream US and Euro publishing), and with no previous form in the genre, you'll need to do some homework about what you are hoping to do. Every approach has its advantages and difficulties, and you will need to have a very good idea of what you are trying to do and what you hope to achieve.

As you are in Melbourne, why not come along to one of our Saturday afternoon pub meets and talk things over? We cover the field from self-publishers to comic professionals, and no-one bites....... at least not in person. Details of our next get-together (September 4) will usually be posted here:

http://forums.pulpfaction.net/viewforum.php?f=48

colin

[goransix]

Thanks for the responses, guys.

I know how difficult it is to break into any competitive industry.

I'm happy to self-publish, self-promote, and self-distribute. I love the comic-book medium - more than I love film - and I want to create my products and get my products out there. I.e., what matters most to me is creating excellent work and making that work available to the public. It doesn't matter to me if the work hasn't been created through a publishing house, although I'd love to write professionally one day. Fortunately, I'm in a position where I'm comfortable enough financially for the future, which really liberates me in terms of funding my dreams.

I believe that it's important to have as much of a business sense as possible going in, which is why I've made this thread. I don't like going into things uninformed.

Any ideas are appreciated.

I'm certainly keen to go to one of the meetups. I'll do it as soon as I get some time.

[J Marc]

I just wanted to know if the self-publishing route had any negative implications for submissions. I.e., maybe it's such that you're required to have a set team EVEN WHEN you've got a finished product that you've hired artists for.

I'm not an artist in terms of pencils, inks, etc. so assuming that I self-publish a script of mine into a graphic novel through hiring people to do the art, will my product be looked at by publishers if - even then - I don't have a SET team? (I know that it's quite a drain on publishers to find an artist(s) for new writers so a finished product without a SET team is probably a hard sell.)

If you show a publisher a sample of the artwork as well as your full script, they may take you up on it. If you have the full comic finished that makes things a lot simpler for the publisher as it means they don't have to wait. Is your comic completely finished? Would you care to share a few pages of it with us here?

As for whether self-publishing has a negative implication, I can't see why it would. Publishers know how the industry works and self-publishing is and has been a pretty big part of this comics life for a long time. Some people never leave it, eg Terry Moore.

Basically, if your work has got something special, and that means script, art, or both, and a publisher sees potential in it, you can get a publishing contract. A set team may help or it may not be needed. Just put on your publisher's hat and think, 'how would I feel if someone sent this submission to me, and wanted me to publish it? Is it developed enough? Does the situation with the artists seem reliable?'

[goransix]

Hi, J.

Thanks for the response.

I didn't mean that self-publishing had negative connotations. I was simply confused about the whole comic-team thing (writer, penciller, inker, etc.) and how, exactly, this team is used to pitch a project.

You're right; if a piece of work is finished and it's good, then of course publishers would be interested in publishing it.

I think that self-publishing, self-promoting, and self-distributing are wonderful. Like I said above, as long as the work is available to the public, I'm happy. I'm definitely doing this for my graphic novel.

I'm at the development stage of this graphic novel. I'm very excited as it's a high-concept horror story with a lot of room for creativity. I hope to finish the script next year and start on volume 1 next year.

[antains]

Goransix,

You've been lucky to get responses from people - Colin and J. Marc (not me) - who've given you feedback based on real successes.

Get along to the meet that Colin mentioned. It's a good group that is really supportive and encouraging. You'll also get to meet Paul Bedford who has been working on a similar theme to yours: The List!

As a former film-maker, myself, I completely understand where you're coming from, too.

A belated welcome to the forum.

Ant.

[goransix]

Hi, Ant.

I think I'll go to the next meet-up. We'll see - it depends on time.

I've talked to both Tom and Paul about the medium and the process of putting stuff together. They've certainly been very helpful, like others on this board.

[HabbaChoobie]

to goransix:

Unless you can give us a reasonable barometer of the quality of the inks for your graphic novel, I don’t think that your questions - unfortunately - can be properly answered. Bad (or simply amateurish) inks destroy good pages the way an otherwise great short film can go nowhere due to sub-par sound. Neither Diamond nor "major" publishers look upon pages with sub-par inks any more kindly than Networks look at pilots with dialogue recorded via an iPhone taped to a broomstick.

How clean and "pro" were the inks on these pages you had completed?

[goransix]

Hi, Habba.

I'm preparing to write my graphic novel; I haven't actually got a completed one.

The reason I created this thread was to get a greater understanding of the publishing landscape before I embarked on my journey.

I understand the importance of a well-produced piece - stuff like the ink work, as you mentioned. I'll certainly do what I can to make the work as well-produced as possible.

Thanks.

[HabbaChoobie]

Well, okay, but bear in mind that there is no "fake it til you make it" with yank or brit publishers, unlike what people can get away with at AFTRS, RMIT or QPIX. Unless you can get art that is competitive with, say, Ted Naifeh's inkline on Gloomcookie (published by a great company but one WAY DOWN THE FOOD CHAIN from DC, Dark Horse, Image, etc.), then you will likely run into some serious trouble using a finished product as a marketing point to get a comics-career started.

It's up to you, but just because something is good enough for SBS SOS (formerly "Eat Carpet) does not mean "Adult Swim" (which is owned by Time-Warner-AOL) is ever gonna look at it.

Same rules apply to comics, since Time-Warner-AOL own DC and Vertigo, btw.