Look, sir. Droids!

Chapter 140: Need anything from Guelph?

• Anything fun going on in Guelph?

• Mailbox has it’s longest question(s) yet!

• Mixtape- Play this one loud and get sad!

Hi again.

Hope this week is treating you well. I am currently heading upstate to rendezvous with Tyler Boss for a few days. We’re going to have a quick meeting with our editor Olive, where I will give her some cheese to try and make her like me. I’ll probably try that with Tyler too.

The face our editor makes when she hears a great story idea or smells cheese.

But this isn’t just a social call. Tyler and I were invited by the excellent folks at The Dragon comic shop in Guelph, Ontario to come up and sign as part of their 25th anniversary celebration. Jennifer at the Dragon has always been a huge supporter of comic creators and stores in general, and us in particular. Plus Guelph is so fun to say. So when she asked we couldn’t say no. Turns out a lot of other people much cooler than us felt the same. So if you’re in the area on Saturday come see Jeff Lemire, Ryan North, Emily Carroll, Ramón Perez, Jason Loo, Matt Bors, Marcus To, and so many more… And me and Tyler, I guess.

Should be fun. If you’re a newsletter subscriber, and you whisper that to me, I’ll give you some cool secret stuff. The whisper is key.

Time for another trip to the old Mailbox. Today’s Homeric poem-esque question comes from friend of the newsletter Duane Murray. His question comes in response to our last Mailbox, making this part of an ever-expanding narrative we call the Mailbox-verse. If you don’t remember the last Mailbox question, it was about when was the right time to quit your day job to make comics and how much money to put into making comics. If you want a refresher you can check out that post here-

Now that you’re all caught up, lets see what Duane has to say-

This was a remarkably reassuring mailbag answer. You want to know what I wish there was more access to, and advice on? "What to do once you THINK you've broken into comics?". So much advice in blogs, and on panels and such is "HOW to break into comics?" Without sounding dismissive, the bulk of advice seems to boil down to, "Make a comic. Put it out there. If it gets noticed. You've broken in!" Where I am currently struggling is what to do once your 'breaking in' comic happens. I was lucky. I made a book. I wrote a script. Hired an artist. Went significantly into debt. Sent it out to like, three publishers, and got it published (Was going to Kickstart a printing if that didn't happen). LUCKILY made my money back. I KNOW this is rare. I know I got lucky, and had the wherewithal of how to pitch/package a story because of my film/TV background. But... then what? As you have stated in several interviews, it's not like after one book, everyone comes a knocking. Maybe for some people, but for me... nope. Decent sales and award nominations didn't garner me a single call or email. So, I tried to do it again... but different. Because I'm an idiot. Rather than follow up with another OGN that I could likely get a deal with, from my former publisher, I wanted to make a book that came out in single issues first. But... I had no real idea how to do that, and didn't want to finance a comic without a publisher commitment. So, I asked around, because I luckily know some people in the industry (busy people mind you). The gist seemed to be to basically make a pitch package. So I did. I made a pitch doc, hired an artist to do 6 pages and a cover, and with the help of one Tyler Boss... got it to an editor (I didn't get a single response from open submissions... do those ever actually work?). That editor liked it (again... my film/TV pitch and package experience comes in super handy at that stage), so... I get to make another comic. And I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO ACTUALLY DO THAT!!! An OGN? Yeah... I can do that. A comic? No clue. And not just from a story standpoint (Had to bring my planned 160 page story down to 112 pages), but logistically... how the hell does this work? Who gets the advance, and how much (The artist is getting all of it and then some)? Do writers pay themselves or no (apparently not)? How much do I recoup of my personal money to the artist, after the advance is paid back, before we split the money? Since the comic is based on an existing copyright (I'll never do that again), how does ownership work? Who makes the 'final' decisions on things? Anyway, after more money for lawyers, and some back and forth (all cordial) we are making the comic... but now... how do the editor and i work together? How much can I bug my editor? I have plans for variant covers (that I am going out of pocket on), so how does that work contractually and logistically? I have plans of how I want to approach the marketing (former movie producer here!), how do I co-ordinate that with the publishers PR team? Anyway, these are NOT QUESTIONS I EXPECT TO BE ANSWERED. I just admire what you do, beyond just the writing. The business as well. I am mostly venting, but also wish there were more resources out there that focused on these things, and less (because there is a shit ton) on how to 'break in' to comics. I broke in (sort of), but now have no idea what I am doing. And I actually know people in the comic industry! Anyway, thanks for this Matt. You may now have your platform back. Sorry for temporarily hijacking it.

Thanks, Duane. I’m always up for a little light hijacking.

So, a little about me before we dive into my answers and get… a lot about me. When you send me an email like this, I have such an overwhelming urge just to answer with a yes or no. Luckily, I am stronger than my mind.

Now let’s jump in. I’m going to pull out every sentence that ends in a question mark and attempt to answer them all.

"What to do once you THINK you've broken into comics?"

This is a really good question. As Duane references, when I made my first book I assumed that by the time the 2nd issue was out I would be fighting off all the publishers trying to get me to work for them.

This didn’t seem to happen.

That didn’t happen at all. I strongly dislike the term “breaking into comics” for this very reason. It isn’t some room where you can spend the rest of your life. It’s a river. It’s always moving and changing, and you have to work the whole time to not get pulled under or pushed out. There are very few creative gigs in comics that are “secure.” You should always be thinking about and planning for your next project because.

Now onto more specific answers.

“I didn't get a single response from open submissions... do those ever actually work?”

Short answer, yes. Rarely, but yes. Comics is a crowded field and many people are wildly overworked. That includes the editors and publishers who look at submissions. So silence is often the only answer you get. Obviously silence is a “No” but is it a “No” because they didn’t like it or a “No” because they didn’t look at it? The shitty answer is… that’s the same thing. If an editor and publisher was desperately in need of new titles, they’d be looking at the open submissions. So not looking is not needing is not liking. With that said, if you can get any in to a publisher- contacting someone there directly, getting an intro from another creator, pitching them at a con- that is always better than the blind submission.

I get to make another comic. And I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO ACTUALLY DO THAT!!! An OGN? Yeah... I can do that. A comic? No clue. And not just from a story standpoint (Had to bring my planned 160 page story down to 112 pages), but logistically... how the hell does this work?

Congrats. You did the hard part. You got someone to care. Enjoy that. Doing single issues over OGN is a bit more complicated of a conversation than I’ll probably get into here. I tend to think OGN’s are a little easier to write structurally, and a little less rewarding emotionally. But your mileage may vary. As for the real question, which is the act of trimming 48 pages from your story, there is no easy answer. It sucks. You’re going to cut things you love, and things you think you need, and then you’re going to see that you didn’t need them or you’re going to have to figure out how to make it so that you didn’t need them. The only real advice I can give is never lose sight of what your book is about. It’s easy to get lost when you’re chopping. And never sacrifice character moments when possible. We all fight for space in our books. Page limits are your greatest enemy. So often you’ll see comics where you can just tell that the quiet moments, the personal moments, the character moments, were all cut out because they didn’t push the plot forward. We have a term for this in the business- bad comics. Stories are about characters first and foremost, and if you cut those moments out you cut out the only reason to care about yours.

Who gets the advance, and how much (The artist is getting all of it and then some)? Do writers pay themselves or no (apparently not)?

That is really between you and your team. I can only speak for myself here, and I have a lot of thoughts on this that I will probably go into at a later date, but there is a lot broken in comics. Most of that comes from the money being really scarce early on. So financing a book is about triage. Can you work a dayjob while you make the book? Cool. Then you don’t need as much money as other people on the team who can’t. I’ve never done a book where there was no money for me. But on my first 3 books I didn’t take any of that money upfront because I wanted to put my share into the art team to get people who were working longer hours better taken care of, or to get slightly bigger names to come on board by offering more money. I was in a privileged place where I could do that, so I don’t offer it as advice. Simply as an example.

A lot of people make the argument that a writer works on a book for less time than an artist so the artist should be paid and the writer shouldn’t. I don’t really agree with either the premise or the conclusion necessarily, but again, case by case. Conversely a lot of people make the argument that if a writer is going out and paying the artist out of their own pocket to draw the book, they aren’t in fact partners in the project. One works for the other and is therefore sacrificing ownership for assured money. Again, don’t fully agree with that either. But the easiest and best answer is talk to your team, don’t be weird about money, and be honest about what you need and tell them to be honest about what they need. If you can all make it work, awesome. If not, better to find out now than in court after the book is out.

How much do I recoup of my personal money to the artist, after the advance is paid back, before we split the money?

Some of this goes back to the needs of you and your team, but my gut feeling is you recoup all your money. There shouldn’t be a world where the book is making a profit and everyone made money on it except you who lost money. That’s not a fair ask.

Since the comic is based on an existing copyright (I'll never do that again), how does ownership work? Who makes the 'final' decisions on things?

Gotta read your contract for that answer.

How do the editor and i work together? How much can I bug my editor?

If you’re thinking of it as bugging your editor, you’re already in the wrong frame of mind. The editor’s job is to make the book and make the best book possible. And that means helping the team when they need help and clearing obstacles out of the way. Now with that said, editors are very busy and as you work together you will start to understand their limits. I’ve worked with editors who don’t answer emails and don’t communicate well (a.k.a. bad editors) and editors who are available 24 hours a day and always offering all the help imaginable (a.k.a. great editors who should be paid much better than they are). You’ll learn quickly where your editor falls, but never feel bad about asking for help. Just know that sometimes you won’t get it.

I have plans for variant covers (that I am going out of pocket on), so how does that work contractually and logistically?

Varies artist to artist and project to project. But usually the unwritten rule is you pay them their rate, they own the original art, you own the rights to reproduce it for covers and some marketing purposes. Anything above that should probably be discussed and might require additional fees. I almost never have contracts with artists for variant covers as its a pretty straight forward process.

I have plans of how I want to approach the marketing (former movie producer here!), how do I co-ordinate that with the publishers PR team?

Again, depends on the publisher. I worked with a publisher who sent me a thank you basket for the work I put in to push the books. And I worked with a publisher who, after I booked an extensive signing tour of comic shops on my own dime, asked me why I was doing it and then told me I should cancel it. Usually PR teams will be happy for an extra set of hands, but they are the professionals, so you follow their playbook. Just communicate well and you should be fine.

Anyway, these are NOT QUESTIONS I EXPECT TO BE ANSWERED.

Too bad.

And hat’s it for the Mailbox this week. If you have questions you can write me or leave a comment-

And pick up BETTER PLACE, Duane’s book with Shawn Daley, in comic shops now. I really enjoyed it.

When going to Canada we listen to the Canadian national anthem.

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That’s it for me.

Stay safe. Take care of each other. See you in Guelph!

-Matthew Rosenberg

Somewhere in upstate NY 9/14/23