Introduction
What do you want?
Fame, money, success, power, or satisfaction?
I’ve thought long and hard about that question during my career. I think that fame usually brings a lot of money, and certainly, success can bring both money and power. However, what about satisfaction?
I think if it is used in the right way, satisfaction brings all of the aforementioned and a colossal amount of money. If you look at the success stories of people such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and their ilk – they were never really in it for the money.
Those chosen few, the great creative talents of our time, all seem to be motivated by satisfaction. They want to be successful, and they certainly want a lot of money, but what defines them is their passion for what they do. Apply passion to any career, and you can expect success of some kind to come along.
How can you become successful at being a published author, particularly in a field where the money is often not that great?
You need to have a colossal amount of love for comics and graphic novels, but even that is not enough. You will need to devote yourself to the study of writing, grammar, and even marketing.
In the age of the Kindle and the tablet computer, the writer is now a one-man-band. He may write, possibly also illustrate, and even do his marketing. In the twenty-first century, writers are becoming the ultimate entrepreneurs.
In competitive times, one needs an advantage. What is it that you can do that no one else seems to have considered? Sure, you can write and perhaps designing a book cover is no big deal for you. What topic should you add to your list in your quest to break into comics and graphic novel publishing?
How about knowing what the publishers think about their writers? Not just the successful writers, but the newcomers knocking on the door and trying to sell their first script? In an ideal world, you would be able to know the culture and way of thinking in a publishing house.
Look in a dictionary, and you’ll find culture and way of thinking are described as one single word: mindset.
This book provides insight, for writers, as to the mindset of a publishing organisation. Within this book, I will enable the reader to understand the way that editors, artists, desktop publishers, and marketing people think.
As a published writer and editor, I want to share my experiences with you in the best way that I can. I also want to show you an area of publishing that does not seem to have been covered in other books.
I am often asked why publishing houses seem to be harder to break into than banks. Many writers will also ask me a variety of questions, the most popular of which seems to be: why will they not even read my material?
What some writers should be asking is what goes on inside the publishing house? What are office politics? What happens to an editor once he agrees to try and publish my material? How can I ensure my work is published on time and resembles the material I originally submitted?
To become truly successful in publishing, understanding the culture and the way that a publishing house operates is of prime importance. If you are constantly sending your writing out, but not even receiving a reply then what I have to offer will be of great help.
For those simply wanting to know more about graphic novel publishing, this book also intends to provide a short, but firm, grasp of the basics.
If this book succeeds: writers will understand the mindset of publishers, and will be forewarned of potential problems and how to avoid them.
Each chapter of the book examines a process of graphic novel production, there are also personal accounts of what can make some processes difficult to complete. I will not stick to a rigid format for every process, but list issues that prevent most writers from having successful careers.
The issues mentioned also shed some light on the internal problems that publishers have. Even if you are a fantastic writer, the office politics within a publishing house may mean your work is never printed. The overall framework of this book is to provide not only an understanding of graphic novel publishing but also a guide to the minefield of the writer and publisher relationship. I’ve included many examples from my own life in publishing. Please note that I have not named any publishers or colleagues directly, and once you have read the book, I am sure you will understand the reasons for that.
In the following chapters, the tone of this book will be informal. I feel that potential writers need a friendlier and less bureaucratic tone than that which they often receive from publishers. I do not intend this book to be taken as a scathing or bitter memoir. That is not the intention of this volume. Some of the stories and details may seem turbulent, but that is what goes with the territory. I find working in the publishing industry to have been the most satisfying working hours of my life.
For those of you who succeed in placing your work, you will enter a profession that not only stimulates your interests but rewards them. As a disclaimer, the business of publishing is often unpleasant. You will be working with, and against, some fairly ruthless characters. I have listed the many different types of editors who exist behind the rosy facade of the publishing house editorial department.
The overview of this business, I offer, may surprise you. You will see that the complete publishing process is sometimes difficult, often political, but very satisfying.
I hope you enjoy this book, and that you learn a great deal from it. Probably, the most important thing you can learn is the complex etiquette between writers and publishers.
Please note that this volume is in British English, but my next work might just be in American English. I shed light on the reasons for that within this book. If you are a British writer, then I will show you why it may be worth your while to invest in an American English dictionary. That not only refers to being published in America but in many other countries across the world.
And One More Thing...
As an extra, a sort of special bonus feature, I am also going to offer you a glimpse into the world of graphic novel production in Asia. I’ve been there and spent some time working within a culture that is vastly different from that of Western graphic novel publishers.
My reason for including my experience within Asia is that in looking to the future of graphic novel production, I think you will see the emergence and continuing growth of new companies throughout Asia. For those of you in the West looking to gain experience in the field of comic and graphic novel publishing, Asia could be a very welcoming host.
Before we examine each piece of your journey as a published writer, let’s define the format we are dealing with.
What Is A Graphic Novel?
A graphic novel is a comic that contains one complete story. Many graphic novels are indeed sequels to existing works, and they contain the same characters and locations. However, the story should be new and complete. A graphic novel is not a weekly continuation of the same ongoing story, which you might find at a comic shop. In a graphic novel, the story should always be resolved.
How Are Graphic Novels Made?
Each publishing company will have its own set of processes, but the list below contains the basics which most companies must follow.
Pre-Production
1. The writer has an idea they feel could be developed into a graphic novel.
2. To save time, the writer should then examine the current marketplace to see which publishing house might give their idea a warm welcome.
3. Having identified a suitable publishing house, the writer should carefully read the company’s submission procedures. Usually, the initial process is to send the publisher a two-page synopsis explaining the storyline from beginning to end. The synopsis process is often misunderstood by the novice writer (I offer tips and suggestions in a later chapter). Accompanying the synopsis should be an introductory letter highlighting any work the writer has previously published, and an outline (usually a paragraph) summarising the writer’s idea for the graphic novel.
4. If the publisher is impressed by the writer’s introduction, and synopsis (the publisher may ask for the synopsis to be redrafted several times) the writer will be asked to send what is known as a page by page breakdown. This is where the writer must describe what happens on each page of the graphic novel. Most publishers pay nothing for the page by page breakdown. Despite no monetary benefits, the writer should apply himself well to this process. A good page by page breakdown will save the writer, and editor, a lot of work in the long run. If the writer wants to save themselves even more time, they should ask the publisher if they have guide sheets for their categories of fiction (history, mythology, classics etc.), and a style guide that can be studied. A writer who carefully follows the publishing house’s style guide, should not be surprised if their editor falls in love with them. Such love comes with a token of great affection: more work.
5. Once the writer and editor are happy with the final page breakdown, a contract for the script will be offered to the writer. The writer should read through this document carefully, it will cover issues such as payment, what is expected of the writer, and if the rights to the work will revert to the writer, should the book go out of print.
Production
6. The writer will then work closely with their appointed editor, and will hopefully produce a script that is deemed good enough to be passed to the art department for illustration.
7. Once the assigned artist receives the script and any reference images (pictures of locations and characters), they will consider what visual style will suit the story. Ideally, there should be a meeting between the artist and editor before the illustration begins. Hopefully, both parties will be happy with the chosen style.
8. The artist will then sketch thumbnails (so-called as some artists produce sketches no bigger than a thumbnail) of all the pages. Suppose the book is ninety-seven pages, then ninety-seven pages will be created in miniature so that the artist can get a rough idea of how the book will look.
9. From here, the artist will produce roughs, full-size drawings of every page. For the artist, there are now two ways they will progress. They will either erase all the rough lines of the drawings until a detailed page is realised, or the artist will redraw the final page from scratch, achieving the quality finish they are seeking.
10. The completed artwork will then be scanned, page by page, into a computer. Most colouring is now done digitally in modern graphic novel production using the appropriate software.
11. Once the colouring is complete, a letterer will begin to place dialogue balloons and captions. The dialogue balloon, or bubble, is the spoken text of the characters, and normally points towards their mouths. Captions are small square boxes, whose text gives information such as a location and date or serves as the internal narration of a character. Lettering is still done by hand but, to save time, most publishers would rather have letterers complete the work digitally. This means the letterer can cut and paste text, directly from the writer’s script, into the dialogue balloons they have created.
Post-Production
12. Now lettered, the graphic novel should end up in the hands of the desktop publishing staff. They will combine all ninety-seven pages of the story, together with a front and back cover, inner pages, a title for the spine of the book, and smaller, but no less important, details such as barcodes.
13. Now a printing company (internal or external) will send a sample mock copy of the graphic novel to the editorial department. The book will be checked for printer’s errors (image blur, colouring, and line issues) and the last-minute check on grammar and spelling should be undertaken. If possible, it is highly recommended to include a good copy editor at this stage. When everyone is happy, the printers will complete a first print run. Dependent on the needs of the publisher, this can be anywhere from two thousand copies upwards.
14. If the marketing team have successfully advertised the graphic novel’s launch date with posters, social networking and perhaps a good party, then the general public will know the book’s release date and will be eagerly awaiting it.
15. Once the books have been delivered to the distributors, they will then deliver them to the high street and online book stores.
Is it so simple?
Not always…
The Problem Of Compromise
A hot country in Asia, 2009.
I am sitting in a private office. It is a small corner that sits within a large room that is occupied by no more than twenty people. The private office is referred to as “private” as it is composed of two temporary walls bolted together.
There is nothing private about the private office.
What we, the editor-in-chief, artist and I, are talking about can be heard very clearly by everyone on the first floor of the building. At this moment there is also a power cut, and the strong humidity is beginning to seep into the building.
The heat is not bothering me, but the feeling of forced compromise is. The artist, once again, repeats the same phrase he has used throughout our discussion: “I am not making changes.”
I calmly, and respectfully, point out that he has made thirty-nine changes to a script that is an adaptation of a historical novel. As the artist on the project, he has taken a few too many liberties. The result is that the ninety-seven illustrated pages, for the graphic novel, do not match the script that I have spent many months working on.
As an example, on one page we see the main character in a church, planning out their battle strategy. Instead, what has been illustrated is the main character standing in a field. This is one of the smaller discrepancies between the script I have edited and the illustrated pages the artist has produced.
All artists should be given creative freedom, but consider that an entire book full of illustrations does not match the script, which was carved from a thousand-page book.
“I am not making changes,” repeats the artist, smiling at both myself and the editor-in-chief. There is another factor, outside of this argument, which makes me understand that we are not going to make any progress in this discussion. This particular artist is beloved by the family which owns the company. For that reason, this artist will always win out.
When the artist is promoted to the status of art director, later in the year, all of my projects will incur similar delays.
The editor-in-chief closes the discussion by asking the artist to make some changes at least. Two months will pass by and no changes will have been implemented.
Later, and without my knowledge, our letterers will place the text from the script onto the unchanged artwork. One morning, I am summoned to a meeting between a company director and the aforementioned artist.
The discussion centres on the fact that the text does not match the artwork and the dialogue balloons cannot be read in the correct order. I advise the director that there is a problem with the artwork not matching the script, but also that there are no panel borders in some parts of the book, which is making it impossible to know which dialogue balloon to read first.
The director gives the artist a list of changes. Another two months pass by, and none of these changes has been made. The book languishes in the art department and disappears from my sight.
Following this outcome, I discuss the situation with the editor-in-chief. We consider our options and decide to approach the scriptwriter to undertake a rewrite. The writer refuses to amend the story unless he is paid again. He has every right to this request, but as we are a small publishing house we cannot justify the expense.
Eventually, I decided to rewrite the story to match the artwork to ensure the graphic novel makes it to the printers. The rewrite begins, and the story to several pages is altered to fit the artwork. I also rearrange dialogue balloons, and captions, so that they fit the page and can be read in the right order.
To my surprise, the book ends up reading okay, and there is now one process left to complete – art and colour checking. Normally, this is the responsibility of the art department, but as we are a new and small company, the editorial team must also check these art issues.
This is where another problem rears its ugly head. There are several mistakes in the colouring, to list all of them would result in a list the size of a telephone book. As an example, one character’s eye is blue whilst the other is green. Hair colour is another problem, throughout the book a character’s hair keeps changing from blonde to dark brown.
After checking the colours for three hours, I speak with the editor-in-chief. We both agree that listing all the problems with art and colouring will take several days, fixing the art problems could take many weeks, and then there is the question of whether our requested changes will even be carried out?
Eventually, the editor-in-chief decides to send the book to the printers, despite the art and colouring problems. We both feel the project has been de