| Answer provided by admin on 25 Sep 2008 at 08:35 PM Hiya, Chris!
Well, having a couple characters is a really good start, but if you want to get published, you're going to need to *do* something with them. You could choose to develop them in a comic strip or a single panel comic. You could develop it as a daily feature or you could make it a weekly item. Above all, you need to have something that's worth reading — gut-busting humor or a gripping storyline.
Most comics you see in newspapers come from a national syndicate. It's really difficult to get accepted by a syndicate and there are no guarantees once you are accepted.
For this reason, I'm a big advocate of self-publishing on the Web. Once you build your audience on the Web, you can experiment with self-publishing print projects (self-syndicate the strip to newspapers, for example or self-publish a book of collected cartoons).
My entire rant on newspaper syndicates and self-publishing on the Web appears here:
http://www.allexperts.com/previousqv.asp?QuestionID=3109770
But, another option is magazines. Once you work out the details we talked about in the first paragraph, you can certainly consider approaching magazines. Single panel comics tend to work best in magazine formats. You won't be able to develop your characters the way you would in a daily comic. Your comic will be much more gag-driven than character- or story-driven.
Once you have fully developed your comic, go back and look at it. Does it have a theme running through it? Does it have repeated elements? Does it tend to duscuss a certain topic? Now, go to a bookstore or a newsstand and find the magazines that have something in common with your comic.
Buy those magazines and study them. Do they tend to use cartoons? Do they have a designated cartoon editor? Check their Web site for any submission guidelines they might have.
Assuming they have no structured guidelines, mail a package of your best work. Send photocopies, not originals. Include a cover letter introducing yourself and stating your purpose. Include a SASE for their return correspondence.
If you become quite serious about this, I'd advise a couple books:
"The Graphics Arts Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines" is a good all-purpose guide to the business. It covers working with contracts, billing, acceptable pay ranges, and all sort of other good information.
"The Artist's and Graphic Designer's Market" has good advise, too, but more importantly, it has contact information for thousands of possible clients — magazines, publishers, agents, galleries, etc.
Don't overlook small magazines or other publications that you may not have heard of. Even if the pay's low, the experience will be more than worth your time. It's also very valuable, when approaching new clients, to point to work you've done for other clients. |
