| Answer provided by admin on 25 Sep 2008 at 08:35 PM Self-publishing, in cartooning, is when a cartoonist takes on the duties of a traditional syndicate -- sales, distribution, billing, etc. As a self-publishing cartoonist, you would produce promotional materials that would convince magazines, newspapers, etc. to run your comics and pay you a fair price for them.
How much work? That's a tough call. For a typical comic strip being submitted to a newspaper, I'd say between nine and twelve week's worth of material. For a magazine, I'd send about a dozen -- or enough to show off your best abilities.
I recommend printing up a promotional folder to hold your submissions. Go to a local printer and price it out. It doesn't need to be color (although it helps), but it needs to be a sturdy, glossy stock. You should spring to have the folder printed on both sides -- an attractive image and your comic's title on the front cover; samples and information about the cartoonist on the back cover; and more samples and information on the inside of the folder. Some things that you may want to print inside the folder would be information about the comic itself (what the concept is, for example), rates, other newspapers/magazines that run your work, comments from satisfied clients, etc. MOST IMPORTANTLY, YOU WILL RUN YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER AND E-MAIL ADDRESS AS PROMINANTLY AS YOU CAN IN AS MANY PLACES AS YOU CAN!
Promo folders aren't cheap, but here's the hook. You'll stuff the folders with samples and other information -- each of which will have your contact info at the top, by the way. Some of these sheets may be duplicated on the folder itself, and that's okay. Hopefully, the recipient of the folder will take the sheets out and pass them around the office for other opinions. Inevitibly, some of the sheets will get lost. But the folder will go in that editor's filing cabinet to be saved. It is your only guaranteed spokesperson when, a year later, they're actually ready to make a decision. All the sample sheets will be long lost, so your promo folder has to do the job.
I have mixed feelings about burning a CD. It doesn't exactly impress anyone anymore. The images are low-res so they're a poor representation of what the editor's concerns will be ("How does this look on paper?"). If they're not user-friendly or compatible on the computer that the editor is using, they're absolutely useless. Finally, if you want more than one person to look at the material, someone has to wait in line. The CD route leaves me somewhat cold.
As far as protecting your work goes, each comic should be printed with the appropriate copyright information next to it -- either in the gutters or right underneath the comic. There's really not much danger of someone using the comic without paying for it. It's the Golden Goose principle: Sure, they're able to use the material you sent, but if they want to keep using your work, they'll have to pay. It's in their best interest -- if your work is good enough -- to initiate a good relationship with you up front. :) |
