Pageturners: Publishers
Safe pairs of hands write boring stories
Pageturners the blog is shortly coming to an end, as the publication date for Pageturners: How To Create Iconic Stories From The Creator of 2000AD is fast approaching. The e-book is available for pre-order on Amazon. It’ll be published on 26th November after Doctor Who and the Star Beast has broadcast and the paperback will go on sale at the same time. All my paying subscribers will get a download link to the book, and founding members will receive a signed paperback copy.
This week I share with you my experience of working with publishers, because writing iconic stories and characters is only part of the business of being a writer. Next week will be my last Pageturners post, Resurrecting Monsters, where I share a personal account of my original (tor)mentor and how to transform faded or blocked memories into compelling stories: the alchemy of turning lead into gold.
And on the 29th November I post the first part of His Master’s Voice, one of two origins stories on Sean Stone, aka MI7 Assassin. I’m so excited that you all get to read my latest fiction project that is very close to my heart and I’ve been working on for years. WW1, propaganda, conspiracies and assassinations - it’s a great combination!
PUBLISHERS
Safe pairs of hands write boring stories
The UK comic publishing world is small: Rebellion, Panini, Titan Books, D. C. Thomson and Self Made Hero. Plus independents and small press.
To talk critically about any of them might discourage you from trying them, so I’ll refrain. The key is to study their catalogues and websites, and figure out who they are and what are they looking for. And pick up the vibe of the people behind the brand. That’s easily as important as perfecting whatever you intend to send them and therefore worth spending an equal amount of time on. This is where networking comes in useful. You may hear at a convention or through social media that a particular publisher is open to submissions or that another publisher is a nightmare to work for, or takes an awfully long time to pay royalties.
Research your prospective publisher carefully. For example, there’s no point sending a raunchy sci-fi romp to Self Made Hero, who mainly publish more sophisticated material, such as comic adaptations of classics. A more appropriate home might be Titan Books, but you would need to look carefully at their catalogue to see what they’re currently doing.
If you have published work in a fanzine or on your own website that’s going to serve as a C.V. to show a publisher, alongside your submission. Go for quality, rather than quantity. You are more likely to be judged on your weakest work than your best. And it will also reveal what really inspires you—although if you’re swimming against the current tide of conservative thinking, you probably need to edit or disguise this. I did, back in the day. What most publishers want is a safe pair of hands, even though genuine safe pairs of hands are often likely to write or draw boring stories that no one wants to read and won’t sell. Publishers know this, but they just can’t help themselves. Because power is usually more important to them than creative talent. If you’re seen as difficult (assertive) or high maintenance, they may well show you the door. And reliability and being agreeable to work with is still absolutely essential. So the trick is to seem safe while still showing some flair to get yourself noticed. You can be “difficult” once you’re established. I was.
I chose six creators for my sci-fi anthology comic Spacewarp (see later) who all have incredible talent and are also reliable and a huge pleasure to work with, so I know it’s possible to find the right people. They are artists, but the same principle applies to writers. Even if they had been difficult—and not one of them was—if they had talent I’d probably still have worked with them. I’ve worked with extremely difficult artists in the past and I’ll put up with any amount of eccentricity if they’re producing works of genius, which they often were.
Having some kind of training in-house or having done a media or film course could look good on your C.V. and impress a publisher. Even a writer’s weekend workshop can be invaluable. I did a two-day seminar with the brilliant Robert McKee and it was a game-changer for me. I understand he does online writing courses now, which will be a lot cheaper than in person. And he won’t get grumpy with you if you’re late back from lunch, or you’re coughing, or throw you out if you left your mobile phone on (all of which happened at some point to someone during the course).
Internships were once an option, but these days it’s only the children of the rich who are likely to get an internship at a London publishers because of the high cost of living in the city. Consequently, the middle-class tone of publishing is further boosted, certainly in England. Based on my own experience, it’s more egalitarian and open in Scotland. And they like popular culture a whole lot more.
Most British writers go for Marvel and DC Comics in the States. Although I’ve written successfully for both companies, because I loathe mainstream superheroes so much, I’m not the one who should guide you here.
But American book publishers—and Self Made Hero in the UK—are the place to go if you have specialised knowledge on a subject that would make a strong graphic novel. For instance, Chartwell Manor by Eric Reynolds, published by Fantagraphics. It describes his life and fall from grace after attending a posh school run by an abusive headmaster.
Or consider France. Thus Persepolis is a similar excellent graphic novel with a strong female lead. Although it’s reprinted in Britain it actually originated in France.
The newsstand comic W.I.T.C.H.E.S. originated with Italian Disney. It has a Euro-manga art style and is a female take on a school for magicians. It’s a fantastic girls’ comic series, with accompanying merchandise, and has deservedly sold all over the world—in endless foreign editions—although it got far less coverage in the UK or the US. In my view because publishers in those countries often don’t value girls comics. It’s well worth studying. I believe the W.I.T.C.H.E.S. creators then went on to work for France with a new series and that would be my recommendation if you come up with a property that hot. The financial rewards in France are far greater than in Britain.
Heartstopper shows the potential for YA graphic novels dealing with important modern themes. It’s well worth studying the process the creator went through.
Manga and its American and European equivalents shows the enormous YA graphic novel potential and proves that a young female readership, in particular, is still out there—it’s the traditional comic publishers and professionals who deserted them, not the other way around.
Thanks, Karlos. Now with independent publishing, it's possible to free authors from the restrictive tramlines of traditional publishing. I hope more of us take advantage of this brilliant opportunity
No-one could ever describe you as a safe pair of hands, Mr M! Thanks for never taking the easy road, sir.