My First Rejection

[milweskee]

Just wanted to share my experience... maybe you can relate.

I have a projected on-going series, which I have broken down to a 4-issue mini for the first story-arc, just in case. I paid a team of individuals to produce the first issue, and had it professionally printed. I got my copies the day before WW Chicago. To my dismay, Image Comics wasn't officially represented in Chicago. I made submissions to every other publisher there that would accept, but in the back of my mind, I really wanted Image and thought they'd be my best chance.

Well, Image was the first to respond. I received a generic rejection letter via e-mail a couple of days ago. I know they're really busy, but I don't think the book was so incredibly flawed to the point that even a little feedback would be such a chore.

How do you guys go on when discouraging things like this happen? It's hard for me to continue to write the next few scripts knowing that the first issue could be a failure. Needless to say I'm really attached to it the way it is. Plus I paid a large amount of money producing this and I'd like to know if it was more the story, or the art. But even then it's just hard to imagine that this book wouldn't be at least somewhat successful. I've gotten a ton of positive reviews on it.

I'm not really into the comic book fold as much as I'd like to be. I take a lot of time and thought into my writing so I rarely get a chance to read. Does anyone know of some other good independent publishers? Maybe some that are up-and-coming and need fresh stories?

Here's the link to the book, before the lettering obviously...
Click Here

[Mwynn]

Did you get a response from the other publishers?

[spider]

I don't see why they wouldn't pick it up because those pages look pretty badass.
At a guess they may have been put off by the initial plot outline, thinking it's cliched or they have something simular in the works.

If you're a writer I seriously reccomend reading more.

[Lewis]

There's a list of publishers in the talent search section.

My recommendation to you is to not be overly discouraged by this. Projects that have gone on to be big hits have been rejected at one time or another - and by this I mean TV shows and movies as well as comics.

You need to believe in yourself and your work which requires having thick skin but also being able to handle constructive C&C and learn from it. If you have a hard time with one rejection such as this you'll be out of the business before you have even started.

[milweskee]

Originally Posted by Lewis

There's a list of publishers in the talent search section.

My recommendation to you is to not be overly discouraged by this. Projects that have gone on to be big hits have been rejected at one time or another - and by this I mean TV shows and movies as well as comics.

You need to believe in yourself and your work which requires having thick skin but also being able to handle constructive C&C and learn from it. If you have a hard time with one rejection such as this you'll be out of the business before you have even started.

Thanks for the encouraging words.

The problem with C&C is it doesn't come with automated responses, but I look for criticism whenever I hand a book out.

I haven't heard from anyone else officially. Though DC/Vertigo said they needed more time.

[filthysize]

Well, it's definitely not the art, I can tell you that...

[Mwynn]

If push comes to shove you could try 01comics.com
Have you tried Arcana or Alias?

[Steven Forbes]

Hi.

Just thought I'd take the time to comment on the story I just saw.

I'm the EIC of an up and coming publisher called Paper Dragonz (you can view the site in my sig), so I don't want you to think that I'm off base in what I'm saying here.

Obviously, this is what I gleaned from looking at the pages, since there's no lettering to allow me to read the story.

The artist has a style, which is great, but there are also some anatomy issues. (No, I'm not an artist, just seeing what I see.) There are also some issues with the coloring- a bit too dark in places, a bit too light in others. It doesn't feel even to me.

Having paid money to produce this labor of love, and then being rejected, is disheartening. I'll tell you about mine in a moment.

Right now, we have to discuss story.

This part is soley on you.

Just gleaning from the pages, it looks like you're dealing with demons/biblical proportion type things here. However, it's on a slow burn.

You took too long to get to the meat of the story.

Not counting the pic that's posted twice- I'm guessing it's a cover- the first six pages don't do anything to grab me. With a new story from an unknown team, the first page should get immediately to some part of the story that grabs you by the throat and yanks you along. You start with an establishing shot, and there's nothing there that really makes me want to turn the page.

Now, inferring from what lots of today's comics are doing when it comes to actual words on the page, I'm going to guess that you have no more than five captions on the first page. Probably three, but no more than 5: At least one to give a date/timeframe, and then a few more talking about what the people are doing in the boat. Not good, imo.

Grab me on the first page with a great hook, and I'll follow you down the rabbit hole. I won't have much of a choice, IF I'm interested. This isn't interesting me.

If the first two images are the cover, that should be changed, as well. While it looks nice, it doesn't tell me anything. You don't have the luxury of Marvel/DC to use a pinup for a cover. It's not conveying anything that adds to the story, or even tells me about the story- other than there's a Black guy with a gun. That's original.

Speaking of Black guys, it looks like you decided to go the "gangsta" route. Strike one. Strike two has to come because of strike one: misplaced, angry pride over being dissed in some form or fashion. Strike three comes when you throw basketball in the mix, and what looks like a thrown game. Money and guns.

You seem to come back to the biblical/demon thing for a moment, but then it goes back to the gangsta's and sports with guns.

Except for the demon pigs, this really isn't anything that hasn't been seen already.

While you may have an interesting story, it seems to be drowning in it's cliches. That's probably why it was rejected.

No, I wouldn't publish this the way it is. It needs work at the script level.

Now, a thing about "positive reviews": if they're from friends or family members, they're almost totally useless. The reason is that they love and care for you, and as such, don't want to hurt your feelings. What you need to do is speak to people who don't know you from Adam, and get them to review your work. You'll get a much more honest opinion than friends and family.

They're also probably not into comics, which is also hurting you. They really don't know what they're looking at. It's like going to see a sports trainer for a dissertation on astrophysics. It's not going to work.

Another of your faults is that, as a writer, you also need to read. I'm a writer, also. I have about two books going right now, in addition to my written comic projects, plus reading a lot of comics in order to stay current, plus my every day life. And you know what? I could be busier.

You NEED to read. It helps to spark ideas, as well as helps with how you tell a story. Read everything, and then see what works and what doesn't and then find out WHY they do or don't work. Wanting to tell a story is only the beginning. You need to know how stories are told, and understand why they're told in a certain way.

I promised a story. It's short, I promise.

I have a book that was rejected by Image. I thought the art was killer (and it is), I thought the story was interesting, and I thought it would put me on the path to greatness.

Image said no, and no real reason why.

Sure, I got down in the mouth, but it's only one company. There are others.

See? Short.

Now, take everything I've just said, and forget most of it. If you have your own company, you can do whatever you want, and no one is really going to gainsay you. If you decide to go that route, good luck to you.

Also, if you're able to make a name for yourself, then you'll be able to break some rules, because you'll have a following. People will trust you to lead them on, because you've proven you can deliver the goods.

But for right now, you have a lot of work to do.

If you want, you can send me the scripts. I'll edit them for you, show you where you're going both right and wrong, and see if I can't help you whip this puppy into better shape.

PM me if you're interested.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and good luck.

[Calloway]

Back in the day I got a personal rejection letter from Marvel. My first. It was awesome. It pointed out what I needed to work on, what was wrong and so on.

My second rejection letter was from extreme studios...it was a form letter.

My first review at a con made me quit trying to get into comics for a month or so.

[The Anti-crest]

I havent had a chance for any of my books to be rejected but I'll say a few things on the matter.

First - getting rejected from a publisher is like getting shot down by a girl. It doesnt mean that there is something so completely awful about the story that you should give up. It sucks, and it makes you second guess yourself but the important thing is that you have a story and someone has read it. Now you gotta do it again, and again.

Second - one thing I've noticed in comics thats different from other mediums is that we can't really go back and rewrite a comic. You can rewrite a novel. But having to rescript a story means having to pay someone to redraw it, that bites. Its expensive and it might not help the problem.

Third - The beatles(who are the single most successfull rock band of all time) had sent out demos to countless record labels. They got rejected too. I remember seeing somewhere a quote from one label CEO who said their sound wouldnt last. That guitar music was on the way out. Just because someone doesnt think itll work doesnt mean they're right.

Lastly - http://shouldwrite.blogspot.com/


Oh, and definetly read more. Lots more. You should read as often as you can.

[T.J. May]

The art seems adequate. Is there a pitch to go along with it? What's the story line?

There's not much new for me to add. The dude from PaperDragonz nailed most of what can be said from the pages shown.

There's no ryhme or reason for any of this stuff. It's all about your project being on the right person's desk, at the right time. But it may mean a complete redo, or scrap it it altogether and move onto the next project. The point.... don't get to bent out of shape about it. You took the first step of a million mile journey. Be happy about that.

My best
T

[j giar]

TJ's right. Look at the response as a positive. At least you got a reply..I had a total of about 20 rejection letters when I was looking for work as a penciler. Definitely check into web publishing..if you really want your story out there, put it on the web and get some feed back from your readers...they may tell you more exact info than a publisher that looks at 150 submissions at a time can give you...if you really want this then nothing should discourage you. There thats to keep you going. Good luck!
Jim Giar

[milweskee]

Forby, thanks for the crits. I'll contact you if no one else gets back to me on it.

[midknight]

everyones pretty much nailed it about not giving up.
i submitted some stuff to image recently that was rejected cuz of the art.
but that hasnt stopped me.

just gotta keep at it

[Larime Taylor]

From my perspective, here's my C&C:

The Art

The line artist has a good style, but there is a serious repetitiveness to the page/panel layouts. Lots and lots of pages with 4 wide, even panels. This means little flow, little rhythm and no sense of dramatic tension. When every panel is the same size, there's no clear indication what is most or least important. On the pages that break up the panels a bit, they are still pretty predictable and repetitive.

There are, as Forby of Paper Dragonz mentioned, anatomy issues that mostly come when there is foreshortening involved. The color is, unfortunately, muted, bland and uninteresting. There's no sense of vibrance or lighting, like everything was drawn and painted on a sound stage or during an overcast day. Moody lighting like an overcast day works in moderation, but without something to contrast it, it just scans as dull.

The Story

I'm going to beg to differ with Forby on one area - black gangstas. When used properly or interestingly, they can be something more than a cliche. I have a couple of black guys in issue #1 of my book who dress and look 'gangsta', but really aren't - one's an ER nurse and the other is an ambulance driver, they just happen to be hanging out on their day off and in their regular clothing. They are taken from real-life experiences of mine, and I tend to use real-life experiences in my work. If ALL they are is black gangstas, yes - it's an annoying cliche. And please - if you don't know any actual gangstas, DO NOT try to write them. Unfortunately, I got little sense of what yours are from looking at the unlettered pages (which suggests a lack of narrative and storytelling from the artist(s) - even without lettering a good book can be read and followed by the art, like Shakespeare.).

I wouldn't give up hope, but I'd strongly advise against breaking the bank to self-publish simply as a submission. If you're going to pay to self-publish, it should be to sell copies. It's MUCH more cost-effective to pay high quality talent to do a 5-8 page submission pack and write a strong pitch than to go broke paying mid-level artists to do an entire book and self-publish for the simple purpose of submitting. That's just MY opinion, and others WILL disagree.