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Thursday, September 2, 2010
Proposal Etiquette
Or how do I NOT piss off the editor?
Ah, the dog days of summer, when every comic fan’s mind turns to… breaking in to the industry. Like so many of you, I am currently shopping a proposal around. I have sent it to the publisher that I think it fits best at, but if they pass I will be taking it around. That lead me to thinking: “What is proper proposal etiquette?” I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone broach this subject, so I decided I would. With the help of my CWN partner Caleb Gerard, I quickly sent out emails to a handful of select editors and publishers. I asked three very basic but important questions; here’s what these powerful people (in order that the answers arrived) had to say:
1. Trying to show a pitch at a convention. Is this a good place to hunt down your favorite editors or are you just wasting your time?
Scott Allie (Editor – Dark Horse): Wasting time. We're too distracted at cons to really "hear" anything unsolicited. Something we NEED to be doing will distract us every time.
Jim Valentino (Publisher – Image Comics): It's much easier for an artist. He can show a portfolio. It usually takes five or ten minutes for an editor to look through it. Any editor will know from the first page whether or not the artist understands his craft (for artists--no more than ten pieces--all of them recent and all of them FINISHED! Showing unfinished work does not say anything good about your work ethic).
For a writer it's MUCH harder. Unless you're a known commodity a convention floor may be the single WORST place to pitch an idea. The floor is noisy, there are distractions everywhere. Everyone is running on a combination of too much input and too little sleep. The best thing to do at a con is to network, to talk to people, to inquire about submission guidelines and whatnot.
Larry Young (Publisher – AiT/Planet Lar): Unless it's about 5-10 finished pages, it's a waste of time.
William Christensen (Editor-in-Chief – Avatar Press): It is a good time to make a first impression. Unless you are stunning, you won't get hired at a show. But you can meet people and try to get them to remember you by being a professional.
Jeff Mariotte (Editor-in-Chief – IDW Publishing): At conventions it's really hard for editors to focus on anything long enough to give it the attention it needs. Best bet is if you can get into a conversation with an editor in the bar or over a meal or something--off the floor--ask if you can give him a short verbal pitch. Do so, and if he's intrigued promise to follow up by email or mail after the con. If you hand stuff to him in his booth there's a good chance it won't make it back to the office, but if you can get him interested then when it comes in he'll be looking for it.
Erik Larsen (Creator, Co-Founder – Image Comics): It's a good time--despite what people might tell you. Don't be a complete pest--but if you have work to show and you're actually TALENTED--this is a good way to go. If you SUCK--it doesn't matter--you won't get hired regardless. It's much easier as an artist--an editor can SEE if you can do the job in two seconds--with a writer--it's pretty tough.
Joe Quesada (Editor-in-Chief – Marvel Comics): It's very tough to get an editor to listen to a pitch at a convention and also in these litigious days, it's dangerous for an editor to listen to unsolicited pitches from anyone.
Bill Rosemann (Crossgen Entertainment): Cons are great opportunities to meet or become reacquainted with editors...but unless you're a well-known creator, not necessarily a great place to pitch. Use convention time as a chance to meet editors and creators and put a face to a name. Then, after the Con, mail them your pitch. Usually creators and editors are already loaded down with material to take back to the office...and you don't want your pitch to be accidentally placed in the Convention trashcan! So be cool and say "Hi!" at Cons…Then follow-up with your pitch once everyone is home and ready to work.
Paul Benjamin (Managing Editor – Humanoids Publishing): It’s probably not a great idea to hunt down an editor at a convention. Odds are that he/she is extremely busy taking care of business and trying to make the most of the limited time available at the convention. Add to that the exhaustion factor that comes with long days and late nights and you probably won’t have a great audience for your pitch. That said, a convention might be a good time to meet an editor face to face and briefly mention that you’d like to send in a proposal. That way at least when you send it in you can mention that you met them at the convention. Who knows, they might even remember you (but don’t be offended if they don’t, editors meet a lot of new faces at conventions).
2. Sending proposals to multiple companies. You send your proposal out to that one publisher you really hopes takes it; but how long do you wait until shopping it somewhere else? Is it a faux pas to send the proposal to multiple companies at once?
Allie: I personally don't mind it. I'm sure some do, but I'm aware of how long it takes for me to get back to someone, so I don't insist that they wait on me.
Valentino: Not if you say it in your cover letter. But, here again, be very careful not to make it seem as though you are trying to create a bidding war. This is tricky and it's dicey. I know, for me, it's an instant turn off. For some, it is in their submission guidelines that you can't do this.
Young: I'd send it to EVERYONE, all at once. If someone wants it, they'll find you.
Christensen: You need to tell publishers if you are shopping it to a whole bunch at once. But if you make this clear, than no reason you can't.
Mariotte: I don't think there's really a problem with multiple submissions in comics, as there is in book publishing. If you're sending it out to multiple places, it probably doesn't hurt to mention it in the cover letter. And if there's one company that you're most interested in you might want to give it to them for six weeks or so before sending it elsewhere (6 weeks being a short turnaround time, these days--mine is currently longer than that).
Larsen: No. Send it to EVERYBODY you can think of. It's a job interview. It's fine to go to multiple job interviews. If offers come in--take whatever looks best.
Quesada: I don't see anything wrong with sending it to as many companies as possible.
Rosemann: There's no hard and fast rule. If you have a personal relationship with an editor or creator, give them a three-to-four-week exclusive window to review your pitch. But if you're just looking for a home for your creation, why not send it out simultaneously to as many companies as possible and see who bites? Worst-case scenario, they'll all pass...best-case scenario you'll have multiple companies in a bidding war!
Benjamin: In my opinion, there’s no reason to limit your proposal to only one publisher. While you are waiting for your ideal publisher to get back to you, you could miss out on an opportunity with another publisher. Business is business and if you get lucky and have multiple bidders on a proposal, then you can negotiate an even better deal. Publishers compete for projects, artists and writers all the time, so your editor will understand that you can’t just sit around waiting for them. However, if you start working with one editor to tweak your proposal to make it stronger before they give it the greenlight and THEN you take it to another publisher and get a competing offer, well, that’s a different story.
3. Following through after the pitch. What’s the proper thing to do: wait patiently for a response? After a while send a letter? Email an inquiry? Call? Stake out the editor’s local 7-11?
Allie: Email. I never mind an email reminder. Frequencies will vary according to the editor, but every few weeks is probably reasonable.
Valentino: In MOST businesses it is proper to make a follow-up call. Not in comics. Unsolicited submissions are the very LAST thing an editor will get to (if they look at them at all). It has the lowest priority of anything on the list. The editor has at least twenty, maybe more freelancers he HAS to deal with on a daily basis, fires to put out, etc.
IF they see something they like--they will call.
My advice? Send, then move on to the next submission. Also, don't forget, not all editors are created equal. Editor A may think you suck, but Editor B may think you're great. Just because A and B work for the same company does not mean that they have the same taste. Look for the editor who is putting out material that your work compliments (for example, if you write in a Vertigo style it probably would not be a good idea to show it to an Archie editor or someone who edits old-school super-heroes).
Do your homework. Who is the editor you most want to work with, whom do you believe would like what you're doing? Work your way DOWN (I always believe in starting at the top of the wish list).
Young: Everybody's different; I don't mind a few email reminders, myself.
Christensen: E-mail tends to be the most acceptable these days. With the hundreds of new pitches flowing into the market every month, approvals of things are pretty slow right now.
Mariotte: An e-mail inquiry after 6 weeks is fine. After that, wait a couple of months before you follow up again. Some editors never get through their piles, or reply to everyone, or they lose the package, or whatever. You don't want to hound but it's okay to remind occasionally.
Larsen: All of the above. With writing samples--you need to be a bit more patient--and you REALLY need to scale things down. A one-page synopsis may get read—a thirty page single-spaced full script may NEVER get read. Nobody that I'm aware of has the full time job of reading submissions. You've got to be realistic about this. What does an editor want? What do they need? How can you help them do their job better? Given their limited time available to read submissions--what can get your idea across most succinctly?
Quesada: Wait a while and perhaps send one reminder letter. Chances are that a few things may have happened. The editor lost it. The editor never read it. The editor read it and didn't like it and just doesn't have the energy to get back on rejected pitches. However, trust that if the editor liked it, he or she will definitely be calling you.
Rosemann: Wait a few weeks, then politely contact the editor or creator. How you do that -- phone call, letter or e-mail -- is up to you. Then stake out their 7-11...kidding!
Benjamin: I’ve seen a broad range of attitudes on this from different editors and there’s no way to know the answer to this one unless you know the editor. I personally encourage people to feel free to follow up with me via email every few weeks. If I haven’t gotten to the proposal, I let them know, but often their reminder prompts me to read something that has been buried in a mound of paperwork, deadlines and submissions. However, I know other editors who get very upset when people follow up. They are very busy and when they get to it, they will let you know. I’d recommend asking the editor what his/her preference is for follow up and then follow that advice.
As you can see, though not everyone agreed, there does seem to be an unwritten set of proposal etiquette rules. So to generalize those rules based off of the majority opinion:
1. Do not try to make pitches at conventions. This is a good place to network and get your name out there, but send the proposals in follow up communication when the editor/publisher is back at their office. Artists can of course still walk up and show their portfolios, but for actual story proposals this is not the place.
2. It’s all right to send the same proposal to multiple companies at the same time, but make sure you mention it in your cover letter. But if you have a particular publisher in mind then give them 6 weeks or so to look at it first.
3. A polite and courtesy email inquiry after 6 weeks seems appropriate in most cases. Editors are busy people and can get side tracked, but don’t become a pest. The best advice here may be Jim Valentino’s: “Send it then move on.”
And let’s make it perfectly clear; we are in no way suggesting that staking out the editor’s local 7-11 is a recommended course of action.
I hope this helps some of you who have proposals sitting on editor’s desks as we speak. It’s hard when you are trying to break in to know the right and wrong things to do. But with any rules, there are exceptions and you will most likely find them out quickly. So go to the summer cons, meet the editors (bribe them with beer), and then follow up with them later on… and ALWAYS be professional and courteous, how you come across is almost as important as your actual work when making a first impression.
Thanks to Scott Allie, Jim Valentino, Larry Young, William Christensen, Jeff Mariotte, Eirk Larsen, Joe Quesada, Bill Rosemann and Paul Benjamin for taking the time out of their extremely busy days to answer these questions.
And according to my calendar, I have another two weeks until some editor will be getting an email from me.
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April 22, 2008:
February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain
