Submitting stories to DC and employment

[Count Vertigo]

I am very interested in working for DC in any capacity. Especially as a writer. I've spent some time making discreet inquiries on various forums about how does one get noticed by DC.

The common consensus seems to be that the aspiring writer takes a minor character and submit a 1 - 2 page story synopsis with him/her.

Is this true?:confused: :confused:

[Lex]

The best way to become a writer at DC is to get a story published somewhere else first. They won't look at any submissions from unpublished writers.

My suggestion is to start self-publishing a comic or find an indie comic company that will accept submissions. Or write for some other media for awhile to build up a portfolio of work.

[Count Vertigo]

The best way to become a writer at DC is to get a story published somewhere else first. They won't look at any submissions from unpublished writers.

My suggestion is to start self-publishing a comic or find an indie comic company that will accept submissions. Or write for some other media for awhile to build up a portfolio of work.

Thanks for the point in the right direction!:D

[Ontir]

They don't take un-solicited writing samples either. You have to write them a letter, asking them, to ask you to let them read what you've written. It's also been my experience, that writers who are working for them, are generally un-willing to even discuss the subject. I've tried 3 in the last year, and gotten no response from any of them. 2 were face to face. I was just stared at, before the subject was changed entirely.

[Lorendiac]

I am very interested in working for DC in any capacity. Especially as a writer. I've spent some time making discreet inquiries on various forums about how does one get noticed by DC.

The common consensus seems to be that the aspiring writer takes a minor character and submit a 1 - 2 page story synopsis with him/her.

Is this true?:confused: :confused:

Here's an excerpt from something I recently said in another thread here on the CBR Forums; a thread that began with someone saying he'd love to become a comic book writer and asking for tips. I quickly double-checked what four different publishers currently say on their own websites on the subject of "Submissions," as their rules apply to would-be writers. Then I wrote the following summary (slightly edited now).

*****

For what it's worth: It wouldn't hurt to go take a look at this page.

The Dark Horse Comics Submissions Guidelines (http://www.darkhorse.com/company/submissions.php)

Dark Horse is one well-established comic book publisher that actually states on its website that it is willing to at least look at your unsolicited writing samples. Their Guidelines tell you what sort of format they want you to use, how much material to send, etc. They also warn, among other things, that they have zero interest in seeing your ideas for what you would like to do with characters and concepts they already publish. Apparently it's best to stick to submitting something completely original - your own characters, not based in somebody else's famous fictional universe. (Example: If you would love to write a five-part miniseries set in the Star Wars universe and you send in a proposal to that effect, but Dark Horse never heard of you before and did not invite you to submit Star Wars-related story ideas, then they will trash your proposal as soon as they realize what it is all about.)

In contrast: DC says it doesn't want to see your writing samples. Image says much the same, although I get the impression from their Submissions guidelines that if you already have a creative team assembled - writing, pencilling, inking - then they will be willing to look at sample pages of your project, along with a plot summary. They expect you to have lettered your sample pages of art, but they can later provide their own letterer who can do it more professionally, if they like your submission enough to talk about publishing it. They don't require you to have colored the art. Marvel says that if you want to write stories for them you can send an "inquiry letter" that mentions your previous writing experience, and then they may ask you to actually send them a writing sample later on. My advice would be: Don't count on that happening! Marvel, like Image, states in plain English that unsolicited writing samples will be trashed. DC doesn't quite say that, but it does say they will not be accepted. (Which I interpret to mean they will be tossed in the trashcan.)

*****

[Project 22]

Now to get hired on at DC, you need to pester the editors like hell. I have had interviews with Bob Shreck of Batman and he has told me that I could start to work for them if I had the tenacity.

I then talked to Dustin Nguygen (my spelling really sucks, sorry), who was drawing for the arc at the time. He told me that he would love to work with me, as he felt that I had an original style, both to my pencilling as well as inking and coloring. He said the best way to get hired on would be first to meet whichever editor you would like to work under and get them to give you their email, otherwise they will block you from their account. Then you send in a page or two of finished work each week until they get so tired of seeing your email without being able to tell you how much it sucks that they decide to hire you on for an arc.

He told me that this could take anywhere from six months to two years depending on how much you flood them with your work. This only works for art. I repeat, don't send them your stories. If you are interested in writing for DC, it would seem you need to go the Dan Jurgens route and draw before you become a writer.

Hope this helps.

[Lex]

Doesn't Marvel use the Spider-Man Unlimited and X-Men Unlimited books to try out new talent (both writing and art)?

[davids]

If they acepted submissions and rejected them all and a same theme was to show up they might be acused of stealing. Exsample.

I wrote a fan-fic once about wonder woman and superman meeting Death [in this case ms. death] in a elevator after a charity event.

To keep things short, Wonder woman put the sword of Alexander the great up for bid for charity. Death [a young girl...yep I stole the idea!] asked Diana how her mother could let sell her fathers sword.

Diana exclaimed she had no father, In the story Death told her that her mother rode boldly into alexander's the Greats camp [Pardise island does touch all times] camp and exclaimed since she was the worlds strongest woman and he the greatest man they would have a child the envy of the Gods. so for nine days and nine nights they worked on the project.

[That idea came from a local legend I heard from the PBS program In the Foot steps of alexander the great!]

To keep it short Death asked Diana, "The clay baby fairy tale again....who do you think you are GUMBY?"

Six months later the same Gumby joke apeared in the Wonder Woman comic when Devastation insulted Wonder woman with the very same Gumby joke.

It was just by chance that some writer want to be and a professional writter had the same idea. But if I submitted and DC only read that fan-fic that Death takes a holliday tale, they would open themselves to a law suit because I could claime DC stole my Gumby joke.

Multiply that by hundreds or thousands of amerture story proposals and they would be in court all the time. They just don't want the head aches of answering a bunch of lawsuits.

:evilsmile

[Young Avenger]

Doesn't Marvel use the Spider-Man Unlimited and X-Men Unlimited books to try out new talent (both writing and art)?

Those books are now cancelled.

[Count Vertigo]

Now to get hired on at DC, you need to pester the editors like hell. I have had interviews with Bob Shreck of Batman and he has told me that I could start to work for them if I had the tenacity.

I then talked to Dustin Nguygen (my spelling really sucks, sorry), who was drawing for the arc at the time. He told me that he would love to work with me, as he felt that I had an original style, both to my pencilling as well as inking and coloring. He said the best way to get hired on would be first to meet whichever editor you would like to work under and get them to give you their email, otherwise they will block you from their account. Then you send in a page or two of finished work each week until they get so tired of seeing your email without being able to tell you how much it sucks that they decide to hire you on for an arc.

He told me that this could take anywhere from six months to two years depending on how much you flood them with your work. This only works for art. I repeat, don't send them your stories. If you are interested in writing for DC, it would seem you need to go the Dan Jurgens route and draw before you become a writer.

Hope this helps.


Let's say, for the sake of argument, I do have some comics published (In fact I'm working with someone on a dark fantasy title he plans to publish) how do I get contact in with ANYONE at DC? Do I make the letter to "Joe Schmoe c/o DC Comics" etc etc?

Would the higherups at DC take notice if I have some non-comic stuff published?

Drawing?! Ah crap... I think I'll stick to writing! :D

[DonC]

Let's say, for the sake of argument, I do have some comics published (In fact I'm working with someone on a dark fantasy title he plans to publish) how do I get contact in with ANYONE at DC? Do I make the letter to "Joe Schmoe c/o DC Comics" etc etc?

Would the higherups at DC take notice if I have some non-comic stuff published?

Drawing?! Ah crap... I think I'll stick to writing! :D


You send/hand in person the editors copies of your comic and/or other work along with a letter stating you want to work for them.

[Captain Jim]

I really think you'd need to show some success doing work for a smaller publisher before they'd be interested in looking at your stuff.

[Count Vertigo]

I really think you'd need to show some success doing work for a smaller publisher before they'd be interested in looking at your stuff.


actually I mean to say that i have self published novels that i have sold here locally in nyc

[Count Vertigo]

You send/hand in person the editors copies of your comic and/or other work along with a letter stating you want to work for them.

yeah but who? directly to the company or should i pick an editor?

[SUPERECWFAN1]

If they acepted submissions and rejected them all and a same theme was to show up they might be acused of stealing. Exsample.

I wrote a fan-fic once about wonder woman and superman meeting Death [in this case ms. death] in a elevator after a charity event.

To keep things short, Wonder woman put the sword of Alexander the great up for bid for charity. Death [a young girl...yep I stole the idea!] asked Diana how her mother could let sell her fathers sword.

Diana exclaimed she had no father, In the story Death told her that her mother rode boldly into alexander's the Greats camp [Pardise island does touch all times] camp and exclaimed since she was the worlds strongest woman and he the greatest man they would have a child the envy of the Gods. so for nine days and nine nights they worked on the project.

[That idea came from a local legend I heard from the PBS program In the Foot steps of alexander the great!]

To keep it short Death asked Diana, "The clay baby fairy tale again....who do you think you are GUMBY?"

Six months later the same Gumby joke apeared in the Wonder Woman comic when Devastation insulted Wonder woman with the very same Gumby joke.

It was just by chance that some writer want to be and a professional writter had the same idea. But if I submitted and DC only read that fan-fic that Death takes a holliday tale, they would open themselves to a law suit because I could claime DC stole my Gumby joke.

Multiply that by hundreds or thousands of amerture story proposals and they would be in court all the time. They just don't want the head aches of answering a bunch of lawsuits.

:evilsmile


Whats funny is I used to do a fake fan-fic weekly wrestling thing here. My Fantasy Smackdown thread saw some things that would somehow in a errie way find itself to WWE TV in some form.

The funniest example was my idea for a 1st ever barbed wire matchup for the WWE on a PPV. That idea was in November and featured Sabu and Chavo Guerrero I believe. Then a few weeks later word leaked out that WWE No Way Out was gonna be a 1st ever barbed wire matchup on a PPV. Of course they featured JBL and Big Show for that lol.

;)

[Apathy Boy]

Getting work as a comic writer is the same as getting any other kind of job. You have to have applicable experience, and you have to network.

Experience: get your work published, in any medium. Your chances of getting published are a million times better with a smaller publisher. (If you want to be a professional football player, you don't just show up at the Dallas Cowboys training camp, do you? No, you play high school football, work your way up to college ball and then, maybe, make it to the big leagues.)

Networking: like it or not, you need to schmooze the people who can give you work. Market the hell out of your existing work in the fan press and hope it creates enough of a buzz to get you noticed. Go to conventions and chat up some editors and give 'em your (published!) work.

[Lex]

Those books are now cancelled.Didn't Joe Q say something would be replacing them?

[Andy S.]

Experience: get your work published, in any medium. Your chances of getting published are a million times better with a smaller publisher. (If you want to be a professional football player, you don't just show up at the Dallas Cowboys training camp, do you? No, you play high school football, work your way up to college ball and then, maybe, make it to the big leagues.)



Bingo. There are several smaller publishers out there who are doing top-notch stuff that gets noticed. BOOM! Studios, IDW, ONI, Silent Devil, Devil's Due....those are just a few off the top of my head.

[DonC]

yeah but who? directly to the company or should i pick an editor?


Send a copy of your book to every editor at DC whose name you can find. Go to a convention and give the editors copies in person. Just make sure all the copies you give out have your contact information written in the book (write it on the title page or something), not just on a cover letter.

[Count Vertigo]

So, in addition to the copies maybe I'll also throw in free copies of my self published novel then.

Thanks for all the tips, everyone!

[Kara Zor El]

If they acepted submissions and rejected them all and a same theme was to show up they might be acused of stealing. Exsample.

I wrote a fan-fic once about wonder woman and superman meeting Death [in this case ms. death] in a elevator after a charity event.

To keep things short, Wonder woman put the sword of Alexander the great up for bid for charity. Death [a young girl...yep I stole the idea!] asked Diana how her mother could let sell her fathers sword.

Diana exclaimed she had no father, In the story Death told her that her mother rode boldly into alexander's the Greats camp [Pardise island does touch all times] camp and exclaimed since she was the worlds strongest woman and he the greatest man they would have a child the envy of the Gods. so for nine days and nine nights they worked on the project.

[That idea came from a local legend I heard from the PBS program In the Foot steps of alexander the great!]

To keep it short Death asked Diana, "The clay baby fairy tale again....who do you think you are GUMBY?"

Six months later the same Gumby joke apeared in the Wonder Woman comic when Devastation insulted Wonder woman with the very same Gumby joke.

It was just by chance that some writer want to be and a professional writter had the same idea. But if I submitted and DC only read that fan-fic that Death takes a holliday tale, they would open themselves to a law suit because I could claime DC stole my Gumby joke.

Multiply that by hundreds or thousands of amerture story proposals and they would be in court all the time. They just don't want the head aches of answering a bunch of lawsuits.

:evilsmile

That's not why they don't accept submissions I'm afraid. You can't write an idea or whatever using somebody elses charaters and unverse and then do them for plagerism if something simmilar or the same appears later. If that were the case we could all be copyrighting ideas for all the soaps and comics and whatever, waiting for them to appear, which most likely they will do at some point and then sue.
The reason why they don't accept unsoliceted submissions is because they just don't need to bother with them. They would get inundated with a lot of rubbish, mountains of utter shite. They have their formula which works. You have to follow that formula. Focus on other writing projects, other comic companies. When you have a literary agent they can open doors for you the propper and accepted way.

[PatrickG]

It's a bit of both.

Ownership of these serial characters and their stories is fuzzy without clear contracts in place.

Consider that it would be possible for DC to lose rights to Green Lantern Alan Scott to the estate of Bill Finger and Green Lantern Hal Jordan to the estate of Gil Kane. And both creators would own a Green Lantern, non-exclusively. As for who would own the trademark (and be able to use the NAME in marketing), that could be ANOTHER round of court battles. But it could very well end up with the name being co-owned by DC, Kane and Finger.

Likewise, if you pitch the most brilliant Superman story ever (or even a crappy story with some novel twists), you might have rights to the story without owning the characters and have grounds for a lawsuit. However, I will say that no matter how similar, the odds of being plagiarized are slimmer than you think and the benefits of a lawsuit are smaller than you might expect.

Bottom line...? Go to a big convention. Bar hop. Make friends. Give away samples.

I've been told that prose (ie. a novel) is fine in a pinch... But be aware that even scripts may take months or years to read even if an editor is willing.

My own observation is this:

As a writer, you need to con, sweet talk or bribe artists into working with you. (And by "con", note that I don't advise breaking the law or potentially damaging your relationship with the artist.)

Self-publish. Get other people to publish you. And hopefully at some point you'll have other people pay the artists for you.

And if you like money, it's probably better to break-in from somewhere outside comics.

But if you really love comics and love comics more than you love money and can get your hands on money, self-publishing or small press is a way to go.

But I'd budget around $150 to $200 a page for decent looking full color art at a bargain price. Before printing expenses.

At the very least, you might work things down to around a $100 is you find a studio that will give you a volume discount for lots of work.

But be wary of certain pros who are very mercenary. There are guys out there who will convince you that they're a great deal... and the minute somebody at DC or Marvel sees the name of the artist, they will pity you for being taken advantage of.

I guess, above all, be good and keep your ear to the ground. Never let a contact slip away. (I've done that waaaaay too much.)

[Young Avenger]

DC is holding at talent search on the San Diego Comic Con. I don't know about it. I seen as part of DC's Con schedule in the Didio's DC Nation column on the back of DC's books.

[PatrickG]

That's artists only.