neil kleid
05-05-2005, 07:49 AM
http://www.scrypticstudios.com/index.php/articles/427
“In September of 2003, I was lucky enough to win a grant from the prestigious Xeric Foundation – one of seven. I was given a nice sum of money to print, ship and distribute my book through regular comic distribution channels. I produced the book with the help of the good people at WestCan Printing and the fantastic advice of established self publishers and small press creators. The book has been doing a fairly brisk business and has gotten some great reviews.
“But the one question I always find myself approached with since that fateful September day is ‘How did you do it?’ Everyone wants to know the magic spell I used to get myself a Xeric Grant my first time out. What’s the secret formula, they ask?
“And now we’re full circle. Sure, I can give up the secret formula, but to be honest, you might not want to hear it. It’s this:
“IDEAS + WORK= COMICS
“That’s it. No fancy bribes. No rain dance to Jack Kirby. No waxing Peter Laird’s car. It’s simply having a good idea and then doing the work. All of it. Thoroughly. Let’s break it down.”
This week's BIG POND is live at Scryptic Studios, and in it I step away from the conventional format to present, once again, my take-no-prisoners, accept-no-excuses tried and true method for attacking the Xeric Grant submission process. Recently, the Xeric Foundation announced the latest recipients of their twice-a-year grant and I've been inundated by hopeful writers and cartoonists looking to get free money to self-publish their own magnum opus. And I want to help them.
BIG POND: Xeric 101. The ninth in a series of collaborative columns at Scryptic Studios.
“In September of 2003, I was lucky enough to win a grant from the prestigious Xeric Foundation – one of seven. I was given a nice sum of money to print, ship and distribute my book through regular comic distribution channels. I produced the book with the help of the good people at WestCan Printing and the fantastic advice of established self publishers and small press creators. The book has been doing a fairly brisk business and has gotten some great reviews.
“But the one question I always find myself approached with since that fateful September day is ‘How did you do it?’ Everyone wants to know the magic spell I used to get myself a Xeric Grant my first time out. What’s the secret formula, they ask?
“And now we’re full circle. Sure, I can give up the secret formula, but to be honest, you might not want to hear it. It’s this:
“IDEAS + WORK= COMICS
“That’s it. No fancy bribes. No rain dance to Jack Kirby. No waxing Peter Laird’s car. It’s simply having a good idea and then doing the work. All of it. Thoroughly. Let’s break it down.”
This week's BIG POND is live at Scryptic Studios, and in it I step away from the conventional format to present, once again, my take-no-prisoners, accept-no-excuses tried and true method for attacking the Xeric Grant submission process. Recently, the Xeric Foundation announced the latest recipients of their twice-a-year grant and I've been inundated by hopeful writers and cartoonists looking to get free money to self-publish their own magnum opus. And I want to help them.
BIG POND: Xeric 101. The ninth in a series of collaborative columns at Scryptic Studios.