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Friday, September 3, 2010
Submitting to Image
An Interview with Jim Valentino
Jim Valentino was gracious enough to agree to an interview about the Image solicitation process. But I wanted to do it a little differently. Instead of the normal “tell us about it” I wanted to do a “see it in action” interview. Having watched Project Green-light on HBO I want to show an actual submission going through the Image process. Jim agreed with one condition, that we let everyone know: Image does NOT critique submissions. They review them and simply accept or decline. If you had any idea of the number of submissions they receive you would realize that this policy was created out of self-preservation.
With Jim agreeing, I wanted to jump on the opportunity as quickly as possible. You get the big guy at Image Central looking for your submission, you better get it in quick. My only problem was what to send in. The only thing I had that was far enough along to submit at the time is a book I was calling Satan Inc. So I raced to the Image website, looked over their submission guidelines and put something together. A quick trip to Fed Ex later and the pack, along with questions for Jim, was on the way. I wanted to start the questions off by focusing on the submission guidelines they had stated on the Image Comics website.
CWN: From reading the Image Comics website, you seem very open to proposals of new series. With the stance that both Marvel and DC are taking of "No Unsolicited Submissions," why has Image not followed suit?
JIM VALENTINO: First, we do not accept submissions, that is, pencil, ink or writing samples. We only look at proposals for series. Since our entire line is creator-owned/creator-generated we have to accept proposals.
CWN:How many proposals do you receive in the average month?
JV: Probably around 50 or so. Sometimes more, sometimes less.
CWN: What percentage of those is on a professional level?
JV: Less than 1% by my estimation.
CWN: How many have you accepted for publication?
JV: In two years, I believe I've accepted two. Proposals seem to fall into two basic categories. Those that are not of professional caliber and those that are inappropriate for our line of books. Sometimes I wonder if the sender has ever actually seen an Image comic.
CWN: What are the odds of someone relatively new to the industry getting accepted?
JV: This is an extremely difficult business to get into. You have to be not only good, but professional enough to perform and you have to do your homework. Submitting Spider-Man pencils will get you nowhere at Image. Submitting a book that would fit in better at Oni or Top Shelf won't get you very far here. Someone wanting to break-in needs to remember that his submission or proposal is, essentially, a job interview and you should understand to whom you're applying, be professional in your communications and target to your would-be client's needs. That's what being a professional is.
CWN: In the "How to Submit" section on the Image Comics website it gives a basic guideline to what you are looking for in a proposal. The first thing you request are the first 5 finished pages of the story, is this a minimum number or do you only want 5 pages?
JV: Five pages is the MINIMUM requirement. There are two reasons for this: the first is that I would rather not see people expend a lot of time and effort in something that isn't going anywhere. Also, I can usually tell within five pages whether or not I'm intrigued and want to see more (in which case I'll ask to see more) and whether or not the person knows their craft.
CWN: The second thing on the list is a one-paged typed synopsis. Creating a synopsis can be an art form all to itself. Aren't you afraid that you may be passing on an amazing new title because a writer isn't good at being brief?
JV: Exactly the inverse. If you cannot give the germ of your story in one paragraph, you're not ready to be a professional writer. I'm being overly generous by offering a page.
The example I always cite is this: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"-there, with one sentence you're intrigued. You not only can relate it to your own life, but you want to know what events prompted that sentence.
CWN: You also ask for an explanation of what makes the story different and who would want to buy it. In a way you seem to be asking for the way to market this title. How much of the marketing aspect plays into your decision to accept a proposal?
JV: No, what I'm looking for here is whether or not the author has considered his target audience. What does the author want to say, who is he trying to reach? Is he making an attempt to communicate or is he merely trying to mimic the last big thing? I learn a lot about a persons thought process from how they approach that-and that's why I have it in there. It's not about marketing at all-that's our job as publisher. Oh, by the way, I should mention here that "EVERYONE will like our book" gets big points marked off. "Everyone" doesn't agree on anything.
CWN: What do you look for first when getting a proposal?
JV: Ours is a visual medium-so, first, right off the bat, I look to see if it's professional drawn. Does the artist understand his craft well enough to execute a comic? If that passes, then I read the synopsis, look at the content, etc. Then it gets passed around the office, where it will be read by all, prior to it being discussed in staff meeting where it has to meet marketing criteria-is there a perceived audience for this book? Can we sell it? This type of thing. As I've suggested, the vast majority of submissions do not make it past step one.
CWN: What is the number one reason why you turn a proposal down?
JV: The work is not up to professional standards.
CWN: Has there ever been a proposal that you really wanted to accept but in the end had to turn down?
JV: yes, several, mostly due to the marketing questions I brought up before, some due to their inappropriateness for Image. If I find something I really like, but feel would be better served by Slave Labor or Oni or Drawn and Quarterly or whomever, then I usually send the creator a note and suggest they submit to those publishers. Those are usually the ones I find hardest to turn down. The work has merit and, personally, it may be exactly the type of comic I may want to read, but my experience informs me that Image could not market it successfully. Those guys always get a letter from me.
CWN: Besides the number of submissions you get, are there other reasons why you don’t critique submissions?
JV: When you send a submission or a proposal into a publisher you are making the statement that you believe that your work is good enough that someone should pay you to do it (by buying it). If you still feel the need for a critique of your work to evaluate the relative strengths and weakness of it, then you should consider a class where a trained, licensed professional instructor will be happy to educate you further. There is no "on the job training" here.
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Now I wanted to turn to the proposal itself. The first part was to come up with a write up. Not the easiest of things. Taking a story that you see going over an issue, three issues, ten issues, etc… is very tough to condense down to a paragraph and hope that you get your point across. Also, I decided to change the name of the book for the submission. I didn’t think Satan Inc was very marketable. So I discussed it with the artist for the book, Bobby Breed, and we decided on calling the book XCIX. For those of you who are unfamiliar with roman numerals, that’s 99 which is the number of souls our main character has to collect. This is the proposal that I sent:
XCIX
NINETY-NINE
THREE ISSUE MINI-SERIES PROPOSAL
STORY:
How far would you go to save your soul?
Devlin York, a man of amoral character must answer this question as he is drawn into the eternal war between Heaven and Hell. Unknowingly awaited by Satan himself, Devlin commits a selfless act at the moment of his death giving Heaven equal claim to his soul. In an effort to resolve this impasse Satan proposes a deal, Heaven can have him if Devlin is able to tempt 99 souls to willing replace him in Hell. Devlin would be given almost limitless power to grant people their ultimate desires in exchange for their damnation, but Heaven will be watching at all times to make sure that every deal is righteous. And to add to his troubles, his new powers make Devlin an equal to the Seven Princes of Hell, who do not appreciate a human being in their midst and may plot to destroy him.
In the middle of angelic chaos a man tries to find redemption in the blackest corners of the human soul.
TARGET AUDIENCE:
This series is geared towards the “Vertigo” style fans and is designed for mature readers but includes the more dynamic mainstream style of art that would make it accessible to the largest of audiences. It offers two levels of stories: the on-going struggles of Devlin trying to deal with both Heaven and Hell and the individual deals made on the quest for the 99 souls. The conclusion of the mini-series ties up the story arc, but leaves the door open to a plethora of future stories.
CREATIVE TEAM:
Story and Letters by Daniel R. Wickline
Pencils by Bobby Breed Inks by Terry Staats
(The series is open to being color or b&w)
  
 
This is where I made my fatal mistake. The proposal I sent in was something we were working on to pitch to Avatar. The problem of course is that Avatar publishes adult titles. To fit for them we upped the nudity/sexual content level of the story. This was not crucial to the book, but I thought it would help sell it to Avatar. Image does not do adult titles.
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CWN: What was your first impression of the proposal?
JV: Here's where it gets harsh-please remember that I am answering these only for the sake of this article. Were you sending this in as a proposal you would only receive a standard rejection notice. That said, I find the subject and content unsuitable for Image. Remember what I said about work being suitable for the client? This is not.
CWN: Would you consider this to be a professional looking proposal?
JV: I consider it semiprofessional at best.
CWN: How close does it stand up to your submission criteria?
JV: "Close" isn't relevant, it either does or it does not.
CWN: Do you feel that the synopsis does its job?
JV: I do not read the synopsis. Since, in looking at the art and, therefore, the content, I know that it does not match my first criteria. At this point, it's rejected. Since I have around 50 other proposals to get to today I do not have the time to waste on something I know will be rejected. Since I do not interfere with a creator's vision, edit, I will not be saying "the story's great, but we gotta get rid of this or that"-this is your story, your proposal. I make the assumption that this is what you wanted me to see and I accept it at face value. I'm not going to tell you to tailor it for my needs. Only that it will not be published here.
CWN: What would you have liked to see more of in the proposal?
JV: Nothing. I've seen all I need to see. If the submitter would like to send in something else, I would be happy to take a look at whatever else they have. But this one isn't for us.
CWN: What advice would you give to the creative team?
JV: Improve your craft and give careful consideration of to whom you are proposing and whether or not your work is suitable for that publisher or client.
As I said: my fatal mistake. Had I taken the time to think about the publisher I was sending the proposal to, I would have edited the pages to make the content more suitable. In my rush to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity… I shot myself in the foot. This process has been a great learning experience for me and I hope for you the reader as well.
For those of you who are curious... this is what the standard Image proposal rejection letter looks like:
Thank you for sending the above referenced proposal.
Unfortunately, Image is not interested in this project.
I thank you for considering us and hope you do so again with another project.
Unfortunately, due to the volume of submissions we receive we cannot return any, nor can we offer critiques on the work.
Best of luck to you with this and any future endeavors.
Jim Valentino
Publisher, Image Comics. Inc.
To recap, consider the following when putting a proposal together:
1. Do you feel that your work is ready?
2. Are you pitching the story you want to tell?
3. Is the story suitable for the publisher you are submitting to?
I want to sincerely thank Jim Valentino for taking the time to participate in this article and I promise that my next submission will be more attuned to what Image publishes.
Next time we really go on to step three, the plot. I will go through the laying out of a plot, and the actual construction of a synopsis.
I would love to get feed back on the column, the story or anything else. Drop me a line and feel free to check out my previous work at http://www.hardlinestudios.com
Daniel R. Wickline
I now return you to your life already in progress.
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April 22, 2008:
February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain
