{"id":286,"date":"2012-08-01T03:38:01","date_gmt":"2012-08-01T08:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shiverbureau.com\/?p=286"},"modified":"2012-08-01T03:38:01","modified_gmt":"2012-08-01T08:38:01","slug":"how-a-writer-should-contact-an-artist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shiverbureau.com\/wordpress\/2012\/08\/01\/how-a-writer-should-contact-an-artist\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Writer Should Contact an Artist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>What Artists Want From Writers: First Contact<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>\u201cDear artist,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>I\u2019m a writer.\u00a0 I saw your artwork online and think it would be a perfect fit for my story.\u00a0 Please contact me if interested.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Artists get emails like this all the time.\u00a0 The writer behind the email is most likely a hard worker driven by a passion to create something awesome called a comic.\u00a0 However, this email doesn\u2019t translate that passion.\u00a0 This is what the artist interprets:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>\u201cDear random artist,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>I would like to write comics.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t written anything, but if I had an artist I know I could write something great.\u00a0 I figured I\u2019d toss it against the wall and see if anything stuck.\u00a0 Did it?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To make sure the correct message is delivered include these points:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bio<\/li>\n<li>Story<\/li>\n<li>Plan<\/li>\n<li>Pay<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>BIO<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is the fairly straight forward piece of the puzzle. \u00a0Writers need portfolios too. \u00a0Name, website, past work, and genre preference are must haves.<\/p>\n<p>Having a regularly updated blog is a great way for an artist to get a feel for the personality of the writer.\u00a0 The site should have a steady stream of thoughts, writing snippets, and experiences.\u00a0 It\u2019s the modern age and a writer should have a web presence.<\/p>\n<p>So what if the writer has no samples?\u00a0 To be honest, they shouldn\u2019t be contacting artists.\u00a0 Really they are wasting their time and the artist\u2019s time.\u00a0 How can someone be a writer if they haven\u2019t written anything?\u00a0 They need to write a story, not an email.<\/p>\n<p><strong>STORY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Now that the story is done; tell the artist about it.\u00a0 I can understand not wanting to give away all the juicy bits, but give me the elevator pitch.\u00a0 What is so awesome about this story that I won\u2019t be able to turn it down?<\/p>\n<p><strong>PLAN<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s the point of doing the work?\u00a0 Is it just to sit on the writer\u2019s bookshelf collecting dust?\u00a0 I hope not.<\/p>\n<p>Potential plans<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>5 page teaser pitched to major publishers at these upcoming conventions.<\/li>\n<li>Webcomic updating twice a week, self publish and distribute through Diamond.<\/li>\n<li>2 page birthday present to Nana.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Walk the artist through the plan.\u00a0 How, when, where, why.\u00a0 If it is a 5 page submission, what happens if it isn\u2019t selected? If it is a webcomic, how is revenue generated?<\/p>\n<p><strong>PAY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is the first thing that pops into my head when I read the email.\u00a0 Am I going to get paid?<\/p>\n<p>If there is pay, state the project budget.\u00a0 I can understand an unwillingness to be direct when it comes to money.\u00a0 Just be aware that the more vague the situation the more wary the artist will be.<\/p>\n<p>Let me stress, that I truly believe artists should be paid for their work. \u00a0They provide a service with a rare skill and will work several hours to produce a single page of artwork. \u00a0To make art is the lively hood of an artist, not their obligation. \u00a0It should be assumed artists will be paid to do work, just like any other profession. \u00a0This is the same for writers. \u00a0If someone asks a writer to write something, the writer should expect compensation.<\/p>\n<p>Having said that, all is not lost if no money is involved.\u00a0 The writer just needs to try a little harder.\u00a0 Common substitutes are experience, backend profits, and exposure.\u00a0 Most artists are going to realize these things mean absolutely nothing.\u00a0 Experience is a joke.\u00a0 Backend profits and exposure are possible, just not probable.\u00a0 If the writer is serious about either of these then they need to provide some details on how they plan to accomplish this. Where will the book be sold, how will they get it there, how much traffic will it generate, etc.<\/p>\n<p>I realize most writers aren\u2019t being paid to create their dream, so why does the artist get to be paid?\u00a0 The writer\u2019s dream is not the artist\u2019s dream.\u00a0 Or is it?\u00a0 The other option is to sell the artist on the story, get them hooked and make them co-creator of the book.\u00a0 This means the ownership of the book is split between writer and artist; at the very least a 50\/50 split.\u00a0 If the idea sparks the imagination of the artist, then both parties will be equally passionate for the project and have an equal investment.<\/p>\n<p>The writer will have a better chance if they ask for less commitment.\u00a0 An artist won\u2019t want to work on a year long project with no pay.\u00a0 On the other hand, they may be willing to do a pin-up or even a few pages in hopes of snagging a publisher or funding on Kickstarter.\u00a0 The less the writer offers, the less they should ask for.<\/p>\n<p>It\u00a0doesn&#8217;t\u00a0have to be just about the money.\u00a0 There are some more manual tasks that a writer can take on to lessen the burden on the artist.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Learn to flat pages.<\/li>\n<li>Learn to letter pages.<\/li>\n<li>Learn Comicpress.<\/li>\n<li>Reference research and collecting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Just a good rule of thumb, jumping right into a long term project is a bad idea.\u00a0 Artists may initially be excited but quickly burn out.\u00a0 Personalities may clash.\u00a0 It is best to keep the first project fairly simple to test the waters.<\/p>\n<p>Collaborations can be great, but I think they would work better when the artist and writer are no longer strangers. \u00a0 Perhaps a team that has worked on small projects together and have become familiar with each other.<\/p>\n<p><strong>PUT UP OR SHUT UP<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Just so I am not waxing fantastic, here a sample of something I\u2019d want to see in an email.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>\u201cDear Artist McCool,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>My name is Writer McFly.\u00a0 I\u2019m a fairly new writer, but I\u2019ve already written a few action\/horror screenplays.\u00a0 If you want to take a look, I have them up on my blog at linksdotcom.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>I just finished writing my first graphic novel about an epic power struggle between a farmer and a ban of ravenous rabbits terrorizing his crops.\u00a0 The farmer, unable to feed his family, sells his soul to a demon to rid himself of the rabbits.\u00a0 Well it all goes pretty downhill from there.\u00a0 It\u2019s called \u2018Old Mic Had a Soul\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>I found your work on Deviant Art and really love your take on \u2018American Gothic\u2019.\u00a0 I really think you could bring Old Mic to life.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>I am not able to offer you any money, but I would be interested in a co-creator endeavor.\u00a0 I was thinking 60\/40 in your favor.\u00a0 I would also be able to help flat and letter the comic.\u00a0 You can see some of my work on my blog as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>My plan is to get 6 pages completed before SuperKrazyCon in 4 months.\u00a0 I will have pitch packets created and work the convention, pitching to editors and publishers. \u00a0If all else fails, I would like to use the 6 pages on a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the rest of the art and to get the book self published.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Let me know if you\u2019re interested and I\u2019ll send over the first chapter as well as some character descriptions.\u00a0 Then I\u2019d love to discuss any thoughts you had regarding the story and what direction you see it progressing.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>CLOSING<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The first contact is an important part of creating a healthy relationship between a writer and artist.\u00a0 It is important to be honest and clear.\u00a0 Most artists will see through empty words.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AUDIENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The article is directed to amateur writers and artists in hopes to bridge the gap between the two.<\/p>\n<p><em>DISCLAIMER<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I am an amateur writer and artist myself.\u00a0 This article is only meant as a starting point and to generate discussion.\u00a0 I am not a lawyer and am not providing any legal advice.\u00a0 Before entering into an agreement make sure you consult with some kind of legal person.\u00a0 Before giving away ownership of your property make sure you have hooks in place to regain ownership should the other party have to leave the project.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Artists Want From Writers: First Contact \u201cDear artist, I\u2019m a writer.\u00a0 I saw your artwork online and think it would be a perfect fit for my story.\u00a0 Please contact me if interested.\u201d Artists get emails like this all the time.\u00a0 The writer behind the email is most likely a hard worker driven by a 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