Making Your Cartoon Submission Ready For Editorial Review
by Dan Rosandich
Preparing
cartoon submissions for magazine editors can be very
easy and once you establish a routine, you can streamline your own
process. In the beginning, without any prior instructions or direction,
I began writing to specific artists whose work I noticed in specific
magazines or trade journals. Many of the same artists kept popping
up repeatedly in a variety of publications. So I knew they were the
ones who did this on a fulltime basis or were at least freelancing at a
moderately successful level. By writing the editors a personal letter
asking for the contact info or mailing addresses to favorite artists I'd
see in those respective magazines, the editors were usually kind
enough to either supply the artist's contact address or would simply
forward my letter onto them.
To my surprise, every artist responded and were generous in their
responses to my questions. This was back in the early 70's, long
before the internet. So I hope this information will be helpful to any
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young
aspiring cartoonist who's interested in attempting to sell his or
her work to any publishers they
would like to show their work to. If you're relatively new to the
submitting process, I've included a very
basic visual outline on how to prepare your envelope(s) with your
cartoons. For the most part, do not
include original artwork. Preserve the integrity of your original art by
keeping them safe and in special
storage - mainly in a filing cabinet or in a hard copy folder case where
you can access them for future
reference. Take it from me, I've lost alot of great original artwork
through the postal system, but it is
the postal service that will be your most economical delivery mechanism
for your cartoons. |
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For
the most part, your original cartoon will be
illustrated on average sized paper. Most likely,
on 8.5"X11" standard size typing paper. In the
early days, when I'd ink my original cartoons
using a Speedball brand pen tip I'd dip into a
bottle of Higgins brand India Ink, the paper had
to be 25% cotton bond. It would hold the ink
line well, and the paper held up well after it was
circulated and handled by many editors.
Now, I'm not particular to the brand of paper I
create on, as most good 20 lb. copy paper will
work well with the Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph tech
pen I use. If you decide to go with copy paper, I
suggest a paper with a 92 brightness factor.
Assuming you've devised a reliable record
keeping system for each cartoon you want to
submit, each cartoon is now ready to send out
in their respective "batches".
Normally, a batch can contain 10, 15 or even 20
cartoons and each cartoon ought to have your
business mailing address rubber stamped on
the reverse of each image. If you wish the re-
turn of your batch, you can include a self add-
ressed stamped envelope as shown in the
image to the left. If this is your first time sub-
mitting to the publication, most editors would
welcome a brief and concise cover letter with
your contact information, phone / fax number
and email address. Keep your introduction to a
minimum. Editors are usually very busy and do
not have time and are more concerned with the |
actual
cartoons, rather than you, the creator of the cartoons! And only a
handful, a very small group of
magazines have fulltime "cartoon editors". Most of the time it is an
editor who will be the person who
considers cartoon material. If you happen to have a unique drawing style
and can infuse that with an
excellent "gag sense", the editor may like your work enough to hold one or
actually purchase one for a
negotiable fee or a set price they offer other contributors. In fact, if
they like you enough, they'll ask to
see more work again so you can add them to a list of "regular" markets to
focus on. |
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A
business related cartoon sample appears to
the right. Try to build up an "inventory" of
appropriately slanted cartoon subjects and you
can submit those specific cartoons to the
appropriate magazine "slants" you choose to
draw for. Business related publications are a
very good target since there are hundreds, if
not thousands of magazines, newsletters and
newspapers in this field alone. Many corporate
in-house communications departments pub-
lish company newletters. Some are now sent
out electronically via email, or subscribed to,
by opt-in email. You could also experience a
"residual" effect whereby someone sees one of
your panels in a newsletter, and might ask your
permission to use it in a presentation, allowing
you to negotiate another fee to use the work. |
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