SelfMadeHero is heading North for Thought Bubble Festival! We’re looking forward to what has quickly become a much-looked-forward-to fixture in the SelfMadeHero convention calendar.
Many creators who have worked with us or are working with SelfMadeHero at the moment will be there on Saturday. I mean, just look at all the banners (that I’ve shamelessly pulled from the Thought Bubble site and placed throughout this post)!
The writing powerhouse behind SelfMadeHero's Sherlocks (not to mention the odd Poe, Lovecraft or Wilde tale).
Other than the creators, the editorial powers of SelfMadeHero will be in attendance at Thought Bubble and are open to pitches for blisteringly good, original graphic novels from UK creators for our original fiction series and beyond.
Because of this, we thought it might be useful to give you a few tips to pitching projects to us at Thought Bubble. So here we go:
Ilya produced the wonderful King Lear for SelfMadeHero and is currently working away on an extra-special project for 2011 with us
1 – how we do it
We publish – almost exclusively – books that have become known as graphic novels. Our definition of this is ‘a story told in words and pictures, which contains enough pages to require a spine.’
A particularly persistent contest in episode 4 of ‘The Apprentice’ recently tried to sell a new-fangled type of two-handled spade to the buyers at Debenhams (or was it John Lewis?) only to be informed repeatedly that “Debenham’s don’t sell garden tools”. She didn’t take the hint. So, can I stress that we don’t publish comics or illustrated children’s books. We love both these things, we but don’t publish them. This is point number one as it is the most frequently made mistake when pitching to us.
We are delighted that Leigh will feature in our forthcoming H.P. Lovecraft Anthology
2 – it’s about the story
If you are a budding comic artist who wants to show us some artwork, then we can’t – in all honesty – take you seriously if you have no sequential work in your portfolio. Outstanding pin-ups and facial expression exercises aren’t sufficient evidence that you can plan and execute a 100+ page graphic novel. We need to know that you can tell a story.
A deserved Eagle Award-winner who went on from SelfMadeHero to work with Warren Ellis on Freak Angels
3 – Look around you
Make sure you know what other people are publishing and what we do. We would never quiz you (or anything terrible like that), but it won’t help your case if you pitch us “the greatest adaptation of X” if a Google search would reveal that something very similar has just been published (or will be published soon).
It is almost a point to remember in and of itself: if it has been done well in the past, say, upto ten or so years, we won’t do it again. No matter poorly you think they did it.
The elusive figure who delivered a memorable "Murder in the Rue Morgue" and returns in 2011 with something altogether more eldritch in our Lovecraft Anthology.
4 – Cape Fear
We don’t publish superhero comics. If you want to pitch us a graphic novel that has a superhero protagonist – please check that you’re a bonfide comics legend who wants to re-invent the genre before beginning a conversation with us.
New to SelfMadeHero, but not to comics. If you buy one graphic novel next year, make it Glyn's.
5 – [Hint, hint]
We like detective stories, science fiction, crime, thrillers, gothic horror, biographies, historical romps, indie literary fiction and stories with magical realism in them. This list is not exhaustive. For example, although we haven’t published anything that specifically features “the undead”, it doesn’t mean we wouldn’t (in principle).
The undeniable talent of Mr Rob Davis has begun work on the epic 'Don Quixote' for SelfMadeHero
6 – Grow up!
We assume that most of our graphic novel readers are at least 18 years old. You will have a much more productive conversation with us if you work along those lines.
Ms Emma Vieceli has produced two wonderful books with SelfMadeHero but has most recently been sighted in the company of Penguins.
7 – Broad-minded individuals
We are “open” to proposals. This doesn’t mean that we commission lots of graphic novels each year, but that (the above points considered) we regularly consider debut artists, writers and adapters. It also means that if you pitch something unusual, we will listen.
This duo haven't been seen round these parts since their outing in our Edgar Allan Poe anthology. Thank goodness they made time to darken our doorstep again for our 2011 H.P. Lovecraft graphic anthology
8 – Grow your own
More than anything we want to foster, publish and promote British comics talent. We’re tired of visiting foreign conventions to hear that “the UK has no comics tradition”. So if you live and work in the UK and have the storytelling or artistic skills to produce outstanding, original, beautiful, world-class graphic novels then we’d like to hear from us.
I.N.J. Culbard has limped back from the chilly Antarctic peaks to the warmer climes of Baker Street with the final Sherlock title in production for 2011
9 – Respect our inbox
If we ask you to send us samples or your work after the fair then print them out and post them to us. Our address is 5 Upper Wimpole Street, London, W1G 6BP. Remind us that we met at Thought Bubble in a covering note and give your contact details again.
In no circumstance is it preferable for you to email us 6 x 30MB PDFs asking us to print them out. You might just about get away with it if you are one of the aforementioned “comic legends” but if you’re not, then we may just delete your message from the server without even reading it. Like the L.A.P.D. we’re harsh, but fair.
The artist behind 'GONZO' knows exactly what it is like to work for SelfMadeHero, having only just finished his debut for our Graphic Biography series.
10 – and finally…
If we say at the end of a conversation with you “Keep in touch. Let’s us know when you have a new project – run it past us…” We mean it!