WRITING FOR ROOKIES - Podcast for comic book & Sci-fi writers...

Hello everyone.

I've been a lurker here for a little while and I never noticed the comic book section.

I wanted to let everyone know I produce a FREE podcast devoted to developing the career of comic book and sci-fi writers. I've worked in the comic book industry since 2002 and I have a brand new series debuting in mid-2011 from a major LA comic book publisher.

One of the things that had bothered me over the years was attending conventions, panels and workshops where established talent would give completely useless advice about how to break in as a new writer.

I've always had the impression that a lot of the writers in the biz want to "keep it to themselves" to reduce the amount of competition that exists out there. After a few years of trial and error, I figured out all my own mistakes and decided to save new writers the indignity of dealing with some of the awful people and obstacles that exist in the business.

Comics is a tough, unregulated business with an abundance of egotistical and immature men in positions of power. You have to approach the scene with a killer concept backed by above average artwork.

I didn't produce the podcast to make money or exploit anyone, I just did it because I want to see new and diverse ideas enter the biz.

So without further ado, here's the link:

http://writingforrookies.podcastpeople.com/

The first three episodes deal with idea creation, finding artists and development.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Best,
CBW

Axler said:

Well...it might help if you let us know who you are and some of your credentials.

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The name is Brandon Easton. Most of my info can be found on the podcast. I used to write for Dreamwave Productions on a series called ARKANIUM and TRANSFORMERS: ARMADA.

I was also a journalist, working for the BOSTON HERALD newspaper, CRASHPAD MAGAZINE, UVC (Urban Voice in Comics), did edits for the SOURCE magazine, I do a monthly article for the new online magazine BLACK SCI-FI.COM (http://www.blacksci-fi.com/) and my new series SHADOWLAW will be released by ARCANA/PLATINUM studios in 2011.

I wasn't trying to post my resume here, I wanted to let interested writers know about the podcast. If you listened to it, much of this information is covered there.

CBW

Bicyclefish said:

I was wondering the same as Axler and appreciate the reply. When people say they have advice on how to do [insert skill] I naturally wonder about their qualifications.

I'm not a comic script writer, but based on what I've seen online, I don't get the impression they all want to "keep it to themselves. Of course, some do, but some people are jerks. But there's also a lot of folk out there in my experience who want to help the aspiring writer.

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In the last three or four years you've seen the proliferation of comic book writers online with script samples and other kinds of resources that can help the new or unpublished comic writer.

Before that, and really, going as far back as the early 90s when I first started going to conventions and so on, you could never, ever get a straight answer from a comic book writer about how to break into the business.

There was so much misinformation out there that I made a lot of mistakes early in my career and I realized that now, with publishers and audiences more gunshy than every before, there's not a lot of room for newcomers to make those same mistakes without being considered an amateur or a fool.

I love comics and graphic novels and I feel that they have hit a wall of sorts in terms of new blood. Every now and then, usually five years, you get a rash of new writing talent in the biz and everybody jumps on them and copies their style.

It would be great if new blood emerged every year and brought with it new ideas and new ways of telling stories. Also, the industry desperately needs an influx of men and women of color as well as some white female creators because the younger generation of kids aren't getting into American comics because the growing diversity of our society isn't being matched by the content of American superhero comics.

This is something that I discuss in one of my early podcast episodes.

In any case, I just wanted to provide a resource for those writers I always meet at conventions who are full of all the misinformation that will stall their careers.

This is why its free of charge.

CBW