Making that break-in harder/easier...?

wordmonkey said:

I saw this today...

Talks about the way that established "novel" writers are the new stars of the comic-book world.

What do you think?

On the one hand, if you're trying to break in, or are on the edges of the industry having made some small in-roads, there are only so many books available with the big boys, and if they can land the likes of Stephen King et al, they aren't gonna offer you a chance.

The flip-side is that if all this creates buzz and more interest in the medium, then the knock-on effect will only be of benefit, since the industry as a whole will get a boost, opening the way for you to get in.

Thoughts?

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HI Wordmonkey. What an exciting article! I wouldn't be too worried over it. There's always room for the newbies in any area. It's the same as writing novels. Stephen King hasn't kicked us out yet, and he won't do it in the comic/manga area. As long as you write well and have a great artist, and a great proposal, I really don't see why someone wouldn't publish you. It might not be with the big kids and you might have to go with a smaller publisher, but you will get published. But you will have to work HARDER than King and you'll have to know what you're doing. In fact, it might be best to write a novel first, then write the manga/comic second. But most of all, never give up, never surrender!!

kim

Well, a petty part of me grumbles "grr, succesful writers, why can't they stick to writing best-selling novels and leave comics alone grumble grumble" but really I don't care. In fact, I like that it may bring in new comic readers. If someone gets into comics because they followed their favorite author, then that's great.

In fact, having well-known authors write comics make comics seem more a little more respectable. A few years ago, I think people might view novelists writing comics as a kind of slumming, where's now it's just another medium for them to write stories in.

You know you need to think of it as making yourself better. YOu can either be upset or work harder. Instead of thinking of it as Grumble, Grumble, think stretch farther. I write Novels and I can say, King is pushing me out. But instead, I think, what do I need to learn that I didn't know before? I know I have to be better than the authors out there and I don't mind stretching higher. It's what we have to do in any area of writing.

kim

What's funny is sometimes it goes the reverse way around--Neil Gaiman was a respected comic author, who then went on to become a respected novelist.

But, yeah, I can understand the sentiment of "Aw man, now I gotta compete with King too?" ^_^; Yes, new novelists were competing with him too, but its not really the same--there's more books put out than comics, and it's much harder to get into comics than into books (which of course ain't exactly easy either). What I can hope though is that maybe this'll give the whole medium a boost, and maybe they'll expand the comics sections in bookstores, and some of those little publishers will grow and prosper, and the big publishers might even be open to new ideas.

All that matters to me though, really, is if they make good comics. If the stuff they put out is good, then I'll read it, and it'll be good for the business overall.

Now if they would just hire me to write their darned series...sigh, ah well.

The fixation on "marquee value" name writers has less to do with trust that the novelist in question can turn out great comics stories than it does with following a cross-marketing plan.

Axler said:

The fixation on "marquee value" name writers has less to do with trust that the novelist in question can turn out great comics stories than it does with following a cross-marketing plan.

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I agree, Mark. THere's a proverb in the Book of Proverbs that says:

Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men. 22:29


So I agree, it's the same as writing a novel. You present quality work and you WILL get published, no matter who you are. And if you're REALLY good, you'll get on the Oprah show.

kim