Broken Frontier

I've got this friend who’s a great writer.  He had a lot of success with his first project and has been more or less coasting on that for a while.   He keeps saying he’s going to do the next thing, whatever that is, but he can’t seem to get it together.  So he said to me “How are you doing it? You’ve got the success of Western Tales and you segued that into Elk’s Run and you have another Graphic Novel in the wings waiting to be released.  How do you get ‘em all lined up?”

Truth be told, I’m not really sure.  Western Tales certainly led to me being able to make Elk’s Run.  It built the reputation of my company and myself up enough that we could find top notch collaborators at a reasonable rate.  Plus, Western Tales has been like Graduate School for making comics.  Everything that could go wrong did, but everything that could go right did too.  Putting together that book has been a rollercoaster each and every issue.  We went into Elk’s Run with a bit more swagger than we would’ve had we done it first, because, frankly, we knew what the hell we were doing. 

So, why Elk’s Run? Why is that the second book?  Well, first off, it was ready.  The scripts were locked down and it was just waiting for an artist. When we found that artist, there was none of the awkward “alright, it’ll be another month or two and then we can start” that most guys seemingly go through.  I’ve lost several other artists to that process where you think a script is ready, but when you start seeing pages and concept work, you realize that the script is just not done. 

Then, there’s the old, over-used adage “writer’s write.” As clichéd as it may be, it’s true.  If you’re a writer and you want to be successful, having material developed and ready to go is pretty much key. I know this sounds like obvious advice, but, I get contacted by so many guys who want my company to look at their project and all they have is a 50 work synopsis that doesn’t actually explain the plot.  There’s no way that’s going to sell me—unless maybe it involves the words “Giant Robots,” “Sex,” and “Laser Guns.”  (What can I say? I have a thing for Sci-Fi porno comics.)  Approaching a publisher, an artist, an editor, a producer, a manager, anybody in the business basically, without a thoroughly fleshed-out concept is pretty much suicide. 

However, I’m not saying you should go out and write all 6 issues before you can make your pitch.  What I am saying is that you should have a strong outline, a precise structure, and a definitive vision for what you’re doing.  Have enough script ready to deliver the hook of your story.  If the hook is 5 pages in, then write 10 pages. If the hook is 22 pages in, then write 22 pages.  I have a friend who refuses to write more than 5 pages of any project that’s not been picked up.  He complains that he’s just sitting around waiting.  I tell him “Well, write the script.”  His answer has always been “Well, what if they want changes?”  My answer, “Then you change it.”  You’re not going to get anywhere sitting on your butt waiting for someone to recognize that your first five pages are the best first five pages of any comic series of all time (which is most likely not the case, unless your five pages are the first five pages of Alan Moore’s run on Swamp Thing).

There’s definitely something to be said for not spreading yourself too thin, and really focusing on the project that’s in front of you, but, the fact is, you really never know what’s going to be thrown at you, so you just have to learn to roll with it.  That means taking the steps necessary to be prepared.  When one project falls down flat, you should always do your best to have another waiting in the wings.

So, to answer that friend who asks me how I managed to segue from one book to the next so well…I just smile and say “Well, it’s all just luck, I guess.”