Saturday, May 2, 2009

NOTES FROM THE EDITOR, a prologue

So. I find myself always writing but in between, so to speak, with regards to prose and comics. Which means, often, I find myself making headway in neither medium and almost running in place. (although I am finally moving forward with some prose stuff that I hope to send off later this year, but I digress)

But this post, and subsequent ones in this short "series" will be dealing with comics writing and such. Ironic, since I decided at the end of last year 2009 would encompass my "push for prose."

Anyway. I had dropped by the Panel & Pixel forums run by Rantz Hoseley - set up after Warren Ellis was finished with the Engine - and discovered a recent thread dealing with comic anthologies, what ones were out there and submissions guidelines for same. One reply from Elton Pruitt, mentioned that Ape Entertainment was running an open call for submission to an upcoming UFO anthology. the entire submission blurb went like this:

Ape Entertainment is announcing an open call for short comic book stories for its latest endeavor: UFO. This will initially be published as a Web comic, with a print component to follow at a later date. Below are the details for the first stage of the submission process.

Content: Yes, you guessed it; a UFO must play a role in your story! No UFO, no dice. We’re open to all genres. All stories must be self-contained. No unresolved cliffhangers or snippets of a larger story arc. Your story should have a beginning, middle and end.

Format: Please send us a completed script of your story. It can be written in prose, comic book format, or whatever style you feel comfortable with, as long as it’s easy to read. If your story has already been illustrated, that's great, but if it has been previously published (online, print, or otherwise), please let us know. If you're unsure how your comic book script should be formatted, visit: http://www.scrypticstudios.com

Page Length: We prefer stories that are no longer than 15 pages. We’re not saying that your story should be exactly 15 pages long—only that you should try to avoid writing stories that are longer than 15 pages. If you have a lot less than 15, no problem.

Copyrights: Your story must be 100% original. This means that you are the copyright holder to your story. You will retain the copyright to your story, as you are only giving Ape the rights to publish your story (online and print).

Deadline: We’ll be taking submissions until December 31, 2008. Although the deadline is at the end of the year, you should submit your story sooner rather than later. Why? We will be giving the "green light" to stories as they come in. This will allow us to finish the project sooner. In addition, with projects like this, we tend to see a lot of the same themes, characters, and stories. If we've already approved a story that's similar to yours, then chances are it won't be accepted. If you're worried that your story resembles one that has already been accepted, you can email us a pitch first (a few sentences or paragraphs describing your story).

Submitting your script does not guarantee it will be accepted. Sorry, but only the best stories will make it. Scripts that receive approval will then move on to the art production stage (deadline undetermined). If the completed art is not of professional quality, you’re story may be rejected at this stage, so chose your artist(s) wisely.

Writers are expected to find their own artist(s) for their story and vice versa. Feel free to go here to find a creator to collaborate with or visit such sites as Digital Webbing, deviantART, or Penciljack.

Please send your submissions to submissions@ape-entertainment.com . Please use “UFO Submission” as the subject of your email. If you have any questions, you can post them here.

This was early December - around the 7th - so I needed to come up with something quick. My first two ideas - one of which I sent in - were old rehashings of UFO stories everyone's read before. The editor got back to me within a week on that initial submission and said thanks, but no thanks. I was trying to be cute, do "my own" take on something that had been done a hundred times. I knew better, but wanted to get something in so that I wouldn't have missed my oppotunity.

Luckily, the story doesn't end here.

to be continued . . .

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