He Said, She Said
Posted by Amy Lago on July 10, 2009

For more insight into the cartoonist-and-editor interplay, see Darrin Bell's take on his July 7th Candorville strip and my take, as told to Washington Post Comics-Riffer, Michael Cavna.



Solicited Advice (or Be Careful What You Wish For)
Posted by Amy Lago on June 30, 2009

A cartoonist friend of mine was a guest here over the weekend, and she asked me for advice on trying to become syndicated ("besides 'don't do it,'" she said) to impart to any "whippersnappers" who might inquire. Here's what I came up with for her:

•  Never assume the syndicate returned your submission without reviewing it just because you got an answer two days after you mailed it. Q: If you are a syndicate editor--and therefore charged with finding the next Peanuts or Blondie or Garfield or Dilbert or Zits--are you going to risk not opening and reviewing every single submission? A: Duh.

•  Don't self-edit, other than to make sure you are sending your very best--funniest, most touching, most smart-alecky--work. The editor will worry about that. Your job is to get the editor's attention (i.e. to make her laugh or otherwise entertain her).

•  An editor might not be the right "fit" for you. A submitter once called to complain that I'd given him the exact opposite advice that Jay Kennedy at King had given him. "What should I do?" the submitter fussed. My response (which left him speechless for several seconds) was, "Whose advice do you like better?" Your job as a cartoonist is not so much about pleasing others as it is about pleasing yourself. The editor's job is really more about showing your work to its best advantage. (Understand that the definition of "best advantage" includes, among other things, the phrase "helping make it commercially viable.")

•  The last piece of advice poses more leading questions: If you are not subscribing to a daily newspaper, why are you trying to become a syndicated cartoonist? If you, yourself, do not buy the end product, why are you investing your time and energy in that industry? If the muse compels you to create, why not try a medium that you are familiar with and are willing to spend your money on? I can't tell you how many people send work that is neither a shape nor a size that would fit or read legibly on a newspaper comics page. I can only conclude that these people do not actually read the newspaper. You need to be observant enough to figure out how--or even whether--your creation can work in a newspaper format.

•  Here's a little elaboration on the "don't do it" advice: Do not attempt it if you aren't certain you can do something else to earn money and create a daily comic at the same time. Do attempt it, though, if you need to, want to, and are otherwise compelled. Being talented helps, but drive can (and does) compensate.

•  Lastly: Newspapers will weather this economic gale. There will be fewer (there are already fewer), and the medium will probably morph, but news is a valuable commodity. And newspapers offer that commodity in more depth and breadth and with more agility than any other medium is currently equipped for. The question becomes whether newspaper comics will survive. They are notoriously ignored -- even abhorred -- by many editors who oversee them. But for every two editors who cause me to strike forehead to keyboard, there is another who gives me hope, like this one.