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9.30.2005

Here's the Thing... #11: Justin Does Good

Ever heard of Justin Jordan?

Up until last weekend I haven’t heard of him either.

Justin came along at the perfect time. On Saturday, the day after last weeks Here’s the Thing… article where I sort of highlighted all the things one person can do wrong, Justin comes along and does everything right.

He walks up to the table. He knows (or appears to know) Josh and I. He knows (or appears to know) about our books. He talks a little bit and then hands us his sample packet.

Now, this wasn’t a packet as in ten 8.5x11 sheets of paper with a variety of scripts samples and a cover letter. It wasn’t the kind I tend to get with the first five pages of a story that was rejected by Image. This was a completely functional introduction to Justin Jordan in mini-comic format. Here’s who I am, here are the artists that have faith in my work, here is how I write and here is how you can contact me. This packet was cheap to produce and yet said so much more about one person than anything else I’ve seen yet.

CoverRight from the start you have a very simple and easy to digest cover. It’s not flashy, it doesn’t scream “comic book”. As a result it comes across as more professional, as if this is your extended resume. The title is iffy but that’s alright. It doesn’t allude to the purpose of this mini-comic which, once you start to read it, you realize it’s a promotional tool for the writer. But that’s fine.

CoverThen you get his intro page. Succinct. Not pretentious. Basically sums up to my name is Justin and I write. The thank yous are longer than the bio. Justin is going to let his work speak for himself. And speaking of the thank yous, Justin takes the extra step and plugs his artists well. A lot of would be writers are so full of their lack of credits that the artist’s name is barely legible and never mentioned outside of the credit box.

CoverTwo sequential stories. Well written and well illustrated by Shawn Richter and Tim Twelves. Shawn Richter was a good call. He gets around, message board hopping, his work is recognizable. Somebody whose work you dig and when you see him doing somebody’s story you know the story (or the dude in question) is alright. The story itself is well written and an original concept. Could use an editor but of course this is an editor speaking, I say that about everybody including myself. But it’s good, you see the potential there, and that’s what matters.

CoverSecond story is also good although Tim and Justin didn’t seem to jive together as well as Shawn and Justin and that happens, it’s fine. Look at Frank Miller and Jim Lee’s new Batman book. These guys are gods and their styles just aren’t jiving together. It happens. But Justin, as the writer promoting himself, takes steps to combat this. CoverThe second half of the books is the scripts for the first two stories. This is the best part. As an editor or an artist, if I’m interested in what I see, I can get a feel for what it’s like to work with Justin. How loose he writes, how much supervision he’d need. It’s a lot different than just handing somebody scripts. Here you give them the story in a form that’s easy to follow, get them interested, and you follow it up with the story in its raw form in case anyone wants to probe deeper.

CoverThen a nice little afterward closes it up, thanks everyone again and leaves it at that. If you want to get in touch with Justin, whether to collaborate or if you have a little project for him, he leaves it open to you.

Overall, it’s smart. When Justin gave it to me we talked for a little bit and I told him it was smart. When he left, Josh, Mr. Grumpy himself, turns to me and says, “That is pretty smart.” It works on so many levels. He’s not going to get a gig out of it just like that. It could give him an opening for a pitch. It could work really well with an artist looking to collaborate. Here’s what I can produce and here’s the scripts themselves, if it’s something you think you can work with. And it gets your name out there. It’s cheap to produce and you can give them out to anyone. Ten pages you can print out at work, two staples. Digest size so it’s easier to carry home with you. You can give it to target people first and then distribute the leftovers to whomever. Future editors. The next Mike Mignola.

Now come on. Looking at last week and looking at this week – who has a better shot at getting something going?

I think looking at the two of these calls for some discussion. Anyone have any brainstorms on their own promotional package? Ways to improve Justin’s package? Maybe horror stories to share about promo packages/inquiries you’ve received?

Oh, yeah, and you can contact Justin through his website.

Jason at 12:25 AM  |  link to this     

8 Comments

I have come to the conclusion that, barring a miracle like saving an editor's mom from a fire or making a once-in-a-decade flawless contact at a bar, there's no substitute for getting work published to show your skills. Get used to that fact and you'll be better prepared for the marathon.

Best pitch package story: at my old job, we took interviews for a tech writing position. This one cat handwrote his cover letter on legal paper, led it off with the classic thank-you-note-to-Grandma intro "How are you? I am fine.", said he was an "exeptional" writer and editor, and included a computer-drawn rendering of a guy on an operating table getting his flesh pulled apart by rats.

Don't do that.

Jay at 9/30/2005 8:57 AM   

Yeah, there's different levels too, though. You need some stuff to get you published, it doesn't just happen.

I think I'm comparing good places to start. The bottom floor. Some horribly written message board post or a well put together sample packet that's easy to hold onto.

Something like, like I said, can get you artistic collaborators and can get you the right to pitch.

Combine the two and you can be working on several projects at once, hoping one hits. It's a good "ground floor".

Jason at 9/30/2005 9:21 AM   

Justin sent me that mini....For the most part, I enjoyed the work but thought that the art was a little confusing at times. The inclusion of the script of the second story was a cool idea.

Jason Copland at 10/01/2005 9:45 PM   

Agreed, especially with the second story. Some of it was in the script, though, so I wouldn't put it all on the artist. But, as a promo packet, all good. Needs an editor on the whole but who doesn't? I turn red and apologize to people who edit my work when they send back their notes.

There are plenty of good writers in the world. There aren't as many good editors though, which is why some writers do better than others.

I love myself.*



*There was sarcasm there - I was just highlighted the fact that I was obviously felating myself.

Jason at 10/02/2005 9:48 PM   

A writer of comics could also (GASP) PAY a cartoonist to illustrate his story. A cartoonist she/he knows or someone he admires. And make sure the right to use it as a promotional piece is outlined (as per usual)---doesn't this sell writing for comics as well?

It may also serve the purpose of finding out if as a writer, you are able to get your idea for the comic across in your scripts.

I don't know what it's like to be an editor, but I would think that the ability to get a good artist to illustrate your story, instead of waiting for one to do it for free out of love for a script, would also help the editor "see" the writer's storytelling talent.

So consider spending some money to make some money?

Just an add-on to a great column, Jason.
Here's an artist who even advertises that he'll do a comic page:
http://www.elsewares.com/commerce/index.php?cPath=3_92

Deb at 10/03/2005 8:17 AM   

Pay an artist? Are you nuts?

Depends on the artist, in my opinion. Well, actually, for something that is designed to be a promo pack than yeah, some token payment should be made to the writer because it's never going to be anything beyond a promo packet.

But, if you're working on a strong pitch or a really good self-published project and it presents itself as a good opportunity, and you haven't had any yet, I'll let Elk's Run artist Noel Tuazon take it from here:

"SM: What is the most important lesson you'd like to pass on to other independent artists, based on your experience thus far?

NT: The most important lesson is to probably expect to do some projects for small wages or even for free. Also, keep practicing on your drawing skills even if it's only for a few hours or minutes per day. Keep away from manga!"

A lot of us writers don’t have money to pay and some of us have good stories to tell. The longevity of an artists career could come down to taking a good project for free verses taking a novelty project for paper. Of course, this only comes into play for artists that don’t want to or can’t write their own stuff.

And even if they can they still need an editor and editors should always be paid.

Jason at 10/03/2005 11:28 AM   

"Some of it was in the script, though, so I wouldn't put it all on the artist."

What? That's just crazy talk. Clearly my script was a flawless work of ineffable beauty that could never be improved on.

Heh.

As much as I like those two stories, I find things I'd change every time I read them. Hemmingway definitely had it right when he said nothing is ever finished, it's just due.

Paying artists, even if it's only a bit, is a good idea. There's big difference between say, twenty dollars a page and nothing, even though twenty bucks a page won't support a person.

It's probably not feasible for a lot of writers, myself included, to pay the artist for a long project, but it's usually doable for a five page sample to go with a pitch.

Especially with the miracle of credit cards.

Justin Jordan at 10/03/2005 3:08 PM   

Thanks for the kind words Jason. Although you kind of make me feel slutty, what with the message board hopping comment. I always SAY I'll call them the next day...
As far as pay goes, well, of course I'm in favour of it. Justin was pretty much the first guy who said, "hey, I like your work, would you do this for me?" though, so he got my extra good rate. it helped that it was an intriguing concept and a pretty tight script, with room for my own artisitc interpretations. Also it was only five pages (and I got them done in what, two, three months tops?) Anyway, I love seeing a review, especially one that says that people dig my work. That's worth even more than a paycheque, sometimes...

Shawn Richter at 10/03/2005 10:23 PM   

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