How to pitch your comic book

How to pitch your comic

I finally have my first issue in hand. Now what?

If you are going the traditional comic route, i.e., trying to get the comic picked up by a publisher, you pitch editors.

There are a lot of publishers out there, and it is hard to know which to choose (especially since not all will treat you or your work fairly).

Image gives the same deal to everyone (small or large) and has a good reputation, so I figured I would start there. I was also told it's better to target one or two publishers rather than shotgunning it.

By the way, make sure your comic fits the publishers, i.e., it is similar in style/stories to other comics they publish. Otherwise, you are wasting your time.

Before you start putting your pitch together, you should read through all of Jim Zub's pitch tutorials:
I also read a good post from Digital Webbing on giving good elevator pitches.

I based my pitch on Zub's format. After all, he has several books published at Image.

Finally, I went to the publisher's site and read their submission guidelines. After I did that, I realized I had to modify my pitch a little more. (I have included the final format at the bottom of the post.)

Now you submit and wait.

Most publishers will only respond if they are interested in signing you. If they haven't responded in a month, it means they aren't interested and you have to move on to your next option.

I hope that has helped you with your comic. Thanks for reading!

-Jeremy

P.S. - If this helped, please support me by reading my free webcomic halfwing, thanks!

Format

Introduction

Hello [Editor name] and Team,

First, I am very excited to submit my proposal to such a prestigious company as [Publisher] and to you personally, [Editor Name]. [Add a personal note, maybe you like editors work and can show some examples.]

I own all rights to this story. Please reach out via email or phone (xxx-xxx-xxxx) if you have any questions. Thank you for your time!

Sincerely,
[Your name and title]

Pitch

[Add a couple quotes from the story.]

Story Summary

[Insert here, should be ~3 short paragraphs.]

Setting/World

[Insert here, should be ~3 short paragraphs.]

Arc #1 Main Points

  • [I did a bullet list of each of the main plot points to make it easy to read]

Format

[Include details on format here.]

Target Audience

The story/mythology is influenced by several popular works below. I (or we) could effectively market those audiences.

Properties to Target

  • [I added a bunch of titles that influenced me and I thought would have similar interest]

Team

[Fill in team here]

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