Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Wisdom for Writers from Comic Con


Ross Ritchie and Jimmy Palmiotti, at Comic Con, drawn live by Claudia Carlson

Fellow River Writer Claudia Carlson (also an accomplished artist, see sketches!) braved the fierce crowds Saturday at Comic Con to see the panel Comics, Hollywood - What Creators Need to Know.

One of the biggest challenges to any creator is sticking to their projects and getting them out the door. This panel, which featured Jimmy Palmiotti (creator of Daredevil) and Ross Ritchie of Boom Studios, and was moderated by Buddy Scalera, explored that issue in depth on a number of levels. The ostensible topic of the panel was taking your work to Hollywood, but a deeper theme was about how to connect outward as a creator. To start out with, Jimmy asked for a show of hands; the room was filled with writers from all genres, so that’s where they focused their discussion.

First they offered a helpful set of definitions and guidelines for writers with Hollywood dreams, beginning with a definition of a producer. In Hollywood, unlike in NYC theater, the producer is the person who walks the project into the studio. The producer may or may not be involved in the actual production of the picture; the same goes for the executive producer. In TV the executive producer is top dog; in movies it is the producer.

Producers option properties. Options give someone the exclusive right to try and sell your property within a limited time frame. The money offered by the potential producer is deducted from the final amount of the sale; so if you get a property optioned for $2,000, and it sells for $100,000, you are owed $98,000.

They then described the difference between agents and managers (and even if nobody in Hollywood ever buys my work, at least I now understand the difference between what E and Ari do on Entourage.) In California, an agent’s fees are set by the state at 10%. Lawyers (and they strongly advised everyone to have their own lawyer) run about 5%. Some people have managers and some do not; managers offer more personal representation than agents, who have a slate of clients. Managers may actively scout out properties or try to make deals. Manager’s fees are unregulated by the state of California but generally run 10 to 15%. Jimmy has an agent and not a manager; Ross has both.

Jimmy was particularly interesting on the subject of how to make connections. “No one likes an Eeyore at the table,” he said. People will have to work with you over a period of time; they want to work with someone they like and are comfortable with. He suggested it is important to be nice to people, to be genuine, and not to fall for exaggerated Hollywood flattery. Not everyone with a headset and a Lexus is capable of making a deal. “It’s your job to take every opportunity, like Comic Con, to get out and meet people and give them the chance to get to know you and your work.”

Toward the end of the panel, a question was raised by a 43-year-old cop. “I have a 200 page story, illustrated by an amazing artist. How do I get people interested?”

Jimmy said that this is a grassroots effort; your first job is getting the graphic novel published. Ross said that Boom Studio is too big to take something like that on, but at the small press section near Artist’s Alley, there were many small publishers dying for content. Other options would be using something like Graphic.-ly to self publish, or go to the Web. Once you have something in hand, your job is to always have it with you, and talk to everyone you know about it. Your first sales are going to be the people who know you, and from there it travels outward. He said to the cop, “Next time you arrest someone, say, ‘You’re going to have plenty of time in jail, here’s something to read.”

Both Jimmy and Ross emphasized that the key to your success will be your connections with other people. You can use Facebook, Twitter, blogging, etc., but in the end it goes back to people you know telling other people about your work, and a network sprouting from those initial contacts.

Jimmy underlined the idea that it’s important to realize not everything is going to be a success, and not to get stuck on one project. “We’re creative people; we have a parking lot full of ideas. If we can get one or two of those ideas out, we’ll make room for more.”

The most important thing, he said, is to know your goal. He asked, “Is your goal a swimming pool, fancy house and car, or to create your own work?” The comic books and graphic novels are the real work to him, so he can relax about what Hollywood does or does not do to his ideas. He will always have the initial work, the comic book, the graphic novel—whatever anyone else does to it, he has completed his own complete project.

“The real secret to my success is that so many people who started out with me have given up,” he said. If you know your real goals, and stick to them, you will be ahead of almost everyone else.

And that panel alone (although all the free stuff was also cool!) made New York Comic Con a really great way to spend the weekend with 100,000 of my new best friends.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

A Little Game for Writer's Block

In an admirable effort to foster a more literate America, the folks at ReadWriteThink have created a little game that guides you through the writing acrostic poems. Now, for those of us who occasionally suffer from writer's block - or if not block, at least stalling - I often recommend writing a haiku or ten to get the brain crackling again. This little game might work just as well, and has the advantage of being completely supervised - you are told what to write where, all you have to do is fill in the actual words. On days when putting a whole sentence together is too much, it might be just the thing. Okay, it is supposed to be for kids, but aren't all writers very young (albeit a tad cynical)at heart? Check it out - Acrostic Poems