Posted in: Comics | Tagged: buddy scalera, chris ryall, Comics, NYCC, scott allie, warren simons

Editors On Editing At NYCC

I'm Mike Hogan, in line at the Editors on Editing panel at NYCC.

I'm expecting a few mentions of DC editorial, but I hope the panel will cover other topics as well.

The panel as planned is:
Scott Allie – Editor-in-Chief, Dark Horse
Chris Ryall – Editor-in-Chief, IDW
Warren Simons – Executive Editor, Valiant
Buddy Scalera – ComicBookSchool.com
Rich Taurozzi – moderator support

Panel starts at 12:45 p.m., about ten minutes from now.

No one from the Big Two is here. No drama expected.

Leave any questions in the comments.

Buddy Scalera is explaining his comic pro and geek cred.

That preview image of Buffy Season 10 looks incredible. Shown for Allie's intro.

Also show are images for Devils Footprints, Abe Sapien and Solomon Kane.

Ryall is presenting images for Bone, Wild Blue Yonder, Wraith from Joe Hill, Maxx recolored, Byrne's Triple Helix.

For Simons, Shadowman, Archer & Armstrong, Bloodshot and HARD Corps, Harbinger, and Eternal Warrior.

First question, how can writers submit works.

Ryall is working on a possible new submission process. He says it's tough. They start writers on backup stories, small stuff. Keep your attachments small, guys. Start with a little bit, a teaser.

Allie says do a bunch of work. Your first work probably would not be good. Get it out of your system. Start small, eight page stories, do a lot of work.

When you have that group of small works, use that.

Allie's retelling a submission horror story with someone who submitted a Buffy story with bad dialogue. He says maybe Avengers can have bad dialogue, but Buffy can't.

Ryall says tailor your pitch to the publisher. Boiler plate submissions are ignored.

Simons worked for a resume site, so he's familiar with job placement. Don't approach with a story to "fix" something. No one's going to hire you to fix the Avengers. Don't submit scripts, send finished work.

Ryall cares more about lettering than art. It can make the writing seem worse.

Allie says you can't learn how to write comics until it's drawn.

Simons, Allie, Ryall, Scalera

Simons says no one wants to teach you how to write. You should show you can write.

Scalera asks how to maximize your convention experience. Ryall says meet people at conventions. Make contacts, be social, observe. But, don't pitch.

Allie doesn't listen to pitches at conventions. It's impossible to absorb in conventions.

Get feedback from pros, but also learn from your peers.

Simons says he can't legally listen to pitches without a legal form signed.

Simons says Clay Mann would draw on the FedEx boxes with submissions to Marvel to make them stand out.

What works with one company might be terrible for another. Tailor your pitch.

This turned into how to submit pitches right off the bat. Not what I was expecting, but I shouldn't be surprised.

Simons says quality over quantity. Do a lot of work but don't do tons of bad work.

Allie says don't shittalk other creators. You'd look untrustworthy.

Ryall turned down an art submission and received a scathing response. Mind your temper.

Allie says getting critiques is a job interview. Take criticisms well.

Simons says have a thick skin. Be aggressive but also patient.

Sorry guys, a lot of this is obvious. Don't call an editor racist, don't insult editors. I feel bad for anyone in this audience who doesn't know this already.

Editors work hard, they're incredibly busy. Artists and writers need to communicate with their editors. Shades of Templesmith, right?

The Game of Thrones panel is nearby, I think. Tons of noise.

Pretty sure no one has mentioned anything about actually editing yet.

Great question from the audience, how do you become an editor? The whole panel says don't. Join the Army.

Another great audience question. When did you realize you could support yourself as a comics pro?

No one has really answered the question yet, all stories about breaking in. Ryall's first comics job was with IDW, Simons started with Marvel through Monster.

25 minutes left. Kind of worried that I have to be the guy to ask about DC. I don't want to be that guy!

Another question about breaking in. So great that so many people want to be comics pros, but I think they've answered this question four times in different ways.

People who want to be editors should send resumes as much as artists send samples.

In choosing interns, they look for people in school who have a focus on comics or lit, not just mathematics.

Audience question about obtaining licensed properties. Ryall says licensed properties comics are so much better than they used to be.

What happens when a deadline is missed? Allie says it's troubleshooting. Sometimes it's with the wait, like Locke & Key as Ryall points out. Simons says you should still do whatever possible to hit deadlines.

Scalera asks if inventory is over. Ryall hates inventory stories. He avoids using inventory stories. The whole panel doesn't like using them.

Allie reiterates that late shipping does proven harm to sales.

Wrapping up. Learned some cool stuff but I wish the majority of the panel hadn't been wasted on breaking in.

Ryall teases some electrifying stuff from the IDW panel tomorrow. A surprise special guest!

Simons teases Unity from Valiant, Peter Milligan on Shadowman.

Scalera denounces pirating. Asks the audience to say no to stealing, buy some books.

We outcha.

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