SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Remember in Clerks when that girl is standing under the “Brand New Movies” sign, complete with giant arrows pointing down at her head, and she asks if they have any new movies? Don’t be that girl. Read all of our instructions first, then submit your stuff. We worked really hard on this, so pour a nice beverage, turn on some Tom Waits, and start reading. Thanks!
SBI Press Submissions Policy
We will review three kinds of submissions: Art Samples, Scripts, and Completed Projects. Though we currently prefer completed projects to bolster our forces, we will give full consideration to promising artists and writers, and will pair them together if we think it might lead to some magic.
SUBMITTING STORY OR SERIES PROPOSALS
If you have an awesome graphic novel or comic series to pitch to SBI, but you know that if you drew it yourself no one would want to buy it -- or see it, or might run away screaming -- we will happily review a script proposal. For scripts, we would need the following:
1. SIGNED SUBMISSION AGREEMENT
SBI exists to bring talented, cool people together, and this agreement is by no means a commitment to publishing with SBI or signing your rights away. Quite the opposite, in fact, this is for everyone’s protection so that we can all review materials without worrying about ownership or scary copyright law words like “liability” or “property” or “blood magic.”
Story proposals arriving without a signed agreement will be deleted without review for everyone’s protection. Download a copy of the agreement HERE.
2. COVER LETTER
Give us a logline about your project. That’s one or two sentences that distill your project in that famed, though highly improbable “elevator pitch” scenario. A detailed synopsis will be provided as a separate document, so just grab our attention and then tell us a bit about yourself as a writer.
3. SYNOPSIS
Give us a brief overview of the actual story, including issue breaks if applicable, and major plot points, character arcs, etc. This should fit on one page or run about 250-300 words. But we are way more interested in reading a good synopsis than actually turning on that little word count feature on Word to make sure you didn't go over your limit.
Do not leave out the ending to your story. There are loads of places where a flare for the dramatic is appropriate – a theater, telling a story around the bar, campfires, your trial in a court of law, are all great places to leave out some details to build suspense – but a synopsis is not one of them.
4. SCRIPT
The script! We are flexible on script formatting as long as it is not written like a screenplay. Take some time to Google how a comic script gets formatted, with panel breaks and notes for the artist. We know you might not be coming to us with an artist on the project, so we need to know that you guys are able to clearly articulate your vision to someone else.
SUBMITTING A COMPLETE BOOK PROPOSAL:
So you have a book that you have written and drawn yourself, or you have already assembled your group of heroes to tackle this adventure with you, that’s great! Here are a few things to consider:
1. In this case, we would need another one of those pesky signed submission agreements.
2. If the creators on a project have sample work that is ready to go but are still completing the project, we would like to review:
5 or more pages of consecutive artwork
Cover Letter with the same info as above
Synopsis again
Script
3. If you have a completed project you can send us the full book as a PDF with the signed submission agreement.
4. Whether submitting a finished book or a sample, please take the time to include a cover mockup. The comic business thrives on cover art. Not only do we want to get a sense of your aesthetic, a cover is another chance to convey to us (and the people of the Earth!) what your book is all about in a single image. This can often be more effective than the synopsis or any other written materials. Express your book to us in the cover art and send, send, send!
SUBMITTING ART SAMPLES:
Unlike book proposals, you do not need to send us a submission agreement for art samples.
- We will accept samples of your inks, pencils, lettering or coloring work and will keep those on file for future projects. If we are contacted by a writer on a project that we feel would make a nice fit, we’ll reach out to propose the collaboration. We live in a digital age and it should go without saying, but just in case it doesn’t, please do not send original art as your work will not be returned.
- Include a cover letter in your submission with some bio info about you as an artist. As you may know, there is more to collaborating than just putting pen to paper. We’d like to know a bit about you to help match you to a prospective writer.
- Please include your last name as part of the name of each of the files you send.
- Make sure we have all of your contact info somewhere in your submission.
- If you are sending inking samples, make sure you also send a copy of the original pencils.
Due to the volume of submissions we receive, you should expect to hear from a SBI editor regarding your submitted samples only if an editor wishes to hire you for work.
Important Note: This Anthology is for writers 12 and under.
Whether it's scary eyes under your bed or a scaly hand reaching out of your closet, every one of us had a nightmare vision when we were kids. You fought back against the darkness in ways that were as logical to a child as they are strangely universal. You made sure mom and dad left the door open a crack so you could see a little bit of that hall light. You had a nightlight that looked like some beloved cartoon character. You ran and jumped into bed so nothing could grab your ankles. Most important of all, you hid under the blankets because you somehow knew that if you couldn't see it, it couldn't see you.All of that resonates with us, from our own childhood and from familiar fiction, but there is something else we all did. We told the stories of our monsters. We cried out to our parents. We talked about them to our friends. Or we would sit up nights at sleepovers with the flashlight under our chins to air out our scary laundry. But in the end, it is all dismissed as "overactive imagination" or "kid stuff." Your parents tucked you back in and told you not to worry. Your friends laughed or squealed. But what if there was a way to give voice to those frights that you could hold onto?
Starburns Industries Press is here to say that just because something is "kid stuff" does not mean it isn't totally awesome and worthy of putting into a book. We want kids to tell the world about their monsters before they grow up and forget about them.
For young writers, ages 12 and under, we are all ears. Tell us your story. Show off your nightmares. We will listen, we will pair you up with an artist to bring your darkness into the light, and we will print it into a book to share with the whole world.
Young Nightmare Writers
This is your chance to tell the world about that creepy dream you keep having, or the scariest thing that haunted your nights when you were younger. Express yourself. Be you. No matter how weird, or silly, or scary that may be. Here are a couple guidelines to help you on your way:- Most publishers prefer receiving stories submitted as a .doc file. This is true for us too, but we are not against receiving a PDF of a scanned story, handwritten by a young writer. Someone over here knows how to type, we'll manage.
- Nightmares should be approximately 250-1000 words. However, this is a flexible guideline. Hemingway once wrote a complete story using only 6 words. So, basically, anything is possible.
Young Nightmare Artists
We will treat each nightmare as a unique story. Some may warrant an experienced, professional illustrator to bring them to life. Others might be better suited to have a talented young artist like yourself create them. We prefer that second one and this is your place to submit your art:
- You can submit a portfolio of past work as a PDF, JPEG, PNG, or any other image file for your initial review.
- If we work together, the finished work for "Nightmares" would need to be 300 DPI (printable resolution) and preferably as a PDF.
- You may submit your own illustrated nightmare if you are one of those awesomely rare people that can draw and tell a story (lucky you), but this is also your chance to find someone to collaborate with.
- If you like to draw or paint or whatever in different styles, please include a sample of all of the styles you work in. You never know which look will work best for which story.
- You are free to send as many files as you want, just keep it all in one proposal so it doesn't get confusing for us. And remember, less can be more. The urge to send everything you've ever drawn can be strong, but it's usually better to limit it to just your best work.
Important "But Wait, I'm Just A Kid" Disclaimer:
We understand that this is a big undertaking for young creators who most likely do not have a lot of experience with things like this. A parent or guardian will need to sign the below Publishing Agreement and include it with your submission to "The Book of Nightmares"
Download the SBI Press Publication Release Form
If anyone has questions about how to proceed, please feel free to email nightmaresthebook@gmail.com.
We can't wait to see what you guys come up with! Of course it's scary stuff, but try to have fun.
Thanks,
The SBI Team
